Chapter 276: Duel with the Coach!

Noticing the change in Huangqian Yangyi's gaze, Coach Kataoka suddenly felt as if he had returned to his high school days, standing on the Pitcher's Mound at the Koshien final.

He had not felt this kind of pressure in who knows how long.

If only he had chosen to enter professional baseball back then...

After a brief reverie, the baseball in Coach Kataoka's hand turned slightly as he changed his grip.

"Hey, hey, why do I feel like the atmosphere is a bit tense? Is it just my imagination?"

"Me too, I have a feeling like I can't catch my breath."

"Watch closely, both Huangqian and the Coach are getting serious!"

"Yeah, I wonder who will win their duel."

The players on the sidelines watched the two intently. Ochiai Hiromitsu trembled all over seeing this scene; even though he was an old man himself, how could he still feel such burning passion?

He also wanted to go out there and try it himself, but unfortunately, his baseball skills were not that good, or one could even say they were poor. As a Coach, he was absolutely qualified and excellent, but as a player, he had never been expected to do much.

At this moment, on the field, Coach Kataoka decided on the pitch he would throw, nodded to Huangqian Yangyi, and quickly threw the ball.

Whoosh!

The baseball was not as fast as before, but the trajectory was extremely tricky; the little white ball drew a perfect arc in the air before diving into home plate.

Bang!

Huangqian Yangyi's bat was in position again, and with a crisp sound, this outside Slider was fiercely bitten into.

"So heavy!!" Huangqian Yangyi gritted his teeth; Coach Kataoka's ball power was truly strong, and the quality of the ball was also significant.

The little white ball flew high into the air and landed outside the boundary of Third Base.

"Jianjie!"

Phew~

Huangqian Yangyi turned his head to look at the Coach on the Pitcher's Mound. This was the Ace who once led Seido to the Koshien final; even now, over thirty, his power was still so terrifying.

What a pity that such a formidable pitcher didn't enter professional baseball. Huangqian Yangyi couldn't help but feel regret for Coach Kataoka, but if that had really happened, what would Seido look like now?

On the Pitcher's Mound, seeing his full-effort Slider being easily tracked, Coach Kataoka felt a bit annoyed but also genuinely happy for Huangqian Yangyi and Seido. This was Seido's most precious player right now; whether in pitching or batting, he was top-tier in the country. With such a player, perhaps they could really achieve the great feat of a Three-peat.

"Huangqian, get ready!" Coach Kataoka shouted, having already picked up another baseball.

"Come on! Boss! I won't let you pitch easily," Huangqian Yangyi replied.

Coach Kataoka smiled; he had felt the other's determination. Since that was the case, he would also have to bring out his real skills.

A ball with extremely high speed flew toward home plate. Huangqian Yangyi's eyes were sharp, and after judging it to be a Fastball, he swung immediately. Just as he was about to hit the baseball, the little white ball shifted slightly horizontally the moment it entered home plate, avoiding Huangqian Yangyi's hitting focus.

Bang!

The baseball struck the thin end of the bat.

"This... a High-speed Sinker?" Huangqian Yangyi hit this ball high and close, clearly destined to be a Flyout.

"Kid, didn't expect that, did you?" Coach Kataoka's tone sounded somewhat smug.

"Ha, haha, the Coach is truly amazing to even have this kind of pitch," Huangqian Yangyi hurriedly buttered him up.

On the sidelines, the players were all astonished to see this High-speed Sinker. The speed, the trajectory, and the landing point were almost perfect; they couldn't imagine how amazing the Coach was when he was young.

Having dealt with Huangqian Yangyi, Coach Kataoka loosened his shoulders, turned his head, and shouted: "Next!"

Time passed quickly, and before long, Coach Kataoka had thrown two full rounds of 120 pitches.

Anyway, he was a Coach, not a player, so he didn't need to worry about stamina issues.

After the training ended, in the Batting Practice where the Coach pitched personally, many people hit the ball, but only Huangqian Yangyi, Yuki Tetsuya, and Masuko Toru hit Extra-base Hits.

"The Coach is exhausted today. Just now when we dismissed, I saw him holding his waist; he could barely walk."

On the way back to the dormitory, Miyuki said with a smile, whispering bad things about the Coach.

"Hehe, I think the Coach is in for a miserable time tomorrow. He hasn't done strenuous exercise in a long time, and after doing this all of a sudden, he'll have trouble going down stairs or going to the bathroom tomorrow. I bet he won't even be able to hold chopsticks." Kuramochi also had a wicked grin.

"You guys should speak louder, it would be best if Takashima Rei heard you too," Huangqian Yangyi rolled his eyes at him. Takashima Rei was walking not far ahead of them.

Upon hearing this, Miyuki and Kuramochi hurriedly shut their mouths and stopped talking.

That evening, in the conference room, Coach Kataoka announced the starting lineup for the next day's game.

First batter, Shortstop, Kuramochi Yoichi.

Second batter, Second Baseman, Kominato Ryosuke.

Third batter, Center Fielder, Isashiki Jun.

Fourth batter, First Baseman, Yuki Tetsuya.

Fifth batter, Left Fielder, Huangqian Yangyi.

Sixth batter, Catcher, Miyuki Kazuya.

Seventh batter, Third Baseman, Arima Kazusa.

Eighth batter, Right Fielder, Shirasu Kenjiro.

Ninth batter, Pitcher, Sawamura Eijun.

"Kawakami, you'll be the middle reliever tomorrow, and Furuya will be responsible for closing. Any questions?"

"No problem!" the two answered simultaneously.

Kawakami was very excited; in the previous game against Yakushi, he had only pitched for one inning before it ended, which wasn't satisfying enough.

The next morning, Huangqian Yangyi got up early for morning exercises as usual. By the time the other players arrived at the field one after another, the sun had already risen on the horizon.

"Still 5 kilometers today?" Kominato Ryosuke asked while warming up.

"10 kilometers today," Huangqian Yangyi said.

"Hey, hey, it's early in the morning, aren't you afraid of affecting your game state?" Miyuki said.

"State? I'm not pitching today anyway. I'm a Left Fielder today."

At this time, Kuramochi walked over, yawning.

"You haven't rested enough; can you still handle being the leadoff hitter in this state? Maybe we should swap you out," Huangqian Yangyi teased.

Upon hearing this, Kuramochi immediately shook his head vigorously, forcing himself to wake up.

"Don't even think about it! Whoever dares to snatch my leadoff spot, I'll fight them to the death," Kuramochi said fiercely.

Soon, more and more people arrived, and everyone began their light warm-ups, jogging and swinging their bats.

The time reached 9:30 AM, and everyone from the Seido Baseball Club gathered on the field; today's match was the first one, starting at 11:00 AM.

The Seido group traveled to the stadium by bus, and Huangqian Yangyi, wearing his uniform, had his headphones on, listening to a cute song like "Fuwa Fuwa Time."

Honestly, a tough guy paired with a cute song actually had a certain charm to it.

Not long after, the Seido Baseball Club's bus slowly approached the stadium.

"They're here!"

"The people from Seido have arrived."

"Where's the ace?"

"That one! The one wearing headphones!"

"Ah~~ so handsome!"

Just as he stepped off the bus, a scream pierced through Huangqian Yangyi's over-ear headphones and entered his ears.