The camera was placed three meters in front of Zhang Han, and he was really unaccustomed to it.
If he was too concerned about the camera, he definitely wouldn't be able to concentrate. His opponent was Manaka, and judging by his pitching in the second inning, his condition had completely recovered.
Against such an opponent, Zhang Han himself wasn't 100% confident of winning. If he was still distracted, it would be even more impossible to hit the ball!
Zhang Han made a decision instantly, he had to focus all his attention on dueling with Manaka and hitting the ball Manaka pitched. As long as he hit it, even if his expression was a bit fierce or his movements were a bit awkward, it didn't matter.
Who told him he was a baseball player? But if he couldn't hit it, there would definitely be a chorus of criticism.
Even if he didn't care about the online voices, he would be letting down Seido High School Baseball Team's cultivation and his teammates who fought alongside him. Especially, he would be letting himself down!
In the Seido High School Baseball Team dugout, Manager Ota nervously rubbed his hands and complained, "These reporters are too inconsiderate, the camera is so close!"
"Don't worry!" Coach Kataoka suddenly spoke. Manager Ota looked at his Director expectantly, hoping to get the comfort he wanted from his Director's mouth. "Zhang Han, he's a guy who knows what he should do at what time."
What kind of talk is that? Ota wanted to say something, but the words caught in his throat, and he swallowed them back. Originally, Coach Kataoka didn't mention it, and he really didn't think in that direction.
Now that Coach Kataoka brought it up, Ota recalled carefully. It really seemed to be the case. Although Zhang Han sometimes makes mistakes, especially when the team has secured victory and is facing some opponents who are clearly not strong.
But at every critical moment, whenever the team needed him, he seemed to never disappoint anyone! How could such a Zhang Han be stumped by a mere camera?
In fact, Zhang Han wasn't really paying attention to the camera; he put all his attention on Manaka on the pitchers mound.
He didn't have Miyuki's ability to guess in advance whether Manaka would use a Fastball or a Slider. If he could guess, he would also be confident in blasting the ball out.
So, first and foremost, he had to choose one and then use his three hitting opportunities to hit the ball out.
"Swoosh!"
"Buzz!"
"Pop!"
Zhang Han perfectly missed Manaka's first pitch, swing and a miss.
"Strike!"
In the Seido High School Baseball Team dugout, the teammates' hearts tightened. Zhang Han actually swung and missed? This was clearly not within their expectations.
This also made them deeply realize how difficult their opponent was today. Zhang Han's hitting intuition was very amazing. He seemed to know instinctively where the baseball would land.
In people's impression, Zhang Han being retired was mostly due to the ball being caught. As for him striking out! In the Seido players' impression, it seemed to have happened only once or twice.
Even swinging and missing was extremely rare. Now, Zhang Han actually swung and missed? This was clearly not a good sign, and it could even be said that this sign was quite dangerous.
"A pitcher who reached the quarterfinals in Koshien is indeed not that easy to deal with." Chris shook his head slightly.
Today's game, it's really hard to say. The score difference between Seido and Ichidai San is only two points. If Manaka continues to maintain this condition without a large score difference being opened up. Seido High School Baseball Team probably won't be able to score many runs.
It will be difficult to stop Ichidai Third High School's offense by relying solely on Tanba's pitching. It should be known that Ichidai San's offense is also very strong. In the previous two innings, their first batting order has already been completed.
The batters coming up next will be facing Tanba's pitching for the second time. Even without considering Tanba's pitching consumption, even if he can maintain his condition. Ichidai San's batters will become more and more accustomed to his pitching.
Even without stepping into the hitting box, the batters in the Seido High School Baseball Team dugout felt the pressure that Manaka brought them.
Although Zhang Han was not the Fourth batter of the team, his influence on the team, especially in hitting, was no less than that of Captain Yuuki, the Fourth batter. When he swung and missed, the players of Seido High School Baseball Team felt a chill and pressure all at once.
The chill came from their worry about the future of the game, and the pressure came from Manaka Kaname. Just thinking that when they stepped into the hitting box, they would also have to face Manaka, who had fully recovered, or even whose condition was red-hot.
The players were worried. What exactly should they do to hit that kind of pitching? Even Zhang Han swung and missed, so are they really okay?
Don't look at how Miyuki hit the ball before and even got a beautiful Homerun. However, the players of Seido High School Baseball Team were not encouraged at all. It's not that they thought their hitting ability was inferior to Miyuki's; in fact, more than half of the First-string batters at Seido believed their hitting ability was stronger than Miyuki's.
If they could also guess what kind of pitch Ichidai San's pitcher would throw? Even if they couldn't get a Homerun, they were confident they could hit the ball and get a base hit! The key is that they can't guess at all.
The pitches Manaka commands are not just Fastball and Curveball. Even if he throws low-angle pitches, there are more than those two types. In this situation, the difficulty of guessing the pitch has increased by several levels.
Why didn't Zhang Han hit the ball? It was because Zhang Han also had no way of guessing whether the pitch coming was a breaking ball or a Fastball? Even if he could wait until the baseball was close to him before swinging, when the breaking ball's speed of change was too fast, he still couldn't hit it!
Ichidai Third High School's catcher, Takami, is also under a lot of psychological pressure right now.
Although the camera was directly facing Zhang Han, it was very likely that it wouldn't capture him. But the camera was so close that it was impossible for him to be completely unaffected. He tried hard to control himself, not to think about the camera, and to concentrate on his confrontation with Zhang Han.
But in his heart, he couldn't help but think, this guy is really difficult to deal with! Facing the camera directly, he was completely unaffected. When he swung, his movements were so smooth as if he had practiced countless times, everything was so natural.
Even if he swung and missed, failing to hit the baseball. Zhang Han was not affected at all; he still stared coldly at the pitchers mound, staring at Manaka on the pitchers mound. Was the previous swing aimed at the Fastball? Is he planning to swing at all pitches like this? Or did he just misread this one pitch?
Takami was unsure, but with a one-strike lead, they still had an advantage. They could completely throw a test pitch to probe. Takami signaled to Manaka on the pitcher's mound. After Manaka nodded slightly, he stepped forward and pitched.
"Whoosh!"
He threw a Fastball with all his might. When he saw the ball flying, Zhang Han indeed moved, and he swung without hesitation, forcefully scooping the ball out.
"Ping!"
The hit ball flew for seventy to eighty meters before landing on the ground. If the baseball hadn't deviated four or five meters from the Third Base line, this would have been a solid super long hit! A wave of regret erupted in the stands.
Apparently, those fans were quite disappointed that this pitch wasn't hit out. Takami's heart was also pounding. He felt that he had already seen through Zhang Han; Zhang Han was aiming for the Fastball. Even when facing a Fastball that deviated from the strike zone, he didn't let it go, trying to blast the ball out.
But Manaka's pitch had such powerful ball speed! So much so that Zhang Han couldn't fully pull it back, and the baseball flew foul.
For Zhang Han, this was, of course, a very regrettable thing. But for Takami, this was a golden opportunity. First point! Now they were leading by two strikes, which meant they had Zhang Han cornered. Secondly, he had completely seen through Zhang Han's intention.
It was very obvious that Zhang Han was quite wary of Senior Manaka's low-angle Slider. Although he also swung actively on the first pitch! But it was obvious that he was aiming for the Fastball, not the Slider. Otherwise, the bat wouldn't have been so far from the baseball.
Having understood these two points, Takami's face showed a victorious expression. He had already foreseen Zhang Han being retired.
Under the camera, all the emotions of those baseball players who are inherently eager to perform are amplified. Without the influence of the camera, Takami might have had similar thoughts, but definitely not as confident as he is now. But now, he was extremely confident, and he had even simulated in his mind Zhang Han's dejected appearance after swinging and missing again.
The next pitch, a Slider close to the low-angle limit, it doesn't matter if it deviates slightly from the strike zone. Anyway, they are leading by two strikes now, and there are still several opportunities to attack. Seeing Takami's decisive command, Manaka nodded almost imperceptibly.
His partner's decisiveness also strengthened Manaka's confidence. Although this decisive pitch had previously been hit for a Homerun by Seido's 6th batter. However, the other batters had not shown such strength.
Even Zhang Han and Yuuki, what they had hit out before were his Fastball, not the Slider. Thinking of this, Manaka took his stance and decisively threw the ball. As he released the pitch, his two fingers hooked hard on the baseball, pulling the baseball away from its original direction.
In the dugout of Seido High School Baseball Team, most of the players were extremely nervous. After all, this confrontation between Zhang Han and Manaka was too crucial.
Zhang Han, who had been pushed to two strikes, only had one chance left. If he made a hitting error or didn't hit the ball this time, he would be out directly. Whether it was a force out or a direct strikeout, once Zhang Han was retired, all the players of Seido High School Baseball Team would inevitably be affected. And it would be a huge impact.
Only Miyuki had a smile on his face. "He fell for it! Zhang Han's trick is really deep!!"
Zhang Han resolutely swung at the Fastball, even if swinging and missing was embarrassing, he didn't care. On the surface, it looked like he was aiming for the Fastball, but in reality, he was just scaring Ichidai San's pitcher and catcher.
Zhang Han's goal was to tell them that once they threw a Fastball, Zhang Han would definitely be able to blast it out of the park. In this way, how could they dare to use a Fastball? And what Zhang Han was truly aiming for was this last pitch, which was also Manaka's best low-angle Slider.
"Buzz!"
Zhang Han, at the hitting box, looked at the flying baseball and concentrated all his strength on his two arms that were swinging. He aimed at the low-angle Slider with all his might and hit it out.
Although his grip on the bat was not long, because his swinging motion was too smooth, the power of the hit was still very great.
"Ping!"
The hit baseball flew directly into the sky, soaring over a hundred meters under the gaze of over twenty thousand eyes at the scene, and landed in the outfield stands.
"It, it flew out!!!!"
Commentator Kameshima's voice was a bit hoarse due to excessive excitement. However, this did not affect his announcement of the result.
"Zhang Han, Homerun!!!"
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