I Thought I Was Dead After Getting Stabbed While Protecting a Girl From a Random Attacker, but a Goddess Gave Me a Special Reward and Brought Me Back to Life in My Original Body—Now, All These Girls Are Coming on to Me!?

Chapter 51: Entering the Final Stages

From there, the match unfolded with intense pitching from both starting pitchers, resulting in a closely contested game.

In the top of the third inning, I faced Shiki for the second time in this match. This time, our positions were reversed from before.

With one out already recorded in this inning and no runners on base, this was a moment to swing freely.

Zudon!

…Hey, that fastball was too fast. The speed display showed the high 140s km/h, but it felt even faster. No wonder the seniors were so shaken by it.

Moreover, with top-notch breaking balls like a sinker in his arsenal, hitting him head-on would be tough.

In that case, I decided to try a little trickery.

The moment Shiki wound up, I tilted my bat horizontally.

“…!”

But just as the ball was thrown, I pulled the bat back. The fastball pitched strayed high and outside for a ball.

I used the same shake-up strategy he had used on me earlier.

Most likely, even if I swung properly, hitting a hit off this guy would be incredibly difficult. So, my role was to wear him down, even a little, to give our team an advantage in the second half of the game.

Now, the third pitch came—a forkball. I didn’t swing. It dropped low and outside for a ball.

…That was close. Despite deciding to let one pitch go no matter what, the sharpness of that pitch almost made me swing instinctively.

Still, the count was now in my favor. The next pitch would be crucial.

The fourth pitch came… a fastball! I swung the bat with all my might, but—

“Strike!”

…As expected, even knowing it was coming, I couldn’t hit that fastball. The count was now 2-2. My slight advantage vanished, and the situation reversed. Now, I had to deal with both his razor-sharp breaking balls that turned strikes into balls and his blazing fastballs.

…At this point, I had no choice but to swing with some resolve.

The fifth pitch came, heading toward the inside. It looked like it was in the strike zone, so I swung, trying to make contact. But it curved from my knees into the strike zone—a front-door sinker.

I swung and missed for a strikeout. As expected, with my batting skills, even making him throw more pitches was tough…

I’d make up for this with my pitching.

The finals entered the middle stages, and the game tightened significantly from there.

Shiki, with his signature fastball, sharp breaking balls, and precise control, completely shut down our batting lineup. By the end of the fifth inning, he had already racked up seven strikeouts, dominating us.

On my end, as I got into a groove, I managed to keep their batting lineup in check. The first and second innings were a bit shaky since I pitched cautiously, but after throwing enough pitches, my shoulder warmed up.

My changeup, in particular, was spot-on. I could pat myself on the back for its control and movement—it was nearly perfect.

Thanks to that, the speed variation between my fastball and fast slider was working well, and their batters couldn’t zero in on a pitch. They were even swinging at my occasional sweeper, which made it easier for me to pitch strategically.

And so, the game headed into its final stages…

“Strikeout! Change!”

By the end of the sixth inning, the score remained 1-0. A tense pitchers’ duel continued.

In the dugout, I changed into my third undershirt. Honestly, I was exhausted. I had thrown 78 pitches so far, relatively low for a starting pitcher. But the heat and constant pressure from their batting lineup drained my mental and physical energy more than I realized.

If I let my guard down even slightly, I might not be able to stand up again.

But if I came out of the game now, our only remaining pitcher would be Terada-senpai. In a 1-0 situation, where we might even go into extra innings, I needed to pitch as long as possible.

And, of course, there was Sakuya.

“Big brother!”

When I closed my eyes, her bright smile and energetic voice echoed in my mind.

…Alright, I was fired up again. I’d push through and pitch this game to the end.

Kin!

A routine infield fly went up. The seventh inning was over.

Against pre-game expectations, our Oomagu High School’s batting lineup was completely shut down by the first-year pitcher, Ryu Minase.

As the captain predicted, Ryu’s early-game shakiness was gone. From the middle to the late innings, his pitches grew sharper.

From the batter’s box, I could see him sweating profusely, clearly exhausted, yet his presence only grew more intimidating.

A bad feeling crossed my mind. Could we really lose this game, completely shut out? All because I gave up that home run…

As my thoughts turned negative, the captain spoke to me.

“Shiki, you’re doing great.”

“Captain… but…”

“It’s fine. We still have two innings to hit. Our team can score five runs before they get six outs. So, focus on your pitching until the end. We’ll get those runs.”

“…Yes!”

Right. I wasn’t playing baseball alone. If the seniors weren’t giving up, I had no right to give up on my own.

“The ball’s clear! We’ll hit it soon!”

I shouted from the dugout with all my might, hoping to push the seniors at the plate even a little.

But—

Kin!

“Left field!”

A routine outfield fly went up. The pitch’s speed wasn’t even that high.

The speed display showed [142 km/h] for that fastball. Compared to the first half, his velocity had dropped significantly.

It was dropping… or so it seemed.

Kin!

“Second!”

“Okay!”

This time, it was a weak grounder to the infield. That was probably a slider. I must have pulled it.

The out count kept piling up. The end of the game was drawing closer.

The pressure grew heavier. The seniors’ expressions turned grim, and the volume of their cheers noticeably dropped.

The coach shouted.

“Keep yelling, you guys! Get fired up!”

But even his roar couldn’t lift the heavy atmosphere in the dugout.

I managed to get through the eighth inning cleanly.

“…Haa… haa…”

This was bad—I was barely hanging on. Fortunately, unless the batting order aligned perfectly, I wouldn’t have to bat.

I needed to catch my breath during the break…

“Minase-kun! Water!”

As I leaned against the dugout, Tsutsumi-kun handed me a paper cup of water.

“…Thanks, Tsutsumi-kun.”

I tried to drink the water he gave me, but the cup slipped from my hand, spilling and making a puddle at my feet.

“S-Sorry. I’ll clean it up later…”

“It’s fine! Stay seated, Minase-kun! I’ll grab another one!”

Without waiting for my reply, he ran off to the water cooler.

This might really be my limit. But a pitching change in the late innings could either go smoothly or, in the worst case, disrupt our flow in a bad way.

The simplest and most likely way to win was for me to pitch until the end.

If I let my focus slip, I probably wouldn’t even be able to stand, let alone throw a ball. I was running on pure willpower now.

But even so, I could still move. For the team, for the championship, for Koshien.

For everyone, I’d pitch until the end. That was my resolve.

And for Makoto, Kanade, Yuna. For Mom and Dad. And for Sakuya.

The duel with Shiki didn’t matter anymore. I bet he felt the same.

For the people cheering for us, I absolutely wouldn’t lose.

“Here! Drink slowly.”

“Sorry for the trouble.”

“No big deal! You’re pitching amazingly on such a big stage… I’m the one who should be thanking you!”

“…Thanks.”

Following Tsutsumi-kun, the seniors started helping me with small things around me. Each word of encouragement and act of care felt like it was awakening some hidden strength deep inside me.

I could still fight. For these teammates, I could still stand.

“Change!”

“Minase, can you keep going?”

The coach’s voice came. I put all my will into one word.

“I can.”

“Good. Go finish it.”

“Yes!”

I slowly walked to the mound for the final time. On the way, Makabe-senpai gave me a thumbs-up. No words were needed anymore.

I didn’t need to think. If I threw according to Makabe-senpai’s signs, we’d get three outs in no time and win the championship… or so I hoped.

Then, I heard voices.

I looked toward the stands, where the girls who had been cheering in the heat were, as always, behind the backstop.

With both teams’ cheers at their peak, I shouldn’t have been able to hear their voices. But this wasn’t a hallucination. I heard them clearly.