Thanks For pointing out yesterday's mishap guys, changed it back to the correct one.
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Just like Ichidai Third High School, Seido High School Baseball Team was also actively preparing for tomorrow's final.
If there was any difference, it was probably their obsession with victory.
Inashiro, having won the Spring Koshien, and Ichidai Third High School, which reached the final eight of the Spring Koshien, didn't actually have such a strong craving for honor and fame.
Even with the live broadcast by Tokyo Television, the Spring Tournament championship was still like a trivial achievement. Having just fought hard at Koshien, they cared even less for such a small honor compared to Seido High School Baseball Team.
The situation for Seido was the exact opposite.
Both of their arch-rivals in the same district had shown off their prowess at the latest Spring Koshien. With only them left behind, lonely in Tokyo, how could they possibly feel good?
If the team playing against Seido in the final were any other team, Coach Kataoka might have let the substitutes play. However, the team they were playing against was Ichidai Third High School, fresh back from reaching the final eight at Koshien. How could Coach Kataoka be indifferent?
They had to win it.
If Ichidai Third High School brought out three points of their strength, they would bring out five. If Ichidai Third High School brought out five, they would bring out seven.
If Coach Tahara of Ichidai Third High School was stubborn and decided to face them with full force, Seido High School Baseball Team would accompany them to the end.
Regarding this, Manager Ota and Coach Ochiai had both expressed concerns.
"Considering the upcoming Kanto Tournament and the Summer Tournament in over two months, we might run into Ichidai Third High School. Wouldn't it be bad to show all our strength and trump cards right now? Besides, there should be many people coming to watch this final..."
The strong schools of Kanto, and their district rivals, Inashiro and Yakushi. The targets of their leaked information would likely not just be their opponents. In modern baseball, even high school baseball, the reliance on information had become increasingly severe.
If Seido High School Baseball Team leaked all their trump cards in advance, then regardless of the upcoming Kanto Tournament or the Summer Tournament in two months, they would be in a very passive position.
"I believe in our players! The Kanto Tournament doesn't matter; I plan to select additional forces from the second team to use the Kanto Tournament to hone the team. As for the Summer Tournament in over two months, I believe that by then, our players will have advanced even further. If they use current information as a reference for the Summer Tournament, they will be the ones at a disadvantage!"
The reason Coach Kataoka was so bold was that he believed his players, after going through integration and growth, could reach a new height.
To be honest, although Zhang Han's inability to pitch for a long time made Coach Kataoka somewhat disappointed, deep down he was very satisfied with this team. The level of satisfaction even exceeded that of the previous generation.
Although the previous generation had the powerful batter Azuma Kiyokuni, the Ace Hidezawa, and a group of talented players, those players, to Coach Kataoka, felt like they were missing something.
If he were really asked to say what, he couldn't even explain it. But he always felt that the team wasn't strong enough and would find it hard to last until the end.
In fact, although Seido had reached Koshien last summer and had good results, they had indeed not made it to the very end. Compared to Osaka Kiryu at that time, the gap between the previous Seido High School Baseball Team and them was still quite obvious.
But this team was different.
Although the outside world mocked Yuuki and the others as the product of a poor harvest year, Coach Kataoka had watched them grow up with his own eyes.
With Yuuki as the core, plus the backbone players of the third year, and the second-year players Zhang Han and Miyuki, this was the first time Coach Kataoka had managed such a luxurious team.
He sincerely hoped to take these players further. And he also felt that these players would not let down his expectations; they would definitely be able to fly higher.
Now, whenever Coach Kataoka spoke of his players, his eyes were bright with pride. If there was any exception, it was probably when talking about the pitching staff.
A small flaw in a piece of jade, a slight imperfection.
If Zhang Han's pitching were not restricted, the current Seido lineup could simply be called perfect.
Just as they were discussing, a player came in from outside to report that the people from the television station had arrived and wanted to interview the players.
Having reached this point, Coach Kataoka certainly wouldn't stop the players from accepting the interview. The players they wanted to interview were Zhang Han and Yuuki.
When Nitta saw Zhang Han, a trace of guilt flashed in his eyes. Deceiving his own idol still made him uneasy in his conscience. However, this trace of guilt was quickly hidden deep in his eyes.
"You said Hoshida and Miyakawa are looking forward to facing me?"
Zhang Han was grateful for the information Nitta gave him.
"Speaking of which, I haven't seen them since the last time we faced each other. How are they doing now?"
Hearing that Hoshida and Miyakawa had become the core batters for Ichidai Third High School, an unsurprised expression appeared on Zhang Han's face. Those two players' swings and vision were monster-level. Back at Matsukata, they had also entered the First string very early to help the team fight.
"I am also very much looking forward to the match against them..."
Nitta heard the answer he wanted from Zhang Han's mouth. Then he turned the topic to Yuuki. He compared Yuuki with Omae, and mentioned in passing that the number of Homeruns Yuuki had hit was four fewer than Omae's.
Although he didn't spell it out, the meaning behind his words seemed to be that Omae claimed he should be the first among the three great mountains of West Tokyo. Yuuki could only compete for second place with Harada of Inashiro.
Nitta's tactics of sowing discord were really not very clever. It sounded harsh to Zhang Han's ears. He had originally thought that with his captain's composure and experience, it would be easy to see through Nitta's trick.
To his surprise, after hearing it, Yuuki seemed to be burning with rage.
"See you on the field!"
He had accepted the challenge without hesitation.
After Nitta left, Zhang Han asked his captain in confusion.
"Didn't you see that the reporter just now was deliberately trying to stir up trouble? That method probably isn't much smarter than an elementary school student's?"
"I know!"
"You knew, yet you still said that?"
"I have also long wanted to have a good match against Omae."
Captain Yuuki's words caught Zhang Han completely by surprise. It turned out that this matter was also a knot in Captain Yuuki's heart. After all, when the three great mountains were first ranked, Yuuki was ranked third, and Omae was first. Tomorrow's final would very likely be a battle for the strongest among the three great mountains of West Tokyo.
Through this incident, Zhang Han also understood a principle. The technique of speaking was actually not that important; the key was whether you could speak to the heart of the other person.
That evening, two posts were pinned to the official website of Tokyo Television.
"Matsukata Little League, two teams, the stories that must be told about three players."
"Who is the strongest fourth batter in West Tokyo?"
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