The Old Baseball Player System

"What the hell was that?" - Kasuga's first batter looked in shock at Shun on the mound, unable to believe the pitch he had just witnessed. He then made a mistake by glancing at the stadium's speed radar.

"137 km/h, how is that possible?" - The first Kasuga batter murmured, unable to believe what he was seeing. To begin with, a 137 km/h slider coming toward the batter's head and breaking into the zone was already insane, but what was truly unbelievable was that Shun was pitching in the seventh inning, and for some reason, his pitches were faster than ever.

PAH

"Strike!" - Unfortunately for the first batter, Shun wasn't willing to give him any time to think. Without hesitation, Shun pitched again and got the second strike of the duel, while Kasuga's first batter stood in shock.

At that moment, the entire stadium was silent as they stared in shock at Shun on the mound. No one in the dugouts, on the field, or in the stands... no one in the entire stadium knew how Shun had not only recovered but was now pitching better than in the early innings. Well, no one except Shun, of course, but he had no intention of wasting time explaining.

WOOSH

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"S- Strikeout!" - The umpire announced, also a bit surprised by the boy's pitches. At that moment, seeing Shun's pitches from behind home plate, the umpire couldn't believe he was in a middle school game, in fact, he thought it was somewhat unfair. No one in middle school could hit a pitch like that.

The umpire's announcement could be heard throughout the stadium, as there was a deathly silence at that moment, especially among Kasuga's fans. With just three pitches, Shun had silenced them with fear. But the silence in the stadium lasted only a few moments before some people began to realize what was happening.

"YEEAAAHHH!!" - A deafening noise erupted from all parts of the stands.

"Who the hell is this kid?"

"That was amazing! One more!"

"I've never heard of this team, but this pitcher is simply incredible!"

"Yeeaahh! Keep it up, kid, you can do it!"

"Hahaha, incredible! Do it again!"

"One more time!"

At that moment, the people who had come to the stadium just to watch some baseball stood up and started cheering for Shun. After six perfect innings pitched under the constant pressure of the opposing crowd, Shun returned to the mound, disbelieved by everyone. But just when everyone thought Kasuga would end the game, Shun came back pitching better than ever, striking out the first batter.

Because of this, it was easy for those in the stands to choose their side. Pitching against an elite school, under constant pressure from the opposing crowd, and without the help of his teammates, who simply couldn't score runs, Shun's performance won over everyone in the stadium.

Thus, it's not known who started it, but soon a large part of the stadium was enthusiastically cheering for Shun, while a loud chant echoed through the stadium:

"One more! One more! One more! One more!"

"Incredible!" - Jiro was looking at Shun's back from center field, and he couldn't help but express his admiration. He then glanced toward right field, only to see Sora looking at Shun in the same way.

At that moment, as he stared at Shun's back and the number 10 on the boy's jersey, Jiro felt a mix of emotions. On one hand, he felt extreme confidence, he simply couldn't believe they would lose.

But on the other hand, he felt a bit guilty when he remembered the number 1 on his own back. After seeing the entire stadium rise because of Shun's performance, he couldn't help but think that the number 1 should be Shun's, not his.

But, of course, none of that mattered at that moment, especially to Shun, who was standing on the mound as he received the ball back from Daigo. The boy was doing his best to stay calm and focused on Kasuga's batters, but it was impossible not to react to the stadium's cheers motivating him.

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Meanwhile, in the stands above Shoto Junior High's dugout...

"Incredible..." - Hana spoke without thinking as she looked at Shun on the mound, but after realizing her words, she blushed and put her hands over her mouth. The beautiful girl turned, ready to come up with an excuse for her friends, but when she saw everyone staring in shock at Shun, she sighed in relief, no one had noticed.

Well, almost no one. Hana saw little Yumi looking at her with a playful smile. Hana tried to explain herself, but the little girl didn't seem to care, as Yumi quickly went back to cheering and shouting loudly for her brother, clearly excited to see more people supporting Shun.

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Kasuga's second batter stepped into the batter's box, feeling for the first time in the game what it was like to have the crowd against him and his team. Shun noticed the hesitation in the batter's eyes, so he didn't think twice when Daigo called for his vertical slider in the zone.

WOOSH

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"S- Strike!" - The umpire announced after Kasuga's second batter failed to make contact with Shun's vertical slider.

"138 km/h?" - Kasuga's second batter made the same mistake as the first and glanced at the speed radar. After that, Daigo and Shun had no difficulty dealing with him.

The second pitch was a horizontal slider in the zone. The second batter swung his bat but failed to make contact. Thus, with just two pitches, Shun had the batter cornered with two strikes and no balls in the count.

Finally, Daigo called for another vertical slider. Shun didn't hesitate. He stomped on the ground forcefully as he whipped his arm and threw the ball toward home plate.

WOOSH

PAH

"Strikeout!" - The umpire announced, making the second batter start his walk back to the dugout with his head down.

"Yeeeahhh!

"One more! One more! One more! One more!"

The crowd stood up with another strikeout as the chants continued. With Shun's vertical slider reaching an impressive 138 km/h, there wasn't a single person in the stadium who wasn't watching the field intently.

Thus, with two outs and no one on base, the third batter walked toward the batter's box, feeling all the pressure on him. It was undeniable that thanks to Shun's pitches, the momentum that had been on Kasuga's side had disappeared.