Chapter 150: Koshien Top 8!

"Home Run!"

"Seido High School First Year ace Huangqian Yangyi has hit a home run the very first time he stepped into the Batter's Box at Koshien!"

"Visible baseball talent, it's too terrifying!"

A home run that flew into the spectator stands ignited the atmosphere of the entire stadium once again, and Huangqian Yangyi ran back to home plate with a smile, waving his hand.

"This guy, hitting a home run on his first pitch, this isn't just luck anymore, this must be destiny," Zhitian Jiangtai remarked.

"No, it's one thing that he pitches so well, but his batting is also this good—how is that fair?"

"Exactly, exactly, is he even letting people live?"

"Comparing yourself to others will only make you die of anger."

The companions from Seido watched Huangqian Yangyi return to the sidelines, each of them pretending as if nothing had happened.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing? Not going to congratulate me? That was my first Koshien home run!" Huangqian Yangyi said to the group.

"Don't get cocky, it's just one home run," Dong Qingguo said.

Huangqian Yangyi smiled, knowing the seniors were just teasing him, so he pretended to be aggrieved and leaned toward Jiantian Youxiang: "Senior, they're bullying me, you have to stand up for me."

Jiantian Youxiang covered her mouth and giggled, "Alright, if they won't congratulate you, I will."

"As expected, Senior is the best, unlike those stinky guys, they are all so annoying," Huangqian Yangyi said to the group while rolling his eyes.

"You brat, take this!"

While there was horseplay in the Dugout, the game on the field continued; Zhitian Jiangtai, who went up to bat first, was struck out, ending the top of the ninth inning, and the game moved to the bottom of the ninth, Kawae High School's final offensive opportunity.

Calling it an opportunity was a stretch, as they had actually already given up; wanting to score nine runs in a single half-inning against an opponent like Seido was nothing more than a pipe dream.

After messing around with his companions, Huangqian Yangyi put on his pitcher's glove and walked onto the field with everyone else to finish the game.

A few minutes later, Kawae's three Batters were easily struck out by Huangqian Yangyi; having lost most of their fighting spirit, they had almost no desire to resist, and even their swings looked listless.

"The second match of the third round of the Koshien tournament, the game between West Tokyo representative Seido High School and Aihime Prefecture representative Kawae High School, ends here. The score is 11:1, the winner is Seido High School!"

"Congratulations to Seido High School for successfully entering the Top 8!"

The moment the game ended, everyone from Seido cheered; the Top 8—this was a result they wouldn't have dared to imagine before. Although they shouted about dominating the nation, that was ultimately just a slogan, a goal, but now, the reality they had fought hard for was right before their eyes.

Moreover, a Top 8 finish was enough to answer to themselves, the school, and their fans.

It could be said that the pressure on their shoulders suddenly lightened by more than half at this moment; every game they won from here on out was a bonus, and if they could make it to the finals or even win the championship, that would be a massive gain.

Seido High School had achieved its goal, and as for Kawae High School, they didn't seem as heartbroken as Shenghua had been before.

They were a dark horse school to begin with, and by entering Koshien, they had already exceeded their goals, not to mention that they had miraculously made it through the first and second rounds into the Top 16, which was already the best result in their Baseball Club's history.

Although there was a hint of regret in losing to Seido, overall they didn't feel too unwilling; when the two sides shook hands, there were actually smiles on their faces, which in turn left the companions from Seido dumbfounded.

"Three more games!"

After the group thanked the audience and packed their things to return to the locker room, Coach Kataoka came before them and held up three fingers.

"For the next three games, we must give our all in every single one. If we want to achieve final victory and bring the highest honor back to the school, every one of us must put in 120% effort!" Coach Kataoka said.

Seido now had Huangqian Yangyi anchoring the pitching staff, with Nanjo Taishi and Tanba Koichiro behind him; the only slight flaw was whether Huangqian Yangyi's stamina would allow him to pitch the full game in the high-intensity matches to come.

As for the batting side, Coach Kataoka didn't think there was any team this year whose Pitcher could completely suppress their lineup. Even for the two championship favorites with the most buzz this year, Seibo High School and Osaka Kiryu High School, while their lineups were indeed powerful, Seido would absolutely not be inferior to them.

Leaving the locker room, Huangqian Yangyi was intercepted by a group of reporters in the hallway.

He cast a look of help toward Coach Kataoka, who hurriedly stood by Huangqian Yangyi's side to help deal with the reporters, eventually leaving only one reporter from Baseball Kingdom—who was actually an editor-in-chief!

"Student Huangqian, would it be convenient to answer a few questions?" The reporter, sporting a reflective bald spot, looked at Huangqian Yangyi with a smile.

"Sure," Huangqian Yangyi nodded.

Hearing this, the reporter happily took out a notebook, a fountain pen, and a voice recorder.

"As a first-year rookie, and as the ace for a powerhouse like Seido, what would Student Huangqian like to say about stepping onto the Koshien field for the first time?"

"Happy, I suppose, and a little nervous," Huangqian Yangyi said.

"Nervous? But Student Huangqian threw a speed of 157 km/h on your very first pitch."

"Luck, that was just luck."

The reporter smiled and stopped dwelling on that question, then asked: "Now that Seido High School has entered the Top 8, what are Student Huangqian's goals for the next stage?"

Hearing this, Huangqian Yangyi glanced at Coach Kataoka beside him, then turned to the reporter and said: "The championship, of course."

"The championship? Student Huangqian is very confident," the reporter said.

"Of course, otherwise why would we have come? For a vacation?"

The reporter was very satisfied with Huangqian Yangyi's blunt answer; just this one sentence alone would be enough to attract a lot of attention once released.

"May I ask if Student Huangqian will be the starting Pitcher for the next game?"

When asking this question, the reporter looked at Kataoka Tesshin to the side.

Coach Kataoka said expressionlessly: "Regardless of who the opponent is in the next game, Huangqian will take the mound. As for whether he will start, that will have to wait until after the draw to decide."

The reporter nodded, then asked Huangqian Yangyi a few more trivial questions before ending the interview.

After leaving the stadium, the group boarded the bus together to return to the hotel; after everyone washed up and changed into clean clothes, they gathered in a conference room where various foods, including both main courses and desserts, had been prepared.

The group ate while watching the game currently taking place at Koshien Stadium.