Before the game, Coach Kataoka had told Seido's three pitchers to be ready. But he had never intended to send Zhang Han to the mound.
Zhang Han's current situation was a bit special.
He preferred pitching with his right hand. He had been doing so for three years, and it had long become habit. But his right-handed pitching speed had improved slowly, and its power wasn't strong.
Although it had shown some effectiveness when he first joined Seido, Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff unanimously agreed that continuing to develop it wasn't particularly worthwhile.
Compared to becoming a third-rate professional pitcher, it was better to focus on being a strong hitting shortstop. For Zhang Han's future, giving up right-handed pitching made more sense.
Then, by chance, everyone discovered that Zhang Han was a natural left-handed pitcher. With the idea of giving it a try, they had him practice left-handed pitching.
The result: swift ball speed, good power.
Although still immature, there was real potential for development with proper training. So Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff offered Zhang Han another path and let him pursue it.
Zhang Han's left-handed pitching did not disappoint. He was genuinely talented, and in just two months he had already begun to show what he was capable of. In the first game of the Autumn Tournament, Coach Kataoka sent him to the mound, and Zhang Han delivered a complete game shutout.
It seemed like everything was developing in the right direction.
But in reality, Zhang Han's left-handed pitching had only been practiced for two months at most. It was still very raw. To put it plainly, it had not yet fully formed into a reliable weapon.
Zhang Han had only pitched a total of three games, including practice games.
Under those circumstances, how could Coach Kataoka hand the mound to Zhang Han in a game against Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team? That would be a joke.
Tanba, Kawakami. Coach Kataoka had originally planned to rely on these two to finish the game.
As it turned out, Tanba wasn't up to the task and was pulled after two innings. Then Kawakami threw a hit by pitch. He was too kind-hearted, and the guilt disrupted his rhythm entirely. He gave up one run on the hit by pitch, then walked the next batter, giving up another. The score became 6:4, and Seido was two runs behind again.
With the bases still loaded, Coach Kataoka was reluctant to make the substitution under these conditions, not wanting to pile too much pressure on whoever came in next. Especially in Zhang Han's case.
If Zhang Han got hit hard right after taking the mound, it could affect more than just today's game. It could damage his high school baseball career. That kind of failure was too costly.
Given the choice, Coach Kataoka would never put Zhang Han on the mound at a moment like this.
But they had no choice.
Given Kawakami's current state, letting him continue would simply be handing runs to Inashiro. Then Seido would truly have no hope and would have to concede the game. And Seido's style was never to give up. That option had never once crossed Coach Kataoka's mind.
So, despite the risk, he sent Zhang Han to the mound.
"Pitcher off the mound. Outfielder Zhang Han will pitch. Asou will replace Zhang Han in the outfield."
Among the recently promoted freshmen, Shirazu was actually the more stable option. If Seido were evenly matched with their opponent, or if Seido currently held any kind of advantage, Coach Kataoka would have sent Shirazu to the mound to steady things. But Seido was facing a serious crisis, and the steady approach wasn't practical right now.
What Seido needed at this moment was someone who could win by surprise.
Asou had been the cleanup hitter on his middle school team, and his hitting was very strong. On top of that, his throwing speed ranked in the top three at Seido. With the bases loaded, even on a fly ball the runners would be moving. From that perspective, Asou was more suitable than Shirazu.
As for Asou not originally being a right fielder, in Coach Kataoka's view, that was no issue at all. The three outfield positions have similar technical requirements, and switching between them was not a big deal.
Zhang Han changed his equipment and went out to replace Kawakami.
He had expected Kawakami to leave the mound in a state of disarray after being pulled in a situation like this. The effect of that hit by pitch on him had been obvious to everyone.
But Kawakami wasn't like that. He looked reluctant. Unwilling to leave.
This was probably the pitcher's obsession.
When Zhang Han had been replaced on the mound by a junior during a Matsukata game in the past, he had felt something similar.
Just as Zhang Han expected Kawakami to stall, Kawakami seemed to work through it on his own. He walked over and placed the ball directly into Zhang Han's glove.
"I'm sorry."
I'm sorry for leaving such a dangerous situation to you.
This guy was too kind.
Zhang Han felt a massive headache coming on. He was already under enough pressure being sent out in this situation. And now Kawakami was adding to it.
There was no way around it.
"Leave it to me."
Zhang Han said it seriously. Kawakami looked up and met his eyes. There was no resentment there at all. Only determination.
"Okay."
Kawakami, relieved, left the mound and returned to the dugout.
"Reflect on it after the game. For now, watch what Zhang Han does. In terms of pitching quality, he is not as good as you, and not as good as Tanba. But he might be more suited than either of you to be the ace of this team."
Coach Kataoka was deliberately stoking resentment toward Zhang Han in the dugout. Tanba and Kawakami, setting aside their own dejection, fixed cold stares on Zhang Han standing out on the mound.
Zhang Han felt a chill on the back of his neck.
Autumn. Had the weather really turned cold?
One out, bases loaded.
Carlos, the dark-skinned player, stepped into the batter's box for Inashiro.
Miyuki used the substitution time to approach Zhang Han and discuss the pitching strategy.
"Are you using your left hand or your right hand?"
Miyuki covered his mouth with his glove.
"I'd like to use my right hand, but I haven't used it in almost half a year. Do you think we can sharpen our spears at the last minute?"
Zhang Han said, not hiding his displeasure.
"So that means only a fastball?"
Miyuki summarized.
"Think of it this way: the ball speed is still fast."
Zhang Han's right-handed speed generally sat around 135 to 136 km/h, approaching 140 at best. Just approaching, not reaching.
His left-handed pitches, on the other hand, could generally exceed 140 km/h, which was considered very fast even among high school pitchers. His fastest recorded pitch had been 145.5 km/h, only one or two kilometers per hour short of Narumiya Mei.
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