Chapter 160: Continuous Base on Balls

"First Base!"

Miyuki pointed his finger toward first base and shouted; it was already impossible to throw back from that position to get the out at third base, so he could only try for the out at first.

Shinoki Keita, who had retreated to the back early, locked his eyes on the trajectory of the flying baseball and rushed over. The baseball hit the ground! Shinoki Keita met it, caught it, and quickly threw it toward first base.

Pop!

"Safe!"

Furukawa Shunsuke reached base safely.

Jiecheng, having received the ball, did not hesitate and threw it directly to Miyuki at home plate.

Two outs, runners on first and third. Huangqian Yangyi glanced toward third base; the opponent looked ready to bolt at any moment, seemingly trying to apply pressure on him.

As for Furukawa Shunsuke on first base, Huangqian Yangyi couldn't even be bothered to look at him.

"Huangqian, focus on the Batter!"

"Two outs!"

"Let's go!"

Voices came from his teammates behind him. Huangqian Yangyi smiled; were these guys nervous?

He turned his head to look at Miyuki in the Catcher position. At this moment, the Fifth Batter of Honghai Daxiangliang had already stepped into the Batter's Box. Miyuki gave the signal: the first pitch was a low, outside Slider.

Whoosh.

Huangqian Yangyi threw the baseball. As it flew in, it was almost impossible for the Batter to distinguish the pitch type; he could only swing as it came. However, this ball shifted rapidly right in front of the bat, evading the hit.

"Strike!"

Phew~

The Seido fans in the stands all let out a long sigh of relief at the same time.

"Strike him out!!"

Having secured one Strike, the spectators shouted one after another. The Seido fans' hearts were in their throats; they were extremely worried that Huangqian Yangyi's streak of no runs allowed since joining the team would be broken right here.

On the Pitcher's Mound, Huangqian Yangyi did not let the fans down. He followed up with a Fastball clocked at 154 kilometers per hour, causing the Batter to swing and miss, successfully reaching two Strikes.

The Batter had swung and missed twice, and the expression on his face was extremely ugly. He didn't want a scoring opportunity that had finally appeared to slip through his hands like this; no matter what, he had to send his teammate home.

Should he bunt? The moment this thought crossed the Batter's mind, he immediately dismissed it. Even if he could successfully bunt, given Seido's defense, as long as they could get any one of the three of them out, the inning would end. The risk was still too high.

To secure this run steadily, he had to go for an Extra-base Hit!

Just as the Batter was pondering this, Miyuki had already given the signal.

Zoom!

The little white ball flew from his fingertips, shooting toward home plate like a laser. The Batter roared and swung his bat, sweeping it fiercely toward the incoming baseball.

Bang!

The bat struck the little white ball heavily, and the baseball slammed into the ground and bounced high.

Thump, thump, thump!

The runner on third base didn't dare delay for a second, took off, and charged toward home plate.

"Second Base!!" Miyuki stood up and shouted at Zhitian Jiangtai. After the baseball bounced off the ground, it flew straight toward Zhitian Jiangtai.

Pop!

Zhitian Jiangtai caught the baseball in his glove and tossed it lightly into the hands of Kominato Ryosuke at second base. Furukawa Shunsuke was forced out!

The fourth inning ended, and Honghai Daxiangliang failed to seize the scoring opportunity that had been within their grasp.

"Ohhh!!!"

The Seido fans cheered happily. Keeping the no-run streak alive made them incredibly excited, and they were even more hopeful that this record could be maintained until the end of Koshien.

In the Honghai Daxiangliang Dugout, after the players returned, Manager Yamamoto immediately said to everyone.

"Don't be discouraged. If it can happen once, it can happen twice. Don't be anxious when batting; wait patiently. A hittable ball will definitely appear."

Everyone nodded. The Manager was right. As the innings increased, they were becoming more accustomed to Huangqian Yangyi's pitching, their batting average was rising, and this inning had even seen them reach third base with a scoring opportunity.

As long as they persisted, scoring was only a matter of time.

In the Seido Dugout, Tanba Koichiro, who had already warmed up and was prepared, walked up to him.

"Tanba-san, how are you feeling?" Huangqian Yangyi asked with a smile.

Starting from the fifth inning, the Pitcher's Mound would belong to Tanba. Seeing Tanba's serious expression now, Huangqian Yangyi was worried he might be a bit nervous.

"Very good, ready to take the field at any time." As he said this, Tanba also turned his gaze toward Manager Kataoka.

"Heh, then I'll leave it to you."

Soon, the game continued, and Seido was on offense in the top of the fifth.

Not long after the Third Batter, Yuki Tetsuya, stepped up, he was forced out. Afterward, the Fourth Batter, Dong Qingguo, stood in the Batter's Box holding his bat, sulking helplessly—he had been walked again!

One out, runner on first, and Huangqian Yangyi stepped into the Batter's Box once more.

Because he had just hit a Home Run last time, Hinata Hayato, after careful consideration, agreed with the Catcher to walk him.

Thus, after four balls, Huangqian Yangyi stood on first base, and Dong Qingguo advanced to second.

"A smart choice!"

Ochiai Hiromitsu stroked his small mustache and nodded repeatedly. Rather than colliding head-on with Seido's center lineup, avoiding them when possible was exactly what a smart person should do.

The two preceding him had been walked in succession, which made the Sixth Batter, Isashiki Jun, very angry. Daring to look down on him? He would blast a big one!

Pop!

"Strike!"

Whoosh!

"Strike!"

Zoom!

"Strike!"

"Strikeout!"

Following that, the Seventh Batter Miyuki stepped into the Batter's Box with runners on first and second base. Miyuki's batting received a bonus; he swung and missed the first pitch, fouled the second, fouled the third as well, and hit another Foul Ball on the fourth. The consecutive Foul Balls made the Catcher's brow furrow tighter and tighter. He could see clearly, especially from these few swings, that Miyuki was choosing his pitch and swinging every time—which meant his pitch calling had been completely seen through!

Come on, use a Changeup to finish him!

The Catcher gave the signal, and Hinata Hayato nodded. He did not want to engage in too much useless entanglement with the Batter; it would only consume his stamina.

Throwing a Changeup toward the inside corner, Hinata Hayato believed that after seeing the previous few pitches, the Batter must have a deep impression in his mind; a Changeup at this moment would be enough to catch the opponent off guard.

The moment he saw the baseball thrown, a smile appeared on Miyuki's face—it really was a Changeup!

Bang!

The baseball flew up, heading in the direction of the Center Fielder.

Miyuki had only run a few steps after dropping his bat when a figure rushed in from the outfield position, dove, and caught the baseball that was about to land firmly in his glove.

"Flyout!"

"Out!"

The umpire's voice rang out, and Dong Qingguo and Huangqian Yangyi, who were running the bases, stopped helplessly.

"Don't blame me, I already tried my best." Seeing Huangqian Yangyi walking toward him with his fist raised, Miyuki hurriedly said.

"Hey, imagine how good it would have been if you had hit an Extra-base Hit," Huangqian Yangyi said, putting his arm around Miyuki's shoulder.

"Exactly, such a good opportunity," Dong Qingguo also didn't hold back his tongue.

Miyuki smiled bitterly in resignation. What kind of situation was this? The quality of his at-bat this time had actually been quite good; getting a Flyout was just a bit of bad luck.