Chapter 246: Mingchuan High School, Precision Machine

In the evening, inside the conference room, after finishing the review of the day's game against Mishimen High School, Coach Kataoka turned on a video.

As the video began to play, Huangqian Yangyi spoke up: "This is the game footage of our next opponent, Mingchuan High School, right?"

"That's right." Coach Kataoka nodded and fast-forwarded the video to the bottom of the first inning, where Mingchuan High School's ace Pitcher, Yang Shunchen, had stepped onto the Pitcher's Mound.

"Sawamura, Furuya, you two take a good look at this pitcher's delivery," Huangqian Yangyi said, turning his head toward the two of them.

"Yes!" Sawamura responded loudly, while Furuya gave a soft hum.

At this moment, Miyuki, who was to the side, asked in a low voice: "Do you know this pitcher?"

"I've heard of him. It's said he's an international student and has only been playing baseball for a little over a year."

"What?! Only a year?" Miyuki looked in surprise at the pitcher in the video, whose control was incredibly precise. From his temperament to his pitching, in every aspect, this was a pitcher with a very high level of completion.

"I also know a few things about this pitcher. It's said that because of his incredibly precise pitching, he earned a nickname: he is called the 'Precision Machine'," Chris's voice sounded from behind the two.

Hearing this nickname, everyone present looked at Huangqian Yangyi. When it came to control, among the pitchers at Seido, his control was the best.

"Well~ although my control is not bad, I really can't achieve that level of precision. This also has something to do with my fastball being too fast," Huangqian Yangyi said.

With a fastball speed over 150 km/h, the difficulty of achieving the kind of precise control Yang Shunchen had was not ordinary.

"Huangqian is right. The reason Yang Shunchen can achieve such control is, first, because his talent is indeed good, and his training must be sufficiently diligent; otherwise, it would be impossible to reach this level after only a year or so of learning baseball."

"But there is another reason, which is that his fastball is not fast enough, only a little over 130 km/h," Coach Kataoka said.

Everyone nodded thoughtfully, especially Sawamura. His fastball was even faster than Yang Shunchen's, especially after this period of systematic training, where his top speed had even reached 139 km/h.

If only I could have such control... Sawamura's thoughts drifted far away in an instant.

The game on the big screen continued to play. Whenever Yang Shunchen's pitching ended, Coach Kataoka would immediately skip to Mingchuan High School's next defensive inning, watching only Yang Shunchen pitch.

"From the inside high to the outside low, and from the outside high to the inside low, every time he can accurately deliver the ball to the spot the Catcher wants. It's truly terrifying control ability; he hasn't made a mistake yet, has he?" Miyuki frowned as he watched the game footage.

A pitcher like this is really attractive to a Catcher; I kind of want to try catching his pitches.

"His pitching is mostly based on precise Fastballs. Although he doesn't throw many Breaking Balls, he has also mastered the Curveball and the forkball," Huangqian Yangyi said, looking at Sawamura and Furuya again.

"Hey, you two, look at him, then look at yourselves."

Sawamura and Furuya were called out. Although they wanted to retort, they were completely unable to speak. This person was too heaven-defying; except for the difference in fastball speed, he was an existence that completely crushed them in every other aspect.

"My fastball is fast!" Furuya finally said stubbornly.

"I, I..." Sawamura thought for a long time but didn't know what to say to save some face for himself. Fastball speed? It wasn't much faster than Yang Shunchen's. Control? Don't even mention that. Breaking balls? He didn't know a single one right now; the only pitches he had mastered were the four-seam fastball and the cutter, both of which were in the fastball family.

Seeing the two being stubborn, Huangqian Yangyi smiled and continued: "To overcome a pitcher like this, be careful not to be lured into swinging at his pitches on the edges."

"In short, hesitant swings will only make the pitcher more comfortable, needlessly boosting his momentum. Therefore, no matter where he throws the ball, as long as you are sure it is a Strike, swing decisively and swing with full force."

After listening to Huangqian Yangyi's analysis, Chris, Miyuki, and Coach Kataoka all nodded in unison.

"Well, there is one more thing to pay attention to," Ochiai Hiromitsu said, standing beside Coach Kataoka.

"For a high-efficiency, precise pitcher like this, disrupting his pitching rhythm is also a way to win the game. In this regard, bunts, Stolen bases, Hit and Run—in short, there must be movement on the bases to try and distract him as much as possible."

After Ochiai Hiromitsu finished speaking, Coach Kataoka added, "From the data and game footage, Yang Shunchen is a cerebral pitcher, unlike some hot-blooded idiots on our team. To deal with a pitcher who plays with his brain, speeding up the game rhythm and not giving him too much time to think is also a very effective method. As long as you remember these things, I believe you can win the next game beautifully!"

The next day, the Seido First String continued their preparations in an orderly manner.

In the Bullpen, Huangqian Yangyi had just finished a set of pitches and walked to the side to rest.

"Where's Furuya? Where did he go?" After resting, Huangqian Yangyi realized that among the 5 pitchers of the First String in the Bullpen, Furuya was missing.

"I'll go look for him," Miyuki said, then got up and left the Bullpen.

"Ah~ it went wide again!"

Sawamura, to the side, was shouting and yelling after a pitching error.

"Hey! You bastard, can you pitch properly? You're going to scare someone to death!" Kanemaru, wearing full protective gear, stood at the Batter's position with a look of terror.

Since Sawamura entered the First String, Kanemaru, relying on his strong will, immense courage, and a body that could withstand being hit, had successfully served as the practice Batter for Sawamura's pitching training.

According to incomplete statistics, Kanemaru had been hit by Sawamura's pitches no fewer than 30 times during pitching training!

"Kanemaru, why don't you take off your gear? That way, both you and Sawamura can train your courage."

"Senior Huangqian, you're going to be the death of me," Kanemaru said with a bitter face.

This guy Sawamura would pitch properly during games, but during training, he would always suddenly throw a terrifyingly bad ball. He didn't dare take off his protective gear.

"Hahaha, Sawamura, your control still needs work," Huangqian Yangyi laughed. In reality, in terms of control alone, Sawamura was stronger than Furuya, but there was no helping it—Furuya had a fast fastball, so even if his control was a bit worse, it was very hard for Batters to hit.

Sawamura turned his head to look at his good big brother, "Aniki, didn't you say you were going to teach me batting before? Did you think of a way?"

Uh...

Huangqian Yangyi's smile froze. To be honest, he had already forgotten about that.

As soon as Sawamura saw Huangqian Yangyi's expression, he understood instantly, "Damn it, you forgot, didn't you?"

"No, no, how could I? Tell you what, during Batting Practice later, I'll teach you a secret trick that guarantees you'll hit the ball!"