The Old Baseball Player System

WOOSH

PAH

"Strikeout! 3 outs, changeover!" - The umpire announced the end of the inning after the third batter swung and missed for the third strike.

"Yeeeahhh!" - Daigo roared as he stood up excitedly. Meanwhile, Shun made his way back to the dugout calmly, knowing he was still far from the time to celebrate.

"Nice pitching, Senpai!" - Daigo approached Shun excitedly, grinning as he raised his glove toward Shun.

"Hm. We need to stay on the offensive, Daigo." - Shun nodded and spoke calmly as he tapped his glove against Daigo's.

"Yes!" - Daigo replied determinedly. After that inning, he understood even more about Shun as a pitcher, realizing that the way his senpai was most effective was when he pitched aggressively.

Shun entered the dugout, but before he went to his locker to prepare to hit, he waited for his friend Kenta to arrive.

"That was a great catch, thanks!" - Shun said with a smile, raising his hand in the air toward Kenta.

"Don't mention it, I'll catch everything that comes my way!" - Kenta replied with a confident grin as he reached out to slap his friend's hand.

* Clap *

---

"That was a great play! That shortstop is really good both physically and technically, and his bat has a lot of potential... Is he one of the other players you've asked the scouts to keep an eye on, Jack?" - Kazuma Ushida said, impressed as he recalled Kenta's catch.

"Yes, he's one of the players I asked the scouts to watch. He's definitely good enough to make our team." - Jack replied calmly, nodding. Even he was impressed by Kenta's play. Not only was it perfectly executed, but it also came at a crucial moment, interrupting Kasuga's momentum.

Meanwhile, Toji, who was sitting one row below the two men, couldn't help but overhear their conversation.

'Has Coach Jack already asked the scouts to keep an eye on some players from Takenodai?' - Toji thought to himself as he stared thoughtfully at Shoto's dugout.

'Hehe, it looks like high school is going to be really interesting…' - Toji couldn't hide his smile as a trace of excitement shone in his eyes, he could hardly wait for high school to begin.

---

The Kasuga players emerged from the dugout, taking their positions on the field for the start of the fifth inning. Along with them, a deafening roar filled the stadium from Kasuga's fans.

"Yeeaaahhhh!!" - The Kasuga crowd shouted excitedly as they watched the boy with the number one on his back heading toward the mound.

"Let's go, Imai! Let's go, Imai! Let's go, Imai!" - The Kasuga crowd began chanting their ace's name as they watched him throw some warm-up pitches on the mound.

"The ace finally showed up, huh?" - Kenta said as he watched Shota Imai on the mound.

"It seems they didn't want Takumi to face us for a third time." - Daigo commented, attentively watching Imai on the mound with a bit of concern. He understood that this guy would be the real challenge of the day, and since they hadn't managed to score off Takumi, they would need to find a way to get runs against Kasuga's ace.

Shoto's eighth batter, left fielder Hisashi, climbed the dugout stairs and walked toward the batter's box to lead off the inning. Behind him, the ninth batter, Takeya, Shoto's first baseman, also climbed the dugout steps and positioned himself in the on-deck circle.

Shun, for his part, watched closely from the dugout as he put on his protective gear, knowing he would be the third to bat this inning. Shota Imai, Kasuga's ace, was a right-handed pitcher in his third year who threw a four-seam fastball, a cutter, and a curveball.

Shun had done his best to prepare Shoto's batters to face this pitcher, but despite his planning and explaining certain patterns to his teammates, he knew it wouldn't be easy to score runs against Imai.

After all, Imai was undoubtedly an elite middle school pitcher, all of his pitches were excellent, and the experience he had gained from playing in the Kanto tournament made him a much tougher pitcher to handle than Takumi.
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Unfortunately, this wasn't good news for Shoto Junior High, which needed to score at least one run against Imai to win the game. Shun attentively watched from the dugout as the first duel of the inning began.

Hisashi stepped into the batter's box with an aggressive stance, determined to make contact with Imai's pitches. From what Shun had explained to the team, Imai was a great pitcher, but unlike Takumi, he didn't usually get many strikeouts and typically eliminated batters with ground balls to the infield or fly balls to the outfield.

Of course, that wasn't a flaw, especially considering that Kasuga's defenders formed a solid defense behind Imai. However, as long as Shoto's batters made contact and put the ball in play, they would have a chance to reach base, even if it was a slim one.

Imai, on the other hand, didn't plan to give Kasuga's batters any chances. Kasuga's ace also entered this game with an aggressive mindset, determined to shut down the opposition and not allow Shoto Junior High to score.

On the first pitch of the duel, Imai threw a high four-seam fastball on the inner corner. Hisashi swung and missed, giving Imai the first strike of the game. The second pitch was a cutter with the same trajectory as the previous four-seam, but this time Hisashi managed to make weak contact, sending the ball foul. As a result, he found himself in a two-strike count.

Imai didn't want to waste time in this duel, so he decided to end it quickly on his third pitch. Hisashi watched as the ball came high toward him, and he held back his swing, believing it would be a fastball outside the zone. But just before the pitch reached home plate, it dropped sharply.

PAH

"Strike!" - The umpire called as Hisashi stood frozen, staring in shock at the Kasuga catcher's glove.

"Yeeaaahhhh!" - Kasuga's crowd celebrated the first out from their ace as Hisashi walked back to the dugout, frustrated and with his head down.

"Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga!"

"Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga!"

The crowd continued their loud cheering as Shoto's ninth batter, Takeya, approached the batter's box to hit.