Chapter 282: Starting to Get Nervous

In the Seido Dugout, seeing Sawamura get the chance to continue pitching, Furuya, who is also a First Year, felt very depressed.

It is already the Semi-finals now, and for the next match, the finals, one doesn't even need to think to know it will be a duel between Huangqian Yangyi and Narumiya Mei; he has even less of a chance to take the mound.

"Hey, hey, what are you thinking about?" Huangqian Yangyi quietly came to Furuya's side.

These little guys have too much on their minds; one can tell just by looking at their expressions. If no one guides them correctly, they could end up bottling up problems for themselves.

"It's nothing." Furuya shook his head.

Huangqian Yangyi noticed that Furuya's hand gripping the baseball had tightened a bit more.

*Sigh~*

"Letting Sawamura continue to pitch is because he is in good form today, and the Manager and Coach also want to see if he can carry a game on his own. This doesn't mean he is better than you. Rest assured, opportunities are equal, as long as you can seize them."

"Don't forget, this summer is far from over." After saying this, Huangqian Yangyi walked over to Miyuki's side and sat down.

Stunned in place, Furuya's mind held only that one sentence: the summer is far from over.

Koshien? Does the Manager want me to appear at Koshien?

At the thought of this possibility, fighting spirit instantly ignited in Furuya, and he even emitted the same aura as Yuki Tetsuya.

"This silly kid, you fooled him with just a few words." Miyuki couldn't help but tease after noticing Furuya's expression.

"Isn't that good? Both of them are talented. If they can have healthy competition, it's a good thing for Seido and for themselves."

"This time Sawamura got the opportunity; next time, it will be Furuya."

Huangqian Yangyi said in a voice Furuya couldn't hear, and after Miyuki smiled, he turned his attention back to the game on the field.

In the top of the third inning, perhaps because Maki Yosuke had regained his form, he actually struck out the Eighth Batter, Shirasu, directly. As for the Ninth Batter, it goes without saying; having been prepared, Sawamura failed to bunt his way onto base this time either.

After getting two outs, Maki Yosuke used another Curveball to make Kuramochi hit a grounder and get forced out, ending this half-inning very quickly.

"Sawamura, go." Huangqian Yangyi pushed Sawamura out of the Dugout.

"Yes!"

Walking onto the field step by step, Sawamura felt that the nervousness now even exceeded that of the first inning.

He must not mess up this hard-won opportunity.

Carrying this feeling, Sawamura's third inning began.

As soon as the ball was released, Miyuki at the Catcher position noticed a change in the trajectory—it was too high!

*Bang! *

The Batter blasted the ball to Center Fielder, and if not for Isashiki Jun's laser arm throwing the ball back in time, the opponent would have gone straight to Second Base. Kominato Ryosuke, who received the ball, successfully tagged the runner out, making the Sensen High School players cry out in regret; if only they had stopped at First Base, it was too impulsive.

*Whew~*

Sawamura looked back at Kominato Ryosuke, breaking out in a cold sweat.

"What are you looking at?" Kominato Ryosuke asked with a smile.

*Hiss! *

Sawamura shuddered all over; how terrifying!

Hurriedly turning around, Sawamura pretended not to hear.

Just then, the baseball thrown back by Miyuki flew in front of him. Sawamura caught it subconsciously, and the sense of power transmitted through the glove made him pause for a moment.

Then he met Miyuki's gaze.

'Relax, just pitch like before.'

'Yes.'

The pitcher-catcher connection was established; Sawamura received Miyuki's message and opened his arms to take a deep breath.

In the stands, Cangyue Ruolai gripped her hands tightly, watching Sawamura with immense worry.

*Whoosh! *

Sawamura quickly threw the ball. Although it still didn't hit the spot Miyuki wanted, the Batter's swing was clearly a beat late. The ball wasn't hit well and landed in the infield before bouncing toward the direction Kuramochi was covering.

"Yaha~!"

With a strange cry, Kuramochi flew to intercept the ball, then turned and swung his arm to throw it to First Base.

"Out!"

The baseball entered Yuki Tetsuya's glove a step before the runner.

"Two outs!"

"Sawamura! Pitch slowly!"

"Don't rush! Let them hit it."

Having secured two outs, Sawamura's pressure suddenly lessened a lot.

*Bang! *

A powerful Line Drive passed between First Base and Second Base, and the Batter successfully reached First Base.

Miyuki looked at Sawamura helplessly. This guy's expression was still too stiff. Sure enough, being asked to pitch a full game for the first time would inevitably have some impact on his mentality.

Fortunately, it wasn't a big problem. Seido was leading by a large margin, so even if Sensen High School chased back a few runs, it wouldn't matter much. That was exactly what the Manager thought, which was why he let Sawamura continue pitching.

In a game, it is impossible for a Pitcher to be at their peak from start to finish while pitching a full game. Being hit for an Extra-base Hit, a Home Run, giving up runs, or even the cheering of the spectators on the sidelines could all affect the Pitcher's state.

Under these circumstances, whether one can adjust their state in time is a special test of a Pitcher's mentality.

It's fine, Miyuki thought, looking at Sawamura; this kid has a big heart.

What are you smiling at?!

Noticing Miyuki's expression, a surge of fire rushed into Sawamura's chest. Someone had already reached base, and this bastard Catcher was still smiling; it was too hateful.

Harboring resentment toward Miyuki, Sawamura actually struck out the next Batter in three pitches.

Such a performance shocked Miyuki for the whole year; these three balls were definitely the three best ones Sawamura had thrown today!

"You, what's going on? Not nervous anymore?" Miyuki asked curiously when they came off the field.

"Huh?"

"Nervous? Why?"

Sawamura foolishly turned his head to look at Miyuki, his gaze as if he were looking at an idiot.

Uh...

Miyuki was speechless; this guy's attitude toward him—wait! Could it be? Did this kid forget about being nervous because he holds a grudge against me?

It's possible!

But, that's absurd!

In the bottom of the third inning, Kominato Ryosuke and Isashiki Jun were successively put out, and after the 4th batter Yuki Tetsuya tangled for 4 pitches, although he blasted the ball to the outfield near the wall, because the opponent was well-prepared and the ball was returned in time, Yuki Tetsuya ultimately could only stay at First Base and did not dare to dash to Second Base.

With Jiecheng on base, the spectators in the stands were all very excited; this way, the pressure on the Pitcher Maki Yosuke would be immense, and he definitely would not dare to grant a Base on Balls to Huangqian Yangyi.

Carrying his bat, Huangqian Yangyi stood in the Batter's Box and took two light practice swings; his feel was good, and since he had blasted a Golden Home Run in his previous at-bat, if there had been no one on base this time, he would have been given a Base on Balls one hundred percent, so this was an opportunity created for him by senior Jiecheng, which he could not easily let go.

Looking at Huangqian Yangyi's ready stance, Maki Yosuke wanted to grant him a Base on Balls from the bottom of his heart, but he could not do so; once he granted a Base on Balls, there would be runners on First and Second Base, and the next Batter would be that Miyuki Kazuya, whose batting was also extremely formidable, and the collected data showed that his batting average was nearly double his usual rate when there were runners on base!

I can do it! Maki Yosuke cheered himself on in his heart.

If one were to talk about the Pitchers at Seido, the one he admired most was Huangqian Yangyi; his jealousy could not even rise a tiny bit when facing Huangqian Yangyi.