Chapter 359: Evolved Again, Little Blondie!

Huff... ha... Narumiya Mei breathed deeply and continuously to adjust his state. Facing Huangqian Yangyi, Narumiya Mei dared not have the slightest relaxation or carelessness. To defend this inning, he had to bring out his best state and his best pitching!

At home plate, Tadano Itsuki was under even greater pressure at this moment. Just looking at Huangqian Yangyi standing nearby gave him the feeling of being stared at by a wild beast, and he felt completely uneasy.

At this moment, Tadano Itsuki and Narumiya Mei's eyes met. Their ace nodded at him; this was trust in him. A surge of excitement welled up in the bottom of Tadano Itsuki's heart. He absolutely could not shrink back here; he had to support Senior Mei well!

Think!

Tadano Itsuki kept thinking of ways to deal with Huangqian Yangyi, but with only his game experience and ability, how could he possibly come up with a method in such a short time that all the strong teams in Tokyo had failed to think of? In the end, he could only rely on Narumiya Mei's guidance. All he had to do was steadily catch every ball Narumiya Mei threw over.

Whoosh!

After confirming the pitch type with Tadano Itsuki, Narumiya Mei immediately threw the baseball toward home plate.

Huangqian Yangyi locked onto the ball's path, and his bat swept out along with his body.

Whack!

"Strike!"

The baseball passed beneath the bat; it was a forkball with an extremely exaggerated downward arc.

Huangqian Yangyi retracted his bat and looked at Narumiya Mei with a smile. This guy, he hadn't used his full strength against anyone else before; the movement of this forkball was much stronger than the ones thrown earlier.

Having secured one strike, Tadano Itsuki still dared not relax in the slightest. After returning the ball, he immediately exchanged glances with Narumiya Mei to discuss the next pitch.

Narumiya Mei shook his head, shook his head, then nodded. Finally, the pitch type was confirmed.

Less than three seconds after confirming the pitch, the baseball flew from Narumiya Mei's fingertips, shooting toward home plate like a sharp arrow.

Fastball!

The ball speed was very fast!

Huangqian Yangyi exhaled while swinging his bat, his eyes as sharp as a hawk's, staring at the incoming baseball.

Bang!

It missed!

"Jianjie!"

Hitting the ball out of bounds, Huangqian Yangyi took a deep look at Narumiya Mei. This guy actually threw toward the center of the strike zone. In such a situation, it was not easy to hit well. Narumiya Mei was not a fool who only relied on a single fastball to decide the outcome. He threw toward the Red Center, and one still had to judge whether it was a four-seamer, a two-seamer, or a cutter, etc. This pitch just now had exceeded Huangqian Yangyi's expectations.

None of the above three, but a forkball!

In less than three months, Narumiya Mei had not only added a high-speed slider but also gained the forkball as a weapon.

Impressive!

Huangqian Yangyi gave a thumbs-up to Narumiya Mei without hesitation. A genius is a genius. After being hammered by Huangqian Yangyi and Miyuki Kazuya together for so long, he could still burst forth with his own radiance and even accelerate his growth.

It was too unexpected. Huangqian Yangyi was incredibly serious now; with the addition of the forkball, the threat of Narumiya Mei's fastball would be even greater.

Think about it: a ball with high speed flies in; it might go left, it might go right, or it might go downward. Of course, it could also just be a four-seam fastball. In this situation, the probability of choosing the right ball was only one in four.

Huangqian Yangyi stepped forward. To deal with this situation, it could be said to be simple, and it could be said to be difficult. One just had to hit it before the baseball's path changed. Huangqian Yangyi was confident that he could hit it.

His goal was not to chase the fastball, but just to be on guard. What truly posed a great threat from the little blondie in front of him were his breaking balls.

Forkball, slider, high-speed slider, circle changeup, reverse changeup...

Damn! Thinking about it this way, Narumiya Mei really was a library of pitch types.

However, the opponent also knew his batting characteristics. Pitch types with very obvious paths like sliders and high-speed sliders wouldn't be thrown to him. What made Huangqian Yangyi feel tricky regarding the breaking balls Narumiya Mei had mastered were the two types of changeups that were very hard to distinguish.

Would it be a circle changeup, or a reverse changeup that dropped rapidly near the batter's hands like a screwball?

Just at this moment, Narumiya Mei threw the ball.

The rapidly swinging arm looked exactly the same as when throwing a fastball. Even Huangqian Yangyi was influenced, and only after the baseball flew out did he confirm that this was indeed a changeup!

Even with preparation, it was not so easy to accurately catch the hitting point. Huangqian Yangyi swung his bat and caught it just as the ball entered home plate and began to change!

Damn it, didn't hit the sweet spot!

The little white ball flew backward, smashing heavily behind second base. Kuramochi also took this opportunity to dash toward home plate. Huangqian Yangyi's footsteps were also lightning fast; if he were tagged out, it would be useless even if Kuramochi returned to home plate.

"Run!!"

"Take this point!"

"Huangqian, run fast!"

Teammates on the sidelines shouted loudly. Compared to Kuramochi's side, everyone was even more concerned about whether Huangqian Yangyi could reach base.

Looking at the direction of the baseball from the corner of his eye, Carlos was flying toward the baseball to meet it. Perhaps because the batter was Huangqian Yangyi, Inashiro's overall defensive positioning was shifted back, and it was a bit too late to rush over at this time.

"Safe!!"

Reached base successfully, and Kuramochi returned to home plate smoothly!

A single to center field. Huangqian Yangyi stood on the base and let out a long breath. It wasn't hit well after all; otherwise, why would running the bases be so tense?

Others: A single to center field, and he calls that not hit well!

"At the critical moment, Seido's fourth batter and captain, Huangqian Yangyi, helps Seido take the first point of this game with a single! Seido High School leads 1:0!"

"Good!"

"Huangqian!!"

"Seido! Seido!"

The Seido fans in the stands had already started cheering and shouting.

Listening to these sounds, Narumiya Mei on the pitcher's mound only felt it was ear-piercing. It was this guy again, his hit again.

His changeup, originally the pitch type he relied on most and his finishing pitch, was actually hit in such a situation! Even in the past, it was very hard for Huangqian Yangyi to hit it.

Damn goddess of luck, can't you stand on our Inashiro side? Even just once!

Watching Narumiya Mei clenching his fists tightly, the Inashiro players on the sidelines felt their hearts ache. In reality, in many people's hearts, this game was merely a contest between Narumiya Mei and Huangqian Yangyi.

As for the Spring Koshien spots, both Seido and Inashiro would have them. No matter who won this game, as long as they qualified for the Jingu Tournament and won the championship there, the number of Spring Koshien spots for the Tokyo region would increase by one, reaching 2.5, and the runner-up of the Autumn Tournament would automatically obtain this spot.

Whether it was Seido or Inashiro, they both possessed strength more than one level above other schools; winning the championship was not difficult.

However, while it looked like that to outsiders, the players on both sides themselves, and even the fans, did not want to lose.

Especially Narumiya Mei, who had been suppressed by that battery for a full year and a half; he dreamed of defeating Huangqian Yangyi and Miyuki Kazuya.

The game isn't over yet!

On the Pitcher's Mound, after three seconds of regret, Narumiya Mei quickly regained his focus and soon struck out Shirasu Kenjiro.

Next, it was time for Inashiro to launch their attack!