Chapter 287: The Old Way of Pitching

Seeing the way Sawamura and Miyuki interacted, Dong Qingguo turned his head to look at Huangqian Yangyi, "Does this First Year brat always talk to his seniors like this?"

"Yeah, so I'll have to ask Senior Dong to help us teach him a good lesson; a young tree needs pruning to grow straight," Huangqian Yangyi said with a smile.

"Easy, easy!"

Dong Qingguo turned around and strode over to stand in front of Sawamura.

"Brat, you're pretty cocky, daring to mock the most attractive part of my body."

As soon as these words were out, Huangqian Yangyi froze; no way, had this segment finally arrived after all?

Poked by Dong Qingguo's big belly, Sawamura didn't feel the slightest bit of fear, instead tilting his head up to meet Dong Qingguo's gaze.

"Who are you?"

"Hmph, listen clearly: I am the former Seido Captain, Fourth Batter! Your senior, Dong Qingguo!"

"That's too long, I don't understand."

"You..."

Dong Qingguo was speechless, turning his head to look at Huangqian Yangyi as if for help; what was he supposed to do with this blockhead?

One had to know, his status now was no longer that of a student, but a member of society, a Professional Baseball Player; if he really bickered with a First Year kid, it would be too beneath him.

"Ahem, ahem, Sawamura, apologize, call him Senior Dong," Huangqian Yangyi said.

Seeing his own aniki speak up, Sawamura took two steps back and bowed 90 degrees, "Hello Senior Dong, I shouldn't have said your belly is big."

Dong Qingguo's mouth twitched; when you apologize, you just say sorry, why emphasize his belly again?

But he could tell, this guy was just an idiot.

Taking a deep breath, since the little junior had apologized, he couldn't be too petty, so he placed his large hand on Sawamura's shoulder.

"Sawamura, right? Come on, throw a few pitches for me to see."

What kind of person was Sawamura? A hot-blooded idiot, how could he possibly refuse?

And so, the match between former Seido Captain, Fourth Batter, and Professional Baseball Player Dong Qingguo versus Seido First Year kid Sawamura Eijun began.

In the Bullpen, everyone crowded at the entrance to watch.

Miyuki put on his gear and squatted in the Catcher position.

"Senior Dong, how should we do this? One pitch to decide the winner, or follow the rules?" Miyuki asked, looking up at Dong Qingguo in the Batter's Box.

"Of course we follow the rules," Dong Qingguo said. He wasn't stupid; if it were just one pitch, what if he didn't hit it well? He wasn't familiar with Sawamura's pitching, and if word got out that he lost to a First Year, he'd never hear the end of it.

"Hehe."

With his scheme failing, Miyuki lowered his head to think about the pitch sequence; Senior Dong's hitting was absolutely cannon-like, and a pitch too straight would definitely be blasted away.

"Come on, Sawamura!"

Miyuki shouted, then opened his mitt.

Whoosh~

Sawamura looked at Dong Qingguo; by now he understood what level the Batter before him was at, so he didn't dare be careless, focusing his spirit and putting his whole heart into throwing this pitch into Miyuki's mitt.

Sawamura lifted his right leg high, then brought it down heavily.

The form is quite standard, and there's a lot of power in the legs, Dong Qingguo judged internally.

Just then, as his center of gravity shifted, Sawamura's arm swung out, and the small white ball whistled through the air.

In the Batter's Box, although Dong Qingguo wasn't as serious as he would be in a game, he definitely didn't mean to underestimate Sawamura, and he prepared to hit with focus.

From Sawamura's pitching form to the release point...

Whoa! I can't see the release point! The baseball just suddenly flew out like that!

So fast!

Dong Qingguo swung his bat instinctively.

Bang!

The baseball grazed the top of the bat and popped out behind him.

"As expected of Senior Dong, he clearly froze for a second when he saw Sawamura's pitching form, but he still managed to make contact."

"That swing speed is terrifying."

"Yeah, the power is too strong."

Listening to the discussion, Dong Qingguo didn't feel smug, instead looking down at Miyuki.

"This kid's pitching form, you can't see the release point!"

"Yeah, impressive, right?" Miyuki smiled.

Dong Qingguo nodded, "Not bad, it's got something to it, but it would be better if the ball speed were a bit faster."

"No need to rush, he's only a First Year, and that's not even Sawamura's biggest feature," Miyuki said.

Hearing this, Dong Qingguo looked at Sawamura with interest; although he didn't care much for Miyuki, he had to admit that Miyuki was a genius, and his eye for talent and skill were both top-notch.

To have Miyuki say something like that meant this Sawamura was definitely worth looking forward to.

Soon, under Miyuki's direction, Sawamura threw the second pitch, a Diagonal Fastball aimed at Dong Qingguo's chest; having understood Sawamura's pitching form, Dong Qingguo hammered the ball away this time.

This hit completely stunned Sawamura; his inside pitch, while not invincible, had caused many a Batter trouble on the field.

Yet in front of Dong Qingguo, it was blasted away after just one pitch.

"Kid! Too slow!" Dong Qingguo shouted.

Just from this pitch, he had actually already won; at this angle, speed, and height, it was guaranteed to be an Extra-base Hit.

So it was true, without his signature moving fastball, it was still too hard for Sawamura to go head-to-head against Senior Dong.

Miyuki frowned, as if thinking about something.

"Hey, are we going again or not?" Dong Qingguo asked.

"Of course, it's not over yet," Miyuki said, looking up.

Dong Qingguo snorted, "Stop dawdling."

Miyuki smiled and didn't reply, setting his glove to the outside corner.

Come on, let's see how effective your cutter can be against Senior Dong.

Sawamura gave a slight nod; the cutter was his greatest weapon right now, and if he couldn't get a Strike with this pitch, he would have no other options.

Whoosh!

Bang!

As expected, this cutter was still a bit too easy for Dong Qingguo.

"The pitch speed is average, and the control is decent, but it's not enough. Miyuki, where is this special feature you were talking about?"

Having hit the ball solidly, Dong Qingguo looked down and asked in confusion.

The corners of Miyuki's mouth curled up as he looked up and shouted to Sawamura, "Sawamura, throw one using your old pitching style."

"The old one?" Sawamura was stunned. What did he mean?

Seeing that Sawamura hadn't moved, Miyuki stood up and ran over.

"Did you forget? That way of gripping the ball however you wanted," Miyuki reminded him.

"Eh? That one? But the ball will flutter all over the place."

"That's exactly the point; it'll be hard for Senior Dong to hit if it flutters," Miyuki smirked.

Sawamura understood immediately and started chuckling along.

"Damn it! What are you two doing?" Dong Qingguo shouted.

"Coming, coming," Miyuki replied casually before returning to home plate.

Looking at Miyuki and Dong Qingguo, Sawamura felt a bit nervous; his pitching grip, posture, and force exertion had long since been adjusted and fixed, so he really wasn't used to throwing with his old grip now.

Rotating the baseball in his hand, Sawamura habitually turned it to the seams of a four-seam Fastball, then unexpectedly gripped it using his cutter finger placement.

Hmm, this should do, Sawamura thought to himself; he only knew the four-seam Fastball and the cutter right now, so using the cutter's grip on the foundation of a four-seam Fastball was quite logical.