The Old Baseball Player System

Chapter 123: Third Round (4)

The bottom of the second inning began with Daigo at bat, but like Kenta, the boy couldn't hit the forkball from Aoba's pitcher and was struck out.

Jiro was Shoto's fifth batter in this game. The nerdy boy managed to make contact with the first sinker that came his way, but the ball was hit straight into the second baseman's glove.

Thus, the sixth batter for Shoto Junior High, the first-year Ryosuke, stepped into the batter's box, carefully watching the mound.

The first pitch came.

POFT

"Ball!"

The first pitch of the duel was a forkball that dropped to the ground. Ryosuke saw the pitch and held back his swing. The second pitch came.

WOOSH

DING

"Foul!"

"So that's how it moves..." - Ryosuke thought after fouling off the sinker in the lower part of the zone. The third pitch of the duel came.

WOOSH

DING

"Foul!" - Ryosuke again fouled off a sinker in the lower part of the zone. Your next chapter awaits on m v|l--NovelBin.net

"Time." - Ryosuke said to the umpire as he stepped out of the batter's box.

WOOSH

WOOSH

WOOSH

"Hm, now it's good." - Ryosuke murmured after swinging his bat a few times in the air. The boy then looked at the umpire and nodded, stepping back into the batter's box.

"Let's throw another sinker, and on the next pitch, we'll finish him off with a forkball on the same trajectory!" - The catcher with glasses behind home plate thought as he watched Ryosuke in the box.

Aoba's pitcher received the signal and nodded, quickly beginning his wind-up. The fourth pitch of the duel came.

WOOSH

DONG

Unfortunately for the catcher with glasses, he wouldn't get the chance to finish things with the forkball, as Ryosuke smashed the sinker to right field with power.

The moment Ryosuke felt the ball leave his bat, he sprinted with everything he had toward first base without hesitating for a second.

The boy quickly reached first base and headed straight for second as he watched the ball he hit roll to the deep part of right field. As he stepped on second base, the right fielder picked up the ball, but Ryosuke didn't stop and dashed toward third.

"That idiot, he won't make it in time!" - Shun muttered as he watched Ryosuke running. Unless the fielders made an error, Ryosuke would be easily thrown out.

But luckily for Shoto Junior High, the fielders made an error. The right fielder hadn't expected a run to third, so he tossed the ball casually to the shortstop.

Even so, by the time the shortstop received the ball, Ryosuke was still far from reaching third base. But once again, Aoba's defense made a mistake. The shortstop threw the ball hurriedly and missed his target.

PAH

"Damn it!" - The third baseman cursed. Because of the poor throw, he had to step off third base to catch the ball. Otherwise, if he let it pass, Ryosuke would have run straight for home.

Unfortunately for him, by the time he caught the ball, Ryosuke was already standing on the base, smiling confidently and raising his fist in a victory pose.

"Yeeeahhh! Nice hit, Ryosuke!"

"Great run, Ryosuke!"

The dugout was excited about Ryosuke's "brave" play, well, at least most of the dugout. The more experienced players and Coach Yamada were watching Ryosuke with disapproving looks. Anyone who knew a little about baseball could see that Ryosuke's play was extremely reckless.

Shun sat in the dugout, watching Ryosuke calmly. He was relieved by Aoba's defensive errors, but he couldn't help but feel concerned. These reckless plays were exactly what Shun had feared, it seemed that the ticking time bomb called Ryosuke was close to exploding.

Shoto Junior High's seventh batter was the left fielder, Hisashi. With two outs and a runner on third base, all the boy needed to do was get on base with a hit, as Ryosuke would likely be able to score even on an infield hit.

WOOSH

PAH

"Strikeout! 3 outs, changeover!"

Unfortunately for Hisashi, even reaching first base was no easy task against this pitcher. Despite his efforts, he couldn't make contact with any of Aoba's ace's pitches and was struck out on just three pitches.

"Tch!" - Ryosuke grunted in frustration as he also returned to the dugout. The boy was clearly unhappy with his teammate's at-bat.

"Ryosuke, that run to third base was very reckless. Don't do that again." - Coach Yamada said firmly when Ryosuke reached the dugout.

"Hmph!" - Ryosuke rolled his eyes as he walked past Coach Yamada, clearly irritated by being reprimanded.

"Hey, man, I know you're excited, but you didn't have to run to third like that. You're seeing the pitches well, just stay calm!" - Kenta said to Ryosuke, patting the boy on the back. Although Kenta didn't approve of Ryosuke's attitude, he knew the boy's skills were necessary for the team, so as captain, he tried to offer some advice.

"Hmph! Aren't you guys blaming the wrong person?" - Ryosuke huffed angrily as he glanced at Hisashi, clearly implying that Hisashi was the one at fault for failing to bring him home, not him for getting a triple when no one else on the team had even hit Aoba's ace.

"I'm sorry..." - Hisashi said, hanging his head in shame. Even though he was a second-year, he couldn't argue with his younger teammate.

"Don't apologize, Hisashi!" - Kenta said loudly, drawing Hisashi's attention. He then turned his gaze to Ryosuke.

"Watch your words." - Kenta said coldly, glaring at Ryosuke with clear irritation. As captain, he would never tolerate this kind of attitude on his team.

"Tch!" - Ryosuke grunted as he walked to the bench and sat down. He clearly didn't like being reprimanded again, but he didn't have the courage to say anything else after seeing Kenta's threatening look.

Shun watched the whole scene calmly, saying nothing. Reprimanding Ryosuke simply wasn't his job. But he couldn't hide his dissatisfaction, while he could tolerate Ryosuke's reckless plays, belittling his teammates was something he would never tolerate.

Shun then grabbed his glove and climbed the dugout stairs. Even though he was dissatisfied with Ryosuke, he still had to pitch, as the third inning was about to begin.