Chapter 267: The Changing Atmosphere

Stolen base!

The sudden stolen base caught many by surprise, but Huangqian Yangyi was not affected in the slightest.

Whoosh! The baseball flew out; the moment Chris caught the ball, he threw it toward second base, the little white ball as fast as a laser.

Pop!

"Out!"

"Hey, hey, isn't this ball a bit too fast?" Sanada Shunpei frowned as he looked at Chris. Is this also a laser arm?

Sanada Shunpei was forced out, and the Yakushi side immediately let out a chorus of sighs. They had finally reached base, yet failed to advance, leaving them feeling quite helpless.

The top of the second inning ended, and it was Seido's turn to attack again.

The Sanada Shunpei standing on the pitcher's mound was completely different; his confident aura and calm gaze made everyone clearly feel a sense of pressure. Even Kominato Ryosuke was no exception. Although the opponent's pitch speed was under 145 kilometers, his pitch selection was tricky and sharp, and the ball's power was sufficient. Most importantly, this player was also a cerebral type.

"Senior Sanada! Let them hit! Even if the ball flies toward me, it doesn't matter; I will definitely catch it!" Todoroki Raichi shouted at the pitcher's mound.

Uh...

Sanada Shunpei turned his head, speechless. "I wouldn't dare let the ball go your way; you make so many errors."

"Raichi! Don't drag Sanada down!"

Todoroki Raizo, standing off the field, teased his own son without mercy.

"Stinky old man! I don't want to be told that by you!" Todoroki Raichi shouted back, feeling very unconvinced.

"Huh? Who do you think you inherited that dull brain of yours from?" Todoroki Raizo said.

"Haha, Raichi, don't be willful, focus on the game."

"Yeah, be careful if the ball really flies over."

Teased by his teammates, Todoroki Raichi's face turned as red as a monkey's butt in anger.

"How come it feels like the moment this player stood on the pitcher's mound, the atmosphere at Yakushi changed?" Department Head Ota said, looking at the field with some worry.

"Yeah, it was clearly lifeless just a moment ago." Chris also watched Sanada Shunpei; this player had left a deep impression on him during the batting earlier. "Perhaps, this might actually be their true ace."

Soon, the bottom of the second inning began.

Sanada Shunpei and Kominato Ryosuke were truly evenly matched. The two battled for a full 7 pitches before Kominato Ryosuke finally made an error, hitting a fly ball and getting caught for an out.

"What a nuisance!" Sanada took a deep breath. This was just the first batter, and he had already consumed 7 pitches!

If every batter played like this, his body wouldn't be able to hold up.

"How does it feel?"

Kominato Ryosuke returned to the dugout and was immediately surrounded by his companions, as he was the first person to face Sanada Shunpei's pitching.

Looking back, Kominato Ryosuke said: "Sharper than I imagined, and his slider has a large offset, with almost no drop."

"Is that so," in that case, compared to Huangqian's... no, Huangqian doesn't have a slider, his is a curveball." Kuramochi Yoichi stroked his chin.

"Yeah, it's different from most people's sliders. Other people's sliders drop while shifting, but Sanada Shunpei's doesn't. His slider drills toward the left-handed batter in a faster and more ferocious way. It's very hard to hit this kind of ball far," Kominato Ryosuke said.

"It's just a pity we didn't see his Jet Ball," Huangqian Yangyi said.

At this moment, the roar of Isashiki Jun came from the field.

"Strike!"

Swinging and missing, already pushed to two strikes, Isashiki Jun gritted his teeth and waited for Sanada Shunpei. The two fastballs on the inside and outside corners, one strike, one ball—the landing points were all on the edge of the strike zone, making it hard to judge.

Then, for the third pitch, after some thought, Sanada Shunpei threw the ball to the outside corner.

Watching this ball move away from his body, Isashiki Jun didn't dare to gamble and could only swing his bat hard. Bang!!

The bat barely grazed the baseball; it was a slider!

The little white ball flew toward first base and was caught directly by the opposing First Baseman, Mishima Yuta.

"Two outs!!"

"Sanada!"

The teammates behind him cheered happily. Sure enough, it was different when Sanada was on the field; Seido's batting lineup couldn't easily get hits either.

However, as Yuki Tetsuya stepped into the batter's box, the Seido fans cheered again.

The immovable stance made Sanada Shunpei feel the pressure. With a smile curling at the corner of his mouth and a light spin of the baseball in his hand, Sanada Shunpei didn't dare to be the least bit careless or relaxed. This was a batter even more troublesome than their own team's Todoroki Raichi; he had to bring out his best state!

Looking toward the catcher, Watanabe Tatsuya had already given the pitch signal. Sanada Shunpei quickly threw the ball—a slider flying to the outside corner!

Yuki Tetsuya raised an eyebrow, started instantly, and swung his bat fiercely. Bang! The baseball flew toward first base—foul!

"Foul ball!"

Haa~

Slowly exhaling a breath, Yuki Tetsuya was completely unaffected and set his stance again.

"What a nuisance, the pressure is so high." Sanada Shunpei muttered to himself. This was a ball that shifted out of the strike zone; not only did he swing, he even hit it. Is this a show of force?

Then the second pitch, still an outside ball, but this time a high fastball on the outside corner. Yuki Tetsuya swung his bat again. Bang!!

A dull sound of impact rang out, and the little white ball flew high, heading toward the back—another foul ball.

Two outs, two strikes; for Yakushi, they currently held the initiative.

Sanada Shunpei was clear on this point, but he also knew that Yuki Tetsuya would never give up on hitting his pitches. At a time like this, if he relaxed even a little, the opponent might just hit a big one off him.

Whoosh!

Sanada Shunpei threw the third pitch, a slider ball on the low outside edge. In this position, the opponent would never dare to gamble on whether it was a strike or a ball, and that was indeed the case. However, Yuki Tetsuya's swing exceeded Sanada Shunpei's expectations; not only did the thickest part of the bat accurately bite the baseball, but the opponent also pulled the ball while in an extremely awkward posture.

The little white ball flew high toward right field. The ball speed wasn't fast, and it was steadily caught in the glove by the Right Fielder, Yamauchi Yutaka.

"Flyout!"

Yakushi supporters in the stands cheered excitedly, applauding Sanada Shunpei's performance. However, only Sanada Shunpei himself knew how much pressure he was under. Three batters, each one requiring him to bring out his best state to handle, especially when facing Yuki Tetsuya—luck accounted for the vast majority.

But regardless, Sanada Shunpei retiring Seido three-up, three-down still greatly boosted Yakushi's momentum.

"Well~ I didn't expect even A-Zhe wouldn't be able to hit well," Kominato Ryosuke said, somewhat surprised.

"After all, he is an ace, and this is our first time facing each other, so this is normal," Miyuki said.

The game reached the third inning, and Huangqian Yangyi cleanly and efficiently sent the Yakushi eighth and ninth Batters off the field; finally, he faced Yakushi's leadoff Batter, Todoroki Raichi.