Chapter 387: The Finals Approach

In the bottom of the first inning, a home run by Huangqian Yangyi successfully sent Kominato Haruichi and Miyuki Kazuya back to home plate, and he himself trotted back to home plate unhurriedly; three runs.

On the pitcher's mound, listening to the tsunami-like cheers from the stands for Huangqian Yangyi, Higashiyama felt his scalp tingle.

After Huangqian Yangyi left the field, the fifth batter, Arima Kazusa, stepped into the batter's box and also swung at the very first pitch; although he was eventually put out, it clearly revealed the dominance of the Seido batting lineup. Facing Yura, a team based on tactics, Seido chose to suppress them today with absolute, violent offensive power.

After Arima Kazusa, the sixth batter, Shirasu, managed to make contact with the ball, but it landed directly into the second baseman's glove; it was an infield pop fly.

"Three outs, switch sides."

The game continued until the end of the fifth inning, with the score at 7:1.

Under the direction of Coach Sakaki, Yura High School managed to score one run off Furuya Satoru, while on Seido's side, aside from the 3 runs scored all at once in the first inning, their scoring rate over the following 4 innings was not high.

Coach Sakaki fully utilized Seido's lack of information about Yura High School and some minor flaws of the Seido players to stubbornly hold off Seido's offensive, and whenever it was Huangqian Yangyi's turn to bat, as long as there were no more than two people on base, he was given an intentional walk.

After the fifth inning, Yura High School's tricks seemed to have been exhausted, and they could no longer withstand Seido's bombardment. In the sixth inning alone, Seido scored 7 runs. Among them was another 3-run home run by Huangqian Yangyi.

The game reached the top of the seventh inning, Yura High School's last offensive opportunity; the score was already 14:1.

With such a large score gap, in anyone's eyes, Yura High School had already lost. Coach Sakaki looked at his dispirited players and felt helpless; he had tried his best, but the current Seido was too strong, and their scoring ability, led by Huangqian Yangyi, tore through their defense like a hot knife through butter.

As for defense, it was not easy to score off Furuya Satoru, and it wasn't that they couldn't make contact with Furuya Satoru's pitches, but behind Furuya, the tight defense of the other Seido players made it very difficult for Yura High School to find a breakthrough.

"The game isn't over yet! Let's go, don't give them any chances!!"

"Ohhhhh!"

On the Seido side, Huangqian Yangyi had been substituted out, and center fielder Tojo Hideaki took the field.

On the pitcher's mound, although he had given up a run, Coach Kataoka did not pull Furuya Satoru; with the game nearing its end, it was reasonable to let him pitch the complete game.

In the top of the seventh, Yura High School's offense was a last stand, or rather a death struggle; every player wore a pained expression on their face.

Furuya watched them, his heart completely unmoved.

"Come on, first pitch."

Miyuki signaled with his hand; the first batter was Yura High School's third batter, as it was their turn for the heart of the order.

Seeing the sign, Furuya nodded slightly, then quickly threw the baseball in his hand toward home plate—an outside low fastball.

The batter saw the trajectory clearly and swung the bat under immense psychological pressure.

Whoosh!

The ball, already moving at extreme speed, suddenly accelerated again halfway through its flight, instantly flashing past the front of the bat.

Thwack!

"Strike!"

Accelerated Fastball.

The batter swung and missed.

Were the Yura High School players even more nervous now?

Whoosh!

Swish!

Bang!

The second pitch was a swing and a miss, the third pitch was contacted, and the baseball flew backward.

"Second base!"

As the voice rang out, Kominato Haruichi's figure was already there to intercept it; thwack!

"Out!!"

Kominato Haruichi threw the ball into the glove of the first baseman, Maezono Kenta, to put the batter out.

"One out!!"

"Furuya!!"

"Haruichi!"

"Seido!!"

... With that out secured, Seido was one step closer to advancing in their first summer match.

After the third batter, the fourth batter, Chida, walked to the batter's box with the hopes of his teammates, his palms already soaked with sweat from gripping the bat.

As a completely ordinary team, they had never reached the third round before, let alone imagined facing a powerhouse like Seido in a game. It wasn't until Coach Sakaki came to Yura Sogo Technical High School that their team began to change, and they even fought Seido to the seventh inning; even though the score gap was large, they had seen their own level, and as long as Coach Sakaki was there, the future of Yura High School was worth looking forward to.

With a flurry of thoughts in his mind, the third-year Chida swung his bat; this swing contained all his hard work and sweat from this summer.

Bang!

The bat grazed the little white ball, smashing it into the ground, after which it bounced high into the air.

Damn it!!

Chida felt annoyed, dropped his bat, and sprinted toward first base. Just then, thwack—the sound of the ball entering a glove was heard; the ball bouncing off the ground was caught perfectly by Furuya, who then threw it directly to first base.

Chida was stunned; was even luck not on their side?

Watching the ball being caught by Maezono Kenta, Chida helplessly stopped his sprint.

"Out!"

Two outs, just one more to go.

Yura High School's few supporters had now completely given up; even they hung their heads and stopped speaking. The fifth batter who stepped up couldn't hold on either, swinging and missing three pitches, and was struck out.

In the end, Seido High School ended the game early in the 7th inning.

"Thank you for the game!"

Although they lost the game and the Yura High School players were in low spirits, very few cried from sadness; they had actually prepared themselves mentally long before the game.

This result was not unexpected, just a bit of a pity that they couldn't take two more runs from Seido.

"Tiexin, this team is truly excellent."

Coach Sakaki looked at Coach Kataoka, who had already taken off his cap and was bowing to him from the opposite dugout, and a sense of pride welled up in his heart; after all, the other man was his disciple, and Seido was also a team he had coached for many years.

After this game ended, the Seido team did not stay to watch; that same evening, after this round of matches concluded, Seido's next opponent was already determined: Yamiya Prince High School.

Another weak team.

"Yamiya Prince, generally speaking, belongs to a defensive-type team. Whether attacking or defending, they don't have any overly obvious gaps to exploit; of course, that also depends on the opponent."

"You can see it," Watanabe said while playing the game footage of Yamiya Prince.

"The opponent's defensive positioning is close overall, and their positions are relatively concentrated..."

At the meeting, Watanabe explained to everyone the intelligence he had gathered regarding their next opponent.

After he finished, Coach Kataoka took over and said, "In short, Yamiya Prince's defense is their specialty, but they are clearly lacking on the offensive end. Speed up the game's tempo, swing the bat decisively, and keep applying pressure to the opponent until their overall defense collapses. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Coach!"

"Then, next is regarding the starting lineup for the day after tomorrow," Coach Kataoka said.

Today the third round just ended, and the day after tomorrow is the fourth round. Although the schedule is tight, Seido's pressure is not that great; after all, the opponent is too weak, and the team members are also handling it with ease.

"Huangqian, next game you switch to Left Fielder."

"Yes, Coach." Huangqian Yangyi nodded; today he was Center Fielder.

"Pitcher, Sawamura! I'm leaving it to you!"

"Bigboss!"

"I, Sawamura, will definitely complete Boss's mission!"

Sawamura stood up, puffed out his chest, and shouted with an excited expression.

Coach Kataoka glanced at him, nodded, and did not reply.

"The starting positions for others remain unchanged; we will swap in and out depending on the situation during the game. Everyone must be prepared."

"Yes!!"

A day passed, and the fourth round of the Summer Tournament arrived.

Seido High School vs. Yamiya Prince.

In this game, Coach Kataoka began frequently swapping players after the third inning. Substitute players went onto the field one after another, and Sawamura on the Pitcher's Mound was under immense pressure.

After 7 innings, the score was 8:2. Ultimately, the game went the full 9 innings, the score was 12:4, and Seido secured the victory.

"Yangyi, did you talk to the Coach about that matter?"

On the bus ride back, Miyuki suddenly remembered that Huangqian Yangyi had previously mentioned he would suggest to the Coach that after establishing an advantage in the first half of a game, they should swap out the main players to give the substitutes more opportunities to play.

"Yeah, I said it the night of the opening ceremony." Huangqian Yangyi smiled. When he proposed this suggestion, the Coach thought about it carefully before agreeing. On the premise of ensuring victory, letting the team's substitutes play more not only makes up for some players' regrets but also provides effective help for the team's future development.

Hearing Huangqian Yangyi's words, the teammates around them cheered and clamored.

"Aniki, that's awesome!" Sawamura also shouted happily. Today he pitched the full 9 innings, which felt incredibly good for him.

Although they gave up two consecutive runs after the Catcher was swapped to the "wolf cub" Okumura Koshu in the second half of the game, their first time working together could be considered a success.

It's just that Okumura Koshu, this stubborn guy, was sitting in the back row with a look of unwillingness. In his view, the reason they gave up two runs in one inning was entirely his fault; he had dragged Sawamura down.

Regarding this, neither Huangqian Yangyi nor Miyuki had any intention of trying to console him. This guy's personality is just like that; the more you talk to him, the more worked up he gets. It's better to wait until he figures it out himself.

Moving forward, Seido marched on triumphantly until they reached the Semi-finals. Their opponent was their old friend Ichidai Sanko. In this game, after several months, Huangqian Yangyi stood on the Pitcher's Mound again. What no one expected was that Huangqian Yangyi, who everyone thought would be rusty after not pitching for a long time, refreshed his own pitching speed on the very first pitch of the game: 166 km/h!

After several months, Huangqian Yangyi once again shocked everyone with his shoulder.

And next, the finals.

After Inashiro Industrial easily crushed their Semi-final opponent, the Summer Tournament final would be Seido High School vs. Inashiro Industrial.

"Wow, the final is Seido and Inashiro again. It's been three years in a row, right? I wonder if Inashiro can beat Seido this time?"

"Hard to say. Having lost for so long, Inashiro must be holding their breath. This time is their last chance."

"Well, I personally hope someone can come out and stop these two teams."

"Hahaha, maybe next year. This year's Seido and Inashiro are just too strong."

"Why worry about that? I can't wait to watch the final now. The showdown between Seido and Inashiro is something I never get tired of watching!"

"Both aces will definitely start in the final. It's the battle of the century."

At this moment, whether on the internet or in reality, almost everyone following this final is discussing it intensely: Can Seido get the ticket to Koshien to complete their great feat of 5 consecutive Koshien championships? Can Inashiro get revenge and secure their entry ticket to the Summer Koshien?

Such high attention and discussion are not just because both sides of the game are powerhouses and old rivals.

It is even more because this game will be the final time Huangqian Yangyi and Narumiya Mei face each other in high school baseball!

After this game ends, if the two still want to meet on the field, they might only have the chance after entering professional baseball in the future.

At night, after a simple training session, the Seido team gathered in the cafeteria after dinner.

The opponent is Inashiro; they need to formulate the upcoming tactics and strategies more carefully and cautiously.

Over the course of two hours, after watching Inashiro's last two games, Coach Kataoka and Coach Ochiai spent an hour each analyzing Inashiro's tactics and players.

The next day, which was the night before the game, the Seido team analyzed and made arrangements for Inashiro once again.

"The above is the content to pay attention to for tomorrow's game."

"Yes, Coach!"

Below, Huangqian, Miyuki, Kuramochi, Shirasu, Maezono, Arima, Kominato, Aso, Tojo, Sawamura, Furuya, Jiecheng, Yui, Okumura... all First String members responded in unison.

"Very good. Then, I will announce tomorrow's starting lineup."

Everything had already been analyzed; the last thing to do was to confirm the starting lineup for tomorrow.

There is no need to doubt that Inashiro will definitely have Narumiya Mei start and pitch the whole game.

"Huangqian! I'm counting on you tomorrow!" Coach Kataoka did not announce the lineup in batting order, but instead looked first at Huangqian Yangyi, this student he was most proud of.

"Yes, I guarantee we will win the game!" Huangqian Yangyi's voice was loud and full of vigor.

Coach Kataoka nodded and continued.

"First batter, Shortstop, Kuramochi Yoichi."

"Second batter, Second Baseman, Kominato Haruichi."

"Third batter, Catcher, Miyuki Kazuya."

"Fourth batter, Pitcher, Huangqian Yangyi."

"Fifth batter, Third Baseman, Arima Kazusa."

"Sixth batter, Right Fielder, Shirasu Kenjiro."

"Seventh batter, First Baseman, Maezono Kenta."

"Eighth batter, Left Fielder, Asou Takeru."

"Ninth batter, Center Fielder, Tojo Hideaki."

The batting order has hardly changed; the starters are also the most stable and strongest they have been for a long time.

This time, Seido will strike in its strongest form!

July 28, Monday.

8:00 AM sharp, West Tokyo, Shinjuku Ward, Meiji Jingu Stadium.

Two hours before the start of the game, the spectators who arrived early had already packed the outside area, a sea of people.

Today, not just ordinary fans, but the graduated seniors of Seido and Inashiro—from last year, the year before, and even earlier—almost everyone who had the time showed up.

Time passed bit by bit, and as more and more spectators gathered, the stadium began admitting people, and the seats were filled very quickly.

Outside the stadium, the Seido bus drove in from the distance.

"Ohhh! They're here, they're here!"

"Seido!!"

"The protagonists have arrived!!"

"Huangqian!"

"Miyuki!!"

"Manager Kataoka!!"

"Kings, you must win this!"

Amidst the cheers of the Seido fans, on the other side, the Inashiro bus also arrived at the scene.

"Go Inashiro!!"

"You must make it to Summer Koshien!"

"Narumiya Mei! I'm counting on you!"

"Manager Kunitomo, you must win!"