Chapter 132: Tianjiu Kosei

"Haha, not bad, striking that guy out right off the bat."

"Yeah, I suppose that counts as getting some payback."

"Speaking of which, how is it that Nanjo's slider seems even trickier than before?"

"Yeah, yeah, did you see that pitch path just now? It just zipped and curved away."

In the stands, the spectators gave their approval of Nanjo's performance, with cheers erupting constantly; Nanjo's fans, in particular, were overjoyed at the growth of Nanjo Taishi.

At home plate, having successfully dealt with the Ichidai Sanko third batter, Miyuki did not feel much relief; the fourth and fifth batters were next, and the slightest carelessness could lead to a crisis.

Once the Ichidai Sanko fourth batter stepped into the Batter's Box, Miyuki immediately signaled to pitch to the most difficult spots possible, ensuring no pitches floated high; with this player's power, once the bat connected with the ball, he could pull it to the outfield on strength alone.

Miyuki had different pitching patterns for different styles of pitchers. If it were Huangqian Yangyi on the Pitcher's Mound, he might choose to face the batter head-on; with his speed and power, even if the batter tracked the ball, it would be hard to hit well. But Nanjo Taishi was different—he was a pitcher who relied on defense. Facing such a powerhouse, the best method was to throw to difficult spots and coordinate with the teammates behind him to get the opponent out.

Whoosh!

Nanjo Taishi held his breath and threw the baseball with all his might toward the spot Miyuki requested.

The small white ball came flying in, spinning; the batter in the Batter's Box stepped out and swung his bat heavily. Miyuki, crouching to the side, could clearly feel the power contained within the swing.

Pop!

Before meeting the bat, the small white ball shifted, moving away from the batter's bat.

"Strike!"

The umpire's voice rang out. The batter looked back at where the ball landed! It was a ball on the edge of the strike zone!

This guy, using the lateral shift of a cutter to trick him into swinging, and he threw a ball on the very first pitch.

If the ball had been obviously wide, there might have been a possibility of an intentional Base on Balls, but with a pitch on the edge of the strike zone, if he swung and hit it, it would be hard to hit well; if he missed, the ball became a strike.

*Sigh*—a feeling of being toyed with welled up. However, as the fourth batter for Ichidai Sanko, he was a veteran of many battles and would not let such a small thing disrupt his batting rhythm. He adjusted his mindset and prepared to bat again.

Miyuki returned the ball and took a glance at the batter. As expected of someone from Ichidai Sanko. Since that's the case, let's try it again.

Crouching down and giving the sign, Miyuki called for a pitch that was also on the edge of the strike zone, but this time, it was a High-speed Slider.

With the sharp trajectory of a High-speed Slider drilling toward the edge of the strike zone, such a pitch was extremely difficult to hit. As long as Nanjo Taishi could throw it in steadily, even if the batter tracked it, there was a high probability it would result in a Foul Ball or a grounder.

Nanjo Taishi saw Miyuki asking for another ball on the edge of the strike zone and was stunned for a moment, feeling a bit helpless inside. This guy was really obsessed with messing with the batter's head.

Whoosh!

After grumbling to himself, Nanjo Taishi threw the baseball, and a High-speed Slider drew an exaggerated arc as it flew toward home plate.

Another outside pitch!

The batter frowned and then swung his bat.

Bang!

He tracked it!

"Foul!"

"Strike!"

On the second pitch, the batter barely managed to track it but hit it foul to the right.

With two strikes in hand, Miyuki's pitch calling became even bolder. After two consecutive outside balls, the batter's impression must have deepened; if at this moment...

In the Batter's Box, the Ichidai Sanko fourth batter was also guessing Miyuki's next pitch. Based on his understanding, this Catcher was a very devious guy who liked the unexpected. Three consecutive outside pitches were not impossible. Since that was the case, he would focus on hitting the outside pitch!

Swish!

As the small white ball flew out, the batter stepped forward, leaning his body inward, and swung his bat toward the low outside corner.

However, after clearly seeing the ball's trajectory, the batter felt a chill run through him. It was an outside pitch, alright, but it was way too far outside!

Such an obvious ball, and he had actually swung early.

"Strike!"

The baseball entered Miyuki's mitt. Miyuki chuckled; this guy really did swing. Two consecutive outside balls had left a deep impression on the batter. He might have expected another outside pitch, but no one would guess three consecutive balls that weren't intended as a Base on Balls.

"Too mean."

"This guy is so dark-hearted."

"Totally toyed with."

"The batter must be furious."

The spectators whispered. Sure enough, the batter in the Batter's Box was gritting his teeth hard. This jerk had actually fooled him with such a stupid, straightforward pitch sequence.

Swinging and missing three times in a row—as the fourth batter for Ichidai Sanko, he felt extremely unwilling to accept this. He shouldn't have tried to guess the Catcher's thoughts; just picking a pitch to hit might have worked better.

Two outs, nobody on base. After this, Miyuki and Nanjo Taishi coordinated their defense to retire the Ichidai Sanko fifth batter. The top of the 7th inning ended.

In the bottom of the 7th, the Ichidai Sanko First Year rookie Tianjiu Kosei stepped onto the Pitcher's Mound. Judging just from his warm-up pitches, his speed reached 146 km/h, and that might not even be his maximum speed.

After warm-ups ended, the game continued.

Seido's 8th batter, Shinoki Keita, stepped into the Batter's Box.

Strikeout!

The 9th batter, Yoshikawa Junpei, came up.

Strikeout!

The 1st batter, Zhitian Jiangtai.

Still a strikeout!

As soon as Tianjiu Kosei stood on the Pitcher's Mound, he struck out three Seido batters in a row.

Fastball, Slider, Curveball—the combination of the three pitches made it hard for the batters to figure out, and their batting rhythm was disrupted.

Especially Tianjiu Kosei's slider; it was practically foul-level!

Not only was the lateral displacement large, but the trajectory was hard to predict.

If Huangqian Yangyi's early slider was a wasted pitch with too much deviation, then Tianjiu Kosei's slider had the maximum lateral shift within the perfect range.

"What's going on this year? Are there really this many geniuses? And they all came to our West Tokyo!"

"Another tough guy to deal with."

"Tianjiu Kosei from Ichidai Sanko, Narumiya Mei from Inashiro Industrial, and our own Huangqian, tsk tsk, incredible."

"What do you call this? The Golden Generation?"

The Seido teammates discussed among themselves; the appearance of Tianjiu Kosei made them feel the pressure as well. It would not be easy to continue scoring in the remaining two innings, so they had to defend the lead they currently held.

The game continued. In the top of the eighth inning, although the lower-order hitters of Ichidai Sanko swung actively and were determined to counterattack under the coordination of Miyuki and Nanjo Taishi, and even the Eighth Batter hit a Single, they ultimately failed to score any runs.