When the ball was hit, Miyuki knew it was bad.

Even earlier, the moment Kawakami’s control went awry toward the center of the strike zone, Miyuki had already sensed it. Kawakami’s pitching speed wasn’t very fast, and with Carlos’s skill level, he would wait for the baseball to be completely within reach before swinging. In that situation, an easy-to-hit ball was going to be hit. That was simply a matter of course.

Carlos did not let the opportunity slip.

The ball was hit. Seido’s fielders were young, but they tried their best to stop it. They were too late. They could only watch the baseball fly past them as Carlos ran safely to First Base.

This same man who had already scored a run earlier was on base again.

Inashiro’s dugout let out a loud cheer.

No outs, Carlos on First Base. In that situation, the probability of Inashiro scoring was frighteningly high.

Coach Kunitomo stretched his neck and decisively signaled to his players.

No hesitation. Push for the next base.

Although Seido had been performing without major problems, their fighting spirit was high and their condition was tenacious. But the more tense a team became, the more prone they were to mistakes. It was like a bowstring: the tighter it was stretched, the greater the chance of it snapping.

What Kunitomo was doing now was stretching that bowstring even tighter. To do that, he needed to keep piling pressure on Seido. Not enough pressure meant no tension, and no tension meant no mistakes.

Carlos, on First Base, moved his long legs and began creeping toward Second Base.

He might not match Kuramochi for pure agility, but he wasn’t far off. Even with a generous lead, tagging him out was not an easy task.

Kawakami kept his eyes fixed on First Base, his gaze almost frantic. He was anxious, and he was helpless. Against a runner like Carlos, he had no moves.

Inashiro, on the other hand, were perfectly relaxed about it. Every one of them, including Coach Kunitomo, approved of Carlos going for the steal.

They had their reasons.

The entire sequence from Kawakami beginning his pitching motion to the ball entering Miyuki’s mitt took 1.21 seconds. Not long, but not short either. Compared to some true high school Aces, Kawakami was about 0.1 seconds slower. That 0.1 seconds was all Inashiro needed.

After Miyuki received the ball, his throw to Second Base, even with no deviation and landing perfectly in the fielder’s mitt, would take approximately 1.9 seconds. These were figures compiled from watching Seido’s games at Koshien. There might be small deviations, but nothing significant.

Combined, the two-step sequence took approximately 3.12 seconds on average. That was not slow. It was enough to stop most runners from stealing.

But it was not enough to stop Carlos.

With a running start and already close to Second Base, Carlos’s steal time was 3.1 seconds. Even with a flawless exchange between Kawakami and Miyuki, they still couldn’t tag him out.

As long as Carlos reached First Base, he could advance to Second Base at will.

Coach Kunitomo’s most pressing task was to score the fifth run and lead Seido by three, effectively securing the victory. Seido’s fighting spirit was still intact. They would not accept defeat willingly, and dragging the game out would not be good for Inashiro.

The priority was to widen the gap by one more run. Just one. At this point, that would be enough.

Shirakawa’s bunt, Yoshizawa’s hit-and-run. As long as Carlos reached Second Base, the probability of Inashiro scoring their fifth run would not fall below seventy percent. Seventy percent was more than enough to act on.

When Kawakami went into his pitching motion, Carlos was already sprinting toward Second Base.

Inashiro weren’t even bothering to hide it. They were that open. That dominant.

Carlos moved like an African Leopard. By the time Kawakami released the ball, he had already covered five or six meters. By the time the ball reached the plate, from Miyuki’s perspective, Carlos was already almost halfway there.

Too late.

A normal receive and throw wouldn’t stop this steal.

Miyuki gritted his teeth. His mitt didn’t move yet, but his body had already risen, half-bent, ready. Then he noticed: Shirakawa showed no intention of moving.

He took a small step forward and took the ball into his mitt a split second early.

As he transferred the ball from mitt to throwing hand, he was already setting up.

“Whoosh!”

The baseball left faster and sharper than it had arrived. Like a laser beam, it crossed the distance from Home Base to Second Base in an instant.

The fans in the stands couldn’t stay seated. They jumped to their feet.

Inashiro’s runner was extraordinary. Seido’s catcher was no simple character either. When these two faced off, who would win?

Most people, even with the question in their minds, favored Carlos. Even if the ball arrived first, the fielder still needed reaction time.

Carlos thought so too. But he wasn’t careless. As he approached Second Base, he leaped and slid toward the bag like a javelin, accounting for every possible danger.

“Hee-haw!”

At that moment, an agile figure stepped onto the Second Base bag, mitt catching the thrown ball at the same instant. The position where he caught it perfectly blocked Carlos’s path.

Kuramochi didn’t move a single step. He tagged Carlos out where he stood.

“Out!”

The stadium fell silent.

Then it erupted.

“My goodness, they actually stopped that?”

************************************

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