"Bottom of the fourth inning. One out, runner on second."
"The count is one strike and no balls against Inashiro's third batter, Yoshizawa."
"Seidou's ace, Ushijima Wakatoshi, is on the mound. Let's see how he handles this situation."
The commentator continued his excited play-by-play.
On the mound, Ushijima glanced at Carlos standing on second base.
Once a runner reached second, he was considered to be in scoring position.
And Yoshizawa wasn't an easy opponent. As one of Inashiro's core hitters, he possessed excellent all-around batting ability.
But Ushijima didn't pay much attention to the runner.
His focus remained on the batter.
Whoosh!
He delivered the next pitch.
Standing in the right-handed batter's box, Yoshizawa saw what looked like a fastball coming toward him.
He stepped forward and swung decisively.
But just before reaching the plate, the ball suddenly broke inward.
Crack!
The ball glanced off the bat and shot foul.
"Foul ball!"
The umpire waved his hand.
"Damn it."
"The previous pitch was a Sinker running into the inside corner, and this one was a Shootball."
"If I can't correctly predict which pitch is coming inside, there's no way I can make solid contact."
Yoshizawa felt tremendous pressure.
Normally, inside pitches were easier for hitters to handle.
Outside pitches were farther away and generally more difficult to drive.
Yet Ushijima loved attacking the inner half of the plate with moving fastballs.
Whoosh!
The next pitch came.
Middle-in trajectory...
Which one is it? A Shootball? A Sinker? A Two-Seamer?
Yoshizawa hesitated.
That split second was fatal.
The baseball seemed to arrive instantly before suddenly cutting away toward the outside corner.
Damn it! I knew it!
I still got fooled!
Whoosh!
His bat cut through empty air.
Smack!
The ball settled into Miyuki's mitt.
"Strike three! Batter out!"
The umpire's voice rang across the stadium.
"Cutter!"
"A vicious Cutter!"
"After establishing the inside corner with the Sinker and Shootball, Ushijima finishes Yoshizawa with a sharp Cutter away!"
"That's his eighth strikeout of the game!"
The crowd erupted.
Even with a runner in scoring position, Ushijima had overpowered the batter.
The next hitter stepping into the box was Inashiro's cleanup batter.
Masatoshi Harada.
"Harada, let's go!"
"One hit is all we need!"
"Tie this game up!"
The Inashiro supporters roared their encouragement.
Harada entered the batter's box and fixed his gaze on Ushijima.
"Phew..."
Even he felt the pressure.
But Ushijima showed no hesitation.
The first pitch came immediately.
An inside Shootball.
Harada reacted instantly and swung.
Smack!
The ball slammed into Miyuki's glove.
He was late.
Inside corner...
Fast.
Harada narrowed his eyes.
With Miyuki calling the game, no pitch could be ruled out.
The second pitch followed.
This time it was a Sinker.
Harada had been expecting a Cutter.
His swing started before he realized the ball wasn't breaking away.
Instead, it dropped sharply toward the inside corner.
"Damn it."
"I've been completely played."
Now the count was quickly in Ushijima's favor.
For the third pitch, Ushijima came set once again.
Harada locked onto the ball.
Then he swung.
CRACK!
The sharp sound echoed throughout the stadium.
Every Seidou player immediately looked toward left field.
Carlos, standing on second base, reacted as well.
The moment the ball left the bat, he prepared to score.
"A hit to left field!"
On the mound, Ushijima calmly turned his head toward left.
Then, to everyone's surprise, he slowly lowered his head and began walking off the mound as if the play was already over.
"Furuya!"
Kuramochi shouted toward left field.
Furuya sprinted toward the ball.
Thud!
The baseball landed safely in front of him.
The Inashiro crowd exploded with excitement.
"Nice hit, Harada!"
"Extra bases!"
"We've got a run!"
Carlos rounded third at full speed.
The third-base coach frantically waved him home.
From his angle, Furuya had only just picked up the ball.
There was no way a throw could reach home in time.
At least, that's what everyone thought.
Meanwhile, Ushijima smiled faintly.
"Sorry."
"We've got a Barrett waiting in left field."
Harada froze.
Something about Ushijima's calm reaction felt wrong.
But Carlos never noticed.
His eyes remained fixed on the third-base coach.
He charged toward home.
The moment Furuya picked up the ball, the atmosphere changed.
Every Seidou player smiled knowingly.
Even if Carlos had already passed third—
It didn't matter.
BOOM!
Furuya unleashed the throw with everything he had.
The force behind it shocked everyone.
Even Inashiro's coaching staff instinctively stood up.
Whoosh!
The baseball tore through the air like a white bolt of lightning.
Harada stared in disbelief from first base.
The throw was absurdly fast.
The ball shot past Carlos.
Smack!
Miyuki, positioned slightly to the third-base side of home plate, caught it cleanly.
Carlos was still nearly two meters away.
"What?!"
His eyes widened.
How was that possible?
The ball had traveled almost the entire length of the field.
Yet it reached home before he could.
The moment Miyuki tagged him out, Carlos finally turned to look toward left field.
What he saw was Furuya still finishing his throwing motion.
"Out! Side retired!"
The umpire's call echoed across the stadium.
The bottom of the fourth inning was over.
What looked like a sure run for Inashiro had been erased by Seidou's cannon-armed left fielder.
A perfect display of why Furuya Satoru was known as Seidou's Barrett.