Chapter 297: Strong Batter Harada Masatoshi

In the Batter's Box, Masuko Toru, who had swung and missed, quickly prepared himself again.

Narumiya Mei's mouth curled up slightly; he lifted his leg and swung his arm, his movements fluid and executed in one go.

Whoosh!

Pop!

"Strike!"

Zoom!

Pop!

"Strike!"

Narumiya Mei kept a fast rhythm; with a Forkball, a Cutter, and a Circle Changeup, Masuko Toru was struck out.

The top of the second inning ended, and Seido still failed to score, not even managing to get anyone to Second Base.

Seido had not encountered such a situation in a long time; Coach Kataoka had everyone form a circle, looked coldly at Inashiro on the other side, and said, "Don't be anxious, the game has just begun. Today's game is about who has more patience. It is not easy to score off Narumiya Mei in the first half, so wait quietly for an opportunity. Once a hittable ball appears, swing decisively!"

"Yes!!" everyone replied.

"Then, I will say a few words as well," Ochiai Hiromitsu said, changing from his usual lazy demeanor.

Everyone turned their heads to look at this Technical Head Coach.

"Judging from just now, Narumiya Mei has already thrown a Changeup, which shows that Inashiro will likely focus on the first half of the game today, attempting to control the rhythm of the match."

"We don't need to pay too much attention to his Changeup; just do as before and focus on hitting the hittable Fastball. Even if the opponent controls the rhythm in the first half, it doesn't matter; our focus is always on the decisive second half."

After listening to Ochiai Hiromitsu, Coach Kataoka on the side spoke up: "That's right, don't let the opponent disrupt our footing. As long as our defense has no issues, on the offensive end, as long as we consistently carry out our initial goal, it will be enough to tear through Inashiro's defense."

"Yes, Coach!"

Following this, the 9 players of Seido entered the field.

"Bottom of the second inning, Inashiro's offense, Fourth Batter, Catcher, Harada-kun."

The broadcast sounded, and Harada Masatoshi stepped into the Batter's Box.

Looking at Huangqian Yangyi on the Pitcher's Mound opposite, Harada Masatoshi quickly reviewed the opponent's data in his mind. Even though he had already memorized these by heart and could even recite them backward, it was useless; as long as they faced this guy, they would lose.

What should he do?

Choose a single pitch type to attack?

Or, hit the Fastball?

Huangqian Yangyi's Fastball is not easy to hit; it seems difficult regardless of which method is chosen.

Especially since this already formidable Pitcher is paired with a black-hearted Catcher; this power is not as simple as one plus one.

Thinking from the other side's perspective, if he were Huangqian Yangyi's Catcher, facing a cleanup Fourth Batter, he would definitely make the pitch path as tricky as possible, using the pitch path and pitch type to make it hard for the batter to swing, and even if they made contact, it would be difficult to exert force.

Combining this with his own hitting characteristics, there is a high possibility that the opponent's first pitch will be an inside-corner Forkball, but if one considers the personalities of this Pitcher and Catcher, it is also possible the first pitch will be an inside-corner high ball aimed at the chest.

Just as Harada Masatoshi was brainstorming, Miyuki also quietly gave a signal.

The first pitch, a high ball outside the corner, try to throw it wide.

A wicked smile curled at the corner of Miyuki's mouth.

Huangqian Yangyi on the Pitcher's Mound understood quickly after seeing the signal; this guy is going to toy with the batter's mentality again.

The instant their eyes met, Harada Masatoshi in the Batter's Box suddenly felt a chill blow across his back.

"Playball!" the umpire shouted.

Huangqian Yangyi lifted his left leg high, aimed at Miyuki's glove, and swung his shoulder with all his might, Whoosh!

The white shadow of the ball shooting toward home plate approached Harada Masatoshi's eyes in an instant.

A high ball outside the corner!

Pop!

"Ball!"

As the umpire's voice fell, Harada Masatoshi, who hadn't swung, raised his eyebrows slightly.

He didn't expect this pitch to be a high ball outside the corner; this was completely contrary to the personalities and styles of this Pitcher and Catcher. Such cautious probing made all of Harada Masatoshi's previous guesses fall through.

It seems that in today's game, not only have the people of Inashiro made changes, but these two guys in front of him are also striving for the greatest possibility of a Seido victory.

Unable to fathom the thoughts of Miyuki and Huangqian Yangyi, Harada Masatoshi took a deep breath and shouldered his bat. It was only the first at-bat; there was no need to compete with the opponent, just hit the ball when it comes.

At the Catcher position, Miyuki gave a signal after returning the ball.

Still an outside-corner pitch, but this time it was a low Slider outside the corner.

Whoosh!

The arm that swung forward violently released the small ball from the fingertips, and in the blink of an eye, it turned into a streak of white light and shot into home plate.

Amidst the sound of the bat cutting through the air, Harada Masatoshi aimed at this ball.

Bang!

The baseball blasted out along the First Base line, passing by Jiecheng like a bullet.

"Jianjie!"

Hiss!

Miyuki looked up at Harada Masatoshi. This pitch, although Huangqian Yangyi didn't throw it with full force and the speed was under 150 km/h, the trajectory of the Cutter Slider changed very suddenly. This was even with the first pitch acting as a buffer to disturb the batter's train of thought, yet he still managed to follow it; it was almost a hit that would have pierced the infield defense.

Inashiro's Fourth Batter and Captain, this is also a monster.

One strike, one ball.

Come on, third pitch, an inside-corner high Accelerated Fastball!

Huangqian Yangyi nodded, and after receiving the return throw, he quickly began to pitch.

Harada Masatoshi has a sharp mind, and neither Huangqian nor Miyuki intended to give him any extra time to think.

Whoosh!

The baseball flew out, and Harada Masatoshi swung his bat with a swish after gauging the ball's path, but just then, the baseball in his eyes suddenly accelerated; Harada Masatoshi's pupils constricted, then he exerted force with his wrists and fingers, pushing the swinging bat slightly further forward, and relying on this technique, which was precise to the extreme, Harada Masatoshi successfully knocked the ball away despite it being his first time seeing this Accelerated Fastball.

"Jianjie!"

The hitting angle was poor, and the baseball flew high into the air, landing in the stands at the edge of the field.

On the Pitcher's Mound, Huangqian Yangyi touched his nose, then gave a thumbs-up toward Harada Masatoshi.

After putting away his bat, Harada Masatoshi also nodded slightly at Huangqian Yangyi; such a Fastball was truly interesting, he had never seen it before, and this deepened his understanding of Huangqian Yangyi's pitching, and the more he understood, the more terrifying he felt it was.

This guy's Fastball speed was already so formidable, yet now he wouldn't throw high-speed balls unless necessary, and instead had begun to develop other possibilities for the Fastball; just how powerful did this person intend to become before he was satisfied?

At the Catcher position, Miyuki was also considering the next pitch sequence; the Accelerated Fastball definitely couldn't be thrown consecutively, otherwise, the Batter's eyes would get used to it.

Since that was the case, then let's go with a Circle Changeup.

Huangqian Yangyi looked at the signal and smiled; it was only the second inning, and they were already going to throw a Changeup?

Without thinking too much, Huangqian Yangyi changed his grip, looked at the location Miyuki wanted, then lifted his leg, whipped his shoulder, and swung his arm; the little white ball flew out, and Harada Masatoshi swung his bat the moment he saw the ball's path—an inside pitch!

Two-seamer?

Swish!

Halfway through the swing, Harada Masatoshi realized something was wrong; the ball hadn't arrived yet!

It's a Changeup!

Pop!

The baseball and the bat crossed paths in front of home plate.

"Strike!"

"Batter out!"