Hmm, the angle is a bit tricky, but with this speed, I can hit it!
Shida Shota had already swung the bat, gritting his teeth as he slammed it below the incoming baseball. A high-flying ball, extremely fast, shot straight into the sky, passing over second base and heading towards the outfield.
Shida Shota threw his bat to the ground and quickly ran towards first base.
These fools, they actually thought pitching inside would solve the problem. The idea isn't bad, but if he couldn't hit an inside Straight ball with this speed, there'd be no need for him to be at Seidou.
Catch it!!
The Omori High players gritted their teeth, watching the baseball fly further and further, silently praying in their hearts.
Shida Shota reached first base, but he didn't stop! He quickly sprinted towards second.
The moment he hit the baseball, he had a clear feeling: this ball would directly score!
Indeed, the baseball flew through the sky, and the center fielder ran on the ground, but his face was extremely grim.
"It flew out!!"
"Home run!"
"Seidou's lead-off hitter, Shida Shota, completed the opening hit!"
The entire stadium erupted!
No one expected Seidou to get a home run right at the start. It was only the first pitch! What a show of force.
Many people now turned their gaze to Omori High's Ace, Amano Yamato. Fortunately, his mental fortitude was quite strong. Although he was significantly affected, he didn't completely collapse.
At the Seidou dugout on the third base side, after seeing Shida Shota hit a home run to start the game, the players on the bench were screaming and banging on the railing like monkeys.
Soon, Seidou's second batter, the second player Kominato Ryosuke, who was making his first start, stepped up to the batter's box.
The squinty-eyed Kominato Ryosuke smiled, his gaze locked on Amano Yamato.
"Heaven helps me," Kominato Ryosuke secretly sighed. A pitcher with slow ball speed and who primarily throws Curveballs would be easier for him to hit.
In the previous at-bat, an inside Straight ball was hit for a home run. This time, they probably wouldn't pitch that way. Kominato Ryosuke glanced at the catcher and secretly shortened his grip on the bat. This small movement happened to fall into the catcher's eyes.
Trying to hit an inside pitch?
The catcher felt a bit annoyed. "They wouldn't think we'd keep pitching like that after taking a loss, would they?"
Outside low! Slider!
The catcher gave the signal. Looking at Kominato Ryosuke's build, an outside pitch should be harder for him to hit. Even if he could barely connect, with his power, he definitely wouldn't hit a long ball. It would most likely become a foul ball. "Hmm, let's get a Niceball first."
However, just as Amano Yamato on the pitcher's mound lifted his leg, Kominato Ryosuke quickly lengthened his grip on the bat. As soon as the ball flew out, he stepped forward, approaching home plate, and the bat came down!
Bang!
Kominato Ryosuke cleanly locked onto the outside pitch, hitting a line drive. The baseball passed between first and second and hit the ground. Kominato Ryosuke made it to first base on this hit.
Damn it!
I was tricked!
The catcher glared at Kominato Ryosuke's retreating figure, extremely annoyed. "How could this person be so cunning? Sure enough, those with squinty eyes are all devious."
A bad start. The pitcher had only thrown two pitches: one home run, one hit. If it were someone with poor pressure resistance, they would have probably collapsed directly.
The catcher looked at Amano Yamato with a worried expression, only to see him nod.
He looks okay. In that case, let's focus on the next batter.
On Seidou's side, Yuki Tetsuya calmly walked to the batter's box, his gaze towards the pitcher unwavering.
Ending the game early. This was the only thought in Yuki Tetsuya's mind.
For some reason, Amano Yamato felt an extremely strong pressure looking at Yuki Tetsuya's stance. "Phew~" He took a deep breath to calm himself down, and Amano Yamato immediately threw a Curveball.
"Strike!"
The baseball entered the glove, and Yuki Tetsuya remained motionless. This was his batting habit; when facing an unfamiliar pitcher, he would usually observe one pitch before acting.
The first pitch was a Curveball, so the probability of the second pitch also being a Curveball was low, unless this pitcher-catcher duo was confident enough to think that repeating such a Curveball with little drop would solve him.
This narrowed down the choices. Yuki Tetsuya secretly tightened his grip on the bat.
The baseball flew quickly towards home plate, and as it reached his hand, it immediately dropped.
Yosh.
The catcher's eyes lit up, and as his glove prepared to catch the ball, a bat flashed across his vision.
With a 'ping' sound, the bat fiercely struck the baseball, sending it flying.
How could this be!
The catcher's pupils constricted, and he immediately stood up, shouting, "Left field!!"
At this moment, Yuki Tetsuya had already rushed towards first base, and Kominato Ryosuke on base also sprinted towards second.
This line drive flying towards the outfield was enough to give them time to safely get on base.
After three batters, one run was given up, runners were on first and second, and there were no outs. Such a terrible start plunged everyone at Omori High into silence.
Omori High was also a well-known powerhouse in West Tokyo. Although they couldn't compare to the three major powerhouses, they usually won more than they lost in confrontations with other schools. They never thought they would be beaten so badly one day.
Should we make a change?
Omori High's Coach's eyebrows were already furrowed. Amano Yamato's pitching was the best on the team. If even he could only perform like this against Seidou's batting lineup, putting anyone else in would probably be even worse.
Moreover, the next batter was Seidou's cleanup hitter, Azuma Kiyokuni, known as the 'Monster Batter.' In this situation, who could withstand such pressure if they made a change?
"We can only rely on you, Yamato. Even if we give up runs, just hold on until the lower batting order, get the outs, and end this inning."
Omori High's Coach and Amano Yamato's gazes met in the air. Amano Yamato nodded. He felt his heart rate was already extremely high, but he could only bite the bullet and continue.
The development of the situation was similar to what Coach Omori had thought. After Azuma Kiyokuni came to bat, he hit a long ball flying to the left field corner, and then, under pressure, there was a throwing error. Kominato Ryosuke returned to home plate all the way, scoring the second run.
Yuki Tetsuya took the opportunity to advance to third base, while Azuma Kiyokuni was tagged out trying to advance to second after passing first.
"Ya ha ha, Senior Azuma is still as slow as ever."
Isashiki laughed, holding his stomach. Although it was his respected Senior Azuma who was embarrassed, such teasing would not affect the relationship between the two.
"Hmm, his belly is too big, Coach. We need to make Senior Azuma lose some weight," Kanzaki Ryou added, delivering another blow.
Azuma Kiyokuni, who had just come off the field, immediately glared at the two.
The two immediately shut their mouths, turned their heads elsewhere, no giggling.
After this, the fifth batter, Tanaka Wataru, swung and missed twice, and the Omori pitcher and catcher secured two Strikes.
The third pitch was also thrown quickly. Tanaka Wataru swung and missed again, but the baseball, after passing the bat, hit the edge of the catcher's glove and bounced out.
The catcher made an error? Run!
Tanaka Wataru reacted extremely quickly, throwing his bat and rushing to first base.
Damn it! The catcher also reacted at this moment, immediately getting up to pick up the ball. By the time the catcher picked up the ball and threw it to first base, Tanaka Wataru had successfully reached base.
"Good!!"
"Nice reaction."
"He's fast too, almost caught up to the ball."
"Haha, Uncaught Third Strike."
The occurrence of the Uncaught Third Strike made the Omori High players extremely frustrated. What was the point of recording a strikeout if it didn't count as an out? After all that, it was still only one out.
Before they could be frustrated for long, the sixth batter, Isashiki, continued the offense with a hit, and Yuki Tetsuya returned to home plate, scoring the third run, while Tanaka Wataru also advanced.
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