"It wasn't just to this extent!!
I could still pitch...
Better than that day...
Even more!!
Even more!!"
Furuya was dissatisfied with his performance at the start of today's game.
Kyoma's especially strong form had made him somewhat overconfident, and he had kept pursuing pitching better than he had managed that day.
He had originally relied on his form to pitch like that. Surpassing it while in an ordinary state was simply unrealistic in such a short time.
But Furuya did not understand such things, and failing to reach his goal made his body unconsciously start exerting more force.
Just like when he had first entered Seidou, he had the mistaken impression that using more strength would increase his velocity and ball power.
Furuya had forgotten the lessons from before, and Sendou and the others could only feel helpless about it.
Yet this was also part of an ace's journey of growth.
After experiencing every kind of pain, one would naturally develop a heart as steady as stone. Perhaps it would take a great deal of time; perhaps even graduation would not bring one's mentality into Perfect Form.
But not to mention that he was only a second-year, even an entire high school career was merely the starting point of a baseball career!
After all, people like Sendou, Amakusa, and Miyuki, who possessed the psychological maturity to calmly analyze a situation's pros and cons, had a kind of talent of their own.
"Pff!"
"Piu!"
"Thud!!!"
"Strike!"
"Batter out!!"
"Three outs, change of field!!"
"A high fastball made the batter swing and miss for the strikeout!!!"
In the end, Furuya claimed his first strikeout of the day, bringing his opening outing to an end!
"All right!!"
Cheers erupted from the Seidou bench and stands. Senior Asou and the others fired up