Chapter 127: Bases Loaded! Scoring!

The manager's decision to move that kid Huangqian to the fifth batter spot was too wise; with this arrogant brat behind him, no school would dare to easily choose to give him a Base on Balls.

On the Pitcher's Mound, Zhenzhong Yao frowned; in order to retire Dong Qingguo, he pitched the ball toward the very corners, but it was ruled a ball by the umpire.

Glancing at the umpire, one could only say that today's calls would be very strict; balls like this on the edge that were hard to distinguish as strikes or balls could no longer be thrown.

The umpire's attitude made the Ichidai Sanko battery become even more cautious; soon, the second pitch was thrown, a Fastball jammed toward the chest on the inside corner.

Dong Qingguo saw the ball's path clearly and swung his bat cleanly and decisively; the thin end of the bat missed the baseball.

"Whack!"

"Strike!"

The count was one strike and one ball.

Then the third pitch, a High-speed Curveball, had a tricky and sharp trajectory; as Dong Qingguo swung, he shouted, Bang! The sweet spot of the bat struck the center of the white ball the moment it entered the home plate.

Whoosh!

The baseball flew back, moving extremely fast.

Everyone felt a bit of regret at this moment; perhaps because the trajectory was too tricky, this ball was difficult to hit, and although it flew fast, the height was clearly insufficient to become a Home Run.

But even so, Yuki Tetsuya safely reached Second Base, and Dong Qingguo also thud-thud-thudded his way to First Base.

Two outs, runners on First and Second Base; Ichidai Sanko instantly became passive.

"Huangqian!!"

A thunderous roar of cheering suddenly erupted; the Seido fans were too excited. With the third and fourth batters on base, they believed that the fifth batter, Huangqian Yangyi, would not disappoint them once he stood in the Batter's Box.

In the stands, Huangqian Kumiko and her older sister Mamiko also stood up excitedly at this time, both of them waving their arms high in the front row.

When the game first started, Kumiko had already seen her brother's perfect pitching performance, her camera clicking away non-stop; now, seeing her brother stand in the Batter's Box, she was even more like a fanatical die-hard fan, shouting "Onii-chan, ganbatte!"

Whoosh, whoosh!

The sound of the wind from the empty swing reached the catcher's ears; Huangqian Yangyi smiled politely, then shifted his position to stand properly, ready to hit.

The pressure was immense; the catcher pinched his thigh hard. It wasn't as if they hadn't played against Seido before, but now that Huangqian Yangyi had been moved to the 5th batter spot, the entire Seido heart of the order was completely devastating. If he could, he really wanted to just give all three of them a Base on Balls.

On the Pitcher's Mound, Zhenzhong Yao took a deep look at Huangqian Yangyi; it was this First Year who had once hit a Home Run off him.

Taking a deep breath, Zhenzhong Yao adjusted his breathing and looked at the catcher; the two had worked together long enough to be considered of one mind.

Soon, the white ball flew toward home plate, and Huangqian Yangyi swung his bat, Bang!

The baseball flew out along the foul line; the first pitch was hit foul.

"Strike!"

Phew~ Huangqian Yangyi pulled back his bat; that pitch just now had a path that was too tricky—a High-speed Curveball on the outside corner with a fast drop. It was lucky he managed to pull the ball, otherwise it would have become a grounder.

Seeing that this pitch was effective against Huangqian Yangyi, the catcher secretly nodded his chin; since that was the case, he would change the landing spot and throw another one in a moment.

The second pitch was a Fastball, also on the outside corner; Huangqian Yangyi did not swing, but after the baseball entered the glove, the umpire's voice immediately came from behind.

"Ball!"

The count was one strike and one ball.

Huangqian Yangyi tilted his neck; this catcher had called two outside pitches in a row—shouldn't he change it up next?

Not necessarily; if this were Miyuki, he might have thrown three outside pitches in a row.

After silently badmouthing Miyuki, the third pitch flew out quickly.

Huangqian Yangyi saw the path clearly, his bat tracing an arc, Bang!

A High-speed Curveball on the inside corner was blasted away by the bat; an Extra-base Hit to Left Fielder!

Dropping his bat, Huangqian Yangyi took off running toward First Base.

Not long after, Yuki Tetsuya and Dong Qingguo advanced to the bases one after another, and Huangqian Yangyi also safely reached base.

Ichidai Sanko was in danger; everyone who saw the current scene couldn't help but break into a cold sweat for them.

"Huangqian!"

"Seido!"

"Nii-chan!!"

Amidst the cheers of a crowd of spectators, Kumiko's high-pitched voice was particularly prominent; Huangqian Yangyi stood on First Base, turned, and waved at the stands.

"Yay! Big brother saw me!" Kumiko jumped up in surprise.

On the field, the 6th batter Tanaka Wataru walked to the Batter's Box; his task was simple and clear: to send his teammates on base back to home plate to score.

The three on base stared intently at Tanaka Wataru; Huangqian Yangyi even signaled directly for Tanaka Wataru to hit the ball toward his side. It didn't matter if he was tagged out, as long as they could get Jiecheng back to home plate, they would have gained something.

Tanaka Wataru nodded; his hitting ability was also quite high-level. In the past, when Seido and Ichidai Sanko faced off, neither side's pitcher could completely suppress the other's lineup, eventually turning it into a hitting battle. But now it was different; they still had the ability to score off Zhenzhong Yao, but it was quite difficult for Ichidai Sanko to score off Huangqian Yangyi.

The baseball flew out! Tanaka Wataru chose to observe first and was not in a hurry to swing; if his hit quality wasn't high, it would very likely result in the runners on base being tagged out, ending the inning.

"Strike!"

Letting a Fastball go by, Tanaka Wataru's face showed no expression as he focused on waiting for the next pitch.

Soon, Zhenzhong Yao threw the second pitch, a High-speed Curveball; Tanaka Wataru lowered his center of gravity, took a step, and swept his bat almost along the very bottom of the strike zone.

Bang!

The baseball indeed flew toward First Base and passed through Ichidai Sanko's defense.

Yuki Tetsuya started instantly, his legs exerting force as he sprinted back toward home plate.

"Jiecheng! Run!"

"Ah!!"

All sorts of strange roars came from the Seido fans in the stands.

Ichidai Sanko was indeed a top-tier powerhouse in the country; their defensive reaction was fast, and the baseball was quickly picked up and thrown directly to First Base. As long as they could tag Tanaka Wataru out, even if Yuki Tetsuya returned to home plate, it would be in vain.

Almost at the same time Yuki Tetsuya stepped on home plate, the baseball entered the glove at First Base.

"Safe!"

It was a pity that Yuki Tetsuya had already left the base early, and his base-running speed was also very fast; at the end of the bottom of the first inning, Seido led Ichidai Sanko 1:0.

Having scored the run, Yuki Tetsuya's heart was pounding violently; if it weren't for the fact that he was far enough away from Third Base, the ball that Tanaka Wataru had swept out would have been almost impossible to return to home plate.

However, being able to take a point was already a huge advantage in a duel between such top-tier powerhouses.