Chapter 215: Each Person's Determination

"I see that kid Narumiya Mei is also full of vigor; his stamina is quite monstrous too," Kuramochi said.

Huangqian Yangyi nodded slightly, and while putting on his glove, he said, "Narumiya Mei's stamina and willpower are definitely among the best for a pitcher. We still can't relax; we must continue to apply pressure on him from the batting side."

Upon hearing this, Kuramochi gave an 'un' sound; the coach had already told everyone this just a moment ago.

"Let's go, time to take the field." Huangqian Yangyi stood up, took a sip of water handed to him by Miyuki, and walked out of the dugout.

In the top of the seventh inning, Inashiro was on offense. After Huangqian Yangyi successfully retired Inashiro's lower-order batters, he once again picked up his bat and stood in the batter's box.

This time, facing Narumiya Mei's pitch, Huangqian Yangyi connected with a forkball and hit it to left field, successfully reaching first base.

The subsequent batter, Miyuki, also hit a base hit after tangling with Narumiya Mei until the count reached two strikes and two balls, successfully sending Huangqian Yangyi to second base while Miyuki himself reached first base.

No outs, runners on first and second.

Narumiya Mei looked back at Huangqian Yangyi, then looked at Miyuki at first base. These two people were the greatest rivals of his high school baseball career. At this moment, the two of them had joined forces to secure a precious scoring opportunity for Seido. A sense of fighting spirit rose within Narumiya Mei, and his fingers were even trembling slightly.

I will never let you score easily!

Narumiya Mei threw the ball. Seido's seventh batter, Masuko Toru, swung hard but failed to continue the momentum; after swinging and missing three times in a row, he was struck out.

After Masuko Toru, the eighth batter, Sakai Ichiro, was also struck out.

Two outs, runners on first and second, Seido's ninth batter, Shirasu Kenjiro, stepped up to the plate.

At this moment, everyone from Seido fixed their gaze upon him.

Shirasu squinted at Narumiya Mei. He had been struck out in his previous at-bats; this time, no matter what, he had to do something.

"Shirasu! Get a hit!"

"Go for it!!"

His teammates cheered from the sidelines, but Shirasu remained unmoved, only watching Narumiya Mei intently, preparing himself to bat.

Just as Narumiya Mei threw two consecutive strikes, Shirasu's bat moved. A fastball flying rapidly toward the outside corner was caught by Shirasu. The bat and the baseball collided, making a sound, and the little white ball flew toward the direction of right field.

Taking this opportunity, Huangqian Yangyi reached third base, just one step away from returning to home plate to score.

"Good!"

"Shirasu!!"

The teammates shouted excitedly. The fans in the stands also didn't expect that Shirasu, who looked the most unremarkable on the team, would actually get a hit off Narumiya Mei at this moment.

Huangqian Yangyi nodded toward Shirasu at first base from third base, then shifted his gaze to Kuramochi Yoichi, who was walking toward the batter's box.

Next, all the pressure was on this guy.

"Yahahaha, as expected, it's still up to me at a time like this." Kuramochi Yoichi laughed loudly, and after stepping into the batter's box, he swung his bat fiercely twice.

Seeing this, Harada Masatoshi raised his head slightly and gave Narumiya Mei a look.

Although Kuramochi hadn't been able to get a hit before this, neither Harada Masatoshi nor Narumiya Mei would underestimate him at this moment. With the bases loaded, no one dared to be careless!

Whoosh!

The baseball flew out, Kuramochi gritted his teeth and swung, *thwack! *

"Strike!"

The first pitch was a low fastball on the outside corner, and Kuramochi swung and missed.

Then the second pitch, a slider aimed at the inside corner; Kuramochi's swing barely grazed the ball, sending it foul.

Kuramochi loosened his grip on the bat; his palms were already full of sweat. What a precious scoring opportunity; no matter what, he had to find a way to do something.

Whoosh!

Narumiya Mei's pitch flew in again, and Kuramochi roared and swung his bat fiercely at the incoming baseball.

*Thwack! *

"Strike!"

The umpire's voice rang out; Seido failed to seize this precious scoring opportunity.

When leaving the field, Huangqian Yangyi and Narumiya Mei looked at each other. From the other's eyes, Huangqian Yangyi could clearly feel a hint of smugness.

"What a pity, it was just a little bit off." Kuramochi pulled at his hair in frustration.

"There's nothing to be sorry about; we'll just find a way next time," Huangqian Yangyi said.

"Yeah," Shirasu echoed from the side, nodding.

The game entered the eighth inning. As soon as Carlos came up, he set up his bat and bunted one of Huangqian Yangyi's fastballs. Relying on his crazy speed, he reached first base in an incredibly thrilling manner.

His sharp and fast footwork made the audience cheer and shout. Seeing this scene, Kuramochi on the field felt even worse. From the start of this game until now, he hadn't even reached base once. If he couldn't even reach base, then being a 'speedster' would be too embarrassing.

Huangqian Yangyi didn't pay too much attention to Carlos reaching base. He quickly retired the second batter, Shirakawa Katsuyuki, and the third batter, Yoshizawa Hideaki, welcoming Inashiro's main slugger, Harada Masatoshi.

Whenever facing the opponent's main slugger, whether it was Huangqian Yangyi or Narumiya Mei, they would bring out their best pitches and their best state. It was the same this time; Huangqian Yangyi's first pitch clocked in at 155 km/h, easily securing a strike.

However, Harada Masatoshi didn't swing. His eyes remained fixed straight ahead, his gaze focused on Huangqian Yangyi.

This posture made Huangqian Yangyi even more cautious. After exchanging glances with Miyuki, the second pitch was a changeup. Harada Masatoshi still remained unmoved, giving the impression that he was just up there to go through the motions. He didn't swing at the fastball, and he didn't swing at the changeup. Such behavior gave Miyuki a bit of a headache.

However, the count was already two strikes, which was advantageous for Seido. Since you are so composed, let's try a ball and see if you dare to gamble!

Giving the signal, Miyuki made a gesture for a slider.

Huangqian Yangyi nodded slightly; it didn't matter if he couldn't figure out the batter's thoughts, as long as his own pitching didn't have any issues.

*Swish! *

The little white ball flew toward home plate. Just at this moment, Harada Masatoshi, who hadn't moved at all, took a big step to stabilize his stance, swung the bat in his hands forward fiercely, and blasted the ball away before it could change trajectory or break.

*Bang!! *

The baseball flew high into the air, heading toward the direction of right field. Carlos on first base had extremely fast footwork and seized the opportunity to reach third base in one go.

"Ohhh!!!"

"Captain!!!"

"Nice!!"

Inashiro Industrial's supporters were excited. How long had it been? They had been looking forward to this moment, and finally, they saw the hope of scoring against this detestable guy.

You must score a run!

Listening to the clamor coming from his ears, Huangqian Yangyi clicked his tongue; he hadn't made a single mistake on that last pitch, so it was simply Harada Masatoshi's own skill that allowed him to hit it.

But now, so what if there are runners on first and third? As long as he retires the next Inashiro Batter, aren't these Inashiro fans celebrating a bit too early?

At the same time, in the Batter's Box, as Inashiro's Fifth Batter, Narumiya Mei stood up, shouldering the expectations to score.

Their gazes met in the air, and their fighting spirit instantly boiled over.