"West Tokyo Tournament, fourth round, second game. The match between Seidō and Hachiya Oji officially begins." The announcer boomed.
"Please guide us!" the Seidō players chanted.
"Please guide us!!!" the Hachiya Oji players roared back.
After the bows, both teams headed back to their dugouts.
Top of the first. Seidō's up to bat first, thanks to rock-paper-scissors.
Their opponent won the toss but, surprisingly, chose to bat second.
This made the Seidō players raise an eyebrow.
After all, they're known for their offense, right? One of the best around.
So usually, they like to bat first.
Their batting lineup can really mess with the other team right off the bat.
It sets them up nicely for the rest of the game.
In their first game against Akikawa, Seidō chose to bat first then, too.
They didn't totally crush the other team at the start, but they still managed to score.
They took control of the game right away.
So now, their opponent's just handing them the chance to bat first?
The Seidō players were somewhat surprised, to say the least.
Did we just get lucky or what?
"Don't worry about what they're thinking. We got the chance, so let's take it. Just do what we always do in practice," Yūki Tetsuya stated firmly.
Seidō's got a tough practice regimen.
Their players always claim they sweat and toil more than anyone else on the field.
You could tell they were ready, thanks to all that practice.
"Yeah!" the players exclaimed, their voices ringing with excitement.
"Leading off, number six, shortstop, Kusunoki Fumiya."
Kusunoki, one of Seidō's key players, stepped up to the plate.
He stared down the pitcher, his bat swaying gently.
It was a subtle, rhythmic motion.
He looked like he could hit anything thrown his way, no matter where it was.
The Hachiya Oji catcher saw this and his jaw tightened.
You could tell a lot from the small details.
Even before the first pitch, you could see how focused Kusunoki was.
The catcher felt the pressure coming off the batter in waves.
He realized this wasn't just any team; they were up against a real powerhouse. Did they even have a chance?
The Hachiya Oji catcher glanced at his partner.
The pitcher was standing on the mound, and he could tell his partner felt it too.
But he wasn't backing down.
He seemed calm, but you could tell he was ready to go.
He held the ball tight, itching to throw it.
"Whew!" The catcher breathed a silent sigh of relief.
They had their ace, so who cared if it was Seidō?
"Let's go!" the catcher yelled, his voice full of determination.
He barely had time to react before the ball was flying.
Whoosh!
The pitching was smooth as butter.
The ball came in clean and sharp.
Kusunoki, in the batter's box, gripped the bat tightly.
Spotted the outside pitch and reacted instantly.
He stepped forward and swung with everything he had.
'Mine!' he thought triumphantly.
The ball was right where he wanted it.
No way he wasn't going to miss this.
However, just as the bat was about to hit, the ball suddenly moved.
Ping!
He still made contact, but he looked surprised.
The ball didn't even go five meters, just landed in the infield.
And it bounced once.
The Hachiya Oji first baseman took off, grabbed the ball, and got to first base.
"Out!"
Back in the Seidō dugout, everyone was looking at each other, trying to figure out what just happened.
They were sure that was a home run, but it turned out to be a weak grounder.
He got back to the dugout and said, before anyone could even ask: "Outside slider! He hasn't thrown that once in the last two games."
So he just figured it was an outside fastball when it came in.
He's got the build for those outside pitches. Guess they were counting on that.
"So, they're doing their homework too, huh? Guess we're not the only ones."
Takigawa said, stroking his chin.
That was putting it nicely.
One pitch was all it took. They were outmaneuvered.
Not much they could do about it.
They were a top team, but even without a recent Koshien appearance, everyone was still keeping an eye on them.
And information about them was easy to come by.
Their opponents, on the other hand, were more of a mystery, so it was hard to know what to expect.
"Ugh, I hate feeling like we're getting outplayed," one of the players grumbled, clearly annoyed.
"Well, if we don't have all the info, we'll just have to figure it out as we go," Yoshida, the second batter, asserted confidently.
He always sounded so sure of himself, being the ace and all.
Like if everyone just trusted him, everything would be fine.
Just then, Coach Kataoka Tesshin approached Takumi.
"Keep an eye on this pitcher," he murmured, his voice low and intense.
Takumi looked over, a little surprised.
"He's got something you don't," Kataoka revealed pointedly.
Akikawa, their last opponent's ace, wasn't half bad, even if they did break him down.
But Kataoka didn't seem too concerned with him.
Didn't even bother to mention him to Takumi.
But this opponent was different. Kataoka saw something in him that reminded him of what an ace should be.
Hachiya Oji wasn't the best team, but their ace had something special.
Yoshida, with all the confidence in the world, stepped into the batter's box and adjusted his stance.
Seeing the ball coming, and didn't hesitate.
He stepped up and swung hard.
Ping!
The ball just took off into the sky.
The Seidō players eyes lit up as they watched it go.
That hit was even better than they thought it would be.