Sendou jogged back to the dugout.
"Sendou, pitch at full strength starting next inning! You'll be the catcher in the fourth inning. One inning of watching is enough. It's your first game, after all, so enjoy it! Baseball isn't just about batting. Defense can be fun too."
"Okay!" Sendou did not particularly care either way.
Crack! The sound of the ball being hit rang out from the field just as he finished speaking.
Sendou turned around and saw the ball slip through the Third-Shortstop Combination for a hit.
"Looks like this won't be ending anytime soon. Their third baseman is still a little nervous. The seniors have obviously started targeting him."
"Who knows? With humans, you never know what state they'll be in the next second." Coach Nakanishi spoke meaningfully.
"Third baseman, don't be afraid. Enjoy the game! It's not easy to run into opponents like this!"
"That catcher... huh?" Sendou muttered as he watched Harada Masakatsu comforting his teammate on the field.
"This is getting a little interesting."
After saying that, he returned to his seat without looking back.
With the pressure on his teammates in the field as well, the Sailors Team finally loosened up. Forgetting about the score, they began performing normally again. In the end, the Wildcats' score for the inning stopped at five, and their batting order went through once.
"Our turn, Sendou. You'd better forget about the score!" Coach Nakanishi said to Sendou as he prepared to take the field.
"It's nothing. I never cared about it to begin with." Sendou did not even turn around. Coach Nakanishi shook his head with a laugh.
"Since your coach told you to pitch at full strength, then come on. Throw one dead center to liven things up." This time, the Wildcats' catcher openly placed his mitt right over dead center.
Whoosh!
Thud!
"What?"
"Play!"
"What? He wasn't even going all out before? That pitcher! This ball was at least thirty kilometers per hour faster than last inning!"
The Sailors Team erupted in an uproar.
Those players had not been able to tell last inning and had even been lamenting the Wildcats' declining dominance. The Sailors Team's coach knew Sendou had not used his full strength in the first inning, but he had not expected the gap to be this large.
"So this is the Kanto Champions' ace and cleanup hitter!" The Sailors Team's catcher felt the pressure again at that moment.
Their core batters might have been able to contend with a pitcher throwing one hundred kilometers per hour by the second or third time through the lineup, but anything above one hundred and ten was beyond them. Especially for the lower batting lineup.
The second inning ended with three strikeouts and no suspense whatsoever.
The Wildcats had an ideal batting order in the second inning, starting with the first batter. After one trip through the lineup to observe him, they had completely figured out the Sailors Team's ace.
After a string of hits, the third batter was unexpectedly caught out on a fly ball, proving that the Sailors Team had fully returned to normal. With one out and runners on first and second, Sendou came up as the cleanup hitter.
"To be honest, every time this guy swings, I get a strange feeling. But if you force me to say what it is, I can't." Harada watched Sendou, who had stepped into the Batter's Box for the second time, with a complicated expression.
"No matter what, this at-bat will show me whether the real you are strong or weak. I'll settle you here and seize the initiative. Since the purpose of this game is to experience the Wildcats' strength and learn from them, there's no reason to pass up such a good opportunity and walk you. There must be a reason you became the cleanup hitter, right?"
"Senior, please don't look at me like that. It's kind of gross!"
"Gross?" Harada Masakatsu was somewhat helpless when faced with such an eccentric rookie. His train of thought interrupted, he did not bother saying anything more and began giving Signals.
Whoosh!
Smack!
"Strike!" For the first pitch, Harada boldly called for a low strike right down the middle.
I remember their bench seemed to shout that this guy can't really tell balls from strikes, didn't they? Then I'll have to test that. Once he set aside the outcome, Harada's leadership became more flexible.
Whoosh!
Smack!
"Ball!" This pitch was a high ball on the inside that was slightly outside the Strike Zone. Sendou even had to lean back to avoid it and never swung.
Whoosh!
Crack!
"Foul!" The third pitch was outside, and it too was actually slightly outside the Strike Zone.
That one felt a little far when I swung at it just now. With the earlier Inside Corner Ball, it feels even farther. Sendou thought to himself, his gaze continuing to wander everywhere. His habit of losing focus was not so easily controlled.
"Just as I thought! In that case, how about this one?"
Whoosh!
Smack!
"Ball!" This pitch was even farther off than the last one.
He's got a few little tricks, but he's still a simple guy. Still, I can't let him fool me. Sendou watched the pitch and thought.
At the same time, he closed his eyes while the other side confirmed their Signals. A few seconds later, he slowly opened them. With his exceptional visual talent, Sendou could use this method to erase the impression left by the previous few pitches, though it only worked against a small number of people.
These pitches must have him wondering whether the next one will be inside or outside. Harada guessed.
Whoosh! It was another low pitch down the middle, the same trajectory as the first.
Clang!
"You've got to be kidding me!" Harada stared blankly at the ball that had been hit and blurted out those words.
Sendou did not reply. His answer was a towering Home Run that sailed over the fence net. The three-run blast made the score 8–0.
After that, hits from the fifth and seventh batters put runners in scoring position again. In the end, the eighth batter hit a Ground Ball and was forced out, bringing the change of sides.
On defense, Sendou easily picked up two strikeouts in the third inning for a Three Up Three Down.
That inning, the Sailors Team directly changed pitchers. Having completely forgotten the score, they found their rhythm again and began suppressing the Wildcats' lineup, returning the favor with a Three Up Three Down.
In the top of the fourth inning, Sendou became the catcher. Full of mischief, he gave the other side no opportunities, though he was nearly hit for a Long Hit by the cleanup catcher. Fortunately, the outfielder caught it.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Wildcats opened with their core batters, and the third batter unexpectedly reached base safely.
Sendou then hit another Long Hit and drove in a run. Though the new pitcher did not panic, Sendou posed no pressure to him at all. His debut was practically perfect.
He also performed well against the Wildcats' upper batting lineup. Then the fifth batter hit a single to first base, reaching on an irregular bounce.
The score was 9–0, with no outs and runners on first and third. But during the matchup with the sixth batter, Harada forced out the fifth batter on first with a Pickoff Throw. The sixth batter was caught out on a line drive to first, while the seventh batter was struck out by the catcher's pitch calling.
Before you continue