Top of the sixth inning, Yakushi High School Baseball Team on offense.
The score was 6:1, with Seido High School Baseball Team leading by five runs. The first batter for Yakushi High School Baseball Team was their current pitcher, Sanada.
When Zhang Han stepped onto the pitcher's mound, a wave of fatigue washed over him, filling his body.
Why was he suddenly so tired?
He had felt fine before and hadn't noticed anything unusual while pitching. But as he stood on the mound, even before he started to pitch, he felt tired, as if it was emerging from the depths of his heart. Growing in waves.
Zhang Han suppressed this feeling and began to pitch. His motion was as usual, but for some unknown reason, the ball he threw was no longer as miraculous as before. Although the ball speed was still very fast, it lacked that natural, effortless feeling.
Zhang Han had a faint feeling. His seemingly effortless pitching was closely related to his physical condition. Once his body was fatigued, he couldn't maintain his previous pitching style.
"Pop!"
149.5 kilometers.
Sanada didn't swing the bat. Instead, he watched the baseball fly past him with wide eyes. That ball speed was truly frightening. So much so that at first, he wanted to swing and fight back. Fortunately, Coach Todoroki Raizo's special training helped him at the critical moment, allowing him to suppress that impulse and watch the baseball fly past.
"Strike!"
Although Zhang Han's pitching showed no outward flaws, in the Yakushi High School Baseball Team's dugout, Todoroki Raizo excitedly opened his eyes.
He had finally waited for it.
Such a hard wait. For five whole innings, Zhang Han was like a cheat code, his ball speed soaring faster and faster. So much so that later, he entered a state of effortless pitching. Under that sublimation, even the players of Yakushi High School Baseball Team found it difficult to deal with him. As a result, they kept losing points with no way to salvage the situation.
Actually, at that time, Todoroki Raizo had already predicted that Zhang Han wouldn't be able to last until the end of the game. That kind of full-body explosive pitching lasting four or five innings was already a miracle; very few players could pitch from beginning to end.
However, Zhang Han showed no signs of fatigue. Todoroki Raizo was forced to let his players use some small tricks to make Zhang Han consume his physical strength as quickly as possible.
Hard work pays off.
He finally got what he waited for. The valve on Zhang Han's body could be turned off. Their opportunity had arrived.
"Don't be afraid, don't hesitate at all. Just use the swing I taught you and hit the ball out!"
Todoroki Raizo looked at Sanada with anticipation.
Sanada's hitting ability, let alone compared to Yakushi's three first-year students, couldn't rank in the top three even among the veteran players. But this didn't mean that Sanada's hitting was useless. He still had some unique qualities, and in today's game, that quality was even more crucial.
Sanada was especially good at hitting Fastballs.
If he only hit Fastballs, his strength would far surpass those third-year students. Even compared to Mishima and Akiba, Sanada wasn't far behind. And Zhang Han's only specialty was ball speed. The only pitch he could throw was a Fastball. Without that natural state, he couldn't increase his ball speed to over 150 kilometers. His threat level was greatly reduced.
Looking at his coach's expectant eyes, Sanada really couldn't pretend not to see them. Whether he wanted to or not, at this moment, he had become the coach's hope.
"How can I be a coward?"
"Whoosh!"
On Zhang Han's second pitch, Sanada swung the bat. Not only did he swing, but he also hit the ball out.
"Ping!"
The white ball drew an arc in the sky and landed in left field.
"Safe!"
Sanada ran to Second Base in one breath. No outs, runner on Second Base.
At this moment, Zhang Han faced the most terrifying batter in Yakushi High School Baseball Team.
"Gahahahaha..."
Raichi Todoroki, holding his bat, stepped into the batter's box. Although Raichi Todoroki's physique was not robust and he wasn't tall, he held the largest bat in his hand. His desire to hit a Homerun was obvious.
Zhang Han's heart was also filled with anger. He didn't want to back down, but his pitching couldn't be as fierce as before.
What was going on?
Although Zhang Han had already felt physical fatigue and knew he couldn't pitch as effortlessly as before, it wasn't to the point of collapse. He believed he could still pitch. So why couldn't he throw the same ball as before?
Miyuki frowned.
Those involved are confused, but bystanders are clear. Zhang Han himself was currently in a fog, completely unable to figure out the situation. But Miyuki was different; he understood exactly what was going on.
Zhang Han's first physical limit had been reached.
Miyuki was very impressed by the balls Zhang Han threw when he exerted his full power. But powerful pitching came with a greater cost. Just like now, Zhang Han could no longer maintain pitching at his peak state and was forced to enter the second stage. Under these circumstances, being able to maintain a pitch of around 150 kilometers was already impressive.
However, such pitching would be quite difficult against the batters of Yakushi High School Baseball Team. Moreover, due to his previous injury recovery, Zhang Han had not learned a breaking ball.
If he had learned one or two, he might have been able to continue fighting by flexibly adapting at this moment. But for Zhang Han, who hadn't learned a breaking ball, it wouldn't be so easy to get through this hurdle.
Miyuki glanced at the dugout out of the corner of his eye. He could figure these things out, and Coach Kataoka knew them even more clearly. However, Coach Kataoka had not given any instructions.
Keep letting Zhang Han pitch.
The outcome of the game was one thing, but it seemed Coach Kataoka also wanted to use this opportunity to test Zhang Han's limits. To become an Ace, one couldn't only look at performance when in good form; performance when in poor form and facing adversity was equally important.
Miyuki nodded and gave Zhang Han the signal.
No breaking ball. The ball speed had also slowed down. Theoretically, at this point, they no longer had the right to battle Raichi Todoroki head-on. But avoiding it wasn't their style. With a five-run lead, avoiding a confrontation with Yakushi's most powerful hitter would not only cost the players face, but Seido couldn't afford to lose such dignity either. Elite teams rarely intentionally walked powerful hitters, let alone when leading by a large margin.
Having neither of those advantages, their only weapon now was control.
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