<50> First High School Home Run!

Chapter 50: First High School Home Run!

Before Furuya stepped up to the plate, his team had already scored five runs.

Moreover, the situation was promising—no outs and a runner on second base.

As he stood at the batter's box, Furuya felt immense pressure weighing on his shoulders.

"I can't be the one to drag the team down, can I?"

The seniors who batted before him had all performed spectacularly, showcasing Seidou High School's formidable offensive power.

"No matter what, I have to make contact with the ball! I can't be the weak link..."

Raising his bat high, Furuya prepared for an all-out swing.

"Don't put so much pressure on yourself! We've got your back."

At that moment, Kuramochi, who had returned to the dugout, didn't forget to offer some words of encouragement to his teammate.

Of course...

He said this partly out of a sense of pride.

During the first game against Yokohama Port Kohouku, Furuya had made a remarkable impact on the field.

Everyone had witnessed it.

Even though the seniors might be broad-minded, they couldn't ignore this fact.

From that moment on, they had been planning to find an opportunity to show the underclassmen that they, too, were not to be underestimated.

They were determined to prove that their performance on the field could be just as dazzling.

In today's game, although their opponents weren't particularly strong, the seniors had already demonstrated their own fierce offensive capabilities.

That alone was enough.

At this moment, the ace pitcher from Nada High School released the baseball.

"Whoosh!"

The white baseball soared through the air!

The ace pitcher from Nada High School had become numb to the situation. Faced with Seidou High School's continuous hits and runs, he had long forgotten his mission of securing a victory.

At this point, all he could think about was one thing: giving his all to get the first out.

With fewer distractions in his mind, his pitching ability naturally returned.

As the baseball came flying in, Furuya took a decisive swing.

"Wham!"

The powerful sound of the bat cutting through the air was clearly heard by the Nada catcher as Furuya swung.

"Such strength!!"

The Nada High School catcher wasn't surprised by the intensity of Furuya's swing. Given the speed of his pitching, it was only natural that his hitting power would be formidable.

The impact of such a powerful swing could have disastrous consequences if it connected with the ball.

Fortunately, this freshman prodigy from Seidou High wasn't infallible.

His hitting wasn't as solid, and his vision wasn't particularly sharp. As a result, his swing missed the ball by a significant margin—four or five centimeters.

To the naked eye, the bat and the ball never met, and they passed each other by.

"Thwack!"

"A strike!!"

It was astonishing that the seemingly monstrous Furuya missed the ball on the field. This left the Nada High School players and their staunch supporters breathing a sigh of relief.

"Good thing his hitting isn't as intimidating as his pitching."

"I was genuinely worried that Noma couldn't hold up."

On the other hand, the Seidou High School players wore relieved smiles.

In terms of the game, Seidou High School already had victory in sight. Seeing their monstrous teammate struggle on the field was somewhat endearing to them. It was like discovering that the top student in class wasn't perfect after all.

"It's okay, even if he strikes out, we've already won!!"

The seniors were genuinely forgiving.

However, Miyuki, standing on second base, was not pleased.

He still wanted to make it back to home plate. Why were the guys in the dugout already thinking of quitting while he was still in scoring position?

Regardless of the views of Nada High School players or the encouragement from Seidou High School's team, Furuya was not listening.

His eyes were locked intently on the pitcher.

He had never seen a breaking ball with such sharp movement before.

Nada High School's ace pitcher, Noma, was certainly no pushover.

But what truly shocked Furuya was something else entirely.

What stunned Furuya the most was that such a high-level pitcher, facing Seidou High School's batting lineup, was actually being overwhelmed and broken down by them.

"This is just too absurd!!"

He had to admit it.

The seniors of Seidou High School's team were on a whole different level compared to his previous teammates.

They were far more reliable.

For a pitcher, having such a strong lineup backing you up was undoubtedly a tremendous advantage.

Realizing this, Furuya tightly gripped his bat.

Because of this, he couldn't afford to let Seidou High School down.

"Whoosh!"

The second pitch from Nada High's ace also came speeding in.

Furuya swung again, but once more, he missed.

"Thwack!"

"Strike!"

The count moved to two strikes, no balls.

Furuya was in a tight spot.

In the Seidou High School dugout, the players didn't seem surprised by this turn of events.

Especially Kuramochi.

"It's still too early for Furuya to handle this kind of pitcher."

He wasn't defending his junior.

Every batter has their strengths and weaknesses. Even their team's captain, one of Tokyo's top three power hitters, couldn't avoid this.

Let alone Furuya, who was an amateur from middle school softball.

His strongest asset was his explosive power.

And if he couldn't connect with the pitch, that power was meaningless.

"If he can realize his flaws from this at-bat, it would be a worthwhile experience for us at Seidou."

While his teammates were discussing this, Nada High's ace pitched a decisive ball.

Furuya, as before, swung with all his might.

But this time, unlike the previous two, he connected with the ball.

"Ping!"

As the white baseball made contact, everyone at the scene seemed frozen in shock.

They watched in disbelief as the ball soared over their heads.

"It's flying, it's flying out!!!!"

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