Chapter 341: Duel with Inui Kengo

"Home run!"

"Another home run!"

"After Teito chose to issue a base on balls, Seido catcher Miyuki Kazuya's brilliant stolen base earned their fourth batter a chance to swing!!"

"Huangqian Yangyi did not let his teammate's trust down, responding with a two-run home run! This is the ace! This is the fourth batter! This is the captain of Seido!"

"Huangqian!!"

"Miyuki!"

"Ohhh!!"

Excited shouts came from every corner of the stadium stands as Huangqian Yangyi raised his right fist and ran back to home plate.

"Wow!"

Miyuki, waiting at home plate, immediately stepped forward to jump and chest-bump Huangqian Yangyi in celebration.

As the two walked off the field past the on-deck circle, Huangqian Yangyi lightly bumped fists with Arima Kazusa: "Go for it, now is the time to press the advantage; strike while the iron is hot!"

"Yes!"

Arima Kazusa's eyes were firm; having just conceded a home run, Mukai Taiyo's state was bound to fluctuate, and as the fifth batter in the Seido lineup, he would never easily let this opportunity slip by.

Returning to the dugout, Huangqian Yangyi and Miyuki were immediately surrounded by their teammates again.

"Hahaha, Miyuki, I never expected you, of all people, to steal a base at a time like that!" Kuramochi laughed, patting Miyuki on the shoulder.

As a base-stealing expert, generally when a pitcher chooses to issue a base on balls, the opponent's defense is relatively loose, but the main players are also more spread out, and any movement by the runners on base is quickly noticed.

But this time, because it was Huangqian Yangyi who was walked, coupled with the pressure from the boos of the Seido fans in the stands, the Teito defense also focused their attention on the pitcher's mound; Miyuki, possessing keen observation skills, captured this key information and chose to steal the base without hesitation.

"You really are as observant as ever."

"I thought Huangqian Yangyi was going to be walked."

"The Teito guys are really desperate; they dare to walk him even with a runner on second base. They are truly afraid of Huangqian."

The teammates gathered around discussing, while Huangqian Yangyi smiled and looked at the game on the field; with two strikes and three balls, a full count, and with Arima Kazusa and Mukai Taiyo—one a first-year genius pitcher, the other a first-year genius batter—the duel between the two once again ignited the enthusiasm of the audience.

The sixth pitch!

Arima Kazusa barely made contact with Mukai Taiyo's breaking ball; the baseball hit the ground and flew past the vicinity of the pitcher's mound, where it was caught head-on by the second baseman's glove, and Arima Kazusa was put out.

"What a pity, this guy adjusted his state very quickly," Miyuki said.

"Yeah, Arima was a bit anxious," Huangqian Yangyi said.

"I think it's because what you said just now put pressure on him, which is why he hit a bit hastily," Miyuki laughed.

"My fault," Huangqian Yangyi nodded and admitted.

Miyuki gave an 'un' sound; this guy actually took the blame voluntarily. Although it didn't count as a mistake, you're coddling little Arima a bit too much.

"What?!" Noticing Miyuki looking at him, Huangqian Yangyi rolled his eyes.

After Arima Kazusa was put out, the first inning ended there, with Seido High School leading Teito High School 2:0.

The game entered the second inning, and Teito High School's fourth batter, Inui Kengo, stepped into the batter's box.

Huangqian Yangyi and Miyuki were both very cautious; this batter had technique and power, and was the fourth batter Teito absolutely trusted.

A two-seam fastball on the outer edge! Come on, Yangyi!

Huangqian Yangyi tapped his chin lightly; a two-seam fastball in this location might be within Inui Kengo's ability to hit, but with his pitch speed, even if he made contact, it wouldn't be easy to hit it far.

In the batter's box, as Teito's slugger, Inui Kengo had a tall build with bulging arm muscles, looking like a power-type player at first glance, but in reality, he also possessed superb hitting technique; he was a tough guy with a delicate mind.

Staring intently at Huangqian Yangyi's glove, Inui Kengo knew he had to do something; after the first inning, the team's morale had already slipped, and the momentum on the field had tilted toward Seido. If he didn't do something, these unfavorable factors would accumulate, and by then, it would be too difficult for them to turn the game around.

Whoosh~!

The moment Huangqian Yangyi swung his arm, Inui Kengo swung his bat, sweeping toward the pitch path he had chosen.

After watching Huangqian Yangyi's pitching in the previous inning, Inui Kengo discovered that Huangqian Yangyi's overall pitch speed today wasn't fast; instead, he leaned toward using the corners of the strike zone combined with various pitch types to resolve batters. He himself was extremely adept at hitting inside pitches, a piece of intelligence many people knew, and he believed Seido, as his opponent, was also very clear about it.

Without increasing his pitch speed, there was a high probability the opponent would avoid the inside pitches he was good at.

When the ball flew out, Inui Kengo was certain this was an outside pitch, just not sure what type it would be: his signature cutter slider? A two-seam fastball? A forkball? Or that fastball that would accelerate?

Inui Kengo wasn't sure, nor could he guess, but his swing wasn't hesitant at all, bearing down on the outermost corner of the strike zone with terrifying momentum.

Bang!!

The moment the bat hit the baseball, everyone on Teito felt a surge of joy, only for Inui Kengo himself to shout that it was bad; this was a two-seam fastball! And it was a ball!

The baseball veered far off, and the bat barely grazed the baseball, sending it flying to the left, outside the boundary!

"Jianjie!!"

The umpire's ruling sounded, and only then did Inui Kengo feel his palms go a bit numb.

Looking at the radar gun, the speed of that pitch just now was 152 km/h; it was fast, but for Huangqian Yangyi, it wasn't fast. A large part of the reason the hitting sensation was so heavy was because of the spin rate.

Truly troublesome. Inui Kengo loosened his grip on the bat and worked his wrists.

At home plate, Miyuki pursed his lips and let out a sigh; although Inui Kengo hit a Jianjie, that pitch was truly fast. This guy's arm strength was really terrifying.

Come again, resolve him one pitch at a time.

Miyuki gave the signal, and Huangqian Yangyi pitched!

A low inside circle changeup!

Inui Kengo was worthy of being Teito's fourth batter; upon observing that it was a changeup, he forcibly changed his original whip-swing into a push-swing. Again, he barely touched the baseball, wanting to push the ball to the left, but unfortunately, he didn't succeed; the baseball popped up and flew over his head—another Jianjie!

Two strikes, Inui Kengo was backed into a corner, and the Teito fans in the stands were so nervous they didn't dare to breathe.

After Inui Kengo adjusted his state and prepared to hit, Miyuki smiled and gave the signal.

The third pitch, a fastball aimed diagonally into Inui Kengo's chest!

Come on, resolve him head-on!

Miyuki set his glove and gave Huangqian Yangyi a look; as long as this pitch could be thrown in, then after the ace was hit for a home run, the fourth batter would be struck out, and Teito's momentum would suffer a huge blow!