Chapter 79: Ground Rule Double, Home Run

Just at this moment, a strange exclamation erupted from the entire stadium simultaneously.

What was happening? Huangqian Yangyi turned his head to look, and that ball, which had bounced high, had actually bounced directly out of the field.

Nani!!

Is this a Ground Rule Double?

(Ground Rule Double: When a ball is hit and, after landing in the outfield, bounces over the home run wall, the umpire will rule it a Ground Rule Double. It is recorded as a double, the batter goes directly to second base, any runners on second or third base return home to score, and any runner on first base advances to third.)

Huangqian Yangyi slowly ran to the second base bag, his expression not exactly looking very happy.

How about it bounces back? Let me run to third base?

Although he felt a bit of regret in his heart, the current result was acceptable; after all, forcing his way to third base still carried risks.

Huangqian Yangyi looked toward Zhitian Jiangtai, who was already walking toward the Batter's Box, and saw the other party give him a thumbs-up.

Stepping into the Batter's Box, Zhitian Jiangtai let out a shout of "Cha!", which immediately gave the Omori Catcher a fright.

Failing to successfully retire Huangqian Yangyi and instead giving up a Ground Rule Double, Xiangtian Dahe was truly starting to lose his composure. It was one thing that there was a gap in strength, but why was even luck not on their side?

Hearing this provocative sound from Zhitian Jiangtai now, Xiangtian Dahe wished he could go up and land a punch right in his chest.

Fortunately, the long-accumulated game experience told him what he should do at this moment: get the out. That was the most urgent matter now; otherwise, once this guy got on base, even if he retired the second batter, he would still have to face Seido's third batter, Yuki Tetsuya.

Seemingly having finally found his rhythm, after two strikes and two balls, Xiangtian Dahe successfully retired Zhitian Jiangtai with a sufficiently low Breaking Ball, and after that, he relied on three different types of Breaking Balls to quickly take down Kominato Ryosuke and end the half-inning.

Huangqian Yangyi was thus firmly pinned to second base, unable to advance a single step. During this time, he also tried to influence Xiangtian Dahe by feigning a Stolen base, but this guy paid him no mind at all, focusing entirely on the duel with the Batter.

"Sorry, Huangqian, I couldn't send you home."

In the Dugout, Kominato Ryosuke walked to Huangqian Yangyi's side and said.

"Kominato-senpai, why are you saying that?" Huangqian Yangyi held a towel in his hand to wipe his sweat; he had to go out to pitch again immediately.

Watching Huangqian Yangyi put on his glove and walk out of the Dugout, Kominato Ryosuke smiled and said nothing more.

In less than 5 minutes, Huangqian Yangyi easily retired the 7th, 8th, and 9th batters of Omori Academy.

His consistently stable, super-high-speed four-seam and two-seam fastballs left the opponent without a single chance to exploit.

Especially that cunning guy Tanaka Wataru, who even learned Miyuki's style of pitching three consecutive inside pitches followed by three outside pitches. It was only because the opponent was Omori Academy; if this were Inashiro or Ichidai Sanko, Tanaka Wataru would absolutely not dare to call pitches like that.

"Senior, you're really messing with Omori's mentality," Huangqian Yangyi said to Tanaka Wataru when he came off the field.

Tanaka Wataru smiled sheepishly: "I just wanted to try this kind of pitch calling. Your pitching is so amazing, it's not too much for me to be a little self-willed, right?"

"Heh heh," Huangqian Yangyi laughed, "Does it feel good?"

"It feels great!" Tanaka Wataru nodded honestly, especially when he saw the opposing batters looking furious—that felt even better.

"Too mean, it makes us look like the villains," Huangqian Yangyi said.

"Aren't we?" Tanaka Wataru also smirked.

Although the score was still 3-0, the scene was truly one-sided, and Omori Academy was truly miserable. Nine batters had cycled through, and they hadn't even touched Huangqian Yangyi's ball once. How were they supposed to play like this?

Next, the bottom of the third inning.

After two strikes, Yuki Tetsuya chased a bad ball, and the baseball landed in the infield before bouncing toward Left Fielder. The Omori Shortstop failed to defend the ball, eventually resulting in a Single.

"Blast it out!!"

Just as Dong Qingguo stood in the Batter's Box, a loud shout came from the spectator stands.

Whoosh~ Whoosh~

In the Batter's Box, Dong Qingguo swung his bat a few times casually, the sound of the wind extremely clear and intimidating.

Base on Balls?

The Catcher subconsciously had this thought in his mind. Facing this guy, who could be called one of the strongest batters in the entire Tokyo high school baseball world, choosing a Base on Balls was an extremely wise decision.

But what about after that?

Once he walked Dong Qingguo, it would become no outs with runners on first and second. This was purely putting pressure on himself.

Furthermore, Seido's 5th batter, that Catcher Tanaka Wataru, was not easy to deal with either, and the 6th batter after him, that guy who was as wild as a delinquent, was also very difficult to handle.

He couldn't just walk everyone, could he? Then how would the game even be played?

Xiangtian Dahe on the Pitcher's Mound did not know what kind of brainstorming his Catcher had just experienced in those few short seconds.

He only saw the other party's expression change for a moment, then suddenly become stern, and then the sign was given.

Three seconds later, Bang!

"Roar!"

Having hit the ball, Dong Qingguo roared as he charged toward First Base.

"Home Run!!"

"It's appeared again, the second Home Run of this game, from Seido's Fourth Batter and Captain, the third-year monster batter, Dong Qingguo!"

The appearance of the Home Run ignited the entire stadium once again. Seido's supporters stood up one after another to offer applause and cheers, chanting Dong Qingguo's name in unison.

On the field, Yuki Tetsuya and Dong Qingguo jogged back to home plate one after the other, one with a smile on his face, the other shouting loudly.

"Dong-senpai, you're too cool!" Huangqian Yangyi flattered Dong Qingguo, making him feel overjoyed.

"Jiecheng-senpai too, I thought that ball was going to be intercepted by the Shortstop, I didn't expect you to have such power, it was still bouncing so fast even after landing."

Huangqian Yangyi made sure to spread the praise around.

Just at this moment, on the first base side, there was movement in the Omori Academy Dugout.

Omori's ace, Xiangtian Dahe, was pulled from the game, and the person who replaced him on the Pitcher's Mound was also a third-year player named Dayan Xiang.

There was relatively little data on this pitcher, but this was not a big problem for Seido.

The facts were indeed so; after another 4 at-bats, Dayan Xiang only managed to get one out from the 7th batter, Shinoki Keita, while at the same time, he allowed the 5th batter Tanaka Wataru, the 6th batter Isashiki, and the 8th batter Yoshikawa Junpei to all get on base, creating a bases-loaded situation.

"Good opportunity."

Huangqian Yangyi stood in the Batter's Box with great interest. With the bases loaded, it was his turn to bat; would it make sense not to score?

It absolutely wouldn't make sense. A strong desire to score was revealed in Huangqian Yangyi's eyes.

This Dayan Xiang has a pitching speed similar to Xiangtian Dahe, but he has even fewer pitch types; for his Breaking Ball, he only knows a cutter with a small horizontal movement.

Loosening his grip on the bat and adjusting his footing, Huangqian Yangyi was more focused than ever before at this moment.