"Three outs, switch sides!"
"Yeah!" The Seido players promptly left the field. Miyuki stood up and tossed the last ball from his mitt toward the edge of the field.
Hearing the whistle of Seido's catcher's throw, Kyoma University's third batter, who had already been called out, finally came back to his senses. He raised his bat in front of him, then realized how inappropriate the gesture was. I'm already out.
His tense body and muscles had yet to relax. He had simply stood there and been struck out.
"Whew—" A second later, he shook his head and ran from the empty home plate toward his team's Dugout.
Over there, a group had gathered together, with a squint-eyed old man standing in the middle.
The third batter's arrival did not interrupt Nitta Manager. "...Perhaps we should have realized it sooner. Seido has fallen to us twice, so they were bound to study us thoroughly. But I didn't expect them to truly achieve something from it. It gave me a bit of inspiration too..."
After another second of thought, Nitta Manager straightened up and cut off his train of thought. "Well, at this stage, what matters most is locking down our defense. Put batting out of your minds and focus on watching every ball that comes flying your way!"
"Yes!"
The boys quickly scattered and ran onto the field, leaving only two people behind.
At that moment, most of the players on the field had already spread out to their positions. Only the two spots at the very center remained vacant: pitcher and catcher.
"Hongo!"
"Kyoma University!"
"Beat them!"
"You're late again! What a big shot our ace is, hahaha!"
"This is exactly what we came to see!"
Hongo Masamune's arrogant type unexpectedly struck a chord with part of the audience.
As