Chapter 47: After Five Innings

"Tsk tsk, Huangqian Yangyi, you're going to offend quite a few seniors this summer, I'm afraid," Miyuki whispered to Huangqian Yangyi.

Although the two were in the bullpen, they still heard the conversation over there.

"I'm not worried, yet you're the one getting anxious," Huangqian Yangyi said, then threw the ball in his hand straight back.

Miyuki chuckled as he caught the ball, and upon looking up, he saw Tanba, who had just left the bullpen to take the field, walking back with a depressed look on his face.

The two immediately stopped talking; it was clear that Senior Tanba was in a very bad mood right now.

At this moment, Nanjo Taishi, who had received an extra inning to perform, stood on the Pitcher's Mound, feeling a surge of excitement—he had to pitch well! He absolutely could not let the manager down!

Thinking this to himself, Nanjo Taishi took a deep breath and threw the baseball.

Oh no!

Tanaka Koichi felt his heart skip a beat the moment he saw the ball come out.

Bang!

The sound of the bat hitting the baseball rang in his ears. Tanaka Wataru hurriedly pulled up his mask, stood up, and shouted, "Right Fielder!!"

The ball flew between first and second base and landed on the ground. The Batter had already sprinted toward First Base, and the Right Fielder, Shinoki Keita, caught the ball immediately and threw it to Second Base.

Nanjo Taishi looked toward First Base and let out a long breath; if it was only a single, it wasn't a big problem.

Next, the Inashiro Batter stepped into the Batter's box again. Neither Nanjo Taishi nor Tanaka Wataru took the previous error too seriously; they had already reached the fifth inning, and an occasional error was nothing strange.

It wasn't just them; Manager Kataoka on the sidelines wasn't overly worried either.

However, Nanjo Taishi's next pitch was an error again. Tanaka Wataru had clearly called for a low outside Cutter, but Nanjo Taishi had sent the ball right toward the Red Center.

"It's over!" Before Tanaka Wataru could even form another thought, there was another crisp sound.

The baseball flying toward the Red Center was smashed hard—a high fly ball to Center Fielder!

In the direction of Center Fielder, Isashiki Jun sprinted backward while looking up at the baseball flying through the sky.

"Catch it!!"

"It's dropping!!"

"Isashiki!!!"

Seido's supporters shouted with all their might. Isashiki arrived underneath the ball, and with a *thwack*, the baseball landed steadily in his glove.

Phew~~

Everyone let out a long breath in unison; that was close, that ball had almost flown out.

Nanjo Taishi's face had turned green by now; watching that ball fly high behind him, he almost forgot to breathe.

Glancing toward the Seido Dugout on the third-base side, Nanjo Taishi's heart sank; the expressionless look on Manager Kataoka's face made him feel extremely ashamed.

The manager had clearly thought so highly of him, even changing the original plan to let him pitch an extra inning, yet he had delivered a performance like this.

What on earth was wrong! Nanjo Taishi couldn't understand why those last two pitches had turned out that way.

Tanaka Wataru, who had been observing Nanjo Taishi's expression, hurriedly made a timeout gesture and, after receiving the umpire's permission, ran quickly toward the Pitcher's Mound.

"What's wrong with you? Is something uncomfortable?" Tanaka Wataru asked very nervously, his gaze scanning Nanjo Taishi up and down. He had been pitching so well before, and for these two pitches to suddenly become like this, it was hard for Tanaka Wataru not to worry if something was wrong with his body.

Nanjo Taishi shook his head: "I'm fine."

"Really?" Tanaka Wataru still didn't believe him.

"I'm really fine, don't worry, I'll pitch well on the next one," Nanjo Taishi said.

Looking at the determined expression on Nanjo Taishi's face, Tanaka Wataru could only pat his shoulder and whisper: "Good luck."

Phew~

Exhaling a breath, Nanjo Taishi did his best to steady his mindset.

On the sidelines, Huangqian Yangyi and Miyuki, who had been warming up, were also drawn by that last pitch. Seeing Nanjo Taishi preparing to throw the next one, the two leaned in together and began to discuss in low voices.

Tanba and Miyauchi Keisuke, however, were still warming up seriously.

"Did you notice anything?" Miyuki asked.

Huangqian Yangyi shook his head, "Not sure. His condition dropped suddenly; given Senior Nanjo's stamina, it shouldn't be that. Perhaps it's another reason."

"Pressure?" Miyuki rubbed his chin in thought. As a Catcher, he wondered what he should do if he encountered a Pitcher whose condition was suddenly off while on the field.

Meanwhile, Huangqian Yangyi was thinking about the reason Nanjo Taishi hadn't pitched those two balls well. It was either a physical issue or a mental one; regardless of which, he had to avoid it as much as possible.

On the field, Nanjo Taishi's deep breathing worked. After getting two consecutive outs, although he gave up another hit, creating a situation with runners on first and second, he ultimately managed to tenaciously defend the half-inning.

It's finally over~

Nanjo Taishi walked off the Pitcher's Mound covered in cold sweat. He knew that no matter what, the manager couldn't possibly let him continue pitching the next inning.

As he walked to the front of the Dugout, Nanjo Taishi subconsciously avoided Manager Kataoka's gaze, but just as he was about to walk inside, he heard Manager Kataoka speak.

"Nanjo."

"Yes, Manager." Nanjo Taishi froze beside Manager Kataoka, nervously awaiting the impending criticism.

"You did well just now. Fluctuations in condition during a game are unavoidable. Being able to handle such situations is a quality an excellent Pitcher should possess. I am very gratified to have seen such a performance just now."

Although there was no smile on Manager Kataoka's face, and he didn't look at Nanjo Taishi, his words were incredibly encouraging.

Nanjo Taishi turned his head in disbelief to look at Manager Kataoka. He never expected that after throwing such terrible pitches, he wouldn't be criticized, but instead praised.

Before he could even speak, Manager Kataoka's voice sounded again.

"Next time, don't get carried away."

The smile that had just begun to form on Nanjo Taishi's face stiffened, and then it turned bright red. After coming down from the Pitcher's Mound, he had gradually realized that the reason he had pitched so poorly before was because he had subconsciously gotten a bit carried away after being praised and given another chance; he had wanted to pitch even better, which led to him exerting too much force and causing problems with his pitching.

"Yes, Manager, it won't happen next time," Nanjo Taishi promised loudly.

"Go rest."

"I..." Nanjo Taishi was stunned for a moment. Wasn't it said before that he would be moved to the outfield? He was just going to let him rest like this?

Manager Kataoka didn't explain. There were only 4 innings left in the game; even if it went into extra innings, Tanba and Huangqian Yangyi could hold the line.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Seido was on the offensive. The strength of Inashiro's ace, Matsumoto Takumi, was indeed strong enough; even in the latter half of the game, he was still able to maintain his condition.

After Dong Qingguo hit a double, the subsequent batters Tanaka Wataru and Isashiki Jun failed to continue the offensive, and in the end, they returned empty-handed in the bottom of the fifth inning, unable to score any runs.