"Miss Uchida."

"Yes!"

Neitetsu Uchida wore a baseball uniform with a white pleated skirt, looking very energetic.

She stood in the open field, conversing with two hosts through a microphone, not knowing where they were.

"They say you really love baseball, is that right?"

"Absolutely! My dream is to marry a professional baseball player!"

"Oh—" the male host exclaimed, "Miss Uchida, I used to play on a professional team, so I guess I'm a baseball player, do I have a chance?"

"This..." Neitetsu Uchida playfully tilted her head, pretending to be in a dilemma.

"What do you mean you 'guess' you're a baseball player!" the female host laughed. "Miss Uchida, don't mind him."

"Yes, I understand." Neitetsu Uchida responded crisply.

"Hey—" the male host called out, slightly unwilling to give up.

Neitetsu Uchida laughed brightly, her sweet smile filling the entire electronic screen.

"However," the female host said, "you could consider the members of the local baseball team, Miss Uchida."

"Eh?" Neitetsu Uchida was startled, her expression exaggerated. "Really?"

"Of course not!" the male host firmly opposed. "Miss Uchida is already thirty years old this year, this is a Koshien prelim, and the participants are all high school students! It would be criminal!"

"Hmm—" pretending to ponder, Neitetsu Uchida cheerfully said, "I guess I should ignore you today."

"Sorry!"

The crowd burst into laughter.

After warming up the crowd, the female host said, "It's time for the opening pitch, please go to the Pitcher Mound, Miss Uchida."

"Yes! Okay!"

Neitetsu Uchida handed the microphone to a staff member, put on her glove, took the ball, and walked up to the Pitcher Mound.

The gaze of thirty thousand people made her smile nervously, almost unnaturally so.

"Go for it, Miss Uchida!" the male host shouted.

Neitetsu Uchida raised her ball-holding hand high, striking a 'cheer on' pose.

The Goda catcher squatted behind home plate, and the umpire stood officiously behind the catcher.

"Start, Miss Uchida!"

Neitetsu Uchida raised the ball over her head and then lifted her leg.

Her posture was practiced, quite standard.

She threw with all her might.

From the Pitcher Mound to the catcher's position at home plate was 18.44 meters.

For someone like Neitetsu Uchida, who was only 155 cm tall and didn't usually train, not to mention accurately throwing into the catcher's mitt, the ball halfway through its flight path fell weakly to the ground.

The ball rolled along the ground toward the catcher.

Neitetsu Uchida shyly covered her mouth, then burst into a cheerful laugh again.

"Thank you, Miss Uchida! Ha ha!"

"With the opening pitch over, the 104th Summer Koshien Tournament, East Tokyo District Finals, has officially begun!"

"The first half of the first inning, Chiyoda's Sansong takes the offensive! Shinjuku's Goda is on defense!"

"Goda's starting nine have already entered the field!"

"Uchida Yuuki is Goda's starting pitcher, a veteran in his third year at Koshien. As last year at the Shengong Stadium, he led Goda to a Koshien ticket, representing the twenty districts of East Tokyo!"

"Umm, they had a close defeat in the first round at Koshien last year, I wonder how far their year of effort will take them."

"This is Uchida's last year as a pitcher; he will surely unleash his utmost desire to win, come on Sansong!"

"Sansong's first batter is also in position!"

Uchida Yuuki took a deep breath, his gaze fixed on the catcher.

He lifted his leg, swung his arm.

The moment the ball was released, the electronic screen showed a speed: 146 km/h.

The batter swung and missed.

"Strike one!" the umpire called.

"With a speed of 146, Uchida is in good form," the male host praised.

"Yes!" the female host said, "Last year Uchida threw a personal best of 150 in the Koshien preliminaries and main game, I wonder if he can break that this year."

"The second pitch... got hit! But it's flying high, it's a high fly ball! Goda's outfielders are already in position!"

"It's going to be caught! Ah, indeed it's caught!"

"Well done, Uchida! He absolutely calculated that! Sansong's first batter seems too nervous!"

Sansong's first batter retreated, and the second batter picked up his bat and jogged onto the field.

"Goda!"

"Fight on!"

A large section of the spectator stands spelled out 'Goda', the Wind Instrument Club blew an invigorating march.

On the other side, Sansong's cheerleading team was not far behind, their cheers echoed back and forth.

Cheerleaders stood in the aisles, waving their colorful pom-poms.

In the VIP seats, Dubian Che was completely baffled.

Why would the batter already running to first base be out after hitting the ball?

Caught out?

Does it mean the ball is caught in the air by the opponent, and the batter is out immediately?

Dubian Che once thought that as long as the ball is hit high, and stays up in the sky, the batter could easily run from home base to first, second, and third bases, and finally back to home base, scoring a run.

It seems that those who set the baseball rules also considered this situation and restricted high fly balls:

Regardless if the runner has made it to first, second, or third base, as long as the ball is caught before it hits the ground, the batter is immediately out.

For ordinary people, catching a ball falling from high might be difficult, but for a trained baseball team, as long as they don't make a mistake, they can almost certainly catch such a ball.

Baseball rules are much more complex than other sports.

Basketball through hoop, soccer into goal, tennis over the net, even people who don't understand the rules...

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