Kitamura residence, living room.
Kitamura Kou's parents, along with the father of the Tsukishima sisters, sat glued to the television, completely absorbed in the live broadcast.
The delicious food laid out on the table and the aroma of freshly opened beer might as well not have existed—they didn't even glance at it. All their attention was fixed on the commentator's voice.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we've reached the bottom of the eighth inning in the final between Yakushi High School and Inashiro Industrial High School! Since Yakushi took the lead in the fifth inning with a spectacular inside-the-park home run, the game has once again turned into a fierce pitching duel. The score remains 1–0. Inashiro now has only two innings left to turn things around!"
Just as the commentator said—
After striking out Narumiya Mei in the fifth inning, Kitamura Kou immediately shifted strategies. Mixing in two-seam fastballs, he forced Riku Yamaoka into an easy groundout to end the inning.
In the sixth inning, although Kou continued to show dominance, Narumiya Mei remained unfazed. He skillfully used his forkball and pitch variety to suppress Yakushi's lineup, shutting down Daiki Fukuda and Kazuma Akiba with the help of Inashiro's solid defense.
Kou responded in kind—needing only six pitches to secure three outs.
In the top of the seventh inning, Todoroki Raichi finally broke through again, smashing a changeup for a clean hit between second and third base.
Then Kou stepped up to bat and drove Narumiya's forkball deep into center field—
But Carlos Toshiki made a brilliant defensive play, chasing it down before it could reach the stands.
Inashiro's morale surged.
Their defense—far stronger than Yakushi's—held firm. As expected, Mishima Yuta and Akaishi Osamu failed to capitalize, ending the inning scoreless.
Bottom of the seventh.
Carlos stepped up for his third at-bat—but still couldn't overcome Kou. Even with Kou lowering his velocity to conserve stamina, his precise corner pitches and sharp variations shut Carlos down.
Then came Shirakawa Katsuyuki and Hideaki Yoshizawa—
Both retired cleanly.
Top of the eighth.
Narumiya Mei had already thrown over 110 pitches, and fatigue was beginning to show—but he still managed to suppress Yakushi's lower lineup.
And now—
Bottom of the eighth inning.
Inashiro Industrial's core lineup stepped up.
This could very well be their last chance.
Kou's pitch count was nearing 100, and he had already entered the ZONE twice—draining significant stamina. Though his pitch count was lower than Narumiya's, the actual fatigue between them was about the same.
Maybe even worse for Kou.
Now—
It was simply a matter of who would break first.
Masatoshi Harada understood this better than anyone.
If he didn't deliver here—
There would be no comeback.
But under that immense pressure, his thoughts began to scatter again. The fearless aura he had shown earlier was gone.
Noticing this, Narumiya Mei frowned slightly before shouting:
"Masa-san! Stop overthinking! Where's that energy from your last at-bat? You're the cleanup hitter—act like one! Don't make me look down on you!"
Harada snapped immediately.
"Shut up, you arrogant brat! Show some respect—I'm your senior!"
This time, Narumiya didn't argue. Instead, he grinned.
"That's more like it. That's the spirit we need. We haven't lost yet!"
Harada let out a long breath, locking his gaze onto Kou.
"…How embarrassing. Getting fired up by a junior."
But the hesitation was gone.
Even if he couldn't fully return to his earlier peak—
He was ready.
On the mound, Kou smiled faintly.
"They're really persistent… like they just won't go down."
Compared to Seido High School baseball team, Inashiro's tenacity felt even more suffocating.
Seido's young pitchers had talent—but lacked experience.
Inashiro?
They had both.
"But that just makes it more exciting."
Kou's fading momentum surged once more.
"Walking a tightrope at the edge of a cliff… that's where the thrill is."
"BOOM!!!"
152 km/h.
The pitch roared toward the plate, targeting the inner corner.
Harada didn't hesitate—
"THUMP!!!"
"Strike!"
He missed.
He reset his stance immediately.
Second pitch—
"BOOM!!!"
150 km/h.
"PING!"
Foul ball.
Kou didn't give him time to breathe.
Third pitch—
"BOOM!!!"
154 km/h.
A blazing fastball straight down the line—
Harada… didn't swing.
"THUMP!!!"
The ball snapped into Akaishi's glove.
It was incredibly close—
Just centimeters from the edge of the strike zone.
Strike… or ball?
It all depended on the umpire.
With nowhere left to retreat, Harada stared at the umpire—
Waiting for the verdict.