The Old Baseball Player System

Chapter 163: Sixth Round (12)

With one out and no runners on base, Takeya, Shoto's ninth batter, stepped into the batter's box as Kasuga's crowd continued cheering loudly. Knowing that the top of the order would bat after Takeya, Imai was determined not to let Shoto's ninth batter reach base.

And that's exactly what he did. Imai started the duel with a low and outside four-seam fastball in the zone. Takeya misread the pitch and let it pass, starting the count with a strike.

For the second pitch, Imai threw his curveball at the top of the zone, inducing a swing and miss from Takeya, taking the count to two strikes and no balls. Cornered in the count, Takeya found himself forced to swing at anything close to the zone, and that's what he did.

WOOSH

DING

PAH

"Out!" - Takeya made weak contact with Imai's cutter, sending the ball straight into the first baseman's glove. With two outs and no one on base, Shun stepped into the batter's box for the third time in the game.

"Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga!"

"Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga!"

The noise from Kasuga's crowd grew even louder as Shun stepped into the batter's box. It was evident to everyone in the stadium that the boy was having the best performance for Shoto, both defensively and offensively, and Kasuga's fans would do everything they could to unnerve Shun.

Shun gave a slight smile as he listened to the crowd shouting even louder. He then calmly looked at Imai on the mound. Even with two outs, he had no intention of giving up the offense this inning, especially since he had full confidence that he could put himself in scoring position with his hit.

Over the past few days, Shun had spent a lot of time in the arena's review mode, and most of that time he had analyzed the pitches of Kasuga's ace, Shota Imai. Shun had memorized the trajectory, break, habits, and mechanics of Imai's pitches. He knew the curveball's drop, the cutter's movement, and the path of the four-seam. Thanks to this, on the first pitch of the duel, Shun swung his bat without hesitation.

WOOSH

DONG

Imai threw a great cutter low and inside the zone, but Shun had no trouble sending the ball flying to left field. By the time the fielder retrieved the ball, Shun had already reached second base with ease, silencing Kasuga's crowd.

"Tch! That annoying guy..." - Imai muttered on the mound as he looked at Shun standing on second base. Kasuga's ace clearly wanted to finish his first inning in a dominant fashion, but Shun ruined his plans.

---

Meanwhile, in the stands above Shoto Junior High's dugout...

"Damn! Kenshin Jr. is hitting really well too!" - Masahiro said, surprised after seeing Shun get a hit in all three of his at-bats. After watching Shun's flawless pitching form and incredible sliders, Masahiro had concluded that the boy had focused his energy on pitching. However, seeing Shun's great batting performance today, Masahiro realized that the boy had also put a lot of effort into his hitting.

"He probably has as much talent for batting as he does for pitching, if not a bit more..." - Kazuma Ushida nodded as he watched Shun on second base, impressed. The first time he heard Jack talk about Shun, he thought the man was favoring his grandson. But seeing Shun's performance today, he began to understand Jack's praise.

"Looks like Takenodai got lucky that he's your grandson, Jack..." - Ushida murmured with relief. He clearly understood that when other elite high schools found out about Shun, the boy would have plenty of offers. But since the boy was Jack's grandson, it seemed logical that he would choose his grandfather's school.

"Don't get it wrong, Ushida. The only person who will choose where Shun plays is Shun himself." - Jack spoke calmly as he watched his grandson on the field. Ushida was surprised by Jack's words, but he could see a certain gleam in the man's eyes. It was obvious that Jack would love to coach his grandson.

"Hahahah, you're right, Jack! But if you ask me, I'd say the only goal the boy has is to play for you at Takenodai." - Kenshin laughed excitedly. He understood his son's desire to play on his grandfather's team.

"Who knows..." - Jack murmured thoughtfully as he looked at the field.

---

Back on the field, the young samurai, Ren, stepped into the batter's box. With two outs and Shun on second base, Ren was determined to bring Shun home. On the other hand, Imai was equally determined to end this inning without giving up a run.

The duel started with a cutter on the inside of the strike zone. Ren managed to make contact with the ball, but only enough to send it foul. The second pitch was a curveball outside the zone, Imai tried to induce a swing and miss with it, but Ren held his swing, tying the count at one ball and one strike.

The third pitch of the duel was another cutter, this time low and outside in the zone. Once again, Ren only managed to send the ball foul. With two strikes and one ball, the young samurai found himself in a tough spot.

WOOSH

DING

"Foul!"

WOOSH

DING

"Foul!"

But like a true samurai, Ren didn't give up so easily. Even cornered in the count, he stayed alive, fouling off both a four-seam fastball and a cutter in the zone. On the sixth pitch of the duel, Kasuga's catcher signaled for another curveball, this time inside the strike zone.

"HA!" - Imai shouted as he threw the ball with everything he had.

"Damn, it's in the zone, I have to swing!" - Ren made his decision in an instant, planting his foot firmly as he swung his bat, aiming to send the ball flying.

WOOSH

PAH

"Strikeout! 3 outs, changeover!" - The umpire announced as Ren failed to make contact with the curveball.

"Yeeeahh!" - Imai roared on the mound as he started his way back to the dugout.

"Yeeeeaahhh!!" - Even louder than Imai, Kasuga's players and crowd roared in excitement at the end of the top of the fifth inning.

"Fuck!" - Ren muttered in frustration as he returned to the dugout, disappointed with himself.