Zhang Han clearly heard the cheers from the stands and the shouts of encouragement from his teammates in the dugout. His physical strength was abundant, and his pitching felt excellent. This was a sensation Zhang Han had never experienced before. Everything was completely under his control; he could command his pitching as he pleased.
After dealing with Mishima, he faced the fourth batter for Yakushi High School Baseball Team in this game. The opponent was a third-year player from Yakushi. Although he wasn't as flamboyant as the three first-years, his hitting style was very steady.
Based on Zhang Han's previous strength, it wouldn't have been easy to get him out. But with the current Zhang Han, he felt he could completely look down on his opponent.
No special technique was needed; even if he threw the ball right down the middle, the batter absolutely couldn't hit it. He would be lucky to even make contact, let alone hit it out.
Zhang Han decisively threw the baseball.
"Whoosh!"
Before the batter could react, the baseball had already drilled into Miyuki Kazuya's mitt. Not only did Zhang Han feel completely at ease, Miyuki Kazuya had a similar feeling.
Partnering with the current Zhang Han, getting opponents out had become an effortless task. How could this feeling not be exhilarating?
"Come on, let's keep going!"
Miyuki knew very well that Zhang Han was on fire. He was pitching in the best condition of his life. In this situation, Zhang Han could pitch however he wanted, with no lack of power or speed.
As his partner, Miyuki didn't need to give any instructions at this point; he just needed to fully trust Zhang Han and let him throw the ball. Although the players of Yakushi High School Baseball Team were not weak, it was basically impossible for them to hit Zhang Han's pitches in this state.
"Strike!"
With two consecutive strikes, the batter was cornered.
In the Yakushi High School Baseball Team's dugout, Todoroki Raizo frowned, looking at Zhang Han, who seemed like a god descended to earth.
He had to admit that Zhang Han in this state was absolutely capable of destroying anyone or anything in his path. It was difficult to stop him, no matter how great the cost. But they couldn't do nothing. If they allowed Zhang Han to maintain this state, Yakushi High School Baseball Team would simply not be able to catch up.
Even if Sanada's pitching was excellent, it could only ensure that the team didn't concede runs; it couldn't help the team ultimately win.
If Yakushi High School Baseball Team still wanted to turn the tide in today's game, there was only one way out. That was to conquer this incredibly powerful enemy in front of them.
Raizo gave a signal to their fourth batter. Then, to everyone's disbelief, with two strikes already against him and no one on base, the fourth batter of Yakushi High School Baseball Team did something very unexpected. He squared up for a bunt against Zhang Han.
Before the fans could even register their surprise, the white ball was already thrown, hit the bat, and bounced away. Zhang Han rushed forward without stopping, caught the bouncing baseball in his mitt, and threw it to First Base.
"Pop!"
"Out!!"
Two outs, no one on base.
At this moment, not only the fans at the stadium but also most of those watching the live broadcast were completely bewildered. What just happened? Had the Yakushi High School Baseball Team's player given up resisting? Otherwise, why would he use such a suicidal method?
With Zhang Han's incredibly fast pitching, even if they could barely make contact, how could they hope to bunt the ball safely? Being forced out or caught out was probably their inevitable outcome.
People didn't understand.
Todoroki Raizo himself was very pleased, slapping his thigh repeatedly and grinning.
"Well done!"
Sanada watched his coach, whose excitement was barely contained. Although he didn't understand what his coach was planning, based on his understanding of him, this man was definitely up to something.
"Please compose yourself, Coach, or the Seido High School Baseball Team will figure it out."
"Hehe, what's wrong with them figuring it out? I'm afraid they won't understand. The clearer they see, the better."
Todoroki Raizo said with a wicked smile. Sanada shook his head. What scheme was the coach cooking up now? Based on his understanding of Todoroki Raizo, when he acted so deliberately, it meant he was playing a much bigger game.
On the other side, in the Seido High School Baseball Team's dugout, Manager Ota said triumphantly, "They still want to bunt? That's just wishful thinking!"
"The opponent's goal isn't to bunt, but to disrupt Zhang Han's pitching rhythm."
The strategy was not very clever, and the method was full of flaws. But its strength lay in being an open tactic, which could be executed straightforwardly, with no fear of being seen through.
Todoroki Raizo. Kataoka looked deeply at the man opposite him, a hint of apprehension flashing in his eyes. It seemed that the opponent was not just a reckless coach who only knew how to play baseball.
He might be unconventional, but he was definitely skilled. This opponent was truly qualified to go head-to-head with Seido High School Baseball Team.
"However, if you think this is enough to defeat Zhang Han, then you're underestimating him too much!"
The Yakushi fifth batter adopted the exact same strategy, using a bunt stance to restrict Zhang Han's pitching path. They clearly intended to use this tactic to disrupt Zhang Han's rhythm and, along the way, exhaust his stamina. This method didn't seem very clever and would be difficult to show results in a short time. But it was absolutely effective.
However, from another perspective, the fact that Yakushi High School Baseball Team had to resort to such a method also indicated, from another angle, how desperate they were. Besides this approach, they might not have been able to think of any effective strategy.
Just like before, the opponent made contact with the ball using a bunt. Zhang Han went forward, picked up the ball, and threw it to First Base, getting the opponent out.
Most of the fans in the stands found Yakushi High School Baseball Team's efforts particularly laughable. Did they really think they could defeat Zhang Han with such a tactic? Wishful thinking. Daydreaming.
But there were two fans whose focus was very different from the others; they noticed another very interesting phenomenon.
"I always thought that the batters of Yakushi High School Baseball Team only knew how to hit long balls and couldn't bunt at all?"
"I used to think that too."
It was no wonder they thought that way. When Yakushi High School played Inashiro Industrial before, they had good opportunities but never used a bunt. Even though they were consistently struck out by Narumiya Mei, they never flinched in the batter's box.
Although the runs were ultimately scored by the first-years, their aggressive performance had undoubtedly put a lot of pressure on Narumiya Mei. So Yakushi High School Baseball Team had always left an impression of being very aggressive.
Unexpectedly, they could bunt with proper form too.
Although their bunts didn't amount to anything and were collected by Zhang Han and thrown to First Base, you couldn't deny their bunting ability because of that. In fact, the fourth batter and fifth batter of Yakushi High School Baseball Team both bunted very well.
They could make contact with a 150 kilometer per hour Fastball and still make the ball fly straight forward. That was quite impressive. Even among the main players of the prestigious Seido High School Baseball Team, not everyone possessed such bunting skill.
Coach Kataoka had a thoughtful expression. Even the fans in the stands had noticed the anomaly. Not to mention Kataoka himself, as the opposing coach.
The opponent's strength was unexpectedly formidable. Performance doesn't lie; as the saying goes, ten years of practice offstage for one minute on stage.
The fact that Yakushi High School Baseball Team's players could consistently execute such excellent bunts proved that they had undergone many similar training sessions in practice. Without a certain amount of training, it would be impossible for two consecutive batters to make contact with a 150 kilometer per hour Fastball.
"Don't let up, give it your all, and strive to score runs!"
The game reached the bottom of the fifth inning, with Seido High School Baseball Team on offense. The batters stepping up were the lower-order batters, starting from the seventh batter. Even though Coach Kataoka had given them many instructions before they went up, facing Sanada, who constantly threw inside pitches, they were still helpless.
Although the ball speed wasn't extremely fast, the placement was very sharp, and all were in positions they weren't good at hitting. Just making contact with the ball took all their effort. Hitting the ball out was even more difficult.
The result was one strikeout, one flyout, and one infield grounder. Three up, three down.
Although he successfully retired three batters from Seido High School Baseball Team, Todoroki Raizo still looked dissatisfied. Of course he was dissatisfied. Even the lower-order batters of Seido High School Baseball Team, when they first saw Sanada's pitches, two of them were able to make contact.
Although it ultimately caused no damage, it reflected a very harsh reality: although Sanada's pitches were sharp, it was only a matter of time before Seido's batters would hit the ball out and score runs. This might be slightly delayed by their aggressive obstruction, but the final outcome would not change at all. These guys would eventually score.
If, before that, Yakushi High School Baseball Team couldn't score and narrow the gap, then today's game would basically have no chance.
"This inning, we must score no matter what!"
Todoroki Raizo's face was grim.
Just as he was thinking that, the situation on the field seemed to be specifically designed to make him look bad.
"Strike!"
"Strike!!"
"Strike!!!"
"Strikeout!"
Zhang Han easily retired their sixth, seventh, and eighth batters. One strikeout, two forced outs. Facing Yakushi High School Baseball Team's bunting strategy, Zhang Han, despite having to run forward and expend unnecessary energy, remained very stable throughout. He did not give Yakushi High School Baseball Team even the slightest opportunity to exploit.
"What a terrifying guy!"
Todoroki Raizo was speechless. Zhang Han was not only excellent at pitching, but also had incredibly rich experience. He knew very well what he should do in any given situation. He had once won the national runner-up, and in his first year of high school, he immediately became a regular for a powerhouse and reached the Koshien quarterfinals with the team. Despite being young, only a player who had just entered his second year, his experience surpassed 90% of the upperclassmen at Seido. It was very difficult to find any flaws in him.
Just like that, the game came to the bottom of the fifth inning, with Seido High School Baseball Team on offense. This was their team's third time batting. Sanada Shunpei's performance was getting better and better; this time, he easily got two outs, seemingly about to completely shut down Seido High School Baseball Team's offense.
After two outs, it was Zhang Han's turn to bat.
He saw Coach Kataoka in the dugout give him the throat-slashing signal.
Take him out. Now was not the time for mercy; they had to act decisively.
Zhang Han nodded almost imperceptibly, then choked up on the bat. Seeing the white ball flying towards him, he took a step forward and swung quickly. Before anyone could react, the baseball had been forcefully swept away.
"Ping!"
The swept ball landed in the gap of Yakushi's outfield defense. Zhang Han ran past First Base and successfully reached Second Base before the ball arrived.
"Safe!"
In the Seido High School Baseball Team's dugout, the teammates' expressions were wild. The fans in the stands were also mesmerized.
Again, he hit it out again.
Since Zhang Han stepped up to bat, he had hit the ball out all three times today. Two Homeruns, one double. A 100% batting average. Although this double wasn't as shocking as the previous two Homeruns, Homeruns did have an element of luck. As a batter, being able to hit the ball out and successfully extend the batting lineup was already very impressive.
Two outs, runner on Second Base.
It was Seido High School Baseball Team's fourth batter, Yuuki Tetsuya, up to bat. When Yuuki stepped into the batter's box, the atmosphere around him changed.
And then, to everyone's disbelief, Yuuki Tetsuya's bat hit the center of the baseball perfectly, sending it flying far away. The white ball soared into the sky, traveling over a hundred meters, and crashed heavily against the wall before bouncing back.
A super long hit.
If the baseball had been hit just a little higher, it might have been a Homerun. But it wasn't a loss; Zhang Han ran past Third Base and returned to Home Base, helping Seido High School Baseball Team score their sixth run of the game.
Total score 6:1. Seido High School Baseball Team led Yakushi High School Baseball Team by five runs.
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