The Old Baseball Player System

The third inning began, and with it, the cheers from Kasuga's fans resumed. Although their batters hadn't been able to handle Shun so far, Takumi was delivering an impressive performance on the mound.

The inning started with Shoto's eighth batter, Hisashi, in the batter's box. But he didn't last long, on just the second pitch, he tried to hit a sinker from Takumi and ended up being put out with a line drive to the second baseman.

With one out, the ninth batter, Takeya, stepped into the box. Takumi began the duel with a low slider outside the zone, but after the first pitch was called a ball, he had a great sequence of three pitches against Takeya, striking the boy out with his circle changeup.

With two outs and no one on base, Kasuga's crowd grew even louder as they watched the next batter walk to the box. Shun had been the only player on his team to reach base against Takumi so far, and given that Shun was also shutting down Kasuga's batters from the mound, it was clear that Kasuga's fans weren't too fond of him.

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

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

The crowd kept making noise, clearly trying to put pressure on Shun. However, Shun calmly stepped into the batter's box, focusing intently on Takumi on the mound. At that moment, Shun's only priority was to score a run.

Takumi still remembered how Shun had hit his slider with ease, and perhaps because of that, he wanted to get Shun out to prove that Shun's previous hit was just luck. Unfortunately for him, Shun had other plans.

Shun watched coolly as Takumi pitched the first pitch of their duel. Thanks to his extensive study in the arena's review mode, he easily identified the low sinker in the zone. Without hesitation, he swung his bat hard.

WOOSH

DOONG

The ball shot quickly toward left field, bouncing in fair territory before beginning to roll into foul territory. Shun didn't waste a moment as he sprinted between the bases. He reached second base with ease but didn't stop there.

Seeing that the left fielder was still running toward the ball, he continued to third.

PAH

"Safe!" - By the time the ball finally reached third, Shun was already standing safely on the bag.

---

Meanwhile, in the stands...

"Holy crap! I didn't know Kenshin Jr. had gotten so good at hitting too!" - Masahiro said in surprise after watching Shun notch another hit, this time a triple, against Kasuga's skilled pitcher.

"Hahaha, of course! My son can do it all!" - Kenshin beamed with pride, grinning from ear to ear.

Meanwhile, in the row below, little Yumi was bouncing with excitement after watching her brother make yet another great play.

"Yeeeahhh! Sis, did you see? Bro's the best!" - Yumi cheered, smiling at Mika and pointing at Shun on third base.

"Pft! I saw, Yumi, he's playing really well!" - Mika chuckled softly at her sister's cute reaction, though she couldn't hide her surprise.

Although she'd seen a few of Shun's other games and knew he was no longer that struggling player who'd been kicked off Tokyo Nakano, this was by far the most impressive performance she'd seen from him, and the game wasn't even three innings in yet.

---

The young samurai Ren stepped into the batter's box, determined. He was still frustrated about being put out in the first inning, and now, with Shun on third, he was willing to do whatever it took to get a hit and drive his friend home. After all, with the way Shun was pitching, one run might just be enough to win the game.

"Ball! Ball Four!"

Unfortunately, it seemed today was not the young samurai's day to be the hero. After a long at-bat, Takumi ended up walking Ren, putting runners on the corners with two outs as Jiro stepped into the batter's box.

The young nerd was determined to bring his senpais home, especially after witnessing Shun's effort on the mound. But, on the other hand, Takumi was just as determined to keep the scoreboard at zero.

Thus began the battle between the two second-year players. Takumi started with a sinker at the bottom of the zone, but it was too low, and the umpire called it a ball. Next, he threw a slider within the zone. Jiro swung his bat but only managed weak contact, resulting in a foul ball. The count was now one strike and one ball.

The third pitch was another sinker, this time down the middle. Unfortunately, Jiro couldn't seize the opportunity. Though he made decent contact, he swung a bit late, sending the ball foul again. Cornered in the count with one ball and two strikes, Jiro found himself forced to swing at anything near the strike zone, and that's exactly what he did on the next pitch.

WOOSH

PAH

"Strikeout! 3 outs, changeover!" - Takumi's circle changeup worked its magic once again. Jiro felt compelled to swing, seeing the pitch in the zone, but he couldn't time it right and ended up swinging through the air.

"Yeeeahhh!" - Takumi roared excitedly on the mound as he ran back to his dugout, greeted by cheers from his teammates. Once again, he'd allowed runners to reach third, but he still managed to close the inning without giving up any runs.

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

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

Kasuga's crowd roared louder, celebrating as Takumi closed another inning without allowing a run. The noise level surged again. Though they might not have realized it, every player on Shoto Junior High was beginning to feel the pressure from the crowd, the noise was simply too intense to ignore.

Jiro returned to the dugout with his head down, clearly frustrated at being struck out by Takumi's changeup again. But as he reached his locker, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, that was a good at-bat! Don't be too hard on yourself!" - Shun said to Jiro with a calm smile as he started removing his gear and placing it in his locker, knowing it was time to pitch again.

"Yes, Senpai!" - Jiro replied determinedly, a spark of motivation shining in his eyes. He watched as Shun quickly made his way to the dugout stairs, but as he looked at his senpai's back, a thought crossed his mind.

"He's sweating a lot..." - Jiro thought, remembering Shun's damp hand on his shoulder and noticing the sweat-soaked shirt on Shun's back. He couldn't help but clench his fists, a flame of determination igniting in his eyes. Shun probably wasn't as calm as he seemed.