"Pop!"
Yakushi High School Baseball Team's sixth batter could only manage to weakly tap the ball. The white ball bounced on the ground, was fielded by pitcher Tanba into his glove, and then thrown to First Base.
"Out!"
Forced out, Seido High School Baseball Team secured the third out, finally resolving the inning. The Seido players walked off the field one after another. They were undoubtedly dissatisfied with their defense in the sixth inning. Yakushi High School Baseball Team had narrowed the score by so many runs in one go, which pained them just thinking about it.
In the upcoming offense, they absolutely had to...
"Ping!"
"Pop!"
"Out!"
Completely contrary to what the Seido High School Baseball Team players had in mind, in the seventh inning, they didn't even get a single hit, let alone score any runs. They were easily taken care of by Yakushi High School Baseball Team's pitcher.
Three outs, side retired.
When Seido gave up the last out, the players still couldn't believe it. Sanada, who was standing on the pitcher's mound, was performing even more fiercely than when he first came in.
This wasn't logical. According to normal logic, as his pitch count increased, his stamina and condition should gradually worsen. Didn't Zhang Han's stamina give out when he threw around eighty pitches earlier?
How come this player not only showed no signs of fatigue but also grew stronger with each pitch?
As a result, in a short amount of time, Seido High School Baseball Team's batters found themselves helpless against him.
"Didn't expect this kid to be so troublesome?"
Isashiki Jun frowned, eyeing Sanada on the pitcher's mound.
"I once heard that some pitchers get stronger the more they pitch, performing more fiercely in the later stages of the game," Zhang Han said.
If you encountered this type of pitcher, it was never easy to defeat them.
The score was 6:4, and by the seventh inning, Seido High School Baseball Team's lead was only two runs. And this upcoming inning would, to a large extent, directly determine the outcome of the game.
However, at first, no one expected the script to unfold that way.
Top of the seventh inning, Yakushi High School Baseball Team's offense. The first to step into the batter's box was their seventh batter.
Although this player also stood close to the inside line, compared to Yakushi's fourth and fifth batters, his strength was clearly much weaker.
The most obvious sign was that he couldn't even hit Tanba's pitch. Unable to hit the ball, he was ultimately struck out.
This strikeout did not make Seido's players underestimate Yakushi; instead, it raised their strong vigilance. It also indicated that while Tanba's pitching condition wasn't excellent, it certainly wasn't bad either. If his condition were poor, he wouldn't have been able to strike out a batter.
This meant that Yakushi's fourth and fifth batters, who had previously hit Tanba's Fastball repeatedly, might not be as flashy as those three first-years, but their strength was probably not to be taken lightly.
It was just that they had been so thoroughly suppressed by Zhang Han before that the Seido High School Baseball Team players subconsciously hadn't paid much attention to them. But this kind of thinking was actually very dangerous. If they weren't careful, they might suffer greatly from those two later on.
The next batter was Yakushi's eighth batter.
After striking out the first batter, Tanba's confidence was fully restored. Even using only his Fastball, he pitched very sharply. He successfully forced the batter to hit an infield pop fly.
"Ping..."
The white ball, hit high into the air, flew about twenty to thirty meters, then descended almost vertically. Kominato Ryosuke, at the second base defensive position, effortlessly raised his glove and caught the ball.
Two outs, no one on base.
Seido High School Baseball Team's batters would be stepping into the batter's box for the fourth time next, starting from their first batter. From this batting order, Seido High School Baseball Team had a very high probability of scoring next. The players were also very eager to get to the batter's box as soon as possible. So they were impatient to get the last out and end this inning quickly.
As for waiting until after the eighth inning, even if Raichi Todoroki was fierce, they would most likely only face him once. Nothing to be afraid of.
The Seido players thought well, but the opponent was relentless. Sanada, who had suppressed Seido with his pitching, stood close to the inside corner of the plate, almost leaning over the strike zone. His intention was clear: he also wanted to force Tanba to throw a Fastball.
Miyuki, of course, didn't want the opponent to get his way, but the opponent was so close to the inside corner. If he didn't go along with it, the probability of a hit by pitch would be very high. Just thinking about Raichi Todoroki batting behind Sanada made Miyuki's heart pound.
Before facing that monstrous rookie, Miyuki really didn't want the team to have any mishaps. He also didn't want there to be any runners on base. That could directly change the situation on the field.
Fortunately, Tanba's Fastball was still good, and the opponent might not necessarily be good at hitting Fastballs. Miyuki ultimately signaled for a Fastball.
At this moment, none of the Seido High School Baseball Team players knew that what Sanada was best at hitting was actually the Fastball. If he were to hit a breaking ball, his ranking within Yakushi's own team might even be low. But if he were to hit a Fastball, besides Raichi Todoroki, he could contend with Mishima for second place.
However, because he had rarely played in games before, and his previous hitting situations were even rarer, there wasn't enough data to make a judgment or analysis. This was something Seido High School Baseball Team couldn't know.
Why do dark horses gain an advantage? A very important reason was the asymmetry of information. Compared to those suddenly emerging dark horse teams, powerhouses like Seido High School Baseball Team had almost transparent information. Who were the main players? What were their characteristics?
If Yakushi High School Baseball Team hadn't prepared sufficiently in advance, and if the players from both sides had simply faced each other without knowing each other's true abilities, then the current score difference on the field would definitely not be limited to just two runs.
"Ping!"
The white ball was forcefully swept out. Although Kominato Ryosuke dived immediately to try and field the ball, unfortunately, the baseball flew to such a tricky spot that he didn't have time to get his glove on it. He could only watch helplessly as the baseball flew past him.
"Safe!"
With this hit, Sanada successfully reached First Base. The situation Seido High School Baseball Team least wanted to see had just happened.
Two outs, runner on First Base.
"First batter, third baseman, Raichi Todoroki!"
"Gahahahaha..."
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