Chapter 342: Collapse!

On the Pitcher's Mound, Huangqian Yangyi, having already secured a two-strike lead, swept his gaze over Miyuki's signs, then looked at Inui Kengo. This guy was most skilled at hitting inside pitches; defeating him with the pitch he was most confident in could effectively shatter the batter's confidence and alleviate a lot of pressure for the games ahead.

Taking a deep breath to focus his spirit, Huangqian Yangyi aimed at Miyuki's glove and threw the ball.

Inside, Fastball!

Inui Kengo instantly identified the pitch trajectory, locked onto the hitting point, and swung his bat violently. Whoosh! The bat swept past, whipping up a gust of wind, yet it missed! The baseball jammed into his chest at an even faster speed!

This is... an accelerating Fastball!

"Strike!"

"Batter out!"

Not until the umpire's voice rang out did Inui Kengo snap back to reality; he had been struck out!

Whew~ Inui Kengo took a deep breath. Returning empty-handed from his first at-bat was undoubtedly a huge blow to morale. However, they were the overlords of East Tokyo; such a situation didn't mean much to them yet. Besides, it was only the second inning; the game was still early.

The Fourth Batter left the field, and Teito High School's 5th and 6th batters were retired in succession—one by strikeout, one by force out.

The game reached the bottom of the second inning. Mukai Taiyo, whose condition was slowly recovering, had Shirasu hit a grounder with a Screwball, but then was hit against by the 7th batter, Maezono Kenta, who drove an outside pitch to Right Fielder for a Single.

Next, Asou Takeru was retired by a force out, and Tojo Hideaki was retired by a Flyout. The second inning ended, and the score remained 2-0.

However, starting from the third inning, Seido's batting lineup once again revealed its terrifying scoring ability.

In the top of the third, Huangqian Yangyi and Miyuki suppressed the Teito lineup, not letting a single person reach base. In the bottom of the third, the condition that Teito's ace, Mukai Taiyo, had just regained was nearly shattered again.

A Breaking Ball retired Kuramochi, but Kominato Haruichi hit a Single. Then, Miyuki once again picked the right pitch, driving a hit to the outfield for a Double, directly sending Kominato Haruichi back to home plate.

Following that, Teito encountered the exact same situation as in the first inning: Miyuki on Second Base, and Huangqian Yangyi in the Batter's Box.

Seeing this scene, the Teito fans in the stands felt their heartbeats about to stop. No way, could they be giving up runs again?

On the field, facing the same situation, the Teito players would not make the same mistake again. One by one, they kept their eyes glued to Miyuki on Second Base. You dare to run!

Whoosh!

Swish!

Swish!

Soon, the count reached three balls.

The battery of Inui Kengo and Mukai Taiyo chose to give Huangqian Yangyi a Base on Balls.

"Ball four!"

As the fourth ball was thrown, Huangqian Yangyi was walked to First Base.

Whew~

The Teito fans breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they could walk this guy, it was fine.

Huangqian Yangyi hitting a Home Run in his first at-bat had already left them with a shadow. Although walking Huangqian Yangyi would create a dangerous situation with runners on first and second, the next batter was a First Year, so it wasn't a big problem. Wasn't he retired in the previous at-bat?

Although Mukai Taiyo and Arima Kazusa had tangled until a full count earlier, that was after being hit for a Home Run, and Mukai Taiyo's condition had inevitably been affected. But now, Mukai Taiyo had clearly recovered quite a bit. They believed that with their ace's strength, dealing with this Arima Kazusa would definitely not be a problem.

Bang!!

Just when the Teito fans were still rejoicing, the first pitch thrown by Mukai Taiyo—a pitch with a super low trajectory, coming in almost grazing the very bottom of the strike zone—was scooped up by Arima Kazusa, who swung decisively.

This time, not only were the Teito people surprised, but the Seido people were also very taken aback. Their strategy was to not swing at pitches with low trajectories and to just give them up; who would have thought Arima Kazusa would swing at this moment.

With a fluid swing, Arima Kazuto lowered his center of gravity and drove the ball to the outfield. Miyuki used this to return to home plate and score, while Huangqian Yangyi and Arima Kazuto each advanced a base.

"Arima-kun!"

"Nice hit!!"

"Way to go, little brother Arima!"

"Genius!"

Seido fans were never stingy with their praise, cheering and applauding for Arima Kazusa one by one. Seido's First Year brothers were all talented; in terms of pitching, there was the hard-throwing Furuya and the left-handed pitcher Sawamura. In terms of batting, there was Kominato Haruichi, who had superb ball-tracking ability and dared to use a wooden bat at the high school level, and now there was this Arima Kazusa on the field, who possessed a unique batting style and whose swing always gave people a pleasing feeling.

With such a wealth of talent, Seido's future was promising. The fans' faces were filled with smiles.

Teito's First Year genius pitcher Mukai Taiyo? Sorry, we have several such geniuses in our Seido First Year!

As Miyuki returned to home plate to change the score to 4-0, Shirasu, who came up next, also displayed his reliable side, hitting a steady Single that pierced through the infield defense, creating a bases-loaded situation.

Opportunity!

7th batter Maezono Kenta walked to the Batter's Box. This was his chance to contribute. As long as he could send Huangqian Yangyi from Third Base home in this at-bat, his status as a starter would be completely solidified, provided he didn't make any major mistakes in the future.

Swish!

"Strike!"

Whoosh!

Bang!

"Jianjie!"

Soon the count reached two strikes; Maezono Kenta was cornered.

Swish!

Bang!

"Jianjie!"

This pitch failed to retire Maezono Kenta, and Mukai Taiyo was somewhat surprised. According to their intelligence, this guy didn't seem to be good at outside pitches. Was the previous at-bat just luck?

Since that's the case, come on, Taiyo! Use a Breaking Ball to finish him!

Inui Kengo gave the sign, and Mukai Taiyo on the Pitcher's Mound nodded. Because he had been hit for an Extra-base Hit by Miyuki using his habits, he had been cautious about using Breaking Balls when ahead in the count with two strikes. However, to resolve the current crisis, he had to rely on his finishing pitch.

Clear on this, Mukai Taiyo raised his leg and swung his arm without hesitation, his whole person once again radiating the aura of an ace.

Swish!

A Screwball flew toward home plate. Maezono Kenta indeed failed to hit it well this time; the baseball slammed into the ground and flew toward the left, and Huangqian Yangyi rushed out almost meeting the baseball.

Thwack!

After the baseball was intercepted by the Third Baseman, there was no time to return to Third Base to force out Arima Kazuto, so the ball was thrown directly back toward home plate.

"Out!"

Huangqian Yangyi was out, and Catcher Inui Kengo immediately threw the ball back to Third Base to attempt a Double Play, but unfortunately, Arima Kazusa still successfully reached base.

Two outs, and the bases are still loaded!

Feeling slightly regretful, Huangqian Yangyi slowly walked off the field: "Asou! Get a run."

After saying words of encouragement to Asou Takeru, who had stood up in the on-deck circle, Huangqian Yangyi returned to the dugout and took a drink of water handed to him by Miyuki.