Chapter 142

With his own plans in mind, Dong Qingguo looked at Fengdao Yingtai with eyes like a starving tiger seeing its prey; he would swing at the ball the moment it came! He swung at the very first pitch!

Just a moment ago, this guy had thrown a palmball, a type of changeup, to deal with Jiecheng, so he had to be careful that the opponent might throw a changeup on the first pitch, though that possibility was slim.

Generally speaking, to throw a changeup, one would first use other pitch types to set it up, especially since the palmball is the easiest changeup to read, not only because the deceleration is early, but also because the downward break is significant.

Therefore, this first pitch was either a fastball or a curveball, and no matter what it was, Dong Qingguo was confident he could hit it!

On the pitcher's mound, Fengdao Yingtai gripped the baseball tightly; what should he do? A base on balls? Walking Dong Qingguo would result in runners on first and second, but Seido's fifth and sixth batters were no pushovers either, and the situation would likely become even more dangerous then.

The best way was to finish off Dong Qingguo right here and secure two outs.

After a brainstorm, Fengdao Yingtai exchanged information with the catcher through his eyes, and then quickly threw the baseball.

The moment the little white ball left his hand, the bat in Dong Qingguo's hands swung toward the outside corner.

Bang!

The bat hit the baseball solidly, and the little white ball flew toward the sky.

"Left Fielder!"

Dong Qingguo sprinted toward first base while watching the baseball in the air; at this height and speed, it looked like it might be a home run, but it could also be an extra-base hit to left field.

Soon, the result was clear; the little white ball flew out almost grazing the wall and landed in the spectator stands.

"Home Run!"

"Seido's fourth batter, Dong Qingguo, has hit his first home run at Koshien!"

"Dong Qingguo! Dong Qingguo!"

"Seido!!"

The roar of the fans filled the entire stadium as they shouted Dong Qingguo's name in unison.

It was so exciting! This was only the first inning of Seido's first game at Koshien, and their captain had already blasted a home run!

In all fairness, Fengdao Yingtai's pitching was not bad at all; this fastball was not only fast, but the location was also tricky. Such a pitch path made it uncomfortable for a batter, and even if hit, it was hard to drive it far.

But Dong Qingguo not only caught the ball but also blasted it into the stands; this hitting prowess made the Seika players feel it was simply unbelievable.

"Hahaha!" Isashiki Jun laughed loudly as he jogged back to home plate with Yuki, scoring two runs for Seido.

Giving up three runs in one inning, Fengdao Yingtai's face could not have looked any worse; he had never encountered such a powerful batting lineup before. No, it wasn't just the hitting strength; every Seido player seemed to be craving runs, their offensive desire was too strong!

"Yingtai! Just pitch to him!"

"Keep it up!"

The Seika fans were not willing to give up either, shouting toward the pitcher's mound.

After the three runs, Tanaka Wataru stepped into the batter's box and tangled with Fengdao Yingtai until a full count, only to be finished off by a changeup in the end.

Isashiki Jun, who came up as the seventh batter, caught a curveball and knocked out a single, but unfortunately, the subsequent Shinoki Keita could not continue the offensive; after hitting a ground ball, Seika chose to force out Isashiki Jun.

The first inning ended with Seido High School leading Seika Academy 3:0.

Switching sides, in the following second inning, Nanjo Taishi and Tanaka Wataru perfectly suppressed Seika's batting lineup, not letting a single person reach base.

Conversely, in the bottom of the second, although the eighth batter Yoshikawa Junpei was struck out, the ninth batter Nanjo Taishi managed to reach first base with a thrilling infield hit.

The batting order rotated back to Zhitian Jiangtai, but this time he was fooled by Fengdao Yingtai's changeup and helplessly swung at air for an out.

Having secured two outs, Fengdao Yingtai glanced at Nanjo Taishi on first base; he had to end this inning here, otherwise, Yuki Tetsuya would be up next!

He couldn't understand; Fengdao Yingtai didn't get why he kept running into Seido's heart of the order every half-inning.

Standing on the pitcher's mound, Fengdao Yingtai felt a mess inside; looking at the smiling Kominato Ryosuke, Fengdao Yingtai tried his best to calm himself down, constantly telling himself that this was a competitive match and a temporary deficit was not scary.

Soon, the calmed-down Fengdao Yingtai threw the first pitch to Kominato Ryosuke.

"Strike!"

Kominato Ryosuke swung and missed.

Huh? A ball?

Kominato Ryosuke had originally chosen to hit the outside corner, but he didn't expect this pitch to veer outside the strike zone.

Heh, it's only the second inning; it seems this genius pitcher is starting to get anxious, Kominato Ryosuke thought to himself.

In reality, for someone who had only been playing baseball for a year, possessing his current strength and results was already very impressive, but it was his misfortune to run into Seido.

Bang!

On the second pitch, an inside fastball, Kominato Ryosuke decisively swung his bat; the little white ball flew high and then fell—a flyout!

With this, the second inning ended.

Kominato Ryosuke smiled helplessly; this pitcher's mental fortitude was truly something. The first pitch was clearly a mistake, yet he could still throw so precisely on the second pitch. He was worthy of someone who had experienced big stages; even if the team's situation was poor and he himself was anxious, he could still steady his emotions and display his strength.

It was a pity; if a guy like this had been exposed to baseball since childhood, perhaps his achievements would be very high.

Afterward, in the third inning, Seika still failed to score any runs off Nanjo Taishi, while Seido scored another two runs.

The game continued until the eighth inning, and the score had already been widened to a 10:0 gap.

"Seika, to think they would be this miserable."

The spectators looked toward Seido's side and couldn't help but feel amazed. No matter what, Seika was still a team that had made it to Koshien, and there were many spectators present who had come specifically to see how far this dark horse could go; who would have thought that in their very first game, Seika would be beaten until they couldn't find north.

Especially after the sixth inning, Seido swapped out all their pitchers and catchers; the second-year pitcher Tanba Koichiro and first-year catcher Miyuki Kazuya took the field, yet they still couldn't score any runs.

That pitcher named Tanba, despite clearly looking incredibly nervous, managed to defuse crises thrillingly every time with the catcher's coordination, making Seika's offensive attempts return empty-handed.

Miyuki's brilliant performance instantly attracted the attention of the professional scouts in the stands; to have such a high level of skill while only being a first-year, he had to be focused on. Even if he was only a first-year, it didn't stop them from adding Miyuki to their observation list; they could afford to wait.

One had to know that even in professional baseball, high-level catchers were quite rare; it could be said that there wasn't a team that didn't want to possess one, and compared to pitchers, a catcher's career lifespan was much longer.