Chapter 113: Cutter Slider!

After Harada Masatoshi caught the ball and smiled with relief, he threw it back; sure enough, although Narumiya Mei looked rather flighty, he was still very reliable once he started pitching.

"Strike!"

"Strike!"

One Slider, one Forkball—Isashiki's angry swing did not yield any good results, and he walked off the field with a flushed face.

"This kid is getting more and more impressive." After watching Narumiya Mei's pitching, discussions began in the Seido Dugout.

"The pitch trajectory is sharper."

"Yeah, he's not easy to deal with."

"Judging solely by his pitching, this kid is already better than Matsumoto Takumi."

"Kazuya, what do you think?" Huangqian Yangyi turned his head and asked.

Miyuki nodded: "After several months of high school baseball baptism, especially losing to us twice, Mei is definitely a guy who cannot accept such a result. He must be secretly practicing some new moves in private; we need to be careful."

"Oh? You really do understand him well," Huangqian Yangyi said.

Miyuki did not reply again, his attention entirely focused on the game field.

After Seido's Seventh Batter, Shinoki Keita, stepped up, he was also struck out shortly after. The following Eighth Batter, Yoshikawa Junpei, hit Narumiya Mei's Slider, but the baseball was intercepted by the defense and thrown to First Base, missing a successful base hit by a hair.

Three up, three down; the Inashiro First Year Pitcher delivered a perfect performance as soon as he took the mound.

The First Year Pitchers from both sides showed a tit-for-tat attitude as soon as they started, making the game even more explosive. The spectators were also happy to see such a scene; cheers in the stadium were constant, and the fans of the two schools refused to give an inch.

"Kazuya, time to go."

Getting up and putting on his glove, Huangqian Yangyi pulled Miyuki up.

"What's the rush?" Miyuki rolled his eyes.

The nine Seido players walked onto the field, the game continued, top of the 7th inning, Inashiro on offense.

At the start of the 7th inning, what Huangqian Yangyi had to face was Inashiro's middle-order lineup.

Standing in the Batter's Box, Inashiro Captain Haneda Kazuki first glanced at Miyuki, then looked at Huangqian Yangyi.

What kind of pitch would it be? Haneda Kazuki pondered inwardly. In the previous Kanto Tournament, when they, Inashiro, faced Huangqian Yangyi for the second time, they had already hit several hits off his Fastball.

He did not believe that after that time, Huangqian Yangyi would still dare to throw only Fastballs.

There must be a Breaking Ball hidden, Haneda Kazuki thought to himself. But for now, the first pitch was most likely a Fastball. Preparing to hit, Haneda Kazuki exhaled lightly and waited for the pitch.

The sign: Two-seam Fastball.

Huangqian Yangyi nodded slightly, then threw the ball. The pitch was pressed very low, almost hugging the very edge of the strike zone.

Seeing the baseball fly in, Haneda Kazuki swung without hesitation. The trajectory was clear, and the bat swept downward. Just as the bat was about to collide with the baseball, the baseball shifted rapidly, veering directly out of the strike zone and into Miyuki's glove.

That was a ball!

Haneda Kazuki never would have imagined that Miyuki would call for a ball on the very first pitch!

Successfully tricking the Batter into swinging to get a strike count, Miyuki hooked the corner of his mouth into a smile. It felt so good, the feeling of seeing a Batter toyed with by his pitch calling.

Throwing the baseball back to Huangqian Yangyi, Miyuki squatted down and gave the sign for the next pitch without a second of delay.

Slider Kai!

To call a Slider on the second pitch!

Huangqian Yangyi's pupils constricted slightly. He knew that if he didn't bring out a Breaking Ball today, it would be impossible to suppress Inashiro's lineup, but he hadn't expected Miyuki to call a Slider so early.

What an unexpected guy.

After sighing, Huangqian Yangyi prepared to pitch using his unique Cutter Slider grip.

Throwing this strange Cutter Slider in an official game for the first time, Huangqian Yangyi was also a tiny bit nervous. Would it be a Wild Pitch?

Hesitating for two seconds, Huangqian Yangyi saw that trace of excitement in Miyuki's eyes.

You dog, you're having fun with your pitch calling, but I'm under a lot of pressure here, you know.

Quickly, Huangqian Yangyi lifted his left leg, raised his hands high, and whipped his arm around to throw the baseball.

A Slider Kai with a speed not much slower than a Fastball flew rapidly toward the direction of Haneda Kazuki.

In the Batter's Box, Haneda Kazuki was also startled, subconsciously pulling in his stomach to dodge.

Pop! Before the baseball entered the Home Plate, it suddenly made a large lateral shift and dropped into Miyuki's glove.

"Strike!"

This...

Everyone in the stadium who saw this ball was stunned. Such fast speed, such a large lateral displacement—what on earth was this pitch!

Haneda Kazuki's heart was currently churning with stormy waves. At first glance, it was indeed a Fastball, but the magnitude of the shift was just too great.

What kind of pitch was this? A Cutter?

Haneda Kazuki couldn't figure it out, but what was certain was that Huangqian Yangyi indeed had a Breaking Ball hidden, and he had used it on him for its debut.

"Hahaha, the Inashiro guy must be scared stiff." Kuramochi Yoichi said in the Dugout, holding his stomach with one hand and pointing at Haneda Kazuki in the Batter's Box with the other.

"Yeah, looks like he was stunned," Nanjo Taishi said.

"Sigh, poor guy. It's going to be very hard to hit this ball."

"A terrifying guy."

The teammates off the field spoke up one after another, and the spectators in the stands were also whispering and discussing.

"Did you see that? What kind of pitch was that?"

"A Cutter, right?"

"Bullshit, whose Cutter has that much displacement?"

"Exactly, I think it must be a Slider."

"Your Slider is that fast? And that trajectory wasn't an arc either!"

The Inashiro Dugout was silent. Narumiya Mei bit his collar hard, his eyes turning into vertical slits; clearly, that pitch just now had been a huge stimulus to him.

Among everyone present, Haneda Kazuki felt the impact most deeply.

After feeling the shock brought by this pitch, Haneda Kazuki began to simulate the ball's trajectory in his mind; a few seconds later, Haneda Kazuki gave a helpless, bitter smile and reached a conclusion: this ball was too difficult to hit, and catching the precise timing and contact point was by no means something that could be done in a short while.

Furthermore, with such a Breaking Ball, the threat of Huangqian Yangyi's Fastball instantly rose to another level.

There was no extra time to think, and the third pitch was also thrown very quickly.

Haneda Kazuki swung his bat, yet with his mind distracted, his swing was ultimately a fraction too slow.

Pop!

"Strike!"

"Strikeout!"

The Inashiro Captain, the third batter, was just like that, struck out.

"Great!!"

A loud shout came from the stands.

Then, all the Seido fans stood up and roared, shouting Huangqian Yangyi's name.

Shaking his head, Haneda Kazuki walked off the field expressionlessly, and as he brushed past the Fourth Batter Shinkawa Kenichi, he said, "Hit the Fastball! Don't worry about that strange ball."

Shinkawa Kenichi nodded slightly; he was no fool, and wanting to hit that kind of ball on the first try was undoubtedly a pipe dream—rather than thinking too much, it was better to just choose to hit the Fastball.

That was true in theory, but with that kind of pitch speed, distinguishing whether it was a Fastball or a Breaking Ball was also very difficult.

Forget it, just hit whatever comes, regardless of what kind of ball it is!

Holding this thought, Shinkawa Kenichi stepped into the Batter's Box.