"Bang!"

Without giving the hitter more time to react, catcher Hideshi Kobayashi lifted his sleeve inward to catch the pitcher's baseball from behind the low post in the inside corner.

“Strike out.“ With his palm facing up, the chief judge straightens his right hand upwards and instructs the hitter to be knocked out by the pitcher, and the bottom half of the third inning is over.

"Three out, swap guards."

Yagami who withdrew from the field with Senior Fukuda and returned to the rest area, looking at Shodai Tanaka, who was a little pale but smiling because of the strikeouts, was not in good physical condition, but he was able to perform like this, so he had to sigh: "It is worthy of being the trump card of the team that has topped the country twice!" ”

It is extremely rare for a high school student to use a slider as a straight ball in any country, and once such a Tanaka shodai is in good shape, he can definitely keep a clean sheet on the Seimchi line, leading Komaomachi to dominate the country once again, becoming the second team in Koshien's history to dominate the country three times in a row.

……

In the first half of the fourth inning, after the hitter Ryuya Nakazawa raised his bat high to prepare for the blow, Yagami Yagami waved his arm and threw a slippery ball high to home plate.

"Whew!"

The baseball, which flew in front of the hitter's chest at a speed of 133 km/h, only showed a noticeable change in its fall after it crossed the good ball area to the right, and finally caught it firmly by the ball sleeve lifted upwards by the catcher Chris when it flew to the back of the right hitting area.

"Bang!"

“Ball.“

Shaking his shoulders and waving his bat with his left hand, Ryu Nakazawa also held the bat high with both hands while turning his head to look at the pitcher.

"Whew!"

Yagami threw a near-belt curveball with a swing of his arm, and when it moved diagonally down at a speed of 126km/h to the back of the low position in the outer corner, the batter Ryuya Nakazawa swung over hit the ball and turned into a low ball that flew out of bounds to the left.

"Ping!"

"Smack!"

The baseball, which landed just after flying out of the infield sideline, rolled towards the off-field area between third base and the base-running instructor area, and was then picked up by Yuya Miki, who ran to the side of the base-running instructor area.

"Out of bounds!" Standing on the sideline behind third base, the third base judge saw this and raised his hands at a 45-degree angle.

After the ball was level, Yagami reached forward with his right foot and threw a near-belt slider with his left hand towards home plate.

"Whew!"

"Ping!"

The baseball, which was moved sideways from the front of the batter's belt to the back of the low position in the outside corner, was hit by the bat, which was swung vigorously by the batter, and was bounced forward onto the ground in front of the left home plate.

"Smack!"

The baseball, which bounced forward, avoided the pitcher's interception and flew all the way from the left side of the pitcher's mound to the back of the unguarded second base before landing again, but when it was about to roll forward and jump into the field's turf, the second baseman running along the fieldfield lawn grabbed it with his left-handed sleeve.

"Bang!"

Since the inertia of the body sprinting forward could not be stopped, Yuki Tanaka had to kneel with his left leg and slide forward with his right foot to counteract the inertia of the forward sprint and turn around in order to avoid falling to the ground forward.

After stopping the inertia of the forward rush, Yuki Tanaka got up and took the baseball out of the ball sleeve, raised his right hand and passed the ball to first base.

"Whew!"

"Smack!"

Tetsuya Yuuki, the first baseman who was kneeling with his back to the runner's right leg, stretched his left hand forward, opened his glove, and caught the baseball passed by the second baseman, and blocked Ryu Nakazawa, who only needed to step forward with his left foot to step on the base bag.

“out.“ The first baseman standing behind first base bends his right elbow forward and clenches his fist upward.

Yuki Tanaka smiled and received the baseball from Yuuki, then turned sideways and waved his arm to pass the ball to Yagami, who was standing on the pitcher's mound.

As he walked around, he turned around and made a gesture to his teammates around him, and the announcer's voice sounded over the court again: "In the first half of the fourth inning, Komatomaki Komaki High School's attack, four bats, Chinese and foreign fielders, Honma (Atsushi) Jun ......"

When Atsushi Honma holds up the bat and stands with his legs apart, he swings his arm toward home plate and throws a speed ball that is less than the height of the hitter's belt.

"Whew!"

"Huh!"

The baseball, which was deflecting to the right at a speed of 120 km/h, flew just under the corner of the bat when Atsushi Honma's bat swept past the corner of the strike zone, causing him to miss the swing.

"Bang!"

Vertically forward, the baseball that was about to smash on the ground was grabbed by Chris's outstretched glove.

“Strike.“

Atsushi Honma, who was too his swing, stumbled a few times and walked from the front of the right hitting area to the front of the left hitting ball through home plate.

As the referee walked forward from behind the catcher to home plate and sorted out the home plate and the sideline of the adjacent batting area, Atsushi Honma, who had already walked back to the right hitting area and stood still, bowed his head and apologized to him.

After the chief judge had cleaned up and left, Atsushi Honma lowered his head and swept the ground before standing on the right shot area, raising the bat forward with his left hand, straightening his glasses with his hand, and holding the bat high with both hands.

"Whew!"

Yagami Yagami swung his arm and threw a low slide ball at home plate, which flew from under the good zone to the back of home plate when it moved forward laterally from the front of the left hit area at a speed of 138 km/h.

"Bang!" Chris opens his catcher glove forward and catches the baseball thrown by Yagami.

“Ball.“

"Whew!"

Perhaps influenced by the previous shot, Yagami threw a bad ball that landed directly on the ground in the left strike area, and then bounced forward to the catcher's abdomen, where it was caught by Chris's hands closed towards the abdomen.

"Smack!"

“Ball…“

After the batter raised his bat and reprepared himself to strike, Yagami Yagami, who threw bad balls one after another, stepped out with his right foot and threw a speed ball towards home plate with a swing of his right hand.

"Whew!"

The baseball that flew to the top of the good ball area at a speed of 121 km/h was too far back due to the high ball path causing the longitudinal drop to go too far back, and when it could not make any contact with the good ball area below, it shifted to the right side of the hitter's right thigh and then grabbed it with the glove reached out by the hand.

"Bang!"

“Ball.“ After announcing the bad ball, the referee raised his left hand forward, raised three fingers, and read the number of bad balls: "three."

With Yagami in deterioration, Chris who had re-crouched behind home plate could only make a simple gesture to get Yagami to throw a straight ball near the knee, and then place the glove on his left hand behind the edge of the good ball area.

"Whew!"

Yagami threw a baseball at 140km/h under the corner of the strike zone, and was caught by Chris's outstretched sleeve just as it was about to fall to the ground.

"Bang!"

“Base on Balls.“

After being escorted by the opposing pitcher's four bad balls, Atsushi Honma turned around and left home plate from the officiant's left hand side, dropped his bat behind the officiant, and sped towards first base.

"In the first half of the fourth inning, Koma's attack on Komakomai High School, five bats, right fielder, Washiya-kun ......".

As Atsushi Honma stood next to the baseball, Osamu Washiya, a batter who made five batters, glanced up at the rest area on the side of the first base, then turned around and walked into the left-hand zone in front of him.

After sweeping the ground with his head down, Osamu Washiya, who was standing on the left hitting area with his legs on both sides, also looked up at the pitcher, holding the bat short and posing ready to strike.