Chapter 388: Aggressive Strikeout

The time is approaching 10:00 AM.

From the player tunnels on both sides of the stadium, the members of both teams walk out from the dimness into the sunlight.

On the First Base side, Seido High School.

On the Third Base side, Inashiro High School.

"It's finally starting!"

"Here we go, here we go."

"Awoooo~!!"

Above the stands, seeing the figures of the boys from both teams appear, the spectators collectively cheer and shout.

Behind the Seido dugout, Chris, Kominato Ryosuke, Isashiki Jun... the seniors who have already graduated watch the scene below with smiles.

Inside the dugout, Coach Kataoka looks at today's starting nine.

"For the first three innings, the probability of Narumiya Mei throwing a Changeup is low, and even if he does, he won't throw many; use the Slider and Curveball as your targets for attack, and if you encounter a Fastball, you can decide whether to swing based on the situation; try your best to disrupt the opponent's train of thought and hide your own intentions, do you understand?"

"Understood!"

The nine answer in unison.

On the other side.

"Unless there is a runner on Third Base, whenever you encounter Huangqian Yangyi, give him a Base on Balls! Do you understand?"

"Understood!" Narumiya Mei nods heavily.

In the past, they had also executed the strategy of giving Huangqian Yangyi a Base on Balls, but this time it is even more thorough; as long as a Base on Balls doesn't guarantee a run, even if there are runners on First and Second Base and a Base on Balls would load the bases, it doesn't matter; in short, give Huangqian Yangyi a Base on Balls and put him on base directly.

The coaches of both sides are giving their final instructions before the game, and soon, the warm-up session ends.

"Line up!!"

"Let's go!!"

"Ohhhhhhhh!!"

"Salute!!"

"Please treat us well!!"

The boys from both teams bow and shout loudly at the same time.

"Sa! Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for waiting!"

"Coming up next is the highly anticipated West Tokyo Summer Tournament final! The teams that have fought their way into the final this year are once again the familiar Seido High School and Inashiro Industrial High School..."

The commentator is as excited as ever; he has lost count of how many times he has commentated on a game between these two teams, but every time, it makes his heart surge with emotion.

"Top of the first inning, the first to enter the defensive stage is Inashiro Industrial High School; we can see that Inashiro's ace, Narumiya Mei, has already stepped onto the Pitcher's Mound; surely his heart is extremely conflicted at this moment—having reached the final many times and suffered defeat many times, I wonder if he can get his wish today; let us wait and see!"

"Top of the first inning, Seido High School on offense, first batter, Shortstop, Kuramochi-kun."

As the voice over the stadium PA system fades, the horn for the West Tokyo final sounds at this very moment.

"Kuramochi! Go for it!"

"First batter! You have to get on base!"

"It's up to you! Cheetah!"

On the Pitcher's Mound, Narumiya Mei's gaze is indifferent, as if he cannot see the Batter in front of him; he appears extremely calm.

This is the last time; this is his final time competing for a ticket to the Summer Koshien; for over two years, this has been the biggest dream of his high school baseball career; this time, even if he burns himself out in this game, he must seize this final opportunity.

At Home Plate, a sharp glint flashes in Tadano Itsuki's eyes as he quickly signals with his fingers; seeing the corresponding sign, Narumiya Mei lifts his leg and strides forward without hesitation; with the dust flying under his feet and a white shadow streaking past his fingertips, the baseball arrives in front of Home Plate in an instant.

Huh?!

Kuramochi Yoichi's pupils constrict—what a fierce pitch! The path of the very first ball is so tricky.

At the low inside corner, almost grazing the edge of the strike zone, the metal bat swung with all his might emits a roaring sound, yet in the end, it misses by half a ball's distance; the baseball skims underneath and dives into Tadano Itsuki's glove from outside the strike zone.

This is! A Forkball!

"Strike!!"

The umpire's ruling rings out; Kuramochi Yoichi looks at Narumiya Mei with a ferocious expression—playing mind games on the very first pitch?

Looking at the radar gun in the corner, 151 km/h, the pitch speed is fast!

"This bastard!"

Kuramochi feels annoyed hearing the cheers of the Inashiro fans in the stands, but his swing just now, even though it didn't connect, should have had an effect; this Catcher must think he is looking to hit a Fastball.

Tadano Itsuki stands up to return the ball, then makes eye contact with Narumiya Mei before squatting down to immediately give the sign.

After such a long time working together, the chemistry between Tadano Itsuki and Narumiya Mei has improved by many levels compared to last year; now, he can keep up with his ace senior's rhythm in the vast majority of situations during a game.

Seeing the sign given by his little Catcher on the Pitcher's Mound, he is also very satisfied.

Whoosh!

In an instant, the baseball flying out of Narumiya Mei's hand has already covered half the distance.

Still an inside pitch!!

Seeing the path of the ball clearly, Kuramochi remains motionless in his batting stance.

Pop!

"Strike."

Whoa, what a sharp Fastball!

This is an inside Two-seam Fastball, drilling with extreme precision into the spot by Kuramochi's legs.

Two strikes, Kuramochi is cornered.

After returning the ball, Catcher Tadano Itsuki looks at Kuramochi very cautiously; this Seido leadoff man, known as the "Igniter" Cheetah, will definitely do something at this moment.

A Bunt!

Realizing this, Tadano Itsuki signals for everyone to move into a bunt defense.

Heh, guarding against my Bunt? Kuramochi sneered inwardly. He did indeed have the thought of a Bunt, but that depended on the opportunity; the first two pitches were Fastballs, so the probability of the third pitch being a Breaking Ball was extremely high. Among Narumiya Mei's Breaking Balls, the Curveball and Slider were the easiest to time.

Kuramochi prepared himself, and the moment Narumiya Mei threw the ball, he swung his bat toward the pitch trajectory he had chosen.

He had chosen the right trajectory, but the pitch type was wrong; this ball was neither a Slider nor a Curveball, but a Forkball.

Bang!

The little white ball slammed heavily into the ground.

"Damn it!"

Cursing under his breath, Kuramochi had already sprinted toward First Base.

That little white ball was intercepted by a glove, and then a streak of white light shot toward First Base.

With Kuramochi only a few steps away from the First Base bag, he was tagged out.

"The third pitch! Still an inside pitch! A very aggressive Forkball! Seido's leadoff hitter, Kuramochi, barely grazed the edge of the baseball with his bat and couldn't hit it out; it was easily intercepted by the Inashiro infielder. One out!!"

"Mei!!!"

"Nice pitch!!"

"Ace-sama!!"

"Keep up this rhythm!"

"Take them out one by one!!"

"Mei! We believe in you!"

With just a single out, the Inashiro fans were as excited as if they were possessed.

"Three consecutive inside pitches, that really is aggressive."

"This probably wasn't Tadano Itsuki's idea; it's most likely that guy Mei," Miyuki said.

Huangqian Yangyi nodded slightly and said, "Their coordination is good, thanks to the Catcher being able to keep up with the rhythm, and his courage is also much greater than last year."