Chapter 17: Practice

"Little girl, come back to your senses."

Beside the few of them, four Managers were also each recording the training data of the players.

Jiantian Youxiang slapped Fujiwara Takako on the head, knocking Fujiwara Takako, who was lost in thought, back to reality.

"Senior, what are you doing?"

"Tell me, where were you looking?" Jiantian Youxiang teased.

Upon hearing this, Fujiwara Takako knew that this senior of hers must have let her imagination run wild again, "I was thinking about what it would be like if Huangqian had come to Seido a year earlier."

"Don't be too greedy, Miss Takako."

Jiantian Youxiang tapped her chin lightly with her finger, then suddenly turned her head and smirked, "If Huangqian had come a year earlier, he would be in the same grade as you, maybe even in the same class."

"Senior, can your habit of shipping people flare up at any time?" Fujiwara Takako smiled helplessly.

While the Managers were chatting, the third-year seniors had already come down from the Pitcher's Mound, and Huangqian Yangyi was walking toward the Pitcher's Mound while loosening his shoulders.

"Senior, stop teasing, Huangqian is about to pitch." Fujiwara Takako said, pulling away Jiantian Youxiang's hand that was wrapped around her waist.

"Alright, alright, I won't disturb you watching him." Jiantian Youxiang covered her mouth and laughed.

Walking onto the Pitcher's Mound, Huangqian Yangyi saw Tanaka Wataru get up and walk toward him.

"Senior."

"Hmm, only throwing Four-seam Fastballs, no problem, right?" Tanaka Wataru asked.

It was Batting Practice now, and the focus was on the Batters; Huangqian Yangyi's Fastball with an average speed of nearly 150 km/h could intuitively reflect a batter's level.

This was the instruction Coach Kataoka had given him before the training started.

"No problem, if anything, this makes it even more exciting." Huangqian Yangyi said, covering his mouth with his glove.

The confident tone also gave Tanaka Wataru a jolt, and he suddenly felt his blood boil, "Good, then we'll use the Four-seam Fastball to take them down!"

At this moment, the two looked at each other and saw a burning fighting spirit in each other's eyes; even if it was Batting Practice, they wouldn't let them hit their ball!

Returning to Home Plate, Tanaka Wataru nodded to Zhitian Jiangtai in the Batter's Box.

Zhitian Jiangtai, First String starting Shortstop, batting first, characterized by his speed and skill at hitting outside pitches, but his ability to select pitches and hit specific spots was poor.

To deal with such a batter, one must use different pitch types to disrupt his rhythm.

For the first pitch, Huangqian Yangyi saw Tanaka Wataru place his glove in a high inside position.

After these days of training, although he couldn't say he was very familiar with these First String seniors, he roughly understood their characteristics; he nodded at Tanaka Wataru and then threw the first pitch.

With a 'Pop!', the small ball shot precisely into the position at the batter's chest; Zhitian Jiangtai remained unmoved, with no intention of swinging at all.

So fast!

Standing in the Batter's Box, the high-speed ball approaching 150 km/h was as terrifying as a bullet, but no matter how impressive this pitch was, he had already made up his mind to watch the pitch trajectory first and adapt to the speed.

As expected, Tanaka Wataru glanced at Zhitian Jiangtai.

When dealing with an unfamiliar pitcher, most people would choose to observe first; this was not surprising.

Next, the second pitch, Red Center!

Since you want to watch, then let you watch carefully; such speed and power are not things you can hit just because you see them.

Furthermore, if it weren't for Huangqian Yangyi's precise control, it would be very difficult for him as a Catcher to catch such a pitch.

Seeing that Tanaka Wataru had called for a Red Center pitch, the corners of Huangqian Yangyi's mouth curled up; he loved head-on duels the most!

On the Pitcher's Mound, Huangqian Yangyi, wearing a faint smile, threw the high-speed Four-seam Fastball aimed at the center of the strike zone in everyone's view, and Zhitian Jiangtai swung immediately!

He didn't hit it!

By the time the little white ball flew into the glove, Zhitian Jiangtai had only swung halfway; he hadn't kept up at all.

*Hoo~* Zhitian Jiangtai took a deep breath and focused his spirit again to prepare for the next pitch; facing a 150 km/h fastball, it was all about timing; once there was the slightest deviation, the swing wouldn't catch up.

"Zhitian actually didn't keep up with that pitch." Nanjo Taishi said with a frown.

"It's not that easy; with such a high-speed ball, even if you switch to a pitching machine, it's hard to hit well without a certain amount of time to adapt, let alone the fact that the kid Huangqian's ball power is so strong, it's like it's alive."

"Senior Dong, have you hit it?" Isashiki asked from the side.

Dong Qingguo had been analyzing with a confident look, but his face turned black instantly upon hearing this.

"I hit it." Dong Qingguo said.

Three pitches and he hit one, even if it was a Jianjie, so what? Saying he hit it was not wrong!

Upon hearing this, Isashiki exclaimed, "As expected of Senior Dong."

For the third pitch, Tanaka Wataru chose a low outside pitch; in this position, even if Zhitian Jiangtai, who was good at hitting outside pitches, barely managed to make contact, it would be very difficult for him to get an Extra-base Hit given Huangqian Yangyi's speed and power, with a 90% probability of it becoming a Foul Ball.

This was also the purpose of Batting Practice; Coach Kataoka likely wanted to see what kind of performance their batting lineup could produce when facing such a high-speed ball.

Conversely, in front of the Seido batting lineup, how far could Huangqian Yangyi go with just a Four-seam Fastball?

Amidst everyone's anticipation, Huangqian Yangyi threw the third pitch!

Just like before, it was fast and accurate, flying toward Home Plate with powerful force.

This time, Zhitian Jiangtai swung early the moment the ball left the hand, locking onto the outside; the little white ball flew in rapidly, the bat swung fiercely, and with a 'Clang!', the tip of the bat grazed the bottom of the ball, and the ball flew to the right rear, forming a Foul Ball.

"Tch!"

After three pitches, Zhitian Jiangtai, having gained nothing, smacked his lips and gave Huangqian Yangyi a thumbs up.

Not hitting it well was his own problem; it was undeniable that this little junior's pitching was fierce and sharp. Even knowing what the pitch type would be in advance, he still couldn't keep up—this was a matter of ability.

After him, everyone who walked into the Batter's Box was a First String starter.

Second Batter: Nanjo Taishi.

Third Batter: Yuki Tetsuya.

Fourth Batter: Dong Qingguo.

Sixth Batter: Isashiki Jun.

Why was there no fifth batter?

Because the fifth Batter is catching.

After 5 Batters, Huangqian Yangyi's Four-seam Fastball has been hit 4 times in total.

Dong Qingguo hit one outfield fly ball, Yuki Tetsuya hit one infield Grounder, and both Isashiki Jun and Nanjo Taishi hit Foul Balls.

Walking off the Pitcher's Mound, Huangqian Yangyi high-fived Tanaka Wataru; being tracked only 4 times while limited to one pitch type was already a very good result.

"Huangqian, the Manager wants to see you." Jiantian Youxiang walked over with a smile at this moment, holding a towel in her hand.

"Thank you, Senior."

Huangqian Yangyi took the towel and wiped his hands.

"No need to thank me, Fujiwara Takako asked me to bring it over," Jiantian Youxiang said.

Huangqian Yangyi turned his head to look at Fujiwara Takako, who was sitting on a small stool in the Dugout; just then, Fujiwara Takako happened to look over this way, and she saw Huangqian Yangyi nod at her.

Hm? What does that mean?

Fujiwara Takako didn't understand, but she still smiled politely.