Chapter 269: The Offense and Defense of the 7th Inning
"Number nine! Right fielder, Fujikawa!"
"Although Seidou managed to stop further runs, the danger isn't over yet. Will Inashiro Industrial continue to add runs, or will Seidou High School break their momentum here?"
"Go for it, Fujikawa!"
"Swing with intent!"
"Two outs!"
"Hold the line!"
"So hot…"
While everyone else was cheering, Sendo wiped the sweat off during a brief moment.
In this brutal heat, he had already sprinted all over the outfield multiple times—Inashiro had hit plenty of balls toward him today.
This was the harshest test for Sendo.
His stamina was never that good to begin with—in summer camp he was among the worst in endurance, practically the one who died every session.
Pop!
"Strike!"
"First pitch curveball—swing and miss!"
Pop!
"Ball!"
"Tanba-san! Keep it low!"
Ping!
The batter stubbornly pulled the ball to the left side, dropping it in no man's land.
It wasn't a good hit—barely reaching the area between second and shortstop—and with runners on base, both infielders were positioned closer than usual.
The ball had no power, but Oniisan, gritting his teeth, only barely managed to graze it with his glove!
Just as Oniisan felt frustrated that his injured leg couldn't support him…
Kuramochi arrived behind him.
Leaping up with his bare hand, he snatched the ball midair and—still airborne—used his core strength to fire it to first!
"OUT!!"
The first-base umpire raised his fist—three outs!
The runner crossing home was nullified.
This time, it was Kuramochi who saved the inning.
"Three outs! Change sides! Seidou gives up two runs, but forcibly shuts down Inashiro's offense! The game officially enters the endgame!"
"YOSSHAAA!!!"
"That was a super fine play! A ball deflected off second baseman Kominato's glove was intercepted by the shortstop, who then completed a midair throw to first! This is worthy of a championship match—brilliant plays one after another! This perfect second–shortstop relay saved Seidou!!"
The commentator felt blessed—this level of a game hadn't happened in years.
"If that had gone through, they might've scored two more!"
Chris-senpai exhaled in fear.
"Ah, he's a very strong man."
"He?"
Chris blinked in confusion.
"No doubt, the ironclad second–shortstop combo!"
"Great coverage, Kuramochi!"
"Nice backup, Kuramochi-senpai!"
Sawamura was the most excited.
"Seriously—thanks for reacting to it."
Oniisan said without turning around.
"No, I just happened to be near it… That ball was really desperate."
Kuramochi scratched his cheek.
Throwing midair using only his core was unbelievably hard.
This game had produced highlights that would have made MLB fans scream.
"You reacted perfectly. You saved me—and the entire team. Nice coverage."
Oniisan held out his glove.
"Yeah!" clap
"Kuramochi-san! That was insanely cool just now!
You were basically our savior!" Sendo's voice cut in with perfect timing.
"Yahaha! You actually say nice things sometimes, Sendo!"
Kuramochi puffed his chest in front of his kouhai.
"He's right. If you hadn't gotten there, we might've allowed two runs."
Oniisan added.
"Ryo-san!"
"No—at most one run. I was there too," Sendo commented bluntly.
"You little—! You was praising earlier and you immediately reveal your true nature! Keep praising! Don't spit cold hard facts!!"
Kuramochi fumed.
He knew Sendo's recovery speed was insane—Chris only mentioned the possibility of two runs, not certainty.
"Ryo-san. Your leg—is it okay?"
Sendo leaned in and whispered, his real reason for approaching.
Kuramochi finally realized—Sendo already knew about Oniisan's leg injury.
"Ah, it's fine… for now. But I don't know how long I can hold. I'll need both of you to back me up later."
Oniisan admitted.
He couldn't be subbed out yet—not without risking chemistry problems with his younger brother.
"I understand. By the way, Ryo-san."
Sendo said.
"Hm?"
"Coach probably noticed already. But it seems he doesn't want you to have regrets."
Sendo casually walked away, blending back in as if nothing happened.
His words left Oniisan stunned.
Kuramochi stood there, jaw hanging—this cool, mature side of Sendo was shocking enough… but then the bombshell.
"Sendo."
Oniisan called out.
"Hm? What is it?"
"Go back to the bench and recharge. You're sweating like crazy. Don't collapse. Your stamina isn't great."
"I know. Don't worry—I won't collapse in a match this exciting."
He returned to the dugout.
At this moment, Chris brought up Narumiya's increased use of off-speed pitches.
After discussion, Coach Kataoka decided to abandon their own use of changeups—one inning earlier than in the original timeline.
This choice was heavily influenced by Sendo's repeated getting on base, forcing Harada to adjust their strategy early.
"Don't fear strikeouts! Don't fear his pitches! Don't hesitate! In this heat, if we make him throw more, even Narumiya will eventually give us something hittable!"
Coach Kataoka shouted.
"YES!!!"
Top of the 7th—Seidou's attack! Number six! Third baseman, Masuko!"
Pop!
"Strike! Batter out!"
Even without changeups, Masuko lasted only five pitches.
Pop!
"Out!"
Miyuki battled for seven pitches, but Narumiya—fully unleashed—forced a sharp lineout to shortstop.
"They really don't hesitate to swing one by one…"
Despite Narumiya striking out two straight, Harada admired Seidou's tenacity.
Any other team would've fallen apart mentally by now.
"Number eight! Left fielder, Furuya!"
"Furuya!"
"Monster-kun!"
"Furuya-kun!"
"Go, Furuya!"
"We're counting on you!"
"Hit it out! Time to show your MAN SPIRIT!" Sawamura shouted.
Seeing Furuya come up to bat made Narumiya's blood boil.
Whether it was the previous hit that struck him, or the laser throw to home—everything about Furuya irritated him.
It felt like his compatibility with Seidou was awful—one annoying rival after another.
"Don't let him hit like last time!"
"Like I'd make the same mistake twice!"
Narumiya growled.
Pop!
"Strike!"
This time, his inside corner fastball hit the mark.
Pop!
"Ball!"
Outside corner.
Ping!
Furuya fouled off the third pitch inside.
Even when behind in the count, he showed no hesitation.
Maybe it was his natural airheadedness… or maybe he had taken Kataoka's lecture deeply to heart.
Ping!
"A tough inside-out swing! He sends it to right!
A base hit! Furuya reaches!"
"YESSS!!!"
Any hit at this stage was a huge morale boost.
Both teams' lower lineups were hitting now—proof the game had fully reached boiling point.
But the hit came a little late—Tanba was struck out after, ending the inning scoreless.
....
"Hold them here!"
"One out at a time!"
"Tanba-san!"
Bottom of the 7th—Inashiro Industrial's attack!
Leadoff: Center fielder, Kamiya!"
The situation still leaned toward Inashiro.
They barely escaped the last inning while allowing two runs, and their own offense had ended quickly—pressure continued to rise.
But Tanba was not as fragile as spectators thought.
At the start of the inning, teammate after teammate placed a hand on his back—filling him with strength.
"First pitch—throw it here!"
Pop!
"Ball!"
"First pitch forkball!"
"Another breaking ball?!"
Carlos couldn't read Miyuki's intention at all.
Pop!
"Strike!"
Curveball for pitch two. Carlos watched helplessly.
Pitch three—
Pop!
"Strike!"
"Another curve! Swing and miss! Seven straight breaking balls to Carlos! The Seidou battery has no intention of throwing a fastball!"
"Thanks to that Sendo guy! Carlos hasn't seen a single Tanba fastball yet! The setup is complete—steal it now! Carlos absolutely cannot be allowed on base!"
Whoosh!
"Fastball!"
Ping!
Caught completely off guard, Carlos's bat was overpowered.
Jun barely needed to move to catch it.
Ping!
"OUT!!!"
"YESSS!!!"
"Tanba-san! Nice pitch!"
"One out!!!"
"One at a time!"
"Keep attacking!"
"We can keep fighting like this," Miyuki clenched his fist internally.
Shirakawa continued the same strategy he used last inning, endlessly fighting with foul balls.
The count once again reached full—two strikes, three balls.
"Challenge him in the strike zone! Decide it head-on, Tanba-san!"
"Yeah… huuuh!"
Tanba took a deep breath.
He raised both arms high.
"Don't be afraid! I have trustworthy teammates behind me!"
With that thought, even his pitching form seemed to radiate strength.
Whoosh!
Ping!
Oniisan saw the ball flying toward him, and with a quick lateral hop, he stopped it cleanly.
For plays requiring long movement, his foot injury would hurt him—but for a one- or two-step explosive burst like this, he was still perfectly capable.
"OUT!"
"A line drive to second!"
"Just unlucky!"
Inashiro's bench felt it was simply bad luck for their hitter.
....
"Number three! Third baseman, Yoshizawa!"
Bottom of the 7th—two outs, bases empty—
Inashiro's heart of the order stepped up.
"Two outs!"
"Two outs!"
"UGAAAAH!!!"
"Show your spirit! Your spirit, Tanba!!"
"Let him hit it!"
At that moment, Sendo, who hadn't spoken a word for several batters, had his eyes shining.
Thump…
Thump…
"No—don't beat so fast right now…! Calm down a little…!"
This thrilling game had pushed Sendo into a state of excitement he could barely contain—his smile, his emotions, everything was overflowing.
"Everyone…"
At the same time, Tanba silently murmured.
Pop
"Ball!"
He put a little too much strength into it.
"Calm down! Deep breath! Deep breath!"
Jun shouted immediately.
Ping!
"Foul!"
Following the instruction, Tanba calmed himself again.
Even though Yoshizawa was starting to adjust to the curveball, it was still far from something he could actually hit.
Ping!
"Foul!"
After a curveball from inside to outside, Miyuki called for an outside fastball.
With two outs, the third batter was cornered.
"I'm the man wearing our team's ace number!
I will shut them down this inning!"
Whoosh!
Pop!
"Strike! Batter out! Change sides!"
"YOSHHHAAA!!!"
"The ace roars back!! After last inning's grueling battle, this inning Tanba completely shuts the hitters down! This game is FAR from over!"
"Aaaaahhhh!!!"
Even Isashiki, who didn't know what else to say, yelled along.
"Nice pitch, Tanba-san!!"
Miyuki jumped to his feet—this strikeout was incredibly important.
Although it was a little late, Tanba had finally regained some of his form.
Even if he could hold on just a little longer, Seidou's chances skyrocketed.
"Beautiful pitch!"
"Great job, Tanba!"
The Seidou cheering section erupted, and even the female managers in the stands hugged each other in celebration—some already in tears.
"That guy is seriously tough… Honestly, I never expected Tanba-san to be this difficult to deal with!"
Narumiya said while grabbing his bat in the dugout.
"But he's pretty much at his limit, isn't he?
Next inning… yeah… Let me and Yaa-san finish him off."
He wasn't wrong.
To stabilize himself, Tanba had been relying heavily on breaking balls—and Inashiro was starting to connect with them.
The next inning would be the true battlefield.
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