Chapter 90: The Terrifying Hitting Stats

After disposing of Kundi Galka, Nanjo Taishi and Tanaka Wataru were hit for a single to right field by Kenda Takasaki's second batter.

Fortunately, they successfully struck out Kenda Takasaki's third batter afterward; otherwise, if he had reached base, they would have faced their fourth batter, Ishii Yohei, with runners on first and second, a situation Seido did not want to see.

The game reached the bottom of the third inning.

Seido's ninth batter, Huangqian Yangyi, stepped into the Batter's Box.

This was Huangqian Yangyi's first plate appearance of the game today; after taking a few light practice swings, Huangqian Yangyi looked at Suzuki Yu with a smile.

Suzuki Yu was also looking at Huangqian Yangyi; he had long heard of this genius First Year ace from Seido and had been wanting to face him on the field for a while.

A mere First Year—Suzuki Yu felt inexplicably uncomfortable inside.

He had spent two full years honing his skills at Kenda Takasaki before becoming the ace just this summer, yet Huangqian Yangyi had reached the same position as him in only his First Year; how could that be?!

Looking at that smiling face of Huangqian Yangyi, Suzuki Yu sneered, just wait, let's see if you can still smile after I strike you out.

Huh?

Huangqian Yangyi noticed the inexplicable hostility in the opponent's eyes and felt a bit puzzled.

But that was not important; Huangqian Yangyi slowly inhaled, gradually entering that state of extreme focus he used during Imagination Training.

Kenda Takasaki watched Huangqian Yangyi cautiously; they had also paid close attention to this guy's data.

Looking just at his hitting, from the start of the Spring Metropolitan Tournament, through the Kanto Tournament, and all the way to today's summer preliminary.

A total of 14 at-bats, 8 hits, including one Ground Rule Double, 6 Home Runs, one of which was a Golden Home Run.

His batting average and on-base percentage were simply terrifyingly high.

Regarding Huangqian Yangyi, in terms of hitting, Kenda Takasaki's Manager Guan Ping placed even more importance on him than on the one known as the monster batter, Yuki Tetsuya.

Base on Balls!

The Catcher made a decision; with no one on base now, choosing to walk a batter with such terrifying stats was nothing to be ashamed of.

However, upon seeing the sign for a walk given by his own Catcher, Suzuki Yu's eyes widened instantly.

What a joke! He's just a First Year, why walk him? This was a complete slap in his face!

Suzuki Yu shook his head in a fit of rage, feeling dissatisfied with the Catcher's decision.

The Catcher had a headache; one look at Suzuki Yu's eyes told him how firm his will was, and if he forced a walk, Suzuki Yu probably wouldn't listen.

Sigh~

The Catcher sighed; at the end of the day, the ball was in the Pitcher's hand, and if the Pitcher really didn't listen to instructions and insisted on pitching, there was nothing he could do.

He had no choice but to bite the bullet; the Catcher's eyes narrowed, and he immediately gave the sign to start with a ball to test the waters.

Suzuki Yu curled his lips in satisfaction; this was how it should be. He was just a First Year; if he backed down here, he didn't know if others would mock him, but he would certainly look down on himself.

Lifting his left leg, Suzuki Yu raised the ball and then threw it.

"Ball!"

As the baseball entered the mitt, Huangqian Yangyi did not swing; he had seen the pitch trajectory the moment it left the hand, and his powerful dynamic vision was enough to let him easily judge the flight path of the ball.

Then the second pitch, a Vertical Curveball flying toward the inside corner; Huangqian Yangyi still did not swing, as this ball dropped too sharply, and it would be difficult to hit for an Extra-base Hit.

Huangqian Yangyi's target was the Forkball!

However, with two strikes, he would swing at the third pitch regardless of how the opponent threw it; of course, it would be even better if it were a Forkball.

On this point, Huangqian Yangyi was quite confident; whether it was a Vertical Curveball or a Vertical Slider, the probability of throwing consecutive Breaking Balls was low, and besides, the Forkball was the opponent's best pitch; it was very common to use one's best pitch to face a batter when ahead in the count.

Soon, the third pitch was thrown, and as expected, it was a Forkball flying toward the outside corner.

Huangqian Yangyi gripped the bat tightly, lowered his center of gravity instantly, and smashed the bat directly at the low edge of the outside corner.

Bang~!

A crisp, pleasant sound rang out, and Huangqian Yangyi threw his bat and ran toward First Base at full speed.

In the air, the baseball flew over their heads toward right field and landed on the ground; Huangqian Yangyi reached First Base safely.

"Woo-oh!"

"Huangqian!"

The Huangqian fans in the stands held up various cheering flags and shouted.

Conversely, Suzuki Yu was feeling incredibly irritable at this moment; losing a head-to-head battle to a First Year, even a genius First Year, was very hard for him to take.

So what if he reached base? As long as they didn't score, it would all be for nothing in the end!

Suzuki Yu turned his head to look at Zhitian Jiangtai, who had already stepped into the Batter's Box.

Zhitian Jiangtai, however, did not look at him, his gaze falling on the excited crowd in the stands, and he smiled helplessly; he had been at Seido for two and a half years and had never enjoyed such treatment.

No, he had to get a hit this time; he had to step up!

Zhitian Jiangtai shook his head to focus; as Suzuki Yu threw the ball, Zhitian Jiangtai swung with confidence, but missed.

Then the second pitch, Zhitian Jiangtai hit a Foul Ball, and the count immediately became two strikes.

The third pitch, a Vertical Curveball; Zhitian Jiangtai swung too eagerly and missed again.

Zhitian Jiangtai walked off the field feeling depressed; he had wanted to step up, but ended up being disposed of so quickly, it was truly shameful.

Next was the turn of the second batter, Kominato Ryosuke; after tangling with Suzuki Yu for several more pitches, Kominato Ryosuke failed to get a hit this time and helplessly swung and missed for an out.

With two outs in hand, Suzuki Yu faced Yuki Tetsuya again; Huangqian Yangyi, on first base, looked toward home plate, hoping Yuki Tetsuya could hit an Extra-base Hit.

Yuki Tetsuya curled his lips in a smile and nodded at Huangqian Yangyi; this was the tacit understanding between chess players!

Quietly leaving first base, Huangqian Yangyi kept his eyes fixed on Suzuki Yu.

The moment the opponent threw the ball, Huangqian Yangyi moved, and at the same time, Yuki Tetsuya swung his bat.

Bang!

The baseball was hit and landed on the ground, bouncing toward third base; the Third Baseman stepped forward a few paces, scooped up the ball, and quickly threw it toward second base.

Unfortunately, it was a bit too late; Huangqian Yangyi had already left first base by some distance and had started running early, so it was difficult to get him out; before the baseball entered the Second Baseman's mitt, Huangqian Yangyi successfully reached the base and advanced to second.

And this fielding error also meant Kenda Takasaki would soon face a situation with runners on first and second, especially since the next batter was Yuki Tetsuya.

The crisis had arrived once again; the Kenda Takasaki Catcher felt helpless, as encountering Seido's heart of the batting order always presented them with immense challenges, where the slightest lapse in concentration could lead to giving up runs, and big ones at that.

Fortunately, there were already two outs, so they only needed to secure one more out; as long as Dong Qingguo failed to hit a Home Run, the worst-case scenario would be bases loaded, and they still felt confident about dealing with the Fifth Batter at that point.