Chapter 158: A Fierce Offensive

In the top of the third inning, Seido was on the attack. Kominato Ryosuke stepped into the Batter's Box with his bat in hand. This was his second plate appearance of the game; his hitting quality in the previous round had been poor, leading to him and Zhitian Jiangtai being put out in a Double Play.

This time, he was to play the role of Zhitian Jiangtai: get on base!

Kominato Ryosuke knew exactly what he had to do. As a left-handed Batter, he already had an advantage over right-handed ones. Although his speed was not as fast as Zhitian Jiangtai's, as long as he could hit the ball to a spot that was difficult for the opponent to field, he would have a chance to reach base, even if it wasn't an Extra-base Hit.

Watching Hinata Hayato of the opposing team, Kominato Ryosuke kept recalling the opponent's pitching from the first two innings. The probability of the first pitch being a Fastball or a Forkball was highest, and the opponent's average pitch speed could reach over 145 kilometers. Such speed was absolutely within his capability, especially since Huangqian Yangyi joined Seido, as their Batting Practice was often focused on high-speed balls.

Getting ready, Kominato Ryosuke still wore a smile on his face; no one could discern his purpose or intentions from his expression. Hinata Hayato glanced at Yuki Tetsuya in the Dugout with a headache; he also knew how difficult this half-inning would be to get through. If he let Kominato Ryosuke reach base here, then Komadai Fujimaki would definitely fall into a crisis again.

Soon, the little white ball was pitched. Facing such a difficult situation, Hinata Hayato did not hesitate, pitching very decisively.

Whoosh!

The baseball flew in along a straight line. Kominato Ryosuke frowned, then swung his bat!

Thwack!

"Strike!"

The bat swept over the top of the baseball; this was a Forkball.

Having failed to select the first pitch, Kominato Ryosuke calmly retracted his bat. In this way, the probability of the opponent throwing an outside Fastball for the second pitch would be greater, and the third pitch was very likely to be a Slider.

Having chosen the pitch path in his mind, Kominato Ryosuke decisively chose to swing after the opponent threw the second pitch.

Bang!

The little white ball flew toward Third Base at an extremely fast speed.

It leaked through!

The Third Baseman failed to catch it, and the baseball flew behind him, piercing through the infield defense!

"Kominato!!"

"Nice hit!!"

"Run!"

Kominato Ryosuke succeeded with one strike, took off, and sprinted toward First Base. With his speed, a ball that pierced the infield defense was enough for him to safely reach First Base.

"Safe!"

Stepping onto the base, Kominato Ryosuke had excellently completed the task Coach Kataoka had given him. Next, it would depend on whether the teammates behind him could send him back to Home Plate.

"Senior Kominato! Oh oh!"

Huangqian Yangyi cheered for him in the Dugout. Kominato Ryosuke's reaching base had won a precious scoring opportunity for Seido.

Hearing the shouts, Kominato Ryosuke turned around to look at Huangqian Yangyi, then made a swinging motion toward him.

In the Komadai Fujimaki Dugout, Coach Yamamoto had an ugly expression. With the second batter on base, Seido's subsequent center lineup would definitely take advantage of the momentum to launch a fierce attack. Even with their ace Hinata Hayato, he dared not guarantee he could steadily survive this inning.

"Falling into a crisis, it seems we're going to lose points."

Just then, Ochiai Hiromitsu spoke up at an inopportune time.

Coach Yamamoto and the players in the Dugout all turned to look at him.

Ochiai Hiromitsu immediately shuddered and, awkwardly stroking his small mustache, said: "Get one out, walk two, actively create a bases-loaded situation, and go all out against the Sixth Batter and Seventh Batter—that is the best way."

Hearing this, everyone fell into silence. Actively create a bases-loaded situation? Was that really necessary?

Although Seido's center lineup was very formidable, their own ace was no pushover either. To just walk two people like that was not only a crisis, but also a loss of face!

They were a powerhouse school!

Seeing everyone's expressions, Ochiai Hiromitsu knew his suggestion had not been adopted, so he stopped speaking. It was not the first time he had encountered such a situation. At Komadai Fujimaki, his influence was not high; most of the time, he focused on guiding the players' technical skills, and Coach Yamamoto rarely listened to his opinions on tactical arrangements during games.

In the Batter's Box, Yuki Tetsuya's immovable stance brought great pressure to the Catcher and Pitcher. He was an Extra-base Hit type of Batter with strong explosive power, just like their third batter, Maya Yamato. Even with those difficult-to-hit speeds, once he tracked the ball, he could rely on his own explosive power to blast the baseball very far.

Especially at critical moments, while pressure might cause others to underperform, Yuki Tetsuya was different; his batting average at critical points was actually the highest. When the team needed him, he could always do something.

Now, the team needed him to advance the base and expand the advantage.

Hinata Hayato prepared to pitch with extreme focus. The Catcher had already given the signal: a diagonal, inside High Fastball.

The little white ball shot out like a laser. Hinata Hayato cranked up his pitch speed. With such an angle and speed, as long as he could throw it in, he believed that even if it were tracked, it would be impossible to hit an Extra-base Hit.

The next second, Jiecheng decisively swung his bat, with no thought of observing a pitch first—hit the ball as it came! Eyeing the pitch path, Jiecheng swung his bat with all his might, yet the angle of this ball was truly too tricky.

Bang!

The middle of the bat managed to hit the baseball. After being struck by this blow, the little white ball immediately flew out. It was not high, nor was it fast, but it happened to pass between First and Second Base. Jiecheng dropped his bat and rushed toward First Base. In his sprint, he even glanced at Kominato Ryosuke's position and discovered that this guy had already run half the distance. This guy had started running even before he had hit the ball.

The people from Komadai Fujimaki also realized this was a Hit and Run. By the time the baseball landed and was picked up by the rushing fielder, Kominato Ryosuke was already just one step away from the Second Base bag.

"First Base!!"

The Catcher shouted, and then the baseball was thrown toward First Base.

Thwack!

"Out!" The umpire loudly announced that Jiecheng Yuki Tetsuya was out.

It was a hit of low quality. Although he was put out, Kominato Ryosuke had accurately seized the opportunity to start running early and reached Second Base. Jiecheng could be considered to have barely completed his task, and he walked off the field feeling satisfied.

One out, runner on Second Base. Hinata Hayato turned his head to look at the Dugout, where Coach Yamamoto was quickly gesturing to give instructions.

Walk Dong Qingguo, and face Huangqian Yangyi!

As the assistant coach of Komadai Fujimaki, he was naturally very clear about the signals in the team. Seeing Coach Yamamoto's instructions, Ochiai Hiromitsu felt it was a pity. If they could have successfully struck out Yuki Tetsuya just now, then walked Dong Qingguo and Sawamura Eijun, and focused on dealing with the Sixth Batter and Seventh Batter, whose batting levels were a notch lower, it would still have been possible to stabilize this inning without losing points.

But now, Kominato Ryosuke had reached Second Base, and it was no longer possible to walk two people. No matter what, they had to face either Dong Qingguo or Huangqian Yangyi.