Chapter 486: Battle Against Seiko — Squeezing the Field
The intentional walk to Miyuki had been the right choice.
It allowed Seiko High to easily deal with Kenta Maezono.
With three outs in hand, Seiko once again seized the momentum this inning.
Even though Seidou had runners on first and second, Seiko clearly maintained the upper hand.
Maezono, batting fifth, posed no real threat to Ogawa Tsunematsu.
His bat—throughout this game—had been completely neutralized by Ogawa. The power Maezono prided himself on couldn't break through the force of Ogawa's pitches, and Masu's pitch calling toyed with him completely.
Thus, even Seidou's top of the order came away empty-handed.
The game was now moving into a more balanced phase—perhaps even slightly favoring Seiko's side, just as they had hoped.
And it wasn't just Seiko's players who saw it that way—the crowd sensed it too.
Building on Ogawa's excellent performance this inning, Seiko's offense entered the next frame with even more momentum.
And now—the coming inning would be a key one for both sides.
Kawakami had already been called to warm up during the previous two innings.
In the sixth, depending on the situation, Seidou might switch pitchers.
Would they try to let Furuya carry them into the seventh, or make the change here? It would depend on how Furuya performed.
And also—on which pitcher they would choose.
Deep down, both Coach Kataoka and Ochiai leaned toward using Kawakami.
Considering both tomorrow's final and the matchups—this had been addressed even in the original story, where Ochiai pointed it out.
Of course, this version of Eijun was stronger than he was in the original timeline but that didn't eliminate the matchup problem entirely. Most of his pitches were serviceable, but not yet fully refined.
Even his most frequently used pitches now—the modified cutter and five-seam—still had room for improvement.
So ideally, they would want to transition smoothly here and have Eijun fully prepared for tomorrow's final.
But things rarely go exactly the way Seidou wants.
"Top of the sixth inning—Seiko High at bat. Leading off, catcher Masu!"
Their captain, Masu Shinichiro—who hadn't performed well in his first three plate appearances this time seized the opportunity.
With Furuya's pitch power starting to fade slightly after so many pitches, Masu jumped on the third pitch—a fastball on the outer edge—and drilled it.
"Whoosh!"
"Plop!"
A surprise leadoff hit from Seiko's captain.
Masu Shinichiro reached first.
"Batting second, shortstop Yamashita!"
Pushing the runner ahead—continuing their pressure.
Seiko High, who hadn't used a single bunt the entire fall tournament—chose this moment to lay one down.
The crowd looked on in shock.
Seiko… using a bunt?!
A team known for relentless power hitting, now opting for this cautious, tactical advancement?
It was hard to believe.
But it also showed how deep their hunger for victory ran—how fiercely they coveted that championship—
no less than Seidou. In fact, no less than any team.
"Whoosh!"
"Ping!"
As that flash of white approached home plate—and Yamashita bent down to lay the bunt—even Miyuki couldn't help but grimace.
"Third base! One!"
Miyuki shouted toward third.
Out of the corner of his eye, Kanemaru could already see Masu Shinichiro charging hard toward second—
left with no choice, he fired the ball to first.
"Whoosh!"
"Pop!"
"Out!"
"An unexpected play here! In this tournament so far, Seiko High hadn't used a single bunt—yet they've just executed one to advance the runner! Seidou was caught off guard, allowing Seiko to move a runner into scoring position. One out, runner on second! And coming up next are two red-hot hitters: the cleanup men Kojima and Nagata. Can Seidou survive this crisis?!"
"Batting third, center fielder Kojima!"
Masu's leadoff hit—Yamashita's bunt—and now at the plate stood No. 3 batter Kojima.
A symbol of Seiko's relentless offense.
Once again in the top of the sixth, Seiko was mounting an all-out assault.
And this time, Lady Luck seemed firmly on their side.
Kojima Ryuuhei meant what he said—he would make up for the run he gave up.
And with Furuya's condition clearly declining—
he delivered a perfect blast to left field.
Eijun chased the ball with everything he had—but Seiko's powerful hitters were still Seiko's powerful hitters.
Once they locked onto a pitch—there was no way the defense could react in time.
Eijun could only watch helplessly as the ball landed well beyond his reach, bounding even deeper.
Off that hit—Masu Shinichiro successfully rounded third and touched home, scoring a run.
Seiko had finally cut the gap in the top of the sixth.
Score: 3–2.
Just a one-run game.
At the same time—as Eijun picked up the ball,
he saw Kojima already standing safely on second base, leaving him to lower his arm in frustration.
"OHHHH!! Beautiful hit, Kojima!"
"You said you'd do it—and you did!"
"One run! One more and it's tied!"
"No—one big hit, and we take the lead!"
"Let's go, Seiko!"
"Nagata—you're up next, cleanup! We're counting on you!"
"Push it, Seiko!"
"Batting fourth, first baseman Nagata!"
"AHHHH!!!"
From the beast in the batter's box—Nagata exuded a ferocious aura.
Over on the first-base side, inside Seidou's dugout—
Coach Kataoka's expression was ice cold, and Ochiai narrowed his eyes.
Change pitchers? Or…
Miyuki glanced toward left field.
There stood Eijun's shining figure.
In the dugout, players began to stir.
And at that moment—on the mound—a nearly visible blue flame seemed to blaze upward.
Please… don't take me out yet.
More.
I need more.
I want to strike this guy out!!!
In Furuya's eyes, a fierce light burned.
His body brimming with determination.
This sight reached both Miyuki and Coach Kataoka—
and both of them were visibly shaken.
After a brief pause—
Coach Kataoka solemnly, slowly—yet with great resolve—nodded.
Let him pitch.
Suddenly—the king's decisive presence began to ripple through the stadium!!!
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