As Shun closed in on Matsubara's catcher, who was crouched in his path, his instincts took over. He continued running directly at the catcher, and just before they collided, Shun leaped over the catcher, diving toward home plate.
POFT
PAH
While Shun was airborne, he heard the ball hit the ground and then land in Matsubara's catcher's glove. He felt his body descending as he extended his arm toward home plate.
Shun stretched his arms toward the base as he felt his body descending through the air. However, the moment he hit the ground and touched the base, he also felt the glove of Matsubara's catcher tag his leg.
Shun looked up at the umpire, who was staring intently at the play. At that moment, the entire stadium held its breath, waiting for the umpire's call to determine whether Shun was out or had scored a run.
"Safe!" - After a few moments, the umpire finally announced, spreading his arms wide. The Shoto dugout erupted in cheers, while a hint of disappointment appeared in the eyes of Matsubara's players.
"Yeeeeaahhh!" - Shun roared excitedly as he stood up, celebrating his first home run in middle school. Well, it was an inside-the-park home run, but Shun didn't care about that detail. What mattered was that he had just put his team on the scoreboard.
"Hahaha, nice homer, Shun!" - Ren, the young samurai, shouted enthusiastically as he passed Shun on his way to bat.
"Thanks, man!" - Shun grinned in response.
WOOOSH
DOOONG
Shun watched as Kenta smashed the pitch to dead center field with even more power and distance than Ren's home run, and he smiled. Kenta's two-run blast extended Shoto's lead to 4-0, but more importantly, it signaled to Shun that the game was effectively over.
Shun cheered loudly in the dugout before glancing at Matsubara's ace on the mound. The tall boy looked devastated, staring blankly at Kenta as he rounded the bases. It was clear the pitcher had already accepted defeat.
Shun felt a mix of emotions as he observed Matsubara's ace. On one hand, he felt pity for the boy, who was being dismantled, knowing his team would be eliminated from the Kanto Tournament in just one game. But on the other hand, Shun was exhilarated. This was the Kanto Tournament, after all. He knew full well that if he were struggling on the mound, Matsubara's batters wouldn't show him any mercy. This was baseball. Everyone was here to win, and by the end of the tournament, only one team would stand victorious while the other fifteen went home in defeat.
Shun turned his gaze to the stands as a thought crossed his mind. He was certain that scouts from other teams in the tournament were watching this game, and that realization brought a smile to his face. This game was just the beginning. Every home run Shoto hit was a statement of strength. It was important for every other team to receive this message, no matter who you were, if you stood in Shoto Junior High's path to the Kanto trophy, you would be crushed!
---
Meanwhile, at the other stadium hosting the Kanto Tournament's alternate bracket, Sho was seated in the stands with Shun's camera mounted on a tripod, filming the game.
"I'm glad I came here. Shun-Senpai is definitely going to want to see this." - Sho murmured as he watched the field. Seishin's players were taking their positions to defend the bottom of the first inning. However, what truly astonished Sho was the number of runs Seishin had scored in the top of the first.
"Seven runs in one inning..." - Sho muttered in awe, a spark of determination in his eyes. Witnessing Seishin's dominance, he knew that if Shoto advanced to the final, his recordings would be crucial.