Chapter 141: Stolen Base! Stolen Base!

Bang!

Fengdao Yingtai threw a fast Fastball, but to everyone's surprise, Kominato Ryosuke laid down a bunt, and the sacrifice was successful!

And it was a Hit and Run!

"Second Base!" the Catcher shouted.

The baseball rolled between Second Base and Third Base; by the time the Seido players threw the ball, Kuramochi Yoichi had already dove onto the Second Base bag, and when the ball was then thrown to First Base, it was a step too late, with Kominato Ryosuke sprinting past the First Base bag with a grin.

"Whoa!!"

The spectators instantly erupted; with runners on First and Second and no outs, and the heart of the Seido lineup coming up next, this run was practically served on a silver platter.

On the Pitcher's Mound, Fengdao Yingtai also felt the pressure; having fought his way through from the fifth inning in Fukushima, this wasn't his first time facing a powerful lineup, but none of those opponents had pressured him like Seido did. Looking at Yuki Tetsuya walking toward the Batter's Box, Fengdao Yingtai exchanged a glance with the Catcher, who nodded; to resolve the current crisis, they had to go all out and use every trick in the book.

The Catcher gave the signal, and the entire stadium's attention was fixed on Yuki Tetsuya; the Seido fans hoped he would get a hit, while the Seido fans hoped Yuki would be struck out.

In the Batter's Box, Yuki Tetsuya was incredibly focused, swaying his bat every now and then, fully displaying his desire to hit.

Fengdao Yingtai exhaled, lifted his leg, and swung his arm.

Tap-tap-tap~

Taking advantage of everyone's attention being drawn to Yuki Tetsuya, Zhitian Jiangtai quietly left Second Base and charged toward Third Base the moment the Pitcher threw the ball.

"Stolen base!"

The Second Baseman realized it and hurriedly called out a warning, but by then, Fengdao Yingtai had already thrown the baseball.

In the Batter's Box, Yuki Tetsuya stood quietly in place without swinging.

Thwack!

The baseball was caught by the Catcher, who quickly stood up and threw the ball toward Third Base.

"Safe!"

"Hahaha!" Zhitian Jiangtai had successfully stolen the base, his face beaming with a smile.

See? Don't you guys love stealing bases? Didn't expect us at Seido to steal one first, did you?

Seemingly reading the meaning in Kuramochi Yoichi's expression, the Seido Third Baseman's face turned black.

On the Pitcher's Mound, Fengdao Yingtai's expression wasn't good either; he had been too focused on the Batter and completely forgot about holding the runner.

It wasn't just him; the Catcher was even more annoyed. His field of vision could clearly see Zhitian Jiangtai's movements, but he had been too invested in the game, focusing all his attention on Fengdao Yingtai's pitch.

Yuki Tetsuya glanced at Zhitian Jiangtai on Third Base and nodded at him, signaling him not to steal again.

Zhitian Jiangtai gave a thumbs up; now that he was on Third Base, he believed Yuki Tetsuya would definitely bring him home, and with Dong Qingguo coming up after Yuki Tetsuya, he was certain to score this run!

However, after signaling Zhitian Jiangtai not to act rashly, Yuki Tetsuya turned his head and smiled slightly at Kominato Ryosuke, in whose eyes a sharp glint flashed, already prepared to steal a base.

Whoosh!

Yuki Tetsuya prepared to hit again, and Zhitian Jiangtai also left Third Base, creeping forward two steps.

Fengdao Yingtai's gaze immediately fell on Zhitian Jiangtai, who promptly retreated back to Third Base.

This small action made everyone on Seido, except for the Pitcher and Catcher, wary of Kuramochi Yoichi, fearing this guy would steal again.

Zoom!

Fengdao Yingtai threw the baseball, and at that very moment, Zhitian Jiangtai on Third Base and Kominato Ryosuke on First Base took off at the same time!

"Stolen base!!"

"Double steal!"

The Catcher caught the baseball and stood up to look at Zhitian Jiangtai, only to see Zhitian Jiangtai, who had only run out two steps, turn around and run back to Third Base.

Oh no!

Got played!

The Catcher realized the problem and hurriedly threw the baseball toward Second Base.

"Safe!"

Following Zhitian Jiangtai's successful steal, Kominato Ryosuke also successfully stole Second Base.

The Seido players were going crazy; wait, aren't you guys a powerhouse school? Stealing bases so wildly after getting on base, don't you have any pride?

Pride? What kind of thing is that?

The Seido fans didn't care about such things; having finally made it to Koshien, they naturally hoped the team would go as far as possible—ideally, winning the championship!

Besides, wasn't Seido good at bunting and stealing bases? Defeating them using the very methods they excelled at was just... so cool!

The Seido fans had goosebumps.

In the Batter's Box, Yuki Tetsuya hadn't swung his bat once, yet he had allowed both runners to advance; clearly, a large part of the runners' success in stealing bases was due to the immense pressure his batting prowess placed on Seido.

"Tsk tsk, the Seido players must be in complete disarray by now," Kuramochi Yoichi said with a smile.

"Yeah, they definitely didn't expect this kind of situation," Miyuki said.

With runners on Second and Third and no outs, this was a major crisis for Seido.

Fengdao Yingtai finally understood what a so-called powerhouse school was all about; to many, a powerhouse meant a collection of talented players with a strong ace and a powerful lineup, but in reality, a team worthy of being called a powerhouse was weak in no aspect—for instance, their base-stealing tactics.

Even though Seido didn't use base-stealing tactics that often, when they did use them, they were no worse than teams that practiced them exclusively—in fact, they were even better.

Facing Yuki Tetsuya, Fengdao Yingtai had already thrown one Fastball and one Curveball; he would finish him off with the next pitch!

Fengdao Yingtai cupped the baseball in his palm and swung his arm with force to throw it.

Zoom!

Yuki Tetsuya's eyes narrowed, and then he swung his bat.

He had been prepared for the opponent's Changeup, but unfortunately, he still failed to time the hit perfectly.

Bang!

The bat barely grazed the baseball.

Didn't hit it well!

The baseball flew out, struck between First Base and Third Base, bounced, and passed right in front of the diving Shortstop.

At the same time, Zhitian Jiangtai sprinted toward Home Plate!

"Third Base!!" the Catcher shouted; under the current circumstances, it was already too late to put Zhitian Jiangtai out, so the only choice was to concede one run and put Kominato Ryosuke out instead.

The Seika Academy player intercepted the baseball and, upon hearing the Catcher's shout, immediately threw the baseball toward Third Base.

Kominato Ryosuke was just a hair's breadth away from reaching Third Base, and Zhitian Jiangtai successfully returned to Home Plate, scoring Seido's first run at Koshien.

"Oh~!!!"

Having scored the first run, the Seido fans suddenly erupted into cheers that shook the entire stadium.

Zhitian Jiangtai also clenched his fist and waved toward the spectator stands.

"You ran fast; you did a great job."

"The first run, you really did it."

"It's a pity for Kominato, he was just a little short."

"Dong! Hit it out!"

The Seido spectators cheered with joy, while conversely, the people from Seika Academy remained silent.

Conceding one run to get one out, with a runner on First Base, Seika Academy's situation was still not very good.

Dong Qingguo walked to the Batter's Box with a wide grin, glaring fiercely at Fengdao Yingtai on the Pitcher's Mound; for his first at-bat at Koshien, he had to put on a good performance, preferably a Home Run!

By then, the professional scouts in the stands would likely rate him even higher.