"out!"

After Koichi Kotani broke the deadlock with a home run, Arata Furuta quickly adjusted his pitch and once again used a floater to end the first half of the second inning.

When everyone walked off the pitcher's mound, Director Ushijima immediately stopped Arata Furuta, who was coming off the pitch, and then asked in a tone full of appreciation:

"We met a good opponent today!"

"Hey, I really didn't expect that the ball path that caused us so much pain could be resolved in such a simple way! I really benefited a lot from this game!"

"Santa, I'm glad to see you are starting to learn to play with your head! However, the scarecrow striking technique is not so easy to master..."

"It doesn't matter, I just need to learn how to protect my knees!"

Although he lost one point, Furuta Arata felt a little more confident about the next game. After the opponents took their positions, Chiyoda's players also gathered outside the court and waited to launch attacks one after another.

When Chiyoda's first batter came on the field, he immediately put on a scarecrow posture. Seeing this, Otani didn't hesitate at all and directly hit him with a diagonal straight ball. But unfortunately, this time, Arata's teammates still

No one can escape the fate of being struck out.

After Kotani neatly eliminated the two players, it was Arata's turn to play again.

After Arata came to the court, he raised one foot awkwardly, and his hand was still holding the stick in a striking manner. He stood there, looking a little funny.

"Seeing Arata Furuta's hitting style, Kotani smiled shyly, and then nodded to Arata as if there was a tacit understanding. Then he stepped on the pitcher's mound a few times, and then used a shot

A high-quality diagonal kick opened up the rematch between the two."

"Whoa!"

"nice shot!"

When the ball flew over, Arata subconsciously took a step forward, but even though he finally swung the bat, he still didn't hit Otani's pitch. The ball grazed the bat and flew straight into the catcher's glove.

, there was a burst of regretful sighs from Chiyoda's support bench.

However, Xintai's heart was so excited at this moment! He knew that ball very well. Although the action was not very good-looking, it was really possible to hit the ball this way. But just now

That shot was just a little short due to luck.

"Come again!"

After Arata made up his mind to miss the hit, he assumed the same posture again, but this time he did not lay down the bat in the way of hitting, but raised the bat high, as if he was planning to challenge.

Long hit.

The diagonal straight ball is close to the knee. Traditionally speaking, this is indeed the most tricky position for the batter. However, when the batter responds with the scarecrow method, because one foot protects the direction of the knee, it means that the batter can

The pitcher's operating space is once again squeezed. If he doesn't want to throw the touch ball, he must try to avoid the batter's raised leg. In this way, the threat of the diagonal ball is greatly reduced, and it becomes very easy.

A long-hitting pitch!

However, Arata only noticed some of these things based on instinct at this time. Just after Arata took a deep breath, Kotani's pitch followed.

"Second goal!"

"Whoops!"

"Bang!"

Hearing a pleasant metal knocking sound, Arata's spirit suddenly lifted up. He threw away the bat instinctively, and then ran towards the first base. All the noise around him seemed to have become silent at this moment, and his

All he could see was the first base bag. He could hear his opponent's shouts in his ears. Even if he didn't turn his head to take a look, he knew that the ball was being passed from the shortstop's hand and heading straight for first base.

Arata dived and reached for first base. The moment his fingers touched the base bag, he heard the sound of a ball being caught above his head. At this time, Arata raised his head in horror.

Come……

"safe!"

Seeing the referee's penalty, Arata immediately stood up from the ground. The cheers from the sidelines continued until Arata's ears were heard again.

…

"Furuta Arata, just hit Otani's diagonal ball! This is really a confidence-boosting shot! Could it be said that Arata has found a way to deal with the diagonal ball? Director Miyazawa?"

"Ah, I guess I was inspired by Kotani's batting just now! Using the scarecrow style to hit, you can block the fragile knees, so the hitter can use his hitting ability without any worries! But considering that Arata Furuta has a lot of

He has strong base running and stealing abilities, so I think the next hitter might have an easier time."

"Hey, after hearing what you said, I suddenly looked forward to the next game even more. Although both sides only scored one point in the two games, the excitement of the game was not compromised at all!"

…

While the situation facing the two teams was being discussed in the studio, Ono, Chiyoda's next batter, also slowly walked into the batter's box at home plate. When Ono slowly raised the bat, imitating

When preparing to hit the ball using the scarecrow approach, Arata quietly moved along the infield sideline toward second base a few positions ahead of time.

"Whoops!"

Just as Arata was about to steal the base as he was accustomed to do, he suddenly saw Kotani throwing the ball directly to first base. In desperation, Arata quickly turned around and threw the ball back to first base again.

"Thrilling! Player Kotani just threw the ball to first base. Fortunately, Arata returned the base in time, otherwise he would have been out!"

Arata put his hand on the first base bag and gasped for air. If he hadn't reacted in time just now, he would have ended the game at this moment. Fortunately...

Arata got up again after seeing the first baseman pass the ball back.

"What's going on? Was that shot just now a warning?"

Just when Arata was wondering about Kotani's intentions, he saw the opponent's first baseman suddenly said to him:

"Arata Furuta, right? We know that you are good at stealing bases, but the infield defense of the third year of Japan is not so easy to break. If you don't believe it, just come and challenge it!"

When Arata heard his opponent's words, although he didn't respond, he was a little surprised. But when he thought of Kotani's attack just now, an idea suddenly came to Arata's mind.

"It seems that in this game, Nidai San has fully studied Chiyoda's characteristics! But..."

Just when Arata was thinking about how to break the game, he once again quietly took a few steps towards second base. At this moment, he heard a sound of breaking through the air getting closer and closer. Arata was helpless.

The next step is to rush to the base again!
Chapter completed!