The Old Baseball Player System

Jiro caught the ball in his glove, looking at Shun gratefully. He began to feel his calm return gradually, as if Shun\'s impressive catch had absorbed part of the pressure he was feeling. If it weren\'t for Shun, he would have given up another home run.

Jiro then took a deep breath as he watched the fifth batter step into the box. The nerdy kid adjusted himself on the mound, preparing to pitch. He knew very well that he needed to finish this inning without allowing more runs.

The fifth batter from Tenshi stepped into the box with a focused expression, clearly planning to take advantage of any mistake Jiro might make. Daigo, noticing the confident stance of the opponent, signaled for a low splitter outside the strike zone, hoping to induce a defensive swing resulting in an easy ground ball.

Jiro nodded and pitched, focusing on keeping the throw controlled.

"Ball!" - The umpire called, as the fifth batter held his ground and let the ball pass under pressure.

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Without losing focus, Daigo signaled another splitter, a bit more inside the zone this time, aiming to disrupt the batter\'s rhythm. Jiro took a deep breath and pitched with confidence.

WOOSH

DONG

The batter made contact with the ball, sending it in a quick line towards right field. The ball looked ready to pass through the infield, but Ren, with a quick dive, managed to intercept it. The young samurai stood up in a flash and threw the ball to first base.

"Out!" - The umpire announced, and Shoto\'s dugout erupted in applause. Ren had secured the second out with a great dive, putting Jiro just one step away from ending the inning.

"2 outs, Jiro!" - Ren said confidently, holding up two fingers. Jiro looked at the young samurai with a relieved smile as he received the ball on the mound. He couldn\'t deny how helpful it was that his senpais managed to get outs with great plays right when he was struggling.

Now, with two outs, Jiro faced Tenshi\'s sixth batter, determined to close the inning and keep the score at 3-0. Daigo opted for a safe sequence, a low fastball on the outer corner. Jiro adjusted, kept his concentration, and pitched.

WOOSH

"Strike!" - The umpire declared as the Tenshi batter swung his bat into empty air.

"Nice!" - Daigo smiled excitedly, beginning to feel that Jiro\'s pitches were returning to their good form.

Jiro felt his pitches improving a bit, he saw Daigo signaling for a splitter and nodded. The second pitch of the duel came.

WOOSH

POFT

"Strike!" - The umpire announced as the sixth batter swung his bat into empty air again, bringing the count to two strikes.

Daigo again struggled to catch Jiro\'s splitter, which was breaking too much, but the young catcher managed to keep the ball from passing. He then called for the third pitch of the duel, a fastball at the top of the zone. Jiro quickly delivered the pitch.

WOOSH

DING

The sixth batter finally made contact with the ball, but unfortunately for him, it was a weak contact, resulting in a pop-up fly that ended up in Kenta\'s glove.

"Out! 3 outs, changeover!" - The umpire announced as the sixth batter from Tenshi returned to his dugout, and Shoto\'s players also began making their way back to theirs.

"Nice pitch, Jiro!" - Shun greeted him in the dugout, smiling as he gave the nerdy kid a strong slap on the back.

"Ouch! Th-Thank you, senpai..." - Jiro replied, a bit startled. He was caught off guard by the slap, and when he saw Shun smiling, he misunderstood, thinking Shun was mad at him for allowing three runs in the first inning.

But Shun wasn\'t angry at all. In fact, he was surprised that Jiro had managed to recover so quickly. With Tenshi\'s powerful lineup, Shun had imagined they would get about five runs while Jiro was struggling.

"Your pitches are good, Jiro. Actually, they\'re probably better than ever." - Shun said with a calm smile, while Jiro and Daigo listened intently.

"Huh?" - Jiro looked at Shun in confusion. If he didn\'t know his senpai better, he\'d think Shun was teasing him. After all, how could his pitches be better than ever if he\'d just allowed three runs?

"Heh, it seems you didn\'t notice... Your pitches are moving way more than usual today, especially your splitters, which is why Daigo is having trouble catching them." - Shun assumed that Jiro was too focused on the Tenshi batters and hadn\'t noticed the difference in his own pitches. He explained calmly, and when he saw Jiro\'s look of understanding, he continued.

"You\'re forcing your fastball a bit, but if you pitch normally, the Tenshi batters won\'t be able to touch you. We\'ll recover those runs for you, so just pitch the way you know how." - Shun spoke confidently, patting Jiro\'s chest before grabbing his helmet and bat and heading up the dugout steps. It was time for him to do what he had just promised.

Shun stepped into the batter\'s box, eyeing the Tenshi Junior High ace on the mound. He already knew from watching Tenshi\'s previous game that this pitcher only threw a slider and a four-seam fastball.

Shun watched as the Tenshi pitcher threw the first pitch, a slider that moved out of the zone, trying to deceive the batter.

"Ball!" - The umpire announced as Shun didn\'t move a muscle, watching the ball pass by.

Shun took a deep breath, looking at the Tenshi pitcher on the mound, and repositioned himself in the batter\'s box with the determination to get on base and start Shoto Junior High\'s comeback.

The second pitch of the duel came, a high and inside fastball, right at the edge of the zone.

WOOSH

DOONG

Even with a good pitch from the Tenshi ace, Shun made solid contact, sending the ball flying quickly toward the foul line in right field.

POFT

As the ball bounced on the ground in fair territory, Shun was already reaching first base, running swiftly. Without any hesitation, he continued his sprint to second base, watching the ball head toward the deep part of right field.

When the right fielder finally fielded the ball, Shun was already nearing second base. With no hope of getting an out, he made a relaxed throw. But as soon as the ball left his hand, he regretted it.

Shun stepped on second base, but without hesitation, he continued his run toward third.

The second baseman caught the right fielder\'s throw, but the moment he caught the ball and looked toward third base, he was surprised to see Shun already very close to third. Without delay, the second baseman threw toward third.

"Safe!" - The umpire announced as Shun didn\'t even need to slide into the base, making it there in time while standing.