abcnovels
Chapter 175: Sixth Round (24)
Chapter 175: Sixth Round (24)
Shun returned to the mound at the bottom of the eighth inning to the cheers of the crowd. With Shoto leading 1-0, Coach Yamada decided to trust Shun and let him pitch again, though, of course, he was unaware of one crucial detail.
The legendary skill that had boosted Shun's performance in the previous inning, clutch player, was no longer active since Shun's team was now winning. But, of course, Shun was confident he could close the game without his skill, otherwise, he would have informed the coach himself.
"Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga!"
"Sho- to! Sho- to! Sho- to! Sho- to!"
"Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga!"
"Sho- to! Sho- to! Sho- to! Sho- to!"
The crowd's chants continued to fill the stadium, and even though they were losing, Kasuga's fans didn't stop making noise as their captain and catcher walked to the batter's box to start the inning.
Shun calmly watched Kasuga's cleanup hitter. He knew he could no longer rely on his clutch player skill to boost his performance, so the only way he could win this duel was by forcing Kasuga's fourth batter into poor contact.
Luckily, Shun had explained very well to Daigo the areas where Kasuga's cleanup hitter struggled the most. Thanks to arena review mode, Shun knew that the fourth batter had trouble making good contact with breaking balls on the inside and low part of the zone. That's exactly what Daigo called for, a horizontal slider inside.
WOOSH
DONG
Even with good location, the pitch's lack of speed allowed the batter to identify it well, making solid contact with a line drive toward center field.
PAH
"Out!" - Fortunately, the hit went straight to Kenta's glove, securing the first out of the duel.
"Yeeeeaahhh! One more! One more! One more!" - The crowd erupted with excitement at the first out, and no one seemed to notice the drop in velocity, as with each out, Shun's perfect game was getting closer.
The fourth batter returned to the dugout with his head down, understanding how much his team needed a hit at that moment. Passing him was the fifth batter, walking toward the batter's box with a determined expression.
Imai stepped into the batter's box, gripping his bat tightly, clearly determined to make up for the run he'd given up with his pitching.
Shun smiled, seeing the determination on Imai's face. Hearing the loud noise from the crowd, Shun couldn't help but feel excited for the duel. And so, both Shun and Imai poured all their remaining energy into the face-off.
WOOSH
DING
"Foul!"
WOOSH
DING
"Foul!"
WOOSH
DING
"Foul!"
The first three pitches of the duel were within the zone, but Imai managed to make contact with each one, sending them into foul territory. This time, people in the stadium began to notice the drop in Shun's pitch speed, which barely reached 130 km/h now. But Shun wasn't bothered by it.
"HA!" - He followed Daigo's glove and threw with all he had.
WOOSH
DING
Imai made contact with the ball again, sending it high toward third base. Daigo removed his helmet and ran toward the ball, while Tomo, at third base, also ran toward it, hoping to secure the out.
But as they studied the ball's trajectory, the two boys slowed down, watching the ball head toward Kasuga's dugout.
"Huh?" - Just as Tomo stopped, he noticed a blur in his vision, spotting a figure sprinting toward Kasuga's dugout. All he could make out was the number 10 on the back of the figure.
"What the heck?!" - Kasuga's players yelled as they hurried back in the dugout, trying not to get hit by the boy rushing toward them.
Meanwhile, Shun was running as fast as he could, keeping his eyes on the ball in the air, unfazed by the dugout ahead. The moment Shun believed he could catch it, he leaped into the air, stretching his glove toward the ball.
POW
"SHUN SENPAI!!" - Daigo shouted in panic as he watched Shun tumble dangerously into Kasuga's dugout. At that moment, the entire stadium fell silent, anxiously looking toward Kasuga's dugout.
Coach Yamada climbed the dugout steps, rushing toward Kasuga's dugout to check on Shun. Kenta, Ren, and the other players also began running toward Kasuga's dugout, but the first person to arrive was the third-base umpire.
"Are you okay, kid?!" - The third-base umpire asked, concerned, as he looked at the scene. Shun was lying face down on the floor of Kasuga's dugout in a strange position, with all of Kasuga's players staring at him in panic, unsure what to do.
Shun heard the umpire's words and started to move, turning over so that he lay on his back as he raised his glove hand into the air.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine!" - Shun said with a smile and a bit of pain, opening his glove slightly to show the umpire the ball inside.
"Huh? O- Out!" - The umpire looked at the situation in disbelief, but seeing the ball in the boy's glove, he had no choice but to announce the out.
"I'm sorry." - Shun quickly stood up and bowed toward Kasuga's coach and players, apologizing for the mess he had made in their dugout. Without taking long, Shun climbed the dugout steps, reappearing for everyone in the stadium.
"YEEEEAAHHH!!!" - A deafening roar came from the stands as everyone saw that the boy had not only made the out but also seemed to be fine.
Unfortunately, Shun couldn't pay much attention to the noise, as an irritated voice was yelling at him inside his head.
[You idiot! Do you think you're Superman, huh? Do you have any idea of the risk you just took?! You're a pitcher! Pitchers can't be that reckless! Stupid! Stupid boy!]
'I'm sorry...' - Shun sighed as he apologized to the old man in his head. As much as the old man was shouting and scolding him, Shun knew he was only worried about him getting hurt, so he didn't get angry.
But, of course, if he had a button to mute the man's voice, he would definitely press it, as even after he apologized, the old man continued to shout in his head nonstop.