Chapter 151: Honghai Daisaryo

One day later, the Round of 16 matches all concluded; as expected, championship favorites Osaka Kiryu and Seibo High School both advanced to the quarterfinals.

On that same day, the schools that made it to the quarterfinals were to draw lots again to determine their next opponents.

"Osaka Kiryu is in our bracket!"

When the draw results came out, the guys from Seido immediately exploded.

"What rotten luck. It would have been so much better if Seibo High School and Osaka Kiryu had been put in the same bracket."

"Yeah, doesn't this mean we at Seido have to beat both of these teams if we want to win the championship?"

"A devil's bracket!"

"No way, we're going to be exhausted to death."

The guys wailed one after another; even Coach Kataoka wore a bitter expression upon seeing the bracket. The difficulty for Seido to win the championship had just gone up another level.

"Coach, this..." Takashima Rei was somewhat worried, fearing the players would be affected by this bracket.

"Let's win the next game first," Coach Kataoka said.

Seido would only meet Osaka Kiryu in the semi-finals; if they could win that, barring any surprises, their opponent in the final would be Seibo. This terrifying level of difficulty for the championship was no less than Seido consecutively defeating Inashiro Industrial and Ichidai Sanko.

"Huangqian Yangyi, this is looking a bit bad," Miyuki said, holding his phone as he approached Huangqian Yangyi.

"I expected this," Huangqian Yangyi said.

In the original story, the Koshien champion this year was Seibo High School, while Osaka Kiryu was the runner-up.

"Can your body keep up? The next three games are all going to be brutal battles," Miyuki asked with concern.

Huangqian Yangyi nodded slightly: "I have to, even if I can't. I've already come this far; how could I possibly back down now?"

Hearing this, Miyuki pushed up his glasses. It was clear he was still very worried about the upcoming games. Not only were there two major championship favorites, but even their next opponent in the quarterfinals was extremely difficult to deal with.

The Kanagawa representative, Honghai Daisaryo!

Just like Seido, they were a nationally renowned baseball powerhouse, and their strength was not inferior to any team in the country.

"I heard their Coach Yamamoto is getting old and is about to retire. Do you think there's a possibility he might get muddled and pull some foolish tactics during the game?" Miyuki said with a mischievous grin.

Heh.

Huangqian Yangyi rolled his eyes to the heavens. Coach Yamamoto was old, not senile.

Besides, Honghai Daisaryo didn't just have Coach Yamamoto; they also had their assistant coach, Ochiai Hiromitsu!

In the original story, this guy would come to Seido before next autumn. He was a guy with extremely rich experience, especially when it came to technical guidance for players; his advice was simply spot-on.

For a team with such a person, dreaming that they would make any low-level mistakes was a waste of time.

However, this guy didn't seem to be having a very pleasant time at Honghai Daisaryo. Because of his coaching style, which was strict to the point of being cold-blooded, the players might admire his ability, but not a single one of them felt grateful or respectful toward him. Eventually, following Coach Yamamoto's retirement, Honghai Daisaryo hired a new coach. Unwilling to remain a deputy, he chose to leave Honghai Daisaryo and accepted Seido's invitation, choosing to take over Coach Kataoka's position.

In reality, it was because Honghai Daisaryo was cutting salaries, while Seido offered a high one.

After looking up the information on Ochiai Hiromitsu, Huangqian Yangyi felt a bit of anticipation for the day this guy would come to Seido.

Just as he thought this, Huangqian Yangyi suddenly froze.

Damn it, that's not right!

The reason Ochiai Hiromitsu came to Seido was, first, because of money, and second, because in the original story, Seido lost to Inashiro in the final of next year's Summer Regional Tournament, and Coach Kataoka submitted his resignation under pressure and a sense of personal responsibility, which was why Seido invited Ochiai Hiromitsu.

But now, Seido's results were already enough to make anyone shut up. In such a situation, would Ochiai Hiromitsu still come to Seido?

Hiss!

Huangqian Yangyi had a bit of a headache. A coach with this level of skill joining Seido would definitely be able to take the team's overall strength to the next level. This wasn't to say Coach Kataoka wasn't capable, but the two were good at different things. In grasping the big picture, Coach Kataoka was definitely excellent, but in terms of details, Ochiai Hiromitsu was a cut above.

If these two worked as a pair, they could definitely make the team exert a strength greater than the sum of its parts.

The day before the quarterfinals began, Seido spent the entire day in the conference room studying Honghai Daisaryo. Just watching their game footage made Huangqian Yangyi feel like he was going to throw up.

Dual aces and a strong batting lineup—these were the biggest characteristics of Honghai Daisaryo.

Among the dual aces, the one wearing the number 1 jersey, Hinata Hayato, was a third-year pitcher for Honghai Daisaryo and the pillar of the team.

His top speed had reached 149 km/h, and he had mastered the four-seam fastball, forkball, slider, and circle changeup. Furthermore, he was a left-hander, making him a fairly difficult pitcher to deal with.

The other one was a second-year named Kokune Mirai, a right-handed pitcher. Although his speed wasn't as good as Hinata Hayato's, it still reached 145 km/h. The pitches he had mastered included the four-seam, sinker, and a high-speed, dropping vertical slider!

Neither of the two pitchers was a pushover; it could be expected that this game would become a pitcher's duel.

"Based on the existing data, Honghai Daisaryo is a team with a fairly high level of completion. In terms of offense, they are not limited to one type of scoring method; as long as there is an opportunity, they will try every possible way to advance the runners, such as stolen bases."

Coach Kataoka was summarizing before the meeting ended.

"In tomorrow's game, regarding defense, the infield needs to be on high alert."

"Yes!!"

"And the pitchers, although focusing on dealing with the batters is your task, when necessary, checking the runners on base is also something that must be done."

"Yes!" the three pitchers shouted.

Coach Kataoka nodded and then said: "Tomorrow's starting pitcher, Huangqian!"

"Here!" Huangqian Yangyi stood up.

"From the start of the game, don't give the opponent any chances; suppress their momentum!" Coach Kataoka said sternly.

"Yes! Boss! I guarantee I will complete the mission!"

Next, Tanba would be the middle reliever, and Nanjo Taishi would close.

Miyuki would be responsible for catching for Huangqian Yangyi and Tanba Koichiro, while Nanjo Taishi would still be paired with his old partner, Tanaka Koichi.

Just a short distance from the hotel where Seido was staying, Honghai Daisaryo was also studying Seido High School.

"In tomorrow's game, when on offense, facing Seido's third and fourth batters, you can choose to issue a base on balls depending on the situation on the field; try to avoid head-on confrontations with Seido's power hitters," Coach Yamamoto said.

Ochiai Hiromitsu, standing to the side, stroked his small mustache and nodded repeatedly. When encountering powerful batters, choosing a base on balls to ensure victory in the game was nothing to be ashamed of.