<34> Furuya Satoru's First Experience

Chapter 34: Furuya Satoru's First Experience

"Boom…"

With an imposing swing, the bat sent the baseball soaring into the air.

In that instant, everyone's attention in the stadium was riveted on that small white ball as it flew toward the sky.

"Did it clear?"

Even Seidou High School's die-hard supporters found it hard to believe what they were witnessing.

It's no wonder they were skeptical. The Yokohama Kohouku ace had been suppressing Seidou so effectively that their prideful batting lineup had managed only three runs.

If this ball went out, they would immediately secure a two-run home run, turning their previous deficit into a two-run lead. Just the thought of such a turnaround made Seidou's players and supporters' hearts race.

As for the Yokohama Kohouku fans, they didn't even need to wait for the ball to clear the fence; seeing the ball fly toward the sky already had their hearts in their throats.

Amidst all eyes, the baseball flew over a hundred meters.

The Yokohama Kohouku ace felt his strength utterly drained. Despite all his precautions, he couldn't prevent this situation.

At the last crucial moment, an agile figure leapt up. Just as the ball was about to smash against the wall, he caught it securely in his glove.

"Pop!"

"Out! Three outs, switch sides!!"

As one of the top teams in the nation, Yokohama Kohouku's standout players were more than just their ace pitcher; they had excellent outfielders as well.

Seeing this unfold, the hearts of Seidou High School's supporters sank. They realized the gravity of the situation. With their fifth batter out, the scoring opportunity they had been striving for was unlikely to reappear soon. It would probably take until extra innings for their top batters to have another chance.

In contrast, their opponents...

They were now at their 8th batter, which meant that in the final inning, they'd have their core hitters up to bat.

"Can Furuya hold on?"

Even though Furuya had shown outstanding performance earlier, he was still just a first-year rookie. Truth be told, the players and supporters of Seidou High School weren't sure if Furuya could maintain his pitching pace for much longer.

As these thoughts crossed their minds, Yokohama Kohouku began making substitutions at the plate, replacing their lower-order batter with a powerful pinch hitter.

"Is Yokohama Kohouku going all out?"

Miyuki quickly realized the opponent's strategy. However, he wasn't worried.

"You're doing well. It doesn't matter who's in the batter's box. Just focus on pitching well," Miyuki advised Furuya before crouching back into his catcher's stance.

Furuya smirked on the mound. Why would he be concerned? With a 154 km/h pitch, as long as he threw strikes, he was confident that Yokohama Kohouku, having not adequately prepared, wouldn't hit his pitches.

In this situation, the more desperate Yokohama Kohouku got, the more it would work against them.

Furuya took his stance and unleashed his first pitch without hesitation.

"BOOMM!!"

Even if Yokohama Kohouku's batter had seen Furuya's pitching from the dugout, standing in the batter's box for the first time against him gave him the urge to run.

It was too fast! The baseball seemed to reach him in an instant. To overcome his fear, he gritted his teeth and swung the bat.

Naturally, he came up empty.

"Pop!"

"Strike!"

"Strike!!"

"Strike!!!"

"Strikeout!"

"Strikeout!!"

"Strikeout!!!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Furuya struck out three batters cleanly with just nine pitches. Combined with the three strikeouts he had achieved earlier, he had now secured six consecutive strikeouts.

The Yokohama Kohouku supporters, who moments ago were celebrating, suddenly found themselves speechless, as if they'd swallowed something the wrong way. Their faces turned red with frustration and disbelief.

"What is going on!"

"This guy is terrifying!"

"Are you idiots? Two of those pitches were outside the strike zone, why did you swing?"

The Yokohama Kohouku coach was visibly agitated. Among the nine pitches Furuya threw, two were indeed outside the strike zone. However, it was clear to any keen observer that this was intentional, aimed at unsettling the confidence of Yokohama Kohouku's batters.

If they started to hold back as a result, they might not hit anything at all later.

At that moment, no one dared challenge their coach. Arguing with a coach who had lost his composure would only make things worse for them.

"The game isn't over yet, we still have a chance, so stay focused!"

The Yokohama Kohouku coach realized his error but he wouldn't admit it. Instead, he focused on something more crucial: detaching himself from the situation to carefully observe Furuya's pitching, hoping to detect any weaknesses.

"There must be something! His pitching can't be flawless," the Yokohama Kohouku coach muttered to himself.

From his perspective, a high school pitcher without any flaws was unheard of, especially a first-year rookie.

"Why did he pitch those two balls outside?"

While the Yokohama Kohouku coach pondered this, the game entered its final inning. The score remained tied at 3:3.

Seidou High School's offense began with their sixth batter, catcher, number 2, Miyuki Kazuya.

Before stepping up to the plate, Miyuki patted Furuya on the shoulder.

"In the end, it's up to us, the battery, to carry the team," he said confidently. Yet, Furuya felt immense pressure.

"Don't pile the pressure on our first-year ace; his pitching has been spot on. What you need to do as the sixth batter is get a hit!" Kuramochi remarked with dissatisfaction.

From his perspective, their main catcher seemed to do nothing but boast.

"I'll definitely hit it!"

"Let's not forget there's no one on base right now!"

Miyuki responded smoothly, while Kuramochi pointed out the obvious.

As Miyuki stood at the plate, preparing to bat, Furuya also changed into his batting gear, waiting his turn in the on-deck circle. This was his first at-bat in his first official high school game.

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