Chapter 654 - 654: Change!

No outs, runner on Second Base.

"You've experienced the cruelty of high school baseball, haven't you? Hehe..."

Narumiya Mei, at the batter's box, said gleefully.

As he spoke, he glanced at Miyuki, teasingly smiling, "Even if Seido High School Baseball Team doesn't have a pitcher who can shoulder the heavy responsibility right now, you shouldn't drag out a first-year rookie. Isn't that setting him up to fail? If it leaves a psychological shadow on the junior, we won't be responsible."

Miyuki looked at Narumiya Mei expressionlessly and replied calmly.

"Our team selects players based on pitch speed, never on grade."

"What do you mean? Is your junior's pitch speed very fast?"

The smile on Narumiya Mei's face almost broke.

"At the very least, it should be faster than your pitch speed."

When it came to sharp retorts, Miyuki was definitely the king. How could Narumiya Mei be his opponent?

"You..."

The two conversing as if no one else was present successfully angered the umpire on the field.

"No talking on the field, pay attention! Otherwise..."

The umpire didn't finish the rest of his sentence, but everyone could guess it wouldn't be anything good.

The game returned to normal, Narumiya Mei glared angrily at Furuya Satoru.

It was just a maximum pitch speed breaking one hundred fifty kilometers, what was so great about that? He had thrown pitches at that speed on the Koshien stage before.

His average pitch speed was so slow, yet he put on quite a show.

Today, let me show you how amazing your Narumiya-sama is.

Narumiya Mei focused his attention on Furuya Satoru.

Logically speaking, when facing Seido High School Baseball Team's battery, his attention shouldn't be entirely on the pitcher; he also needed to pay attention to the catcher.

But Furuya Satoru was definitely an exception.

A beginner, with experience as tender as a chick in all aspects, even his pitch was only a Fastball, and he expended all his energy just trying to throw the ball into the strike zone.

In this situation, it was impossible for the pitcher and catcher to coordinate.

Although thinking this might be a bit unfair to Miyuki, in reality, when Furuya Satoru was the pitcher, Miyuki's presence was almost negligible.

He was essentially just a wall to catch the ball.

With this thought, Narumiya Mei's previously frustrated mood, caused by being retorted to, also improved significantly.

He didn't need to mind Miyuki; he just needed to wholeheartedly deal with the pitcher.

A guy who could only throw Fastballs, he didn't believe there was anything special about him.

"Boom!"

The baseball whistled, its speed as usual.

Narumiya Mei was equally unwilling to show weakness, swinging his bat fiercely.

He aimed to hit the ball on its upper trajectory.

As a result, the bat and the baseball crossed paths, missing the ball by a hair's breadth.

"Slap!"

"Strike!"

After catching the ball, Miyuki Kazuya smiled.

He had said it: Furuya Satoru's pitch, no matter how much you knew about it, wasn't necessarily something you could hit.

Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team's analysis was not wrong; because Furuya Satoru's pitch speed was fast and had a lot of spin, his Fastball would float to a certain extent compared to an ordinary Fastball.

However, the extent of the float varied slightly each time due to different pitching angles, different momentum, and different feel.

Even though Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team's hitters were all powerful and could keep up with Furuya Satoru's pitch speed, for them to hit the center of the ball was by no means an easy task.

This was the characteristic.

Why did Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff of Seido High School Baseball Team get so excited when they saw Furuya Satoru?

It was because they saw this characteristic of Furuya Satoru.

Narumiya Mei, who swung and missed, felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured over his head, instantly cooling his agitated emotions.

He stared expressionlessly at the pitcher's mound, having to admit internally that this first-year guy was indeed qualified to compete with him.

Narumiya Mei raised the bat high in his hand, staring unblinkingly at his opponent.

Here it comes!

The baseball whistled toward him, and even before it reached Narumiya Mei, the sound of the ball cutting through the air had already reached his ears.

Not simple!

If one and a half balls up didn't work, then two and a half.

Narumiya Mei's idea was very simple; he didn't believe a first-year pitcher could play any tricks. It was nothing more than the characteristic of a high-speed Fastball.

But this was not Furuya Satoru's patent. When it came to high-speed Fastballs, Narumiya Mei was the true outstanding one.

Once he made up his mind, Narumiya Mei's execution was among the best in the entire Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team.

He swung with all his might, unhesitatingly, completely unaffected by his previous missed swing.

This pitcher, who could throw a one hundred fifty kilometer pitch, despite not looking physically strong, possessed extraordinary power.

"Ping!"

The bat solidly hit the baseball, sending it flying far away.

The baseball went over the Second Baseman's head and landed in the outfield gap.

"Ha, I told you, it's nothing special."

Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team got two consecutive hits, successfully tying the score.

"Safe!"

Harada returned to home plate, and Narumiya Mei successfully reached First Base.

No outs, runner on First Base.

Even though Narumiya Mei's attitude toward his little teammates had not been very good before, these teammates in the dugout still had to applaud Narumiya Mei.

There was no other way; although his words were a bit harsh, his skill was top-notch.

Didn't he just hit the ball squarely and help the team tie the score?

They couldn't say anything.

The game continued, in the dugout of Seido High School Baseball Team.

The substitute players all stood up to cheer for Furuya Satoru.

Recalling Furuya Satoru's strong start in the first inning, with three consecutive strikeouts, if he were taken off just because he gave up one run, it would seem a bit too cruel.

So, Seido's substitute players still hoped Furuya Satoru could quickly regain his previous form and get outs.

Jinguuji even stood at the very front of the team, actively showing his presence. This was partly to cheer for Furuya Satoru, and partly to take the opportunity to show himself off.

As a first-year player who had also been promoted, he had already become an important rotational player on the team, regardless of whether Furuya Satoru performed well or poorly.

Coach Kataoka was even willing to let him practice in a Kanto Tournament-level game.

Also first-year rookies, why was there such a big difference between them?

Although Seido High School Baseball Team's fielders and substitutes were all trying very hard, Furuya Satoru's weaknesses were becoming more and more exposed.

Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team hadn't expected Furuya Satoru to be their opponent before the game started, so they were caught off guard at first.

But that was only at the beginning; after that, Kunitomo, the Coach of Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team, quickly found a way to deal with Furuya Satoru.

One was his Fastball.

Harada Masatoshi and Narumiya Mei used the characteristic of his Fastball to hit the ball.

Of course, to be able to do this, to accurately catch a one hundred fifty kilometer pitch, their strength was the most important prerequisite.

The other was experience.

The next hitters from Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team continuously used bunts to interfere.

The inexperienced Furuya Satoru quickly became breathless and completely lost his rhythm.

As a result, Inashiro Industrial only paid the price of one out to get Narumiya Mei back to home plate.

At the same time, they also had a runner on Second Base.

The score was reversed, 2:1. The one run Seido High School Baseball Team had just taken the lead with was reversed by Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team before it even had a chance to warm up.

And that wasn't all; the current situation was one out, runner on Second Base.

Just one more hit, and Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team could score another run, extending the lead to two runs.

Even though it was now Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team's lower batting order, as a top-tier powerhouse and Spring Koshien champion, Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team's lower batters were also exceptionally skilled.

If they weren't careful, Seido High School Baseball Team losing more runs was basically a certainty.

Helplessly, Coach Kataoka stood up.

"Seido High School Baseball Team, pitcher change."

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