<83> Three Strikeouts!

Chapter 83: Three Strikeouts!

"Strikeout!!"

Carlos, with his dark complexion, stood frozen for a moment, struggling to accept the brutal reality of the result.

He turned his head in disbelief, staring at the boy on the pitcher's mound.

At the same time, the scene of the baseball rising just before it reached him replayed over and over in his mind.

"A monster! This kid really is a monster!"

Carlos had faced plenty of tough pitchers before.

Just looking at their own ace pitcher, he knew Inashiro wasn't lacking in talent.

During team practices, Carlos had suffered his fair share of difficulties.

But even with all that experience, facing Furuya's pitch just now had left him feeling completely overwhelmed.

How fast does a person have to pitch for the ball to rise like that after being thrown?

As Carlos stepped off the field, he crossed paths with his teammate Shirakawa.

Shirakawa muttered quietly, "Come on, it's not like you couldn't even hit the ball, right? You practically did them a favor!"

Carlos, as one of the team's core players, had a huge impact on the entire Inashiro squad's mindset when he was at the plate.

"That kid isn't as simple as you think. If you're not on high alert, you're going to get burned too! Shirakawa!"

Carlos said with a bitter smile.

Hearing his teammate's advice, Shirakawa frowned and gave Carlos a closer look.

Given how well he knew Carlos, he was certain Carlos wouldn't say something like that without reason.

Now that he had said it, it meant that, in Carlos' eyes, this first-year pitcher named Furuya Satoru was anything but ordinary.

"He's just a first-year brat, nothing but a fastball pitcher…"

Although Shirakawa knew Carlos wasn't lying, he still stubbornly declared that once he stepped into the batter's box, he'd definitely teach this Seido rookie pitcher a lesson.

In the stands, Seido's die-hard supporters and the players in Seido's dugout were all beaming.

It was obvious that they highly approved of Furuya's performance on the field.

But for that very reason, if Seido's current pitcher were to run into trouble, the entire Seido team's morale would take a serious hit.

Just thinking about it made Shirakawa's heart race with excitement.

Though he wasn't very tall, his hitting technique was exceptional.

Shirakawa and Inashiro's leadoff batter, Carlos, had always been a crucial scoring combination for their team.

Now that Carlos had faltered, everyone was still caught up in the terror of Furuya's incredible pitching.

With one out and no one on base, Shirakawa was left to fight alone.

Given the circumstances, Shirakawa's mentality should have been affected.

But he showed no sign of it.

Despite his brash words, he was extremely cautious in his preparation for the at-bat.

He gripped his bat tightly with both hands, his eyes fixed intently on the pitcher's mound, never blinking.

It seemed like the moment the ball flew toward him, he would swing without hesitation.

He gave off a very dangerous vibe.

Behind the plate, Miyuki pressed his lips together.

"Don't be fooled by his short stature. His toughness ranks among the top three in the entire Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team. In many ways, Shirakawa's skills are very similar to Kominato-senpai."

Miyuki glanced up at the pitcher's mound.

Just how tough was Kominato Ryousuke from Seidou High School on the field?

No one knew better than Seidou's own players.

Facing an opponent like Shirakawa, who was so similar to Kominato, even Furuya would need to stay on high alert.

That was Miyuki's honest thought.

Although Furuya's pitching had never disappointed him thus far, Miyuki never believed that Furuya's pitches were unbeatable.

To shut down the opponent, he would have to keep a clear head at all times.

Furuya stood tall on the mound, taking a deep breath before lifting his leg.

As his foot came down, the baseball shot out of his hand with a roar.

Whoosh!

The ball, thrown by Furuya, sped toward the strike zone like an unknown creature, wild and unpredictable.

Standing in the batter's box, Shirakawa's face turned pale as the ball closed in on him.

Before the game, Inashiro Industrial had done extensive preparation.

Even though they couldn't immediately hit a ball traveling over 150 km/h, their coach, Kunitomo, had them all practice against a pitching machine to get accustomed to that speed.

There are some things that players have to experience for themselves to understand fully.

That was Kunitomo's philosophy.

And it wasn't wrong.

But when Shirakawa finally stood in the batter's box, facing Furuya's pitch, he was dumbfounded.

Even though he had seen 150 km/h pitches before, the ball from the machine was dead compared to what Furuya was throwing.

The pitch from the machine was lifeless, while Furuya's pitch felt alive.

There was no way to predict where it would go next.

In the blink of an eye, the ball was right in front of Shirakawa, and he hadn't even flinched.

The ball zipped through the strike zone and smacked hard into Miyuki's glove.

Smack!

"Strike!"

Behind the plate, Miyuki's lips curled into a grin.

Earlier, he had been worried about Furuya.

But now, that concern seemed childish and laughable.

Did Furuya really need him to worry?

Against Furuya's blistering fastball, even Shirakawa was helpless.

It wasn't just that Shirakawa couldn't hit the ball.

Even if he managed to make contact, there was no way he'd be able to hit it far.

Shirakawa simply didn't have the power to challenge Furuya's pitch.

"Hah, you're really not a cute underclassman!" Miyuki thought.

Even Miyuki himself found it hard to believe how terrifying this young prodigy was.

"Strike!"

"Strike two!"

"Strikeout!"

While Shirakawa and the crowd stood in stunned silence, he had been struck out.

The next batter, their third in the lineup, quickly followed suit.

"Strike!"

"Strikeout!"

"Three outs! Side retired!"

Furuya struck out three batters in a row!

Ironically, the biggest threat to Furuya wasn't Shirakawa or the third batter but Carlos.

Carlos had the physical ability to keep up with a 150 km/h pitch.

Compared to Carlos, Shirakawa and the others didn't stand a chance.

No matter how refined Shirakawa's technique was, without the speed and power to back it up, he couldn't touch Furuya's pitches.

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