Time passed quickly, and July arrived—signaling the official start of the Summer Tournament.
As a seeded team, Seido would enter the competition directly in the third round.
For an entire week, the first string focused on maintaining peak condition. On the day before the match, all twenty first-string members gathered in the conference room.
Coach Kataoka and Ochiai Hiromitsu stood at the front, analyzing information about their upcoming opponent—Nihon Shono High School.
(In the original work, Nihon Shono High School appeared in the second round and Eigen High School in the third.
Here, Nihon Shono High School is directly placed in the third round, and Tomurata Higashi is omitted.)
In less than half an hour, the meeting came to an end.
Coach Kataoka picked up the lineup sheet.
"Tomorrow's starting lineup."
The room immediately fell silent.
"Lead-off, shortstop—Kuramochi Yoichi."
"Second, second base—Kominato Ryosuke."
"Third, center field—Isashiki Jun."
"Fourth, first base—Yuki Tetsuya."
"Fifth, left field—Kanzaki Ryou."
"Sixth, catcher—Miyuki Kazuya."
"Seventh, third base—Masuko Toru."
"Eighth, right field—Shirasu Kenjiro."
"Ninth, pitcher—Furuya Satoru."
As soon as the lineup was announced, Kanzaki Ryou casually kicked the back of Furuya Satoru's chair.
"Do your best, kid. Don't get blown up."
"I won't let them hit my pitches!" Furuya turned around seriously.
"Well~ confidence is good," Kanzaki yawned and stretched.
"Just remember—baseball isn't a one-man sport."
Though he wouldn't be pitching in the early rounds, Kanzaki didn't mind.
Batting was easier on his shoulder, conserved stamina, and—most importantly—gave him chances to send balls flying over the fence.
Especially against a team like Nihon Shono High School.
Coach Kataoka had clearly taken that into consideration. Otherwise, Kanzaki wouldn't have been placed in left field so early—normally, the Coach preferred saving him until the quarterfinals.
"Sawamura."
Coach Kataoka suddenly turned.
Sawamura Eijun, who had been sulking about not starting, instantly sprang to his feet like a trained dog.
"Yes, General! Please give your orders!
If you want me to replace Furuya as the starter, that's absolutely no problem!"
Coach Kataoka's face darkened.
"General" wasn't much better than Kanzaki's "Boss."
"Get ready," Coach Kataoka said flatly. "You'll pitch tomorrow too."
"Yes! Mission accepted, General!"
Coach Kataoka turned away, helpless.
The attitude was fine… but hearing those titles in front of everyone was still awkward.
West Tokyo Area — Hachioji Citizens Stadium
Summer Tournament Preliminary Round, Third Round
Seido High School vs. Nihon Shono High School
Before taking the field, Kanzaki Ryou—already in batting gear—walked up to Furuya and Sawamura.
"If you two can't finish this in five innings," he said lightly,
"you'll each run ten extra laps when we get back."
"…Huh?"
"…Eh?"
Both first-years froze.
There was a punishment?!
Neither dared say a word.
"Tsk, the pressure's on."
"Kanzaki, you're ruthless."
"Straight-up bullying."
"I think it's good. Coach didn't object."
"What if it messes with their pitching?"
"So what?" someone replied. "We still have Tanba and Kawakami."
"Exactly. Our Ace hasn't even moved yet."
At that moment—
"Hm. Kanzaki's right," Coach Kataoka said calmly.
"If this goes beyond five innings, prepare for extra training."
Furuya and Sawamura felt their pressure double.
Phew—
Furuya exhaled slowly.
No matter what… I have to suppress them.
Seido batted first.
Nihon Shono High School's starting pitcher wasn't their ace left-hander.
Instead—
"Number 10, pitcher—Nanpei Mamoru."
A third-year.
A submarine pitcher.
Kuramochi Yoichi stepped into the batter's box without rushing. There was almost no data on this pitcher.
As lead-off, my job is to get on base.
But without information… I can't swing recklessly.
Whoosh!
The first pitch came in.
Kuramochi's expression darkened.
Slow.
Not even 120 km/h.
But the trajectory—
Low.
Unnaturally low.
The ball floated up slightly, then sank sharply.
Kuramochi glanced back at the mound.
Submarine… figures.
Because of their release point, submarine pitchers usually threw slower pitches. But in exchange, they had excellent control and awkward angles—balls that were deceptively hard to hit cleanly.
Whoosh!
The second pitch came.
This time, Kuramochi swung decisively.
Bang!
The ball shot toward first base.
"Foul!"
"Strike!"
"Tsk."
He hadn't caught it properly.
The pitch location was tricky, and the speed seriously messed with his rhythm.
During normal practice, what kind of pitches did they see?
150 km/h was common.
Suddenly facing something this slow felt… wrong.
In the Nihon Shono dugout, their Coach—Chiba Junichi, a large man with an equally bold personality—smiled smugly.
"Heh. Without pitcher data, even Seido will stumble."
"Chiba-style Win-Loss Iron Rule Number One—
seize the initiative by any means necessary."
In his view, a powerhouse like Seido would never take a weak team seriously in their first match.
After all, they'd even started a first-year pitcher.
On the mound, Nanpei Mamoru prepared to throw his third pitch.
Phew—
Kuramochi relaxed his grip.
Tricky, sure… but only a little.
As the ball left the pitcher's hand, Kuramochi dropped his center of gravity and swung with force—