Chapter 118: Epilogue

Although Narumiya Mei had just been put out by a flyout and felt extremely depressed, once he stood on the Pitcher's Mound, his world contained only the Batter opposite him: Seido's Fourth Batter, Dong Qingguo.

Inashiro's situation was critical, and with such a monster as the Batter, Narumiya Mei had no time to fret over the flyout that had just occurred.

Looking at Dong Qingguo's fierce, wide-eyed, grinning expression, Narumiya Mei found it particularly grating; these guys didn't just want to protect that one run, they wanted to keep scoring!

Knowing Seido's intentions, Narumiya Mei parted his lips slightly, adjusting his breathing rhythm.

Absolutely, I will absolutely not let you have your way!

Narumiya Mei's gaze was firm; he no longer looked at Dong Qingguo.

At this moment, Harada Masatoshi felt no less pressure than Narumiya Mei; as a second-year player for Inashiro, the team's main Catcher, and the 5th Batter, the burden on his shoulders was arguably the heaviest.

Now trailing by one run with the game in the eighth inning, if they allowed Seido to score again, Inashiro would truly be standing on the edge of a cliff.

Base on Balls!

Seeing the signal for a Base on Balls, Narumiya Mei felt an instinctive wave of irritation and wanted to shake his head in refusal, but the sharp and terrifying look in Harada Masatoshi's eyes made him afraid to do so.

Though he was annoyed, the situation did not allow for him to be willful; at this time, giving Dong Qingguo a Base on Balls was undoubtedly the best choice.

Clearly understanding this, Narumiya Mei compromised and gave Dong Qingguo a Base on Balls after four consecutive balls.

Dong Qingguo chuckled coldly, "Second time."

Hearing this, Harada Masatoshi was stunned, then understood what Dong Qingguo meant; they had already given Dong Qingguo a Base on Balls once before when Matsumoto Takumi was up, and now it was the second time.

However, to prevent Inashiro's situation from becoming even more difficult, giving Dong Qingguo a Base on Balls was absolutely the right move.

Dong Qingguo reached First Base, and standing in the Batter's Box after him was the 5th Batter, Tanaka Wataru.

One Fastball, one Slider; Tanaka Wataru did not swing at either of the two consecutive pitches.

After observing two pitches, Tanaka Wataru was prepared to hit the third; he had chosen the pitch type: a Forkball.

Having observed for these few innings, Narumiya Mei's frequency of throwing Forkballs was higher than Sliders, and that evolved Slider was undoubtedly even harder to hit before one had adapted to the trajectory.

Moreover, since Narumiya Mei had just thrown a Fastball and a Slider, the probability of him throwing a Forkball next was the highest; with his own swing speed and power, as long as he could track it, he could hit the ball far.

Having made his decision, Tanaka Wataru stared at Narumiya Mei like a hungry lion: Come on! Throw it!

At the Catcher position, Harada Masatoshi suddenly raised his head, his gaze as resolute as if he were joining a party, and then he gave the signal!

Come on, give it your all!

As soon as Narumiya Mei saw it, the corners of his mouth curled up immediately: this pitch?

Since joining Inashiro, while actively adapting to high school baseball, Narumiya Mei had also been developing his own new pitch types; after losing to Seido twice in a row in games, his Slider had not only evolved, but he had also mastered a new pitch.

Before the start of this game, Harada Masatoshi had clearly told him that he wouldn't call this pitch unless absolutely necessary, and now, it was time to pull out every possible method to fight for victory.

Haa~!

Exhaling a breath, Narumiya Mei calmed his entire being.

With Seido's batting lineup only having information on his Breaking Balls as Sliders and Forkballs, the appearance of this pitch would surely be very effective.

Whoosh!

Narumiya Mei threw the ball quickly, his pitching motion extremely rapid, and the baseball flew toward Home Plate after leaving his fingertips.

Tanaka Wataru's eyes narrowed; this speed, it's a Fastball! And it's right down the middle!

The bat swept out, carrying a gust of wind; Tanaka Wataru was confident he could connect with this ball!

Whoosh! The baseball flew to the front of Home Plate, and just as it was about to be struck by the bat, the ball veered outward, flying past the tip of Tanaka Wataru's bat.

Pop!

"Strike!"

"Strikeout!"

Phew~

After catching the baseball, Harada Masatoshi finally felt much more at ease.

Cutter!!

Tanaka Wataru's eyes widened; the appearance of a Cutter was something he hadn't expected at all, and he had no preparation for it.

As expected of Inashiro, they could still pull out a new weapon at a time like this.

Tanaka Wataru looked helplessly at Dong Qingguo on First Base; he hadn't been able to advance the base runner.

With this, Narumiya Mei now had two types of Fastballs—the four-seamer and the Cutter—plus two types of Breaking Balls, the Slider and the Forkball; getting a base hit would become even harder from here on out.

Adding a pitch type wasn't as simple as one plus one; the increased variety of pitch sequencing made the difficulty of selecting pitches much higher.

"I didn't expect it, that kid Narumiya Mei still had a trump card; it's going to be difficult for us to score now," Zhitian Jiangtai remarked with emotion.

"Yeah, that's true, but as long as we can hold onto this one run, the victory is still ours," Yoshikawa Junpei said.

"This guy has more pitch types than Huangqian," Kuramochi Yoichi said as he walked up and blocked Huangqian Yangyi's shoulder, "You two both brought out new pitches in the same game; you're really going head-to-head."

Huangqian Yangyi smiled: "It's not worth being surprised that Narumiya Mei has a new pitch."

Miyuki, standing to the side, nodded, "After all, it's Mei."

Hearing the two of them, Kuramochi Yoichi laughed unhappily, "You two really have a special filter for that kid."

"It's just a fact," Huangqian Yangyi said.

"That's right," Miyuki agreed.

The two sang in harmony, leaving Kuramochi completely speechless.

On the field, Seido's 6th Batter, Isashiki Jun, stepped into the Batter's Box; compared to Tanaka Wataru, his pitch selection ability and hitting were both inferior, and facing Narumiya Mei, who had brought out the new Cutter, he was almost completely powerless and was quickly struck out.

Having secured two outs, Narumiya Mei smiled crookedly, his gaze shifting to Dong Qingguo on First Base, as if to say: See that? Giving you a Base on Balls was part of my plan.

Baka!

Dong Qingguo was enraged by Narumiya Mei's provocative look, but what could he do? He had to turn his head to look at the 7th Batter, Shinoki Keita.

Feeling Dong Qingguo's gaze, Shinoki Keita felt immense pressure; carrying Dong Qingguo's heavy expectations, Shinoki Keita was struck out.

Inashiro's strategy of giving Dong Qingguo a Base on Balls yielded good results, successfully ending the eighth inning.

As he left the field, Dong Qingguo glared fiercely at Narumiya Mei, who immediately hid behind Harada Masatoshi like a puppy; this person was completely different on the Pitcher's Mound compared to off it.

The game has reached the ninth inning!

The intense clash between Seido and Inashiro has finally reached its end, with Seido leading by a score of 2-1.

Looking at the current situation, Inashiro Industrial has a slim chance of achieving final victory; they must either tie the score in the ninth inning and withstand Seido's offense to drag the game into extra innings.

Or, score more runs directly to end the game at the end of the ninth.