Chapter 261: The Savior
"Fourth batter! Catcher—Harada-kun!"
"Ha—ra—da!"
"Ha—ra—da!"
"Haa!"
"Haa!"
With the cleanup batter stepping into the box, the cheering section burst into its loudest song yet—
after all, Inashiro was trailing by four runs, and this was their first real scoring chance of the game.
Harada's expression was deadly serious, almost carrying an unnoticeable sense of resolve.
....
"He's choking up his bat, even as the cleanup…"
With the speedster Carlos on second but two outs, and two bases still empty—
Miyuki changed the entire pitch-calling plan.
This wasn't the time for "textbook perfect pitching."
Pitch calling must change with the situation:
The best pitch is useless if the hitter predicts it.
A "brilliant" plan becomes a "scoring opportunity for the enemy" if guessed.
Pitching exists for one thing only—solving the batter.
"One more out! Don't relax!
Remember—we're STILL in the fourth inning!"
Sawamura shouted like a villain.
"That was actually a good line,"
Haruichi complimented.
Sawamura's mouth usually produced nonsense or words no one understood—this rare moment of clarity impressed everyone.
Seeing Miyuki's sign, exhausted Furuya took a deep breath.
....
"He's capable of power AND opposite-field hits—
Inashiro's most dangerous hitter.
Don't forget your aggressive spirit, Furuya…"
Miyuki thought.
Step.
"Whoosh!"
Thud!
"Strike!"
"YOSSHAAA!!"
The first-years shouted together.
"A first-pitch splitter! The batter swings and misses!!"
the commentator roared.
"Hoo…"
Furuya exhaled, finally letting out the breath he had held—he was clearly tense as well.
....
"Even though he missed…That swing was terrifying.
No hesitation at all. Completely different from his earlier at-bat."
Commentators yelled blindly, but those who understood baseball saw the truth—
Seidou's battery was not guaranteed to win this duel.
"First pitch was a splitter…"
Hirai said in surprise.
"Totally different from before. That damn guy…!"
Narumiya grumbled.
Harada himself broke into a cold sweat.
"Yes… don't back down. Never throw him something easy to hit."
....
Step.
"Whoosh!"
Thud!
"Ball!"
"Inside ball for pitch two!"
Thud!
"Strike!"
"Same pitch again! Three straight inside pitches!"
"We've cornered him!"
Seidou's bench erupted.
If they retired Harada here, Seidou would have one foot in Koshien.
....
"After so many inside pitches, the deciding pitch should be an outside splitter."
Atsushi predicted.
"No, could be an outside fastball—he's cruel enough for that,"
Yabe argued.
"Yassan overthinks. When the ball comes—just hit it.
That's batting."
Mei thought proudly.
Except…this time Mei was wrong.
Thanks to Coach Kunimoto's words, Harada stopped overthinking and simply focused—
If it's hittable, swing.
....
"Whoosh!"
Ping!
"Foul!"
"See? Outside fastball—and a nasty one!"
Yabe said triumphantly.
"Last pitch will be the outside splitter!
Keep it low!"
"DESTROY HIM, DAMMIT!!"
Both pitcher and batter were breathing heavily—
every pitch now could decide the game.
Furuya curled his fingers inside his glove—
they were starting to feel tired.
But he didn't even think to call timeout.
"Whoosh!"
"…Wrong direction?"
Miyuki's eyes widened.
The pitch drifted inside, not outside—and at a perfect hittable height.
Miyuki twisted his body to adjust desperately.
Now everything depended on the drop of the splitter.
Harada, with his flexible joints and wide-arc swing mechanics—very similar to Sendo's "scooping" style—
was perfectly suited for pitches like this.
"Splitter!"
He saw it dip.
This wasn't like the "magic dropper" in the 1st inning—this one showed signs early.
Ping!
Harada barely made contact—pushing it forcibly toward the right side.
The bat hit only the outer half of the ball—so instead of flying high, it shot horizontally toward the gap between first and second.
And the ball was fast.
Onii-san moved as if not injured at all—but during the final jump, his injured foot failed him.
Pop!
"He passed it! He got it past the infield!!"
The Inashiro bench roared.
"Run! Run!!"
"CARLOS!!"
Of course—Carlos didn't listen.
His explode-speed activated instantly—
But then the entire bench was stunned:
He stopped at third base.
....
"BAKA!! That's the MONSTER'S territory! And on the lefty's favorite throwing angle! Only an idiot would run home!!"
Carlos's thoughts were long—but out loud, he only said the last sentence.
"Ugga?"
"Ca—…"
Even his teammates and Pudding-senpai stared, confused.
"Whoosh!"
BOOM!
A white streak blurred from the outfield and slammed into Miyuki's glove.
The deafening THUD erased all confusion.
Every pair of eyes swung toward the outfield—toward that turning back and the shining #8 on his jersey.
....
"So… so close!!!"
Everyone now understood—
If Carlos had run, the ball would've reached the plate BEFORE he even started sliding.
With two outs, it would've been an instant kill.
"See? Running on that monster is suicide."
Carlos said with fake calm—but inside, he knew:
He didn't move because his instincts SCREAMED at him.
His pores exploded.
Pure fear made him stop.
No one understood Carlos's defensive instincts better than Carlos himself.
Where he himself could reach—Sendo reached faster.
Where he would need time to adjust—Sendo adjusted instantly.
Where he doubted his own throw—Sendo's arm was terrifyingly accurate.
And worst of all—
The ball had been hit toward right-center—exactly the perfect angle for a left-handed center fielder
to throw without even turning.
A non-human version of himself.
....
"Ha…" (The commentator had no idea what to even say.)
The lightning-fast throw from the outfield—like a white laser beam—froze the fleet-footed Carlos at third base.
To be honest, even the commentator didn't know what he was saying anymore, piling random metaphors together…
But the key message was crystal clear to everyone.
Carlos found the commentary a bit insulting,
but he couldn't even complain.
Because the commentator was right—he really didn't dare move.
....
"Saved…! That throw saved us!!"
Miyuki felt his spirit soar.
Even though Carlos reached third and Inashiro recorded their first hit of the day,
Seidou still escaped the cleanup hitter without allowing a run.
And Sendo's throw wasn't just a boost to Seidou—
it placed crushing pressure on Inashiro.
If it's not a clean, absolute hit, anything that enters center field is the end of your inning.
Your entire effort evaporates instantly.
That was the message behind Sendo's throw.
A savior-level performance—and Coach Kunimoto's forehead showed a nearly invisible bead of sweat.
In this inning alone, Sendo had saved the team twice in a row, single-handedly shutting down both the No.3 and No.4 hitters.
One measly base gained… and no runs scored despite such a dangerous situation.
Combined with the four-run deficit, even Kunimoto felt pressure he normally never experienced.
Across the field, Coach Kataoka—normally expressionless and mafia-like—was clenching both fists and yelling.
Ota even threw his hands into a triumphant V-shape, screaming Sendo's name.
With the adults in the dugout already like this, the cheering section was roaring themselves hoarse—even though the inning wasn't over yet.
Imagine this:
One out.
Carlos on second.
The heart of the order—3, 4, 5—coming up.
Giving up two or three runs would be completely normal.
But now?
After back-to-back battles with No.3 and No.4,
Inashiro had only runners on first and third—and still no runs.
That alone was worth cheering for.
Seidou had clearly shown their defensive dominance.
....
"A base hit to center! Inashiro's first hit of the day, struck through sheer willpower by their cleanup hitter!"
Only once the dust settled did the commentator remember to mention it.
Harada and Narumiya's eyes met.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that, Mei?
Sorry the hit looked so ugly,"
Harada's expression said clearly—he didn't need to speak.
"No, no! I was just thinking Yassan is so reliable!
We couldn't score, but… well, we gotta praise that monster's defense, right?"
Narumiya grinned like a mischievous brat.
"Fifth batter! Pitcher—Narumiya-kun!"
"Phew! All right!! Watch me score here! I'll pay them back for my run AND Yassan's!!"
The moment Narumiya opened his mouth, Harada instantly wanted to punch him.
He was talking like he never failed to get a hit.
....
Meanwhile, on Seidou's side—
Everyone was comforting Furuya.
Telling him not to worry about the hit.
Truthfully, they were terrified.
If not for Sendo, that would've been a run.
And with that run, momentum would swing entirely to Inashiro.
If their lineup erupted, Furuya's pitching card would self-destruct.
In all that excitement, only Onii-san was biting down hard, nobody knowing whether it was pain from his injured foot or frustration from missing a ball he normally would've caught 100%.
Either way, Kuramochi's expression turned grim.
He couldn't enjoy any of the thrill—he was too worried.
And the real problem:
Furuya—while being cheered—was drenched in sweat and breathing strangely, trying desperately not to show how exhausted he was.
He didn't want anyone to know.
He didn't want to be taken off the mound.
Coach Kataoka hesitated.
If he pulled Furuya now, Tanba would have to pitch this out AND the remaining five innings.
Tanba wasn't fully recovered.
Even Kataoka doubted Tanba could handle that workload.
The only reason this was even a debate
was because Seidou had a four-run lead
and Furuya seemed "not that bad."
But in truth—
Furuya's stubbornness to stay on the mound
had completely misled Kataoka.
....
"Furuya's stamina is draining faster than I expected…
But at least it's Mei. Use straight balls to overpower him."
Miyuki had already noticed—after that last splitter, Furuya's control was shaky.
He didn't dare call the splitter again.
Still, even with the fixed set position, Furuya's fastball wasn't something Narumiya could easily hit.
But only if it wasn't a mistake pitch.
And if Narumiya showed even a hint of locking onto his timing—Miyuki would have no choice but to signal for a pitching change.
As the on-field commander, with the most complete view of the game, the coaches trusted Miyuki's judgment absolutely.
But Furuya's breathing had been so subtle—even Miyuki didn't notice how close he was to breaking.
His velocity hadn't dropped yet—which was the biggest misleading factor.
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