Chapter 81: A Great Victory in the First Battle

The game continued. On the Omori Gakuen side, looking at Nanjo Taishi on the pitcher's mound, the feeling in their hearts was incredibly bitter. His pitching was ranked among the best in West Tokyo, and before the appearance of that freak Huangqian Yangyi, he had been Seido's ace.

Looking at the current situation, facing Nanjo Taishi, it would be equally difficult for Omori to score.

The result did not exceed anyone's expectations. Facing the first batter of Omori, Nanjo Taishi cleanly and efficiently secured a strikeout. Then, on the second pitch, the Omori batter desperately lunged at Nanjo Taishi's slider and hit it toward the left side. Just as it looked like it would pierce through the infield defense, a figure with quick feet rushed out from the side, caught the ball, and completed a flyout.

Kuramochi Yoichi, this first-year rookie playing for the first time, did not let the manager down and completed a beautiful defensive play.

"Yaha!" Kuramochi proudly accepted the applause from the audience.

Afterwards, facing the third batter, Miyuki first called for two inside pitches and finally ended it with an outside high-speed slider. The cooperation between Nanjo Taishi and Miyuki in their first official game could be considered a perfect start.

In the end, Seido ended the game early in the 5th inning, locking the score between the two sides at 12:0.

In this game, almost all the players Seido sent out showed their stuff. Manager Kataoka was extremely satisfied with this. He had wanted to say a few words to keep everyone from getting arrogant, but after seeing the smiles on everyone's faces, he decided to be an adult who wouldn't spoil the mood.

In the stands, the group from Inashiro Industrial, who were also joining the competition today, silently watched the entire game.

The result of the game did not surprise the people from Inashiro, yet the strength displayed by Seido's batting lineup today made the people from Inashiro feel no small amount of pressure.

"Mei, what do you think?" Harada Masatoshi asked Narumiya Mei, who was beside him.

"I won't let them hit it," Narumiya Mei said flatly.

"As long as you're confident. If nothing goes wrong, we'll meet in the semi-finals, and there will definitely be a chance for you to play then," Harada Masatoshi said.

Narumiya Mei was not yet Inashiro's ace, but his pitching was recognized by the whole team; the manager could not possibly keep him on the bench.

On the field, after the players from both sides shook hands, the Seido group came to the sidelines to wave and interact with the fans.

"Seido! Seido!"

"Azuma! Almost 40 home runs, keep it up!"

"First-year! Great performance!"

"You must make it to Koshien!"

"This year is the one!"

"Manager Kataoka, we believe in you!"

"Huangqian! Your ball!"

Hm?

Huangqian Yangyi was greeting the audience when he heard this and immediately turned his head. A baseball was thrown down from the stands by Kawakami.

After catching the ball, Huangqian Yangyi immediately understood that this was that Golden Home Run.

"Thanks!" Huangqian Yangyi shouted.

Kawakami rubbed his nose. After this ball flew into the stands, it had landed in the hands of a Seido student; otherwise, it would have been really hard to get back.

After briefly accepting the celebrations from the audience, everyone left the stadium, as the next game was about to be held there.

Inside the locker room, everyone chatted while changing clothes. Huangqian Yangyi and Nanjo Taishi were both shirtless, with ice packs on their shoulders for icing.

"Senior, not a single run lost, impressive."

"Aren't you the same? I won't lose to you," Nanjo Taishi laughed.

Huangqian Yangyi shrugged, "Senior will be able to show off his power again in the next game. Try to keep the zero-run streak going; I'll be cheering for you from the bench."

For the fourth round, although Seido's opponent hadn't been decided yet, no matter which of those two teams advanced, it wouldn't be difficult for Seido. Therefore, if nothing went wrong in the next game, Nanjo Taishi would start, and Danba should also have a chance to play.

In short, before the semi-finals, Manager Kataoka would not let Huangqian Yangyi play too much.

At the same time, at another stadium.

Ichidai Sanko, having just finished their game, received news sent back by the person responsible for gathering intelligence on Seido.

Although they were not in the same bracket, as old rivals, Ichidai Sanko had always attached great importance to intelligence on Inashiro and Seido.

"12:0?" Manager Tahara immediately frowned upon hearing this score.

"Huangqian Boy struck out 9 batters in a row? And there was a Golden Home Run?"

Hiss!

Manager Tahara gasped. This Huangqian Boy's performance was too outstanding; he had actually achieved such great results on the hitting end as well.

"Every one of Seido's upcoming games must be closely monitored. Any possible information and intelligence must be collected!" Manager Tahara said to the intelligence personnel.

He had a premonition that in this year's summer qualifiers, Seido was very likely to become their greatest enemy on the road to advancing to Koshien.

On the Seido side, after the team members packed up their things, they went to the VIP stands. The next game was Inashiro's, and as opponents in the same bracket, watching the game on-site would allow them to better grasp Inashiro's current condition.

After the game started, Inashiro's current ace, third-year pitcher Matsumoto Takuhai, performed excellently. After 4 innings, he hadn't lost a single run. Although he had been hit for a base hit in the middle, he was quickly able to secure outs and send the opponents back empty-handed.

As for the batting lineup, although Inashiro's performance showed an overwhelming offensive, they also scored 7 runs.

Starting in the 5th inning, Inashiro, with a large lead, changed pitchers. Manager Kunitomo sent out Narumiya Mei.

Perhaps it was because he had been held back for too long, or perhaps it was because he had watched Huangqian Yangyi's performance in the previous game, but Narumiya Mei's pitching today was sharper than ever, and he quickly retired the side in order.

However, in the bottom of the 5th, Inashiro did not score any runs and failed to end the game early in the 5th inning. After playing two more innings, Inashiro ended the game early in the 7th with a score of 9:0.

After watching this game, the Seido group left the venue, boarded the bus, and returned to school.

"Seido, Inashiro, Ichidai Sanko—the three powerhouses of West Tokyo all passed the third round with large margins. As far as results go, there really wasn't a single surprise."

Fujio, a reporter for Baseball Kingdom magazine, silently closed his notebook after watching Inashiro's game, then took out his phone and called his editor-in-chief.

Although the game result wasn't worth discussing, that Golden Home Run in Seido's game was still worth reporting.

Moreover, the first-years from the three powerhouses all performed excellently. In Seido's case, the ace goes without saying, but the foot speed of that first-year shortstop, Kuramochi Yoichi, was also a highlight.

On the Inashiro side, Narumiya Mei's pitching also displayed an overwhelming aura. Also having an astonishing performance was Ichidai Sanko's first-year pitcher, Amakusa Kosei. They are all rising stars.

Organizing the information on the first-year pitchers from the three schools and adding some leading language, once reported, it would definitely cause large-scale discussion.

Especially the fans of the three houses; they would definitely start a flame war on the internet about who is stronger.

Aside:

It's my birthday after twelve o'clock. Handsome guys and beautiful ladies, give me a "happy birthday," hehehe.