Bottom of the fifth inning.
Akikawa is on the offense.
You could tell their players were starting to lose it.
They'd scored 7-3 against Inashiro Industrial before.
Even though they acted like it was no big deal, just a game they lost, they were secretly proud of it.
That was the best team in West Tokyo.
Inashiro always does great at Koshien.
They managed to score 7-3 against such a team.
Didn't that mean they were pretty good too?
Now they were facing Seidō, and after only four innings, they were getting crushed.
The score was already 10-0.
They hadn't given up that many runs in the whole game against Inashiro.
But Seidō had done it already.
And Akikawa hadn't even scored once.
The difference between the teams was huge.
Even though they were numb, they suddenly didn't want it to end like this.
They knew they couldn't win.
They were going to lose this game no matter what.
Even if they made it past the fifth, they'd be out in the seventh.
They just didn't want their last high school game to end like this.
So they wanted to try something.
Even if they just got one run.
In the bottom of the fourth, Akikawa's hitters were giving it everything they had.
Their best hitters were up at this point.
But it didn't matter.
Yoshida was throwing like a machine.
The Akikawa batters just couldn't relax; they were swinging as soon as they saw the ball.
Ping!
A Seidō player caught the ball right away.
That's when the Akikawa players realized who they were really up against.
Seidō's a top team, and they're not just good at hitting, they're great on defense too.
Defense isn't just about the pitcher; it's a team effort.
And Seidō was really good at it.
They got three outs and went into the fifth with a ten-run lead.
Baseball games, especially in the early rounds, have rules.
Usually, a game is nine innings.
If it's tied after nine, they play extra innings, so it keeps going.
But if one team's way ahead and the other has no chance, they can end the game early.
It saves energy and keeps the losing team from getting too embarrassed.
So, the rules say that if one team's up by ten or more runs at the end of the fifth, the game's over.
And if it's seven or more at the end of the seventh, same thing.
Seidō was up by exactly ten, so if they could just keep it that way, they'd win.
But they're not the kind of team to play it safe.
If they can score more, they will, and that's what they did.
Even though they were already way ahead, they got another run in the fifth.
Now it was 11-0.
And it was the bottom of the fifth.
The Akikawa players really wanted to score, just to save face.
They were still trying their hardest to hit the ball.
That's all they could do.
The Seidō players actually respected them for it.
Every team has their own way of doing things, and Seidō believes in hard work.
That's why they train so much.
That's why they say, "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat."
And because they're that kind of team, they admire other teams that work hard, even if they're playing against them.
So, they played their best against Akikawa.
Whether that's what Akikawa wanted or not, Seidō didn't care.
They pitched as hard as they could.
And they stopped every ball that came their way.
In the end, Yoshida pitched the whole game.
He didn't let the other team get anywhere close to scoring.
"The game between Seidō and Akikawa, after five innings, ends with a score of 11-0."
"West Tokyo Seidō wins!"
When this result appeared, even though their players already knew it in their hearts, they were still incredibly excited.
"We won!" they cheered.
"We won!!!"
Winning wasn't a surprise.
Akikawa just got lucky against Inashiro.
It didn't mean they were actually that good. Otherwise, Seidō wouldn't have won so easily.
They were pretty sure they'd win the game.
But they didn't think it would be this easy.
Akikawa had been doing pretty well before.
They played well against Inashiro and in the first couple of games.
So much so that the opposing team were prepared for a tough match.
They just didn't expect Takumi to show up like that.
He was responsible for five runs and got two RBIs all by himself.
He didn't hit a home run, but he's just a first-year. Even if he wasn't a pitcher, his teammates couldn't complain.
He even made the rest of the team hit better.