The score was 8:7, Seido High School Baseball Team had overtaken Yakushi.
The fans in the stands cheered excitedly, clapping and chanting the names of Seido and Zhang Han. Seido High School Baseball Team, as expected, had not disappointed them. Soon after being overtaken, they strongly caught up and then surpassed the score.
The dark horse Yakushi High School Baseball Team's performance was indeed outstanding, a fact that even supporters of Seido High School Baseball Team could not deny. Even after revealing much of their strength, they were still able to go back and forth, neck and neck, with Seido High School, one of the West Tokyo Three Great Powerhouses. Yakushi's strength was undeniable, having reached a point where they could contend with powerhouses.
But so what?
Facing Seido High School Baseball Team, their ultimate outcome was still certain. They could not win, and it was impossible for them to win. Ultimately, the one who would win the game would still only be Seido High School.
"That's incredible!"
"He hit them all out, truly Zhang Han."
"So cool! I want to be his girlfriend."
"Stop daydreaming, there's a long line of girls who want to be his girlfriend..."
They excitedly waved everything in their hands, cheering with flushed faces. It was hard to tell if it was from the sun or from excitement.
The most shocked on the field were undoubtedly Yakushi High School Baseball Team's pitcher and catcher duo. Especially their catcher; ever since Zhang Han blasted the ball out, his eyes had not left Zhang Han. He watched with wide eyes as Zhang Han released his bat, coolly ran a lap around the infield, and finally returned to Home Base. He high-fived Kuramochi Yoichi, who had also returned to Home Base, in celebration.
"Clap!"
As their hands met, Yakushi High School Baseball Team's catcher suddenly snapped out of his daze. Had that man really hit it out?
Because of Zhang Han's appearance, Yakushi High School Baseball Team's catcher had been unwilling to admit Zhang Han's strength. So much so that when Zhang Han retreated, he inexplicably thought Zhang Han was timid. Wasn't this just delusion? Zhang Han was a super rookie who followed Seido High School Baseball Team into Koshien, and now, among all the players in Tokyo, he was a star player you could count on your fingers. How could such a player have such an obvious weakness?
If Zhang Han really had such a weakness, he would have been attacked by opponents countless times by now. How could he have been so carefree and glorious until now? Such a simple truth, why couldn't he understand it at the time?
Not only was the catcher annoyed, Sanada on the pitcher's mound also felt bad. He didn't underestimate Zhang Han's hitting ability like his partner. However, he also thought at the time that Zhang Han had given up on the outside pitch, that Zhang Han must have believed his pitching lifeline was concentrated on the inside, which is why he made such a move. At that time, throwing an outside pitch should have been no problem.
But the result was a harsh slap in Sanada's face. He never expected that Zhang Han's initial aim was the outside. This gave Sanada a feeling of being intellectually crushed. It bothered him greatly.
In the dugouts of both teams, there were also different reactions. In Seido High School Baseball Team's dugout, there was more emotion and amazement.
Zhang Han was truly completely different compared to how he was in the autumn. At that time, he often held back; as long as the team had a certain lead, his offense seemed to fizzle out. But now, Zhang Han had basically overcome that habit. The direct result was that he had continuously broken records.
"If I remember correctly, this is Zhang Han's first time hitting three Homeruns in one game, right?"
"That's right, today can be considered his personal single-game Homerun record."
"Not just Homeruns, but also his hitting rate. Even if in the last at-bat he didn't hit the ball or was walked by Yakushi, his hit rate would still be over eighty percent. This is also his best single-game performance."
As Zhang Han's fame grew and his strength became more formidable, some less significant opponents gradually began to walk him. The direct result was that Zhang Han's on-base percentage was very high, but his batting average was relatively average. It was rare for opponents like Yakushi High School Baseball Team to insist on confronting Zhang Han head-on.
"As long as the team can keep winning, the batting average will go up."
Coach Kataoka was quite satisfied. The reason they cared about Zhang Han holding back and lacking fighting spirit was not entirely because they feared the opponent's comeback. Whenever Zhang Han decided to hold back, the opponent had basically already given up the game. So whether Zhang Han held back or not, it didn't have that much impact on the team's win or loss.
However, this, to some extent, affected Zhang Han's personal statistics. If a player wanted to continue on the path of baseball, his personal statistics would accompany him for life. It was a little better in the Major League. In professional baseball within Japan, a player's performance and various statistics from high school would all be stored in their personal file. These data didn't even need to be stored by professional companies; they could be searched online.
So if Zhang Han consistently held back, it would inevitably affect his future statistics, and thus impact his future prospects. Seido High School Baseball Team was not just a team that pursued team achievements; they also placed great importance on player development. Being able to cultivate excellent professional baseball players, especially top players, could also bring great fame and benefits to Seido High School Baseball Team.
The current Zhang Han had already begun to change. His fighting spirit had become stronger, and his statistics would also look better and better. This way, even if he had a few games where his condition was off and he didn't play so well, it wouldn't affect his future prospects too much.
The people from Yakushi High School Baseball Team didn't think as much as Seido did. After all, what achievements Zhang Han might reach in the future had nothing to do with them. What they were more focused on was the direction of the upcoming game.
With Zhang Han's two-run Homerun, the situation on the field had completely changed. Yakushi High School Baseball Team went from leading to being led, and most importantly, they had only just taken the lead before Seido High School Baseball Team very strongly took the score back.
This, to some extent, also revealed the gap in strength between the two teams. If this situation continued, the chances of Yakushi High School Baseball Team ultimately turning the tables were probably not very high.
"It still depends on the last round of hitting. Only by breaking down the pitcher do we have hope of winning the game."
Besides breaking down the pitcher, there was one more thing that Yakushi High School Baseball Team members had to consider. That was to prevent runs. No matter how unwilling Todoroki Raizo was to admit it, he had to acknowledge Seido High School Baseball Team's terrifying scoring ability.
In terms of offensive power, Seido High School Baseball Team was absolutely second to none. Their strength even surpassed Inashiro, the national champions they had defeated before. How to avoid giving up runs to this opponent would directly determine whether Yakushi High School Baseball Team still had hope of continuing the game.
Todoroki Raizo placed all his hopeful gaze on pitcher Sanada.
Before coaching Yakushi High School Baseball Team, Todoroki Raizo originally thought that with his son joining, plus his two personal disciples, it wouldn't be too difficult to make a name for themselves in West Tokyo. But after truly taking over Yakushi and re-examining the opponents they would face, Todoroki Raizo discovered with great sadness that he was wrong. Terribly wrong.
The chaotic situation in West Tokyo and the difficulty of breaking out of it far exceeded his imagination. It was impossible in the short term, and even if he were given two or three years, Yakushi would only have a chance, not a definite victory.
Fortunately, heaven bestowed upon them Sanada Shunpei.
This man was definitely the best gift heaven gave to Yakushi High School Baseball Team. It was precisely because of him that Yakushi High School Baseball Team had been able to acquire the strength to challenge the West Tokyo hierarchy in such a short period of time. To put it bluntly, it gave them the confidence to contend with the West Tokyo Three Great Powerhouses.
At this moment, Todoroki Raizo could only continue to place his hopes on Sanada.
Sanada also felt the heavy burden on his shoulders. But he didn't reject this feeling. Although the teams he had been on before were never truly strong, he never had the chance to challenge the ultimate goal of Koshien. But this did not mean that Sanada Shunpei did not yearn for a challenge in his heart. He yearned to compete with the nation's top players of his age.
Zhang Han, Yuuki. These were the people he had dueled countless times in his fantasies. And these two had not disappointed him. During their duels, they displayed extraordinary strength.
The opponent he was about to face next was Yuuki Tetsuya.
Yuuki stepped into the batter's box expressionlessly, coldly observing Sanada, waiting for him to throw the ball. This fourth batter of Seido High School Baseball Team, like Zhang Han, deliberately left the inside corner open.
Before, Yakushi High School Baseball Team's catcher might have thought that Yuuki was also afraid of Sanada's inside pitches. But with Zhang Han's previous lesson, they certainly wouldn't have such naive thoughts anymore.
Without that arrogant thought, Yakushi High School Baseball Team's catcher suddenly realized that Seido's batters deliberately leaving the inside corner open was even harder to deal with than them sticking close to it.
Sanada's pitching style dictated that he was best at using inside pitches to decide the outcome against opponents. Once Seido's batters deliberately retreated, all the inside pitches thrown essentially became pitches right down the middle. Even a splitter or a cutter, thrown to the central position, lost fifty or sixty percent of its power.
Of course, they could also pitch outside. But Zhang Han had just given them a good lesson; Seido's batters could step forward at any time and reach the outside pitches as well.
In short, no matter how they pitched, Seido High School Baseball Team's batters seemed to be able to handle it calmly. Was this the legendary "take a step back, and the sea is vast and the sky is wide"?
Yakushi High School Baseball Team's pitcher and catcher duo suddenly realized that Seido High School Baseball Team's approach had thrown the problem back to them.
What to do?
In the stands, Fujio, a senior reporter for Baseball Kingdom Magazine, was amazed after seeing Seido's strategy.
"Coach Kataoka's reaction is so fast. He found the weakness of Yakushi High School Baseball Team's Ace so quickly."
Tanba and Sanada. In terms of pitching, they certainly could not be considered weak. In fact, within the entire Tokyo area, they were considered top-tier pitchers. But even these two, when facing the Yakushi and Seido lineups respectively, both found themselves in a tough battle.
What did this indicate? It indicated that compared to the offensive capabilities of the two teams, their defensive capabilities were too weak. It wasn't that they weren't trying their best. Their pitchers pitched very seriously, and the fielders were never lax.
But unfortunately, their offensive power was too strong. Just like a spear and shield colliding, the spear was too sharp. Although the shield was still quite sturdy, it was easily pierced when it encountered that sharp point.
"Today's game isn't about the pitchers!"
Because both pitchers simply couldn't stop the offense. At most, they could only limit the opponent's scoring to a certain extent.
"The key is to see which of the two teams' offensive power is more brutal?"
Fujio saw the essence of this game. Before Zhang Han left the pitcher's mound, Seido could completely suppress Yakushi. But after he left, both sides could only compete in offense. This was the difference between Zhang Han and Tanba. Fujio believed that Coach Kataoka must have also seen this difference.
The duel on the field continued.
"Whoosh!"
After hesitating for about twenty seconds, Sanada finally tentatively threw his first pitch. He didn't give up on the inside corner. Even though Yuuki had retreated, Sanada did not give up on the inside corner.
Clearly, it wasn't just Fujio who saw the essence of the game; this Ace of Yakushi High School Baseball Team also saw it. Since there was no way to completely stop the opponent's offense, it was better to simply display their strength to the fullest. The rest, they would leave to fate.
"Ping!"
"Foul!"
Sanada, pitching completely in his own style, was not that easy to deal with. Yuuki's first swing only sent the ball foul. However, his expression became even colder.
When Yuuki swung for the second time, everything around seemed to freeze.
"Ping!"
The hit baseball, like a white lightning bolt, instantly traversed dozens of meters, heavily striking the outfield ground and then bouncing away. The baseball bounced all the way to the fence, hit it, and bounced back. The outfielder who ran up immediately crossed paths with the bouncing baseball. He didn't catch the ball immediately.
This was a golden opportunity for Seido High School Baseball Team.
Yuuki ran wildly, past First Base, Second Base, Third Base...
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