The second game in the quarterfinals of Koshien is between Osaka Kiryu and Seihou.
For the players of the Seidou High School baseball team, this game is very important.
This isn't because these two teams have any particularly close relationships with Seidou High School's baseball team.
One of them is a long-time rival of Seidou High School's baseball team, having faced each other before, and both teams have left a deep impression on each other.
The other, although never having faced Seidou High School's baseball team in official matches, is a partner school of Seidou High School's baseball team.
In the years when Seidou High School's baseball team couldn't make it to the national stage, it was these schools' help that allowed Seidou's players to have the opportunity to face top-tier teams.
This also helped Seidou's players maintain a certain level of form.
Without the baptism of Koshien during those down years, without the experience of playing against teams of the same level, Seidou's baseball team wouldn't have been able to produce so many professional stars.
From this perspective, Osaka Kiryu High School's relationship with Seidou High School's baseball team is even closer.
But the reason Seidou High School's baseball team cares so much about this match is not because of their close relationship with these two teams.
It's because the winner of this match will face Seidou High School's baseball team in the semifinals.
In other words, the winner will be their next opponent.
"Do you feel like the blood in your veins is boiling?"
While watching the match, Miyuki asked the teammate beside him, Sawamura.
Whether as a partner or a senior, Miyuki is really worried about Sawamura's current state.
For Sawamura, staying in high school has little meaning now.
Although high school players, especially star players, are rapidly improving, this is the stage of their fastest growth.
But compared to the terrifying improvement rate of the "Great Demon King" Sawamura, their progress is too slow.
Slow to the point of being frightening.
It's hard to imagine that Sawamura, as the number one player in the country, has already reached the point where there is no controversy before reaching his third year.
It's hard to believe that after entering his third year, he will encounter any players capable of threatening him.
If no such players exist, and if Eijun has no challenging opponents, will his progress slow down?
At his fastest growth stage, encountering such a problem would be a disaster.
But there's nothing he can do; high school must be completed.
No one who can enter the draft has ever dropped out of high school.
Even if Sawamura could do that, he wouldn't.
He's aiming to become a legend, so how could he ruin his hard-earned reputation with such a stain?
That would be too much of a loss!
At this point, the only thing Miyuki can do for Sawamura is to get his blood boiling!
Especially for the game. Even if his strength can crush the opponent, he needs to find joy in other aspects.
Hearing Miyuki's question, Sawamura smiled and nodded.
Akashi!
Although his new style is working in high school baseball, he will have a big challenge in professional baseball.
But there's no denying that this guy is impressive.
Even Sawamura, if facing him head-on, doesn't have 100% confidence in hitting his pitches.
And that's exactly why Sawamura is even more excited.
He's really looking forward to facing Akashi on the field.
He can't wait to hit the ball from this guy.
As for the Seihou High School batting lineup, Sawamura can only nod slightly, praising them with "Not bad!"
Seihou High School is an elite team, and even after their star batters graduated, their batting power remains formidable.
Strong batters keep appearing, and their offensive strength is also considerable.
Even without star-level batters, their attacking ability is still impressive enough to rank among the best in the nation.
However, if they faced Seidou High School's baseball team, the Seihou team lacked star-level batters.
Simply relying on a decent lineup might not be enough.
The only interesting thing is seeing how far Akashi can push the team.
But even this one factor is enough to pique Sawamura's interest.
With Seidou High School's reputation and strength, there are few teams left that can pose even this kind of threat.
Seihou High School, in any case, is one of them.
And certainly one to look forward to.
Moreover, he is really interested in facing Akashi before he retires.
By the third inning, the situation on the field was pretty much as expected by Seidou's players.
Akashi's sharp and powerful pitching made the Osaka Kiryu players look helpless.
In terms of momentum, Seihou had completely taken control.
When it came time for Seihou's fourth-inning offense, their Coach likely felt the moment was right.
He gave the signal for the team to start attacking and score.
After a round of probing, everyone had gained an understanding of each other's strengths.
With the Seihou Coach's abilities, finding a weakness in the opponent was only a matter of time.
Now that they had launched their offense, there was no turning back.
Ping!
The leadoff batter swung without hesitation at the pitcher's first pitch.
The white ball was hit and flew out.
Osaka Kiryu's fielders tried their best to catch it but failed.
They could only watch as the ball soared out.
At this point, the Seihou players had thoroughly analyzed Osaka Kiryu's pitcher's speed and strength.
They were now able to hit the ball wherever they wanted.
Since the graduation of last year's pitcher and cleanup hitter, Osaka Kiryu's new pitcher has been somewhat unstable.
When in good form, they could even hold their own against giants.
But when not performing well, even minor disruptions could cause trouble.
From the results now, it was clear their form wasn't great.
They were caught off guard right from the start.
"Seihou is starting to score!"
In the stands, the Seidou High School baseball team members were discussing the situation on the field.
Based on what they were seeing, things didn't look good.
Seihou had started their offense, and Osaka Kiryu didn't seem able to stop them from scoring.
It seemed that Osaka Kiryu's Koshien journey was about to end here.
Soon, the second batter came up and secured a hit, putting runners on first and third base with no outs.
At this point, the situation was practically decided.
If nothing unexpected happened, the result of the game was clear.
Just when everyone thought so, the Osaka Kiryu dugout, where the Coach looked like no good, smiled and signaled for a substitution.
The pitcher was changed to a first-year rookie, Morishita.
Upon seeing him, someone in Seidou High's stands stood up in shock.
"It's him!"
The tone of Yui Kaoru's voice was abnormal.
It seemed like he knew the new pitcher.
"Do you know him?" Lee-Hyun asked in confusion.
"I don't know him well, but I've heard of him. Among our class of pitchers, apart from Nishiyama and Igarashi, his fame is probably the highest."
One year ago, when the national team roster was being decided, after deciding on Nishiyama as the Ace, the choice had been between Igarashi and Morishita as the substitute.
However, the kid was a bit arrogant. When the national team invited him to be a substitute, he refused without hesitation.
Though he used a sick excuse, rumors had it that he rejected it because he didn't want to be a substitute.
This guy, who didn't join the national team, ended up at Osaka Kiryu.
And now, he was on the field at a critical moment, meaning he must be highly valued at Osaka Kiryu.
Morishita, who hadn't made the national team, had fallen far behind in terms of fame.
But now, not long later, he had already risen again, now serving as Osaka Kiryu's relief pitcher.
Ping!
Snap!
"OUT!"
Whoosh!
Snap!
"OUT!!"
"OUT!!!"
Morishita, the new first-year pitcher, gave the audience a huge surprise.
In a crisis situation with no outs and runners on first and third, he got the first batter out with just one pitch.
The ball was hit high into the air, landing neatly into the outfielder's glove.
The runner on third thought he could steal home, but Osaka Kiryu's players are some of the nation's finest.
The ball was quickly relayed back to the catcher, who tagged the runner out before he could reach home.
Both the batter and the runner on third were eliminated.
The opponents seemed unfazed, as though they didn't take this situation seriously at all.
A first-year rookie, stepping onto the Koshien stage for the first time, showed no signs of nervousness, handling the double play with such ease.
...