Chapter 114: Three Up, Three Down

On the Pitcher's Mound, the new pitch type had achieved such great results that Huangqian Yangyi could not hide the smile on his face. Seeing Miyuki call for a Fastball, he pouted in dissatisfaction; he had wanted to throw a Cutter Slider.

"Don't be unhappy, just hurry up and pitch."

Miyuki sent a look his way, and Huangqian Yangyi understood instantly.

Whoosh!

The baseball was pitched.

Shinkawa Kenichi was truly a "swing at whatever comes" type; his eyes locked onto the baseball, and he swung his bat with force.

Whack!

"Strike!"

This was a four-seam Fastball, yet Shinkawa Kenichi had failed to time his swing correctly.

Damn it!

Shinkawa Kenichi felt annoyed. Even though he had made up his mind not to think about that strange pitch, his batting had clearly been affected. This influence was uncontrollable; as long as that pitch remained in his mind, even the Fastball that Huangqian Yangyi usually struggled to throw would become harder to deal with.

With one Fastball securing a strike, Miyuki looked up at Shinkawa Kenichi with a smile. *Think about it, keep thinking. The more you care and the more you guard against Huangqian's Cutter Slider, the worse you'll hit the Fastball. *

This was the effect Miyuki wanted. Huangqian Yangyi's current Cutter Slider was not yet very stable, so he should throw it as little as possible. This was also why he had called for this pitch so early; taking advantage of the fact that Huangqian Yangyi had plenty of stamina and was in good form, he could scare a whole group of people just by throwing it.

Now it seemed the effect was quite good.

Off the field, Coach Kataoka clearly understood Miyuki's intentions. At this moment, the corners of his mouth curled up, and the frustration of being suppressed by Inashiro Industrial and Ichidai Sanko for years was swept away in this instant.

Truly, heaven blesses Seido. Miyuki, Huangqian—the addition of this pitcher-catcher duo is enough to bring Seido a glorious three years.

On the Pitcher's Mound, Huangqian Yangyi threw the second pitch.

"Whack!"

"Strike!"

A Two-seam Fastball made Shinkawa Kenichi swing and miss again.

Two consecutive Fastballs; Shinkawa Kenichi gritted his teeth, his grip on the bat nearly crushing it.

*Swing at whatever comes, swing at whatever comes. * Shinkawa Kenichi kept brainwashing himself, yet the more he thought this way, the more frequently that pitch appeared in his mind.

*Is he going to throw it now? *

Shinkawa Kenichi subconsciously looked back at Miyuki, only to meet Miyuki's smiling, seemingly harmless face.

*Disgusting! * Shinkawa Kenichi didn't know why; logically, he shouldn't be so serious with a First Year underclassman, but looking at Miyuki's face now, he felt inexplicably annoyed.

With a cold snort, Shinkawa Kenichi turned his head to focus on preparing to bat.

*Heh heh, * Miyuki laughed to himself and quickly signaled for the third pitch.

The baseball was pitched. Shinkawa Kenichi let out a shout of "Ha!" and swung his bat as if to vent his emotions.

Bang!

The baseball was smashed hard into the ground.

Thump, thump, thump! Shinkawa Kenichi threw his bat and sprinted toward First Base.

The baseball bounced toward the position of Third Base. Dong Qingguo stepped forward quickly to scoop up the baseball, and with a flick of his thick arm, the baseball soon caught up to Shinkawa Kenichi.

"Out!!"

Shinkawa Kenichi crossed the First Base bag and looked back in frustration at the First Baseman, Yuki Tetsuya. Jiecheng shrugged and showed him the baseball in his hand.

At this moment, having struck out Inashiro's third and fourth batters in a row, the spectators in the stands were boiling over again.

"Next! Next!"

Seido's fans shouted toward the Inashiro spectator section, with even a hint of provocation.

Inashiro's 5th batter, Catcher Harada Masatoshi, walked to the Batter's Box while listening to these sounds.

Likewise, he also looked at Miyuki. This guy's pitch calling was always unfathomable; when dealing with Haneda Kazuki, he had used a bizarre pitch type, but afterward, when dealing with Shinkawa Kenichi, he had used three Fastballs.

So, how would he deal with him? Would he call for that pitch?

Harada Masatoshi rubbed his eyes hard. *What a pain. *

In the end, Harada Masatoshi adopted the same strategy as Shinkawa Kenichi: choose to hit the Fastball and ignore everything else entirely.

"Whack!"

"Strike!"

"Strike!"

"Strike!"

Three consecutive fastballs, each with a speed exceeding 151 km/h. Harada Masatoshi's swing couldn't keep up, and he was simply struck out.

Three up, three down. Inashiro's heart of the order seemed very fragile at this moment, ending the half-inning with almost no power to resist.

Amidst the cheers, Huangqian Yangyi and Miyuki high-fived and returned to the Dugout with their teammates.

"That pitch just now was thrown well; the Inashiro guys are very wary of it," Miyuki said.

"Should I call for it again? I still want to throw it; I feel like I'm in great form!" Huangqian Yangyi stared at Miyuki with burning eyes.

Miyuki smiled: "We'll see."

"Tch."

Taking off his glove and picking up his bat, Huangqian Yangyi turned to look in the direction of Inashiro. Narumiya Mei was also looking over at this side.

Huangqian Yangyi smiled and raised his hand to make a throat-slitting gesture, which immediately infuriated Narumiya Mei.

*He's provoking me! * Narumiya Mei walked out of the Dugout, fuming.

Bottom of the 7th inning, Seido on offense.

The Inashiro players were already in their positions. Huangqian Yangyi held his bat over his shoulder and walked slowly onto the field.

"Home Run! Home Run!"

"Blast it out!!"

"Go, Huangqian!"

"Ah~~!"

In the stands, many spectators were shouting like this, and among them were mixed the screams of young girls.

Clearly, the supporters of Seido firmly believed that as long as Huangqian Yangyi stood in the Batter's Box, the Seido Baseball Team had a very high probability of launching an offensive to score, something that had happened more than once in previous games.

Facing such a Batter, Harada Masatoshi was extremely focused at this moment; he had to give it his all, and not just him, Narumiya Mei was the same.

Huangqian Yangyi stood in the Batter's Box and nodded with a smile at Harada Masatoshi, who also squeezed out a smile in response.

Then, Huangqian Yangyi raised his eyebrows at Narumiya Mei on the Pitcher's Mound.

You bastard chestnut-haired monster!

Narumiya Mei could not hide his emotions at all; he immediately widened his eyes and glared fiercely.

Hehe, Huangqian Yangyi smiled and prepared to bat.

Seeing Narumiya Mei successfully provoked so easily by Huangqian Yangyi, Harada Masatoshi sighed; this silly kid, the other guy is already using psychological tactics, and you're still just standing there glaring.

Soon, Harada Masatoshi gave the signal for the first pitch, and Narumiya Mei instantly reined in his expression and became serious.

Seeing this, Huangqian Yangyi did not dare to be careless; among the Pitchers he had faced so far, only Narumiya Mei had made him feel pressure.

Narumiya Mei threw the baseball with all his might; the ball speed was very fast, reaching the front of the Home Plate in almost an instant, but Huangqian Yangyi did not move at all, letting the baseball enter Harada Masatoshi's glove.

"Strike!"

Didn't swing? Harada Masatoshi was a bit surprised; was his target not a Fastball? Since that's the case, let's try a different pitch type.

Returning the ball, Harada Masatoshi immediately gave the signal for the second pitch, a forkball.