Chapter 87: Caught Off Guard, An Unfavorable Start

Kenda Takasaki is also a long-standing powerhouse team, capable of breaking through four rounds to reach the Round of 16 in almost every summer preliminary tournament, and occasionally even entering the Round of 8.

Before the rise of the current three major powerhouses, Kenda Takasaki was once one of the dominant forces in West Tokyo, only to slowly decline later on.

In this summer preliminary tournament, the opponent has a momentum of a king's return, winning by large margins in the previous rounds until they met Seido in the Round of 16.

Inside the venue, looking at the Kenda Takasaki team walking toward them, Huangqian Yangyi recalled several people that Manager Kataoka had emphasized to watch out for during the meeting last night.

First is the Kenda Takasaki Pitcher, Suzuki Yu, a third-year student; he looks thin and tall, about the same as Tanba.

His best pitch is the Forkball, followed by the Vertical Slider and the Vertical Curveball.

With a maximum Fastball speed of 144 km/h, combined with two different types of Breaking Ball and the Forkball, Suzuki Yu's ability on the Pitcher's Mound is quite impressive, which is one of the reasons Kenda Takasaki has been able to overcome obstacles to get this far.

Looking at a dark-skinned guy in the opposing team, Kundi Galka, he is an international student from Africa.

Just looking at him gives the feeling that he runs very fast; he has only been in contact with baseball for a year, is Kenda Takasaki's leadoff Batter, and has an incredibly high on-base percentage.

Next up is Kenda Takasaki's Fourth Batter, Ishii Yohei.

This is a Batter whose hitting ability is no weaker than Dong Qingguo's; according to Dong Qingguo, the two were rivals during middle school, but later the other went to Kenda Takasaki, and his development was restricted.

Even so, the number of Home Run hits Ishii Yohei has achieved in limited games is close to twenty; if looking at the average, it is only slightly worse than Dong Qingguo's, making him a quite capable Batter; even in a declined school like Kenda Takasaki, he still attracted the attention of professional baseball.

"Long time no see, Dong!"

The people from Kenda Takasaki and the Seido team met inside the venue, and Ishii Yohei raised his hand and shouted at Dong Qingguo from afar.

"This idiot, I really don't want to deal with him," Dong Qingguo said.

"Eh? Senior, do you two have a history?"

"Huangqian, your skin is itching for a beating again, isn't it?"

"Senior Dong, the man is calling you; it would be so impolite not to answer. Hurry up, he's already coming over." Huangqian Yangyi took a step back to get behind Dong Qingguo and pushed him out.

Dong Qingguo turned his head to glare, then put on a smile to shake hands and exchange greetings with Ishii Yohei, who had just walked over; the two are old friends and acquaintances, and both are tall and sturdy types, standing together like two big mountains.

Manager Kataoka also chatted briefly with Kenda Takasaki's Manager Guan Ping at this time, and the players from both sides were sizing each other up; Huangqian Yangyi stood in the team, feeling like he was about to be stared to death by these guys' gazes.

"See you on the field."

"Yeah, see you on the field."

Both sides said goodbye and left; after arriving at the locker room, Dong Qingguo sat down next to Huangqian Yangyi.

"Kid, pitch with all your might for me later; you must not let that guy hit it, understand?" Dong Qingguo said.

Huangqian Yangyi turned his head and looked at Dong Qingguo strangely, "Senior Dong, I'm not pitching today; I'm an outfielder today."

"Uh..." Dong Qingguo slapped his forehead hard, then said with disdain: "What use are you for."

After saying that, Dong Qingguo turned around to find Nanjo Taishi and Tanba; the pitchers playing today are those two.

Soon, the time reached 9 o'clock; the game between Seido and Kenda Takasaki is the first one today.

After the warm-up ended, both teams were ready.

"The game between Seido High School and Kenda Takasaki Academy, /8 Finals, starts now!"

As the broadcast voice fell, the starting players from Seido roared and rushed onto the field.

Kenda Takasaki is on offense first; Huangqian Yangyi stood in the Left Fielder position.

Seeing that Seido did not send out their ace, the people from Kenda Takasaki felt slighted while secretly rejoicing in their hearts—there's a chance!

As long as they can score points in the early stages, they will defend with all their might later; daring to look down on them will surely come at a price.

As for those spectators in the stands, many were there specifically to watch Huangqian Yangyi pitch; now seeing Huangqian Yangyi in the Left Fielder position, they were also discussing and expressing dissatisfaction.

"Seido is too arrogant; the opponent is Kenda Takasaki, and they actually didn't let the ace play."

"Fart, the person is on the field; he can be swapped in whenever he needs to pitch. This is clearly Manager Kataoka's deployment; don't talk nonsense if you don't understand."

"Nanjo Taishi's ability isn't weak either, okay? He was the previous ace after all; you people are just fickle."

The game began amidst the discussion; Nanjo Taishi frowned as he looked at Kenda Takasaki's leadoff, that black international student, Kundi Galka.

They didn't have much intelligence on this person; after a brief eye contact with Catcher Tanaka Wataru, Nanjo Taishi threw the first pitch.

The High-speed Slider flying toward the outside corner entered the glove without any obstruction; Kundi Galka in the Batter's Box remained motionless, looking as if he had no interest in this ball.

Tanaka Wataru frowned slightly; this kind of Batter with no expression or movement is the hardest to deal with.

The second pitch was still a High-speed Slider, but this time the trajectory was lower and the angle was sharper.

The baseball flew out, and just at this moment, Kundi Galka suddenly swung his bat, and a strong wind blew against Tanaka Wataru's face.

Bang!

Just as the baseball entered the Home Plate, Kundi Galka's bat hit it and blasted it away.

With a whoosh, Tanaka Wataru only felt a black shadow flash before his eyes; by the time he reacted, Kundi Galka had already left the Home Plate and was rushing toward First Base.

"Right Fielder!" Tanaka Wataru shouted.

In Right Fielder, after the baseball landed, Shinoki Keita caught the ball and got up, preparing to throw it back.

Snap!

Kundi Galka crossed the First Base bag, his speed not decreasing in the slightest as he rushed toward Second Base again!

"What!"

"Throw to Second Base!"

Shinoki Keita gritted his teeth and used all his strength to throw the ball to Second Base.

"Safe!"

After Kundi Galka stood on the Second Base bag, the baseball also entered Kominato Ryosuke's glove; it was still a step too late.

Taking a look at this black man, Kominato Ryosuke was also shocked in his heart; this guy is really daring, is he that confident in his own speed?

The Seido crowd also frowned at this moment; they were caught off guard by the opponent as soon as the game started. This black man's speed is even faster than what was in their intelligence.

"Nanjo! Hang in there!"

"Go for it!"

Shouts continued to drift over; Nanjo Taishi twisted his neck, his gaze becoming more serious and focused, for today's game was a tough battle.

Following that, Nanjo Taishi quickly dealt with the second and third batters of Kenda Takasaki, securing two outs.

Ishii Yohei, the Fourth Batter of Kenda Takasaki, stepped into the Batter's Box.

Facing this person, Tanaka Wataru and Nanjo Taishi both felt the pressure; this was a guy as formidable as Dong Qingguo.

Tanaka Wataru shot a look at Nanjo Taishi: should they give a Base on Balls?

Nanjo Taishi shook his head; there was no need for that, his own pitching ability wasn't bad either, and there was no reason to give a Base on Balls right from the start, as it would only weaken their momentum for nothing.