Chapter 222: Miyuki's Discovery

"That's enough, switch out," said Manager Kataoka.

Huangqian Yangyi nodded and left the Batter's Box, and Yuki Tetsuya walked over carrying his bat.

Seeing that the batter had changed to the Captain, Sawamura truly did not dare to relax at all.

Yuki Tetsuya didn't say a word; just standing quietly in the Batter's Box made Sawamura feel immense pressure. Unlike Huangqian Yangyi's batting, the most distinctive feature of Jiecheng's batting was his terrifying swing speed and explosive power.

Although he didn't have the freakishly precise contact ability of Huangqian Yangyi, Sawamura knew that the Captain's batting was likewise a massive mountain for him, one that the current version of himself could not easily overcome. Even so, Sawamura still threw the ball with full intensity, and in the end, it was still hit for an Extra-base Hit.

After Sawamura's pitching ended, Huangqian Yangyi stepped into the Batter's Box again, while the pitcher was replaced by Furuya Satoru.

This cold-faced, dorky handsome guy started off with a super-fast Fastball, which was viciously smashed away by Huangqian Yangyi. The moment the baseball flew out, Furuya was clearly stunned for a second; his fast Fastball had never been hit so easily on the first pitch before, which left him feeling somewhat unaccustomed.

"Hey, Furuya, you don't think such a simple Fastball can get me out, do you?" shouted Huangqian Yangyi.

Although the speed of this pitch was fast, the trajectory was a bit too straight. Sure enough, without a Catcher calling the pitches, Furuya Satoru was just as simple and straightforward as Sawamura.

Hearing Huangqian Yangyi's shout, flames suddenly ignited in Furuya's eyes, and he then threw the second pitch. This time the speed was even faster, but the ball also floated higher, the white baseball shooting rapidly toward Home Plate with intense spin.

Standing in the Batter's Box, Huangqian Yangyi could clearly feel the power of Furuya's pitch, but such a high-floating Fastball was simply too easy for him to hit.

Bang!

The metal bat swung fiercely, accurately connecting with the incoming baseball. In the eyes of everyone, the little white ball flew out of the field like a meteor.

"Hiss, that's far."

"Home Run!"

"What a freak, to be able to easily make contact with that kind of speed."

The teammates were amazed at Huangqian Yangyi's batting. Although Furuya Satoru's pitch was a bit high, it was very difficult to make contact with such a fast speed; none of them dared to guarantee they could make contact, let alone hit it so far—it was a direct Home Run.

It must be said, Huangqian Yangyi's grasp of the timing for hitting was just too good.

Huangqian Yangyi flicked his bat and frowned as he looked at Furuya. He usually told him to keep the trajectory low and not to put too much force into his pitching, so why did these last two pitches suddenly become the same as before?

It wasn't just Huangqian Yangyi; the others were also looking at Furuya with strange expressions. If he continued to pitch like this, he was afraid he would leave a bad impression on the Manager.

Furuya Satoru didn't know this; he was just thinking about how to get a Strike. Throwing with all his might for two consecutive pitches should have made Senior Huangqian feel suspicious. Next, lower the trajectory and pitch to the outside corner!

Unlike Sawamura, during the time Furuya had been at Seido, he had been training on his control and hadn't learned any new types of pitches.

As long as he could accurately throw the ball to the outside and inside corners, with Furuya's speed, he could retire most batters even by throwing only Fastballs.

While this training made Furuya feel bored, he also clearly felt his own progress. In the previous practice games, constantly getting Strikeouts against the batters from Heitukan was good proof of that.

And now, facing Huangqian Yangyi, although Furuya Satoru was a blockhead, he knew in his heart that Huangqian Yangyi's batting was at a national top-tier level. Thus, the dorky kid had a flash of inspiration and decided to first use speed to confuse Huangqian Yangyi, then pitch normally afterward.

For the third pitch, after Furuya Satoru adjusted his state, he threw the baseball—a low, outside Fastball, and the trajectory was kept very low.

Pow!

Huangqian Yangyi's bat was indeed a beat slow. Although he made contact with the baseball, he couldn't hit an Extra-base Hit. The little white ball landed in the infield between Second Base and Third Base, but because the speed was so fast, it bounced rapidly toward the outfield after landing.

"Good for you, doing that on purpose, huh?" Huangqian Yangyi said with a smile after putting away his bat.

Upon hearing this, although there was no expression on Furuya Satoru's face, a hint of smugness was revealed in his eyes. It was true the ball had been hit, but his plan was clearly also useful. Who said he pitched without using his brain? Hmph.

Soon, after Furuya Satoru threw two more Fastballs—one high inside and one low inside—another pitch came toward the edge of the outside corner. Huangqian Yangyi's bat swept across, but it resulted in a Jianjie.

After Huangqian Yangyi, Yuki Tetsuya went up. Not long after, the Batting Practice ended, and Manager Kataoka was very satisfied with the performance of Furuya Satoru and Sawamura.

"Heh, looks like these two have a good chance this summer." Back in the Dugout, as soon as Huangqian Yangyi sat down, Miyuki leaned over.

"Who knows. That depends on how the Boss arranges things," Huangqian Yangyi said, feeling a bit expectant in his heart. If both Sawamura and Furuya could make the First String, his pressure would be much less.

There were still more than two months until the Summer Tournament, with the Kanto Tournament in between. This time was enough for the First Year Sawamura and Furuya to grow a great deal.

It's just that if both of them entered the First String, there would be 5 pitchers on the First String.

Just thinking about it felt extravagant.

Time flew to just before the Kanto Tournament. Because the tournament was approaching, the First String's training remained focused on maintaining their condition.

Huangqian Yangyi, who had resumed pitching training, returned to the Bullpen after an interval of one week.

"Come on, throw two Fastballs first to get a feel for it."

After the warm-up, Miyuki said while squatting in the Catcher's position.

"Don't rush, let me loosen up a bit more," Huangqian Yangyi said while bending over.

Another few minutes passed. Having made all preparations, Huangqian Yangyi held the baseball and said: "Come on, Red Center."

"Mm. Throw it over."

Hu~

Exhaling lightly, Huangqian Yangyi threw the baseball.

Whoosh!

Thwack!

Huh?!

As the baseball entered the glove, Miyuki widened his eyes. What had he just seen!

Not sure, one more pitch.

"Yangyi, throw one more time," Miyuki shouted after returning the ball.

Huangqian Yangyi didn't notice Miyuki's anomaly and threw again quickly after receiving the ball.

Shiu! Thwack!

Sure enough, it wasn't an illusion!

After confirming his guess, Miyuki hurriedly said to Fujiwara Takako, who was recording on the side: "Senior, please take the speed gun."

"Okay." Fujiwara Takako turned and brought the speed gun over from the corner.

"Kazuya, what's wrong?" Huangqian Yangyi asked suspiciously.

"One more pitch," said Miyuki.

Huangqian Yangyi was puzzled, but he listened. After he threw another pitch, Fujiwara Takako announced the speed: 149 kilometers.