Chapter 204: I Have an Idea

"Not bad, you actually managed to track the ball," Chris said, looking at Miyuki.

Miyuki chuckled, "Still a bit off, and besides, no one is more familiar with Huangqian's pitching than I am."

Chris agreed deeply with this; being in the position of Catcher, one is naturally the person who sees their own team's pitcher's pitches the most.

The first pitch was hit foul; after a brief exchange with Chris, Miyuki turned his head to look at Huangqian Yangyi.

Hehehe~

Miyuki grinned.

Huangqian Yangyi rolled his eyes at him and looked expectantly at Chris, urgently wanting to know how Chris would call the pitches next.

Hm?

Looking at the signs Chris gave, although Huangqian Yangyi's face remained expressionless, his heart was filled with confusion. It was actually a Red Center pitch, and a four-seam Fastball at that!

His three types of Fastballs had identical trajectories in the first half, making them almost impossible for a Batter to distinguish; was Senior Chris betting that Miyuki wouldn't swing at a four-seamer?

Huangqian Yangyi thought for a moment and decided to take the gamble; if he pitched in a cautious manner, it would be hard to have any effect on Miyuki.

Giving a slight nod, Huangqian Yangyi threw the baseball toward home plate.

The little white ball flew straight out; at this height, with this trajectory—Miyuki's brow furrowed, and he immediately swung his bat toward the bottom of the strike zone. It was a Forkball!

Whoosh!

The baseball flew in, and Miyuki's bat smashed out fiercely.

Bang!

The bat struck the bottom of the baseball; Miyuki's eyes narrowed. This wasn't a Forkball; it was just an ordinary Fastball!

The baseball flew high into the air, heading straight for the sky.

Huangqian Yangyi watched the position of the baseball, took two steps back, and extended his glove.

Seeing this, Miyuki shook his head helplessly; this ball would be a Flyout.

However, just at that moment, everyone saw Huangqian Yangyi move his glove to the side, letting the baseball fall to the ground, before quickly picking it up and throwing it to Chris.

Chris also stood up and made a motion of throwing to Third Base.

"Uh, this..."

Miyuki was stunned on the spot. If this were a real game, this kind of play would probably result in a triple play, right?

Taking three outs with one ball.

"Nice!"

Chris gave Huangqian Yangyi a thumbs-up; the move just now would definitely fool many people in a game.

The combination of Huangqian Yangyi and Chris performed excellently after going through the First String batting lineup, and Chris himself had found his form; Huangqian Yangyi noticed that the look in Coach Kataoka's eyes seemed to suggest he was thinking about something.

Perhaps when the Spring Tournament ends and the Kanto Tournament begins, Coach Kataoka will reinstate Chris; even if he isn't the Starting Catcher, he will likely push Ono Hiroshi out of the First String.

And in the end, who can secure the position of Starting Catcher for the Summer Tournament will depend on their respective performances in the Kanto Tournament.

Evening, cafeteria.

Huangqian Yangyi was pestered by his roommate, Arima Kazusa.

"Senior Huangqian, your pitching today was amazing; I really want to try hitting it." Arima Kazusa sat beside Huangqian Yangyi, his eyes full of stars.

Huangqian Yangyi, with a pork rib in his mouth, mumbled unclearly: "Want to hit? Sure, why not."

"Really?" Arima Kazusa hadn't expected that Huangqian Yangyi would actually agree to his offhand request.

It wasn't just the First Years; even the Second Year seniors, including those on the Second String, all wanted to hit Huangqian Yangyi's pitches.

But there was only one Huangqian Yangyi, and he couldn't satisfy everyone's needs; for over a year, more than half of the people in the Baseball Club hadn't hit his pitches yet.

To these newcomers who worshipped Huangqian Yangyi, the First String's daily fixed live simulation training made them envious to death; they all wanted to enter the First String as soon as possible so they could also hit such high-speed pitches every day.

Swallowing the meat in his mouth, Huangqian Yangyi turned his head and smiled: "Hehe, 3 pitches; if you hit even one, I'll buy you ice cream. If you don't hit any, you do 50 push-ups. How about it, want to play?"

Hearing this, Arima Kazusa thought for a moment and said: "I don't like ice cream. Senior, if I can hit one, for every hit, can you throw one more pitch for me to hit?"

"That works too." Huangqian Yangyi nodded in agreement.

Who knew Arima Kazusa would continue: "If I don't hit any, I'll play the guitar for you, Senior. Is that okay?"

"Oh? Don't want to do push-ups either?" Huangqian Yangyi laughed; this kid really knew how to negotiate.

"Hehehe." Arima Kazusa scratched his head awkwardly; clearly, his little scheme had been seen through.

Huangqian Yangyi shook his head and said: "Guitar, I don't like it. Can you play the violin?"

"I can!" Arima Kazusa nodded vigorously. His mother, Arima Kaori, was an expert in this, so how could he not know? As it happened, besides the guitar, he had also brought a violin.

"Hmm, then the violin it is," Huangqian Yangyi said. As for music, although he didn't have much musical talent himself, having been influenced by his older sister and younger sister for a long time, he still liked it. Believe it or not, this stuff can purify the soul!

Anyway, every time he listened to Kumiko playing the euphonium, he felt that way, and it was very good for sleep!

Half an hour after dinner, Huangqian Yangyi and Arima Kazusa arrived at the Indoor Training Ground together.

"Huangqian, bringing a newcomer again? You're quite enthusiastic."

Seeing Huangqian Yangyi and Arima Kazusa walk in together, Ono Hiroshi and Kawakami, who were warming up, looked over in unison.

"Ono, you guys are quick; you didn't even let your food settle," Huangqian Yangyi said.

Ono Hiroshi patted Kawakami on the back and said: "Kawakami said he wanted to practice his Curveball more."

"Curveball, huh." Huangqian Yangyi stroked his chin, wondering what he was thinking.

Seeing his expression, Kawakami immediately asked with some concern: "Huangqian-san, is there a problem with my Curveball?"

Just then, a figure arrived at the door. Hearing footsteps, Huangqian Yangyi turned around and saw Ochiai Hiromitsu hiding at the door, standing there like a spy.

Shh!

Ochiai Hiromitsu put his index finger to his lips, signaling Huangqian Yangyi not to expose him.

Heh.

Huangqian Yangyi was speechless. Someone that big standing there—everyone had already noticed, okay? It was truly impressive that Ochiai Hiromitsu was so enthusiastic about such a self-deceiving trick.

"There is no problem with the Curveball, but I have an idea," Huangqian Yangyi said to Kawakami.

Hearing this, the others all looked at Huangqian Yangyi with curiosity, while Kawakami asked directly, "What idea does Huangqian-san have?"

"The Breaking Balls you have mastered now include the Slider, Sinker, and Curveball, all of which are different types of pitches. Although there are differences in pitch speed, the gap is not large, and the pitch trajectories are completely different. When encountering a Batter with strong hitting ability, you can only use tricky trajectories and landing spots to duel, which is a bit of a disadvantage."

Huangqian Yangyi said slowly; this was not him being an alarmist. When a Pitcher of this type encounters a Batter with strong ability to track the ball or who is good at selecting pitches, they cannot rely on pitch speed to suppress their opponent, so they can only try their best to throw the ball in tricky trajectories.

But this approach is also a double-edged sword; one careless move and you will throw a ball.