"Whoosh!"
"Ping…"
Jinguuji caught Zhang Han's inside breaking ball. The bat struck the baseball, sending it in an arc that fell foul.
At this moment, the voices of everyone present were almost silent.
They had considered the possibility of such a situation before. But when it actually happened, everyone was still a bit dumbfounded.
Jinguuji could actually hit it, and he beautifully sent it foul.
If the baseball hadn't veered off, it might even have been a base hit.
"Nice hit! That's it…"
Sawamura Eijun, who was changing his hitting gear, kept waving his arms and cheering for his teammate when he saw this scene.
Under his lead, the first-year players, who had originally been intimidated by Zhang Han's reputation and status, couldn't afford to think about that anymore.
As for the possibility of being targeted later.
Only players promoted to the First string would have the chance to be targeted by senior Zhang Han; those who couldn't even get into the second team didn't need to worry at all.
"Nice hit!"
"He's already got the pitcher under pressure."
"Keep it up, hit it out!"
"Senior Han isn't so scary after all."
And those old alumni outside the field were also enjoying the spectacle. Seeing the first-year players get fired up, they all joined in the cheering.
"Exactly, he's only one year older than you guys, how can you lose to him?"
"He's just Koshien's super rookie. You guys just didn't get a chance to play. If you had, you'd be even better than him!"
Even though they probably didn't believe what they were saying, it didn't stop them from saying it.
Chris and Zhang Han, unknowingly, became the public enemies of everyone.
However, these two guys had no awareness of being public enemies. Even when Zhang Han's pitch was hit foul, they didn't seem to care much.
Especially Zhang Han, who held his head high, looking down at Jinguuji standing in the batter's box.
The young man looked very excited, as if he had been looking forward to this duel for a long time.
In this situation, he shouldn't miss any pitch he had a chance to swing at.
An aggressive hitter, once he finds his rhythm, can be very troublesome.
Likewise, such an aggressive hitter, whether for the pitcher or the catcher, is not a particularly difficult type to deal with!
As long as he's willing to swing, they'll know what pitch he's aiming for.
Just by looking at his hitting stance, they can, to a certain extent, discern his strength and characteristics.
An ordinary catcher certainly couldn't do it, but Chris was not an ordinary catcher; he was the former strongest catcher in Kanto. Chris could do this, and he accurately predicted Jinguuji's hitting pattern.
The opponent didn't want to let any pitch go!
He was clearly very confident in his hitting ability.
In this situation, it would be too rude not to throw him a tempting pitch.
Saying "not letting any pitch go" is easy, but considering Zhang Han's current Fastball speed was over 145 kilometers per hour.
Jinguuji had to choose a direction to hit the ball well.
If he didn't choose a direction in advance, even if he could hit the ball, it would be difficult to hit it well in a hurry.
Outside corner!
Chris, thinking of this, pulled his glove to the outside corner.
It didn't matter if it was outside the strike zone; the most important thing was that it was tricky enough.
Seeing the sign given by Chris, Zhang Han hardly hesitated and very decisively threw the baseball in his hand.
Under Ono's guidance, his pitching was best at control. This was also Zhang Han's pitching lifeline back in Matsukata.
Although he couldn't achieve a nine-square grid, he could barely manage a tic-tac-toe grid. Dividing the strike zone evenly into four parts, Zhang Han could throw the ball into any of those corners.
He couldn't guarantee one hundred percent, but at least he could throw it in eighty to ninety percent of the time.
Just like this pitch, he precisely controlled the ball to the outside edge.
"Ping!"
Jinguuji still didn't give up on this pitch.
Seeing the baseball flying, he decisively swung and once again sent the ball foul.
Everyone around was very amazed.
Jinguuji's performance was something none of them had anticipated before.
It was simply too powerful!
Although Zhang Han's current pitch was not as fast and quick as it was initially.
But the ball speed was still over 140, even reaching 145.
Even among high school pitchers, this was a very powerful Fastball.
Ordinary people facing such a ball would find it difficult to react in time.
Yet Jinguuji could continuously hit such pitches. Although none of them landed in the strike zone, his ability to make contact and hit the ball out was already very impressive.
This was already beyond the strength a freshman should possess!
Even among the First string players of Seido High School Baseball Team, not everyone could do this.
Based on this, almost everyone present believed that Jinguuji now probably had the strength to enter the First string.
However, the two individuals currently facing Jinguuji seemed completely unconcerned about the continuously hit balls.
No, it should be said that they became more and more confident.
They looked at Jinguuji as if looking at prey that had already fallen into a trap.
Among the First string players, Miyuki had a brilliant smile on his face.
"It's time to reel it in!"
His words were without head or tail, and his surrounding teammates all cast puzzled glances at Miyuki.
Only Yuuki looked at Zhang Han and Chris with a hint of apprehension.
"How cunning!"
Miyuki's smile grew wider.
As expected of Captain Yuuki, he was neither a catcher nor a pitcher. He couldn't put himself in Zhang Han and Chris's shoes to look at the problem.
He was looking at it from the batter's perspective.
But that didn't stop him from seeing the trick.
Zhang Han threw the last pitch.
He first attacked the inside corner, then turned to attack the outside corner, greatly reducing Jinguuji's footwork!
Jinguuji, aiming for every pitch, was continuously attacked on the inside and outside corners. He had to shorten his steps to be able to react at any time.
Just as Jinguuji was ready, Zhang Han, guided by Chris, prepared to make the final strike.
This time, he threw a high pitch straight above!
Ball!
Coach Kataoka frowned when he saw this pitch.
The baseball was about one ball higher than the strike zone, so the batter could easily let it go.
Throwing a ball at this moment was not only meaningless but also gave the opponent a chance to breathe.
Coach Kataoka even started to consider how to educate Chris and Zhang Han after the game.
Don't underestimate this one pitch; it often reveals a lot.
But what happened next caught even Kataoka off guard.
With his steps shortened and his entire body slightly raised, Jinguuji, facing this high pitch, actually swung his bat.
No!
As the bat swung out, Jinguuji realized he had been tricked, because his steps were too small, his line of sight was raised, and he subconsciously mistook the ball for a strike.
To avoid swinging and missing, and then striking out.
His reaction was swift.
But raising the bat in a hurry, of course, couldn't be that precise.
Plus, Zhang Han's pitch also started to drop after flying for more than ten meters.
Result!
The bat only touched the top of the baseball, and the baseball was hit directly in front of the batter, landing in front of the pitcher.
Success!
Seeing the baseball bounce back, Zhang Han's face showed a hint of a smile.
Although this was his and Chris's first time cooperating like this, from the final result, their cooperation was quite good.
"Thwack!"
Zhang Han caught the ball in his glove, then threw it to First Base.
"Thwack!"
The batter was cleanly put out.
A trace of unwillingness flashed across Jinguuji's face, followed by a hint of surprise.
"Third Base!"
Chris also noticed and quickly called for the First Baseman to throw the ball, but it was already too late.
Kominato Haruichi, who had already moved before the baseball even landed, successfully stole a base during that opening.
Before Maezono threw the ball to Third Base, Kominato Haruichi's foot was already on the Third Base bag.
"Safe!"
One out, runner on Third Base.
Neither Zhang Han nor Chris had expected such an unexpected turn of events.
They were originally celebrating successfully dealing with Jinguuji and resolving the crisis.
They didn't expect to be suddenly undermined and slapped hard.
Could this be considered joy turning into sorrow?
Fortunately, the next batter to step up was Sawamura Eijun, who had not yet achieved any notable feats at the batter's box.
Although this guy was very loud, his hitting ability was not as talented as his pitching.
It was too easy to deal with him!
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