"Whew!"
That said... this pitcher wasn't an easy opponent either!
His shootball cut in toward right-handed batters' chests, and his low sliders had outstanding control!
He was a cool-looking ace who barely changed his expression on the pitcher's mound!
If they let him settle into his usual rhythm, it would become difficult to swing at his pitches!
There probably wouldn't be any easy pitches to hit, right?! Senior Kuramochi lowered his head to look at home plate as he adjusted his rhythm on the pitcher's mound and thought to himself.
"Pfft!"
Then there was no need to deliberately wait for an easy pitch. He just had to target one he could hit!!
"Whoosh!"
Crack!
Kuramochi swung without hesitation at an outside slider so nasty it could have been called a ball!
"He swung at the first pitch!!!" Kanemaru shouted excitedly.
"That's the Head Hammer Hitting Method for taking the lead!!!" Sawamura, like a foolish rich landlord's son, gave the hit a strange name.
Smack!
"Ow!"
"Quit making up names. Do you want to get hit again?" Sendou knocked Sawamura on the head.
That said...
No one from Hakuryu had expected him to swing at such a nasty pitch right at the start of the game.
Normally, this was when batters first observed their opponent's strategy rather than choosing such a risky approach.
But...
"Pfft!"
"A hit to shallow left-center!!"
"Ku! Ku! Ku! Ku! Pfft!" The instant the ball hit the ground, Senior Kuramochi sprinted past first base without hesitation.
His refusal to slow down caught Hakuryu's first baseman off guard.
"Mima!!"
Smack!
Mima caught it cleanly, turned, and threw!
The entire motion was seamless, but...
Smack!
"Safe!!"
"They stole Hakuryu's specialty—aggressive baserunning!!"
"That guy isn't ordinarily fast either!!"
The excitement of the top half had barely ended when Seidou immediately