"Crack—"
In the bottom of the eighth, the moment they took the field, the game's tempo abruptly changed. Inashiro's players all began swinging aggressively.
But things still weren't going smoothly. Shirakawa, batting second, once again hit the ball into the infield's defensive range. "Tch, that trajectory is disgusting."
"Out!"
Sweeping away the gloom from the previous inning, Eijun's pitching became crisp and lively again.
"Has this pitcher recovered? They could clearly hit him just now."
"Yeah, his velocity isn't even that high, so why didn't either of them make good contact?"
"Maybe it has something to do with Inashiro's change in strategy? It feels like their batters have become more aggressive with their swings."
That had actually helped Seido a great deal. They had originally thought that, given Sawamura's abilities, he would be hit with a string of base hits.
"If you don't watch Sawamura's pitches carefully, it's really easy to hit them off target," muttered a certain left fielder who understood Sawamura's pitching. And when defending behind him, they had to be especially careful—the balls he gave up could fly everywhere.
"Crack—" No sooner had he said that than a ball that pierced through the defense came skimming along the ground.
"Big Brother!!" Eijun's panicked voice carried over.
"Don't panic!" Kōshū stepped in front of him with practiced ease. "What's wrong with you? There are already two outs! Pull yourself together!"
"Yes!"
Bottom of the eighth, two outs, runner on first, facing Inashiro's cleanup hitter.
Everyone was sweating bullets for Eijun.
It has to be low here. Even if he hits it, it won't become a home run. Miyuki patted the ground. Inashiro's cleanup hitter was simply a terrible matchup for a soft-throwing pitcher like Eijun. With a metal bat's broader hitting surface, even a slight movement near the