Chapter 346: Slow Curveball

Kawakami's brilliant performance lifted the somewhat somber atmosphere on the Seido bench caused by Furuya's injury; three up, three down—it had been a long time since they had seen Kawakami pitch with such dominance.

"Good start, keep up this rhythm, don't give them any chances," Director Kataoka affirmed to Kawakami.

In the bottom of the first inning, Seido was on offense, and the first to step into the Batter's Box was the speedster Kuramochi Yoichi.

The Ugumori ace, Meimiya Seiichi, a right-handed pitcher and batter, specialized in the Slow Curveball.

Whoosh!

Meimiya Seiichi, who looked like a delinquent, pitched without any hesitation, throwing the ball immediately after the batter was ready.

So slow!

Even though he was mentally prepared, Kuramochi was still shocked when he saw the ball flying in with his own eyes, and the arc of this pitch was super wide!

Thwack!

"Strike!"

The Slow Curveball, with a speed just over 100 km/h, made Kuramochi feel very awkward; accustomed to hitting those super-fast pitches, he really had trouble adjusting his hitting rhythm to such a bizarre player.

Looking at Meimiya Seiichi, Kuramochi also reviewed the information he had just gained from that pitch in his mind.

First, the ball speed was very slow, and the trajectory's arc was also strange; the ball he originally thought would miss the strike zone ended up landing right on the edge of it.

Was it luck? Kuramochi wasn't sure and could only continue to observe; as the leadoff batter, one of his tasks was to make the pitcher reveal as much information as possible.

At this moment, Meimiya Seiichi threw the second pitch.

It was still a Slow Curveball; Kuramochi resisted the urge to swing and carefully observed the ball's path.

"Ball!"

It was on the edge again, but his luck was a bit worse, as it was just outside the strike zone.

This guy is really interesting. After observing two pitches, Kuramochi curled the corner of his mouth; in baseball, where speed usually decides the outcome, someone actually practiced such a slow pitch, and it had truly become a significant force.

Well then, come on, watch me blast you out to the outfield.

Whoosh!!

Just as Kuramochi was preparing to hit this annoying Slow Curveball, Meimiya Seiichi on the Pitcher's Mound suddenly threw a Fastball.

Damn it!!

After realizing something was wrong, Kuramochi swung his bat in a rush.

Two consecutive super-slow Slow Curveballs had left a deep impression on Kuramochi, and with a Fastball suddenly appearing, Kuramochi's hitting rhythm was immediately affected.

Bang!

He barely managed to make contact with the ball, but it turned into an infield Grounder.

Bastard!

Kuramochi dropped his bat and sprinted toward First Base.

Turning his head to glance at where the ball landed, he thought, I can make it!

Kuramochi sprinted with all his might, and the Ugumori defense quickly threw the ball to First Base.

"Safe!"

Safe on base!

Relying on his astonishing speed, although Kuramochi didn't hit the ball well, he still successfully stepped onto the First Base bag.

"This guy's pitches seem really hard to hit," Miyuki said after putting on his batting gloves, then walked toward the on-deck circle.

"Hey, if you get a Strikeout like that, I'll laugh at you for the rest of your life," Huangqian Yangyi shouted.

On the field, Kominato Haruichi had already shouldered his wooden bat and was ready.

If it were his older brother, he would definitely have battled this kind of pitching for a long time, but I am different!

Whoosh!

Bang!

Possessing extraordinary ability to track the ball, Kominato Haruichi swung decisively after the opponent threw the first pitch.

Single!

"Beautiful! Haruichi!"

"Too nice!"

"Little brother!!"

"Awoo~"

The last sound was Sawamura yelling.

Kominato Haruichi's hit made the Seido fans at the scene very excited; by sending Kuramochi to Second Base, Seido's scoring opportunity increased significantly, and with his speed, they only needed one Extra-base Hit to the outfield to have a high chance of running all the way home to score.

"Miyuki!!"

"Miyuki!"

As Miyuki Kazuya walked into the Batter's Box, the cheers from the stands became even more enthusiastic; after more than a year of growth, Miyuki's hitting was now quite reliable, not to mention there were two people on base at this moment.

Standing in the Batter's Box, the Ugumori Catcher immediately felt immense pressure.

Miyuki smiled slightly, nodded at the Catcher, and then prepared to hit.

On the Pitcher's Mound, Meimiya Seiichi gritted his teeth; he had prepared himself mentally before the game against Seido started, but only when it truly reached this moment did he realize that the offensive power of Seido's batting lineup was this strong.

Whoosh!

The first pitch was still a Slow Curveball; Miyuki let it go and didn't swing.

"Ball!"

Heh, come on, keep going, just don't self-destruct.

Miyuki was still smiling calmly.

Soon, Meimiya Seiichi threw the second pitch, still a Slow Curveball, and Miyuki still didn't swing.

"Strike!"

The third pitch, a Slow Curveball, ball.

One strike and two balls, Miyuki stood firm and motionless; he wanted to clearly tell the opponent that he would not swing at the Slow Curveball, so come on, throw a Fastball.

Such a clear intention should logically be easy to deal with once seen through, but both the Catcher and the Pitcher of Ugumori only felt the pressure growing heavier.

Try another Slow Curveball, this time closer to the center of the strike zone; the Catcher gave the signal, as they dared not take too many risks with a two-ball count.

Meimiya Seiichi nodded and then threw the pitch.

Whoosh!

The baseball flew in, Miyuki's lips curled up, his front foot pivoted, and the bat in his hands smashed fiercely toward the baseball.

Bang!

The batted baseball flew out fast and flat.

This was a Home Run!

Just as Miyuki stepped up to the plate, after a brief psychological battle, he accurately struck Meimiya Seiichi's Slow Curveball and hit it into the stands.

"Miyuki!!"

"Miyuki!!"

Amidst the rhythmic cheering, Miyuki triumphantly raised his fist and began his base run; even he had not expected this pitch to be a Home Run.

In the on-deck circle, Huangqian Yangyi wore a bitter smile; although this Home Run scored three runs, it was not a good thing for him, as he would 100% be given a Base on Balls.

Sure enough, when Huangqian Yangyi stood in the Batter's Box, Meimiya Seiichi immediately threw four balls to walk him to First Base.

He himself did not mind, but the fans felt it was a great pity; in their view, Meimiya Seiichi's pitching style was simply the best tool for racking up Home Runs, yet the result was a Base on Balls.

After Huangqian Yangyi, Arima Kazusa stepped up and hit a base hit, successfully reaching base; Shirasu, who was also good at bunting, chose a sacrifice bunt to send Huangqian Yangyi to Third Base and Arima Kazusa to Second Base.

Thus, the opportunity to contribute had arrived.

After Maezono Kenta stepped up, he finally quickly secured a Right Fielder base hit to send Huangqian Yangyi back to home plate; the ball did not land deep and was quickly thrown back.

Arima Kazusa successfully reached Third Base, and Maezono Kenta was out.

Two outs, runner on Third Base.

The Batter, eighth in the lineup, Kawakami Norifumi.

Kawakami, whose batting could only be called decent, achieved a swing-and-miss, a Jianjie, and a Flyout in quick succession.

The first inning ended, Seido High School took a 4:0 lead.