Chapter 99: Entering the Final 4

Loosening his grip on the bat and shaking out his wrists, Huangqian Yangyi exhaled slowly; just then, on the Pitcher's Mound, Hattanda Taichi moved.

The next second, the baseball flew toward Home Plate!

Huangqian Yangyi did not move, watching as the ball veered toward the outside corner after entering the Home Plate area.

It was a cutter, and the angle was extremely precise, almost pressing against the edge of the strike zone.

Withdrawing his gaze, Huangqian Yangyi set his stance again, and soon the second pitch flew over; this time, Huangqian Yangyi swung directly, the bat sweeping past the top of the baseball, leaving a trail in the air—he swung and missed.

With this swing and miss, the Seido Dugout fell instantly silent.

Logically speaking, swinging and missing is as common as eating every day, but only at this moment did the Seido teammates realize that it seemed like Huangqian Yangyi had never swung and missed since he joined Seido and started participating in official games; even they had unknowingly held too many expectations for Huangqian Yangyi's batting.

In the Batter's Box, Huangqian Yangyi was also stunned; this sinker had such a massive drop!

His dynamic vision was very strong, and the trajectory of the ball as it flew in was even a bit high, yet it dropped so sharply as it entered the Home Plate area; had this guy not been using his real skills before?

Huangqian Yangyi frowned as he looked at Hattanda Taichi; this guy is kind of interesting.

Swinging the bat lightly twice, Huangqian Yangyi closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and lowered his center of gravity slightly.

The Catcher watched Huangqian Yangyi's movements and nodded to himself; yes, that's it, that sinker just now had left a deep impression on him, so next, he would use that ball.

The Catcher immediately gave the signal, and on the Pitcher's Mound, Hattanda Taichi curled his lips and nodded.

Soon, the third pitch flew out.

Yoshi, nice pitch!

Seeing the trajectory of this curveball, the Catcher secretly rejoiced.

Bang!!

A crisp sound gently awakened the Catcher's soul.

The little white ball was struck by the bat and soared into the sky—this trajectory!

Everyone could see it; this ball was heading straight for the Center Fielder stands.

"Whoa!!"

"Oh!!"

"Home Run!!"

"Haha, this kid, we were worried for nothing." Isashiki laughed from the sidelines.

They had even been worried that Huangqian Yangyi's swing and miss just now would affect his subsequent state; it would be fine if his batting was affected, but if his pitching were also affected, that would truly be a big deal.

Now seeing this Home Run, everyone felt relieved; as expected, whether on the Pitcher's Mound or in the Batter's Box, this kid was still as reliable as ever.

Amidst the cheers, Huangqian Yangyi jogged back to Home Plate while waving to the audience, locking eyes with Hattanda Taichi on the way; the other party's eyes held a hint of unwillingness.

Just wait! I will definitely strike you out in the next at-bat! Hattanda Taichi secretly made up his mind.

Huangqian Yangyi happily returned to the Dugout and was immediately surrounded by his teammates, who patted his head.

"Hey, towel." Miyuki smiled and handed him a towel.

"Hey, thanks."

At this time, Kuramochi Yoichi, who came up to bat again, failed to hit a base hit and was quickly struck out.

Conversely, Kominato Ryosuke, who failed to reach base in his previous at-bat, showed his performance, chasing a bad pitch and successfully hitting a base hit to reach base; unfortunately, Yuki Tetsuya, who followed, hit a ball that bounced behind him, which was picked up by the Tongying Academy Catcher and thrown to First Base for an out.

With two outs and no one on base, it was the turn of Seido's Fourth Batter, Dong Qingguo.

In the previous at-bat, Hattanda Taichi had been hit for an extra-base hit by Dong Qingguo and gave up a run; hit again this time, Dong Qingguo's bat hummed as he swung, and after swinging and missing the first pitch, he hit a fly ball toward Left Fielder on the second pitch, but unfortunately, the ball was caught in the end.

As the game reached the fourth inning, Coach Kataoka walked out of the Dugout to signal a substitution; Nanjo Taishi and Tanaka Wataru, having warmed up for three innings, were now impatient.

On the Tongying Academy side, seeing Seido replace Huangqian Yangyi so early, Hattanda Taichi, unlike his teammates who were secretly happy, felt a stifled frustration in his heart with nowhere to vent.

Having just been hit for a home run, he didn't even have a chance for revenge.

Afterwards, in the fourth and fifth innings, Nanjo Taishi and Tanaka Wataru steadily performed at their expected level; both were veteran third-year players, and facing a team like Tongying Academy, which lacked overall strength, they wouldn't perform poorly.

After 5 innings, Tongying Academy had not scored a single point, while Seido had scored 5 runs in the fourth and fifth innings, changing the score to 7:0.

"Looks like it's going to be a 7-inning mercy rule finish today." Huangqian Yangyi said while drinking the sports drink handed to him by Jiantian Youxiang.

"Ending early is good; everyone can save some stamina. Our opponent in the next game is Inashiro." Jiantian Youxiang said.

Speaking of Inashiro, Jiantian Youxiang always felt some worry in her heart, even though Seido had already beaten Inashiro twice today—once in the Spring Metropolitan Tournament final and once in the Kanto Tournament semi-finals.

"That's not for sure; maybe Inashiro will flip their car today, and it would be interesting if they didn't even make it to the semi-finals." Huangqian Yangyi laughed.

Jiantian Youxiang shook her head helplessly; that possibility wasn't non-existent, but it was too low. With Inashiro's current strength, for them to be eliminated before meeting Seido or Ichidai Sanko, half of their main players would have to go insane.

"If Inashiro really flips their car here, Narumi would cry, right? That would definitely be interesting." Huangqian Yangyi turned his head and said to Miyuki.

Miyuki thought about that scene and said, "It would be even more interesting if we defeated him with our own hands and then watched him cry."

"Hehe, Kazuya, you guy, you're still so mean."

"You're the same, same here."

While the two were talking, Coach Kataoka completed another substitution: First Batter Kuramochi Yoichi was replaced by Zhitian Jiangtai, and Second Batter Kominato Ryosuke was replaced by Yanagiya Kazuki.

In the following two innings, Tongying Academy tried their best to break through Seido's defense to score a point, but failed; meanwhile, Seido exploded again in their batting lineup, with Dong Qingguo hitting another Home Run. Ultimately, the game ended early in 7 innings, and Seido High School defeated Tongying Academy 8:0 to secure the victory, becoming the first school to enter the final 4.

After the game, the Seido crowd chatted and laughed as they each shouldered their bags and headed to the spectator stands; the next game was Inashiro's. Although Huangqian Yangyi said he hoped Inashiro would flip their car, he knew in his heart that it was impossible. Not to mention how strong Inashiro's strength was, from the future he knew, Seido was originally supposed to lose to Inashiro in the semi-finals.

Must collect information on Inashiro properly!