Chapter 271: Slow Sinker

Two outs, runners on first and second.

Sanada Shunpei stepped into the Batter's Box at this moment.

An Extra-base Hit that struck the outfield wall; Sanada Shunpei seized on a pitching mistake by Tanba and blasted a floating Fastball away.

The two runners on base returned to home plate one after another to score; it was a two-RBI Triple!

"Damn, this guy's ability to seize an opportunity is so strong. That pitch just now was only slightly high, right? And he still caught it."

"His reaction is so fast!"

"His hitting level isn't bad either."

"Can't blame Tanba. This pitch was meant to be hit by the opponent; that's just how a head-on confrontation goes."

The Seido teammates were discussing it in the Dugout. On the field, after seeing this pitch, Tanba showed a flash of anger, and then the fire in his heart burned even brighter.

How embarrassing!

"Hehe, Tanba-san is angry," Huangqian Yangyi laughed.

Just a moment ago, he had found Zhenzhong Yao's position in the stands. With his good buddy watching him on the field, Tanba absolutely would not allow himself to pitch too poorly.

As soon as the words fell, Yakushi's Seventh Batter, Watanabe Tatsuya, was struck out, and Tanba successfully interrupted Yakushi's offensive.

On the sidelines, Manager Kataoka nodded with satisfaction. If it were the old Tanba, after being scored on by the opponent, it would be impossible for him to show this kind of performance; not self-destructing would already be a blessing.

In the bottom of the sixth, Seido was on offense. After Kominato Ryosuke successfully reached base, Isashiki Jun was struck out. Yuki Tetsuya continued his stable performance by hitting an Extra-base Hit, but the subsequent Tanba lacked his previous divine courage and was easily struck out by Sanada Shunpei.

Next, the Sixth Batter, Chris, hit a fly ball and was caught for a Flyout. The bottom of the sixth ended with Seido scoring no runs; the score remained 8:3.

The game entered the seventh inning, with Seido leading by 4 runs.

"Haha, luckily we scored this inning, otherwise it really might have been possible for those guys from Seido to lead by 7 runs and end the game early," Todoroki Raizo said, sitting on a chair in the Dugout, crossing his legs and looking very happy.

"Yeah, if it's only 4 runs, it's not like we don't have a chance," Sanada Shunpei said.

"That's right. That Huangqian Yangyi has been substituted out and cannot come back up for this game. There are still three innings left; a 4-run gap isn't that unreachable. If we end up losing the game, Manager Kataoka will surely regret it to his guts." Todoroki Raizo looked up at the opposite side. In his view, Seido certainly didn't expect them to be able to catch up in score.

Hearing the two's conversation, the Yakushi players all became excited. Seido, the king Seido—if they could defeat them here, their Yakushi would become famous in one battle and immediately receive national attention.

Most importantly, this didn't seem impossible. After all, that person who was so strong that they couldn't even muster the heart to resist had already left the field!

And over at the Seido Dugout, Tanba, who had pitched for three innings, had already sat down in his spot.

Although he gave up three runs, Manager Kataoka did not reproach him, but instead praised his performance today as good.

"Kawakami, I'll leave the rest to you. No problem, right?" Manager Kataoka turned his head and said.

As the words fell, Kawakami's whole body jolted, and he shouted, "No problem!"

And in the corner of the Dugout, Sawamura and Furuya showed visibly disappointed expressions.

"Haha, Kawakami, the chance to close out the game is yours. You have to stand tall and let them really experience your power," Kuramochi Yoichi said, patting Kawakami on the shoulder.

"Right. Kawakami will definitely have no problem," Masuko Toru said.

"Look at those guys' expressions now; could it be they want to counterattack? Wishful thinking. Kawakami! Don't let them score!" Isashiki Jun said.

Hearing his teammate's words, Kawakami smiled and said "Mm."

"Kawakami, that pitch—you can try it."

Ochiai Hiromitsu suddenly said.

Hearing this, Kawakami was stunned for a moment, then realized what Ochiai Hiromitsu was talking about.

"Mm, it's indeed worth a try. We've been practicing it for a while now," Chris also said.

Finally, Manager Kataoka nodded. Only then did Kawakami say "Mm," turned his head, and said, "Please, Chris-senpai."

In the top of the seventh, Seido changed pitchers again, which made everyone on Yakushi unable to help but frown. Changing people at this time was not a good thing for them.

"Swing aggressively! Make the pitcher feel the pressure every single time!" Todoroki Raizo said to the player about to go up.

"Yes!!"

As the game continued, although Kawakami, who had just stepped onto the field, successfully struck out the Eighth Batter, the opponent's extremely aggressive swing still made him feel a flash of surprise. He had seen lineups stronger than Yakushi's, but this was truly the first time he had encountered such a strong desire to attack.

Whoosh!

"Strike!"

Zoom!

"Strike!"

With the combination of a Slider and a Sinker, Kawakami quickly reached two strikes on Yakushi's Ninth Batter. Then, a Curveball successfully made the opponent hit the ball into the infield, where it was easily put out by the defense behind him.

Phew~

Having resolved two batters, Kawakami also welcomed Yakushi's leadoff hitter, Todoroki Raichi.

"Kawakami! Pitch it for him to hit!"

"Don't be nervous!"

"You can do it!"

"Strikeout!"

The cheers from the audience came through. Kawakami clenched his fist and tapped his chest twice, then looked at Chris at home plate.

Chris nodded slightly. In the upcoming test of the new pitch, it was of course best to use it on the opponent's strongest batter; not only could it catch the opponent off guard, but it could also reveal the effect of this pitch.

However, let's use a different pitch to set it up first.

His right hand formed a fist and tapped his glove lightly; Chris gave the signal: a low, outside Slider.

Kawakami looked at Todoroki Raichi, who was looking at him with an excited grin.

After shaking his head, he lifted his left leg slightly, then took a step out, and the baseball flew out from the side.

With an exaggerated flight trajectory and a tricky landing spot, Todoroki Raichi, seeing it for the first time, swung his bat but still swung at empty air.

"Strike!"

"Damn! How can it move like that!" Todoroki Raichi had an extremely exaggerated expression again. Is this how a sidearm pitcher's pitch really works?

Because there were so few games, the number of Pitchers Todoroki Raichi had encountered was not high, and a sidearm Pitcher like Kawakami was the first he had ever met.

"Nice ball!"

Chris returned the ball; being able to make Todoroki Raichi swing and miss on this pitch was a good start.

Next one!

Chris set his glove, calling for a high, slightly outside Fastball.

Whoosh!

Kawakami received the signal and was very decisive; without a moment's delay, his pitching rhythm was fast.

"Haha!" Todoroki Raichi swung his bat with great force.

Bang!

The little white ball flew very high; Todoroki Raichi looked up at the sky, his mouth wide open.

"Idiot Raichi! You're even swinging at such an obviously high ball!" Todoroki Raizo covered his face in frustration; his son was good at everything, but he was prone to getting carried away.

"Jianjie!" the umpire shouted.

If this ball had been in play, it would surely have been a Flyout; Todoroki Raichi let out a long breath, having nearly been put out.

Chris and Kawakami looked at each other; come on, third pitch!

Waiting for Todoroki Raichi to get into his batting stance, Chris gave the signal, and Kawakami adjusted his breathing to keep himself in the best state.

Then, he stepped forward and released the ball from an extremely low angle.

Todoroki Raichi's eyes flashed; it's a Sinker!!

"Haha!"

Laughing loudly as he swung, Todoroki Raichi was full of confidence, yet the smile on his face froze the next second.

How could this be?!

Is this a Changeup?

Pop!

"Strike!"

"Strikeout!"