Chapter 152: Quarterfinals

"Manager, that Huangqian Yangyi's batting is also very formidable," someone said.

Hearing this, Manager Yamamoto frowned; he certainly knew about Huangqian Yangyi's batting, but having already chosen to issue a Base on Balls to the third and fourth batters, if he were to also issue one to a First Year, it would look far too unsightly.

Just as Manager Yamamoto was hesitating, Ochiai Hiromitsu spoke up, "Decide based on the situation on the field; if necessary, you can also choose to issue a Base on Balls."

Manager Yamamoto looked at Ochiai Hiromitsu with some displeasure; although the two had worked together for many years, he still could not bring himself to be as shameless as Ochiai Hiromitsu for the sake of victory.

"Then, for tomorrow's starting Pitcher, Hinata Hayato!" Manager Yamamoto simply stopped dwelling on this matter and began to discuss the starting lineup for tomorrow.

"Give me a fierce suppression of Seido's batting lineup!"

"Don't worry, Manager!" Hinata Hayato was full of confidence; apart from the three who needed to be issued a Base on Balls, he was confident he could deal with the other Batters.

The next day, the first game of the quarterfinals, Seido High School versus Honghai University Sagami High School, officially began.

The players from both sides walked onto the field amidst the cheers of thousands of spectators.

"Line up!"

"Salute!"

"Please treat us well!"

The players' faces were beaming with smiles; after shaking hands, they each returned to their respective Dugouts to prepare for the game.

"It's starting, it's starting! A collision between prestigious schools!"

"Ooooooh!!!"

"The air is thick with gunpowder."

"This match is going to be interesting."

The spectators watched the field below with excitement and anticipation; once in the quarterfinals, there wasn't a single weak team, and matches like this were the ones worth watching.

"Top of the first inning, Seido High School attacking, first batter, Shortstop, Zhitian Jiangtai."

Gripping his bat, Zhitian Jiangtai stood in the Batter's Box, locking eyes with the Pitcher, Hinata Hayato.

Hinata Hayato was also recalling the data on Zhitian Jiangtai in his mind at this moment.

A third-year Shortstop who had served as Seido's first batter since his second year, he was a player with great foot speed; although his speed couldn't be called top-tier, his excellent batting also provided great assistance for him to reach First Base.

Against this type of Batter, even if the pitch was tricky, as long as they could make even a slight contact, they had the potential to force their way to First Base relying on their speed.

The best method was to use the pitch to forcefully Strikeout him!

At the Catcher's position behind home plate, Honghai University Sagami's Catcher, Sugii Yuta, shifted his gaze away from Zhitian Jiangtai and finally gave the signal to Hinata Hayato.

Come on, first pitch, an inside four-seam Fastball; let's see how the opponent handles it.

Based on observations from previous games, they were also aware of Zhitian Jiangtai's habit of preferring to observe first at the start of a game.

Hinata Hayato nodded, swung his arm with force, and the little white ball instantly flew from the Pitcher's Mound.

Just at this moment, a bat was laid horizontally in front of the Catcher's eyes.

No way, a bunt on the first pitch!

Bang!

Zhitian Jiangtai's bold bunt caught the opponent off guard, skillfully deadening the force of the baseball, and the little white ball rolled rapidly toward the space between Second and Third Base.

"Zhitian! Run!"

"First Base!"

The spectators shouted at Zhitian Jiangtai; Honghai University Sagami's Shortstop rushed toward the rolling baseball, and the moment he caught the ball in his glove, he glanced at Zhitian Jiangtai's position out of the corner of his eye.

Damn it! How is he so fast!

There was no time to hesitate; he raised his hand and threw the ball, and the baseball and Zhitian Jiangtai approached First Base at the same time.

"Faster!"

"Reach base!"

"Out!"

Both sides were powerhouses, and their fans were evenly matched; the entire stadium echoed with synchronized shouting.

Slap!

The baseball entered the First Baseman's glove, but unfortunately, Zhitian Jiangtai had stepped on the base a split second faster.

"Safe!"

The umpire shouted loudly.

On the Pitcher's Mound, Hinata Hayato was grinding his teeth in anger; this guy usually chose to observe one or even two pitches when facing unfamiliar pitchers, but today he had acted contrary to his usual behavior, bunting right from the start.

Fine, fine, fine, playing the surprise card, are we?

Just as the Seido fans were cheering, Hinata Hayato had already shifted his focus to the second batter, Kominato Ryosuke.

He had to get a Double Play, otherwise, even if he successfully dealt with Kominato Ryosuke, with a runner on First Base, he wouldn't dare to continue issuing a Base on Balls to Yuki Tetsuya and Dong Qingguo!

The Pitcher and Catcher exchanged glances, and then an outside Slider was thrown.

To deal with a Batter like Kominato Ryosuke, who wasn't tall and didn't have long arms, and was also a left-handed hitter, an outside Slider was the wisest choice.

Kominato Ryosuke frowned as he watched the baseball, which was far from his body, and then swung his bat with all his might, his body and arms reaching out to the limit.

"Slap!"

"Strike!"

"Tsk, these guys are targeting the fact that Kominato-senpai's arms aren't long enough; how despicable," Huangqian Yangyi said with a wicked smile.

During team practice, whenever he faced Kominato Ryosuke, he would also use this tactic to keep the ball as far away from Kominato Ryosuke as possible.

"Such methods won't work to deal with Kominato," Dong Qingguo said.

"Yeah, Kominato-senpai is a technical Batter."

On the field, Kominato Ryosuke, having swung and missed, smiled and took a step forward, moving even closer to home plate.

Oh?

The Catcher noticed Kominato Ryosuke's movement; indeed, this made the outside pitch easier to hit, but what about the inside pitch?

For the second pitch, Hinata Hayato threw the baseball toward Kominato Ryosuke's chest just as expected.

Whoosh—!

A streak of white light struck, and Kominato Ryosuke gritted his teeth and swung his bat toward the bottom of the baseball!

Bang!

Caught it!

Kominato Ryosuke chose the right ball, and the baseball instantly flew out and landed not far in front of the Shortstop; the baseball bounced up with great speed, but at that moment, the Komadai Fujimaki Shortstop emerged from the side like a phantom, his glove steadily catching the baseball.

The Shortstop, having leaped into the air, lightly flicked his wrist to throw the ball to the Second Baseman.

Pop! Zhitian Jiangtai was forced out.

Pop! Kominato Ryosuke was forced out!

Double Play!

"Beautiful!"

"Great Double Play!"

"Ooooooh!"

The fans of Komadai Fujimaki went absolutely wild; they were already surprised that Kominato Ryosuke could hit such a Forkball that was so close to his body, but they hadn't expected their Shortstop to be even more outrageous—this god-like play directly snuffed out Seido's offensive, grabbing two outs in one go!

The Seido Dugout was silent at this moment; the golden opportunity had vanished in an instant, and no one could be happy about that.

"A very spectacular defense."

"As expected of Honghai Da."

"There isn't a single gap to exploit; if we want to win this game, we have to rely on pure strength!"

"They are strong, but we aren't bad either!"

"Yuki! Hit it out!!"

The teammates shouted, full of fighting spirit.

Yuki Tetsuya stepped into the Batter's Box, and the Komadai Fujimaki Catcher immediately glanced at Manager Yamamoto, who shook his head.

With two outs already on the board, there was no need for a Base on Balls.

The Catcher received the instruction and, without further thought, immediately signaled the sign.