Zhang Han did not respond to Miyuki.
Knowing that Miyuki was using a provocation tactic, he should not have had much emotional fluctuation.
But Zhang Han found that he couldn't do it at all.
Hearing Miyuki's words, a fighting spirit still sprouted in his heart, a desire to compete with Yuuki.
Even if they were teammates from the same team, and the other party was the team captain, his senior, Zhang Han also didn't want to lose to the other side in hitting.
Miyuki noticed this and smiled, pursing his lips.
No matter how calm one's personality, as a qualified baseball player, how could one not compete and strive?
The game continued, no outs, a runner on First Base.
It was the turn of Seido High School Baseball Team's Fifth Batter, Isashiki Jun.
"Please guide me!"
Isashiki Jun, very politely greeted the umpire.
A player who looked fierce and menacing was actually so polite.
The umpire secretly breathed a sigh of relief, while also blaming himself in his heart for judging a book by its cover.
The other party just looked a bit mature and had a bit of a beard; how could he think of it in a bad way?
As an umpire, if he were swayed by such preconceived notions, how could he judge fairly?
Just as the umpire was deep in self-criticism, he heard a roar.
"Bring it on! I will hit all of them out!!"
Isashiki Jun actually declared war directly on the pitcher as if no one else was around.
Although he didn't say anything extreme, such an attitude undoubtedly constituted a provocation.
The umpire, who had just fallen into self-reproach, suddenly felt a basin of cold water poured over his head.
He began to reflect again, perhaps his previous view was not wrong, and he should have given a warning.
Otherwise, if this guy were allowed to provoke so recklessly, and the opponent got angry and directly threw the ball at him, whose responsibility would that be?
On the pitcher's mound, Uehara, who hadn't flinched when facing Zhang Han and Yuuki, instinctively took a small step back.
This was his first time facing an opponent like Isashiki Jun; the other party seemed to be staring at various parts of his body with ill intent.
Uehara even suspected that he might directly throw the ball at him.
Taking a deep breath, Uehara tried to calm his agitated emotions.
He knew in his heart that it was just his own illusion; the players of Seido High School Baseball Team were all very upright individuals.
They always achieved victory honorably and had never used any despicable means.
In fact, any prestigious school was like this.
Perhaps there would occasionally be some minor tactics, but these tactics were all permissible strategies.
As a prestigious high school, they had their own dignity and pride.
They would not, and disdained to, use any despicable means.
Even if they won the game that way, it would tarnish their school's reputation.
He didn't need to be so flustered; he just needed to calm down and perform his pitching well.
Uehara, having calmed down, began to prepare to pitch.
But just as he started his wind-up, he saw a very strange expression on his catcher's face.
And his movements were also strange.
What's going on?
Uehara, completely captivated by Isashiki Jun, didn't think of anything else.
It wasn't until the baseball was about to be released that he finally figured out what he had overlooked.
During the previous confrontation, he had actually forgotten about the runner on base.
This was truly too much!
But at this point, even if he wanted to regret it, it was too late.
He could only pray that his teammate could react flexibly and stop the opponent.
"Pop!"
After the catcher caught the ball, he immediately threw it to Second Base.
His reaction and movement were definitely not slow.
But because the pitcher didn't cooperate with a pickoff throw, by the time he threw the ball, Yuuki Tetsuya had already stepped on the Second Base bag a step ahead.
"Safe!"
In the dugout of Seido High School Baseball Team, the teammates' faces were as bright as blooming flowers.
"So cool…"
"As expected of the captain, the timing was perfect."
"With Jun-san's expression and demeanor, anyone facing him would probably find it hard to think of anything else. That's also a way..."
Some also noticed Isashiki Jun's performance, although he only served as a diversion just now.
But a diversion is also very important in a stolen base attempt.
"I wish I had batted before Jun-san."
Kuramochi said with a wide smile.
As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them bitterly.
Kuramochi unnaturally turned his head and looked at the smiling Kominato Ryosuke, explaining futilely.
"I didn't mean that!"
"Then what do you mean? Do you feel I'm not qualified to bat behind you? Or is it because I'm too short to put enough psychological pressure on the opponent?"
Just as Kuramochi was breaking out in a cold sweat, not knowing how to explain, Miyuki also said something chilling.
"You should first figure out how to improve your hitting average."
"What do you mean?"
"It means, if you can't get on base, it doesn't matter who stands behind you."
Zhang Han twisted the knife.
"Damn it!"
Kuramochi used to think he was quite quick-witted, but having just offended Kominato Ryosuke, his mind wasn't working well, and he didn't even understand the sarcasm in Miyuki's words.
Just as he was getting ready to teach Miyuki a lesson, Coach Kataoka's cold gaze suddenly fell upon him.
Seeing that look, Kuramochi instantly cowered.
He obediently stopped his movements, revealing an innocent smile.
Kataoka gave him a cold look, then turned his head back.
Kuramochi felt his heart pound several times, and he even felt a little relieved that the Coach didn't say anything.
But before his relief could fully surface, he heard Coach Kataoka's words.
"Zhang Han is right!"
Coach, you…
Kuramochi looked at his Coach with an expression of utter despair.
The game continued.
Yuuki went from First Base to Second Base, which was certainly not good news for Yokohama's players.
Especially considering that they hadn't gotten an out yet in this inning.
In this situation, the next batter for Seido High School Baseball Team only needed to get a single hit, and they could potentially give up a run.
"Whew ~"
Uehara took a deep breath, then exhaled heavily.
He didn't want the two-run lead his teammates had worked so hard to get to be lost in his hands like this.
He fixed his gaze on Isashiki Jun, and thinking about how he had been completely led by the nose by the opponent just now, he felt incredibly annoyed.
At this moment, re-examining Isashiki Jun, he found that the other party didn't seem as terrifying as he had previously thought.
Actually, he had just been overthinking it; once he thought it through, the opponent couldn't possibly be as reckless as his appearance suggested.
He then returned to his normal state of mind, considering how to deal with this opponent.
Yuuki Tetsuya's hitting made Uehara very helpless.
If Seido High School Baseball Team were all batters like that, or even just three or four of them, he would have no choice but to surrender.
He simply wouldn't be able to pitch in such a game.
But obviously, Seido High School Baseball Team didn't have three or four Yuukis.
So even if Yuuki got on base, as long as he could successfully get out the remaining batters, Seido High School Baseball Team's players wouldn't be able to score.
Having realized this, Uehara began to regroup and prepare to pitch.
He possessed several breaking balls, and his pitching was almost identical.
Even if his ball speed wasn't sharp, and the power of individual breaking balls hadn't reached its peak, the batters of Seido High School Baseball Team wouldn't be able to easily hit his ball.
"Whoosh!"
The baseball was thrown from Uehara's hand and quickly came before the batter.
"Go to hell!"
Looking at the rapidly approaching baseball, Isashiki Jun fiercely swung the bat in his hand.
Just as his bat was about to hit the small white ball, the baseball suddenly dropped.
As a result, the bat and the baseball crossed paths, and neither managed to touch the other.
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
Including the pitch during Yuuki's stolen base, Uehara had already gotten two strikes, successfully putting the batter in a bind.
In the dugout of Seido High School Baseball Team, the teammates' hearts clenched tightly.
Even though Yuuki had already reached Second Base, the situation they faced was still not optimistic.
Looking at the current situation, it wasn't that easy for the Seido High School Baseball Team teammates to score runs.
Miyuki, who had changed into his gear and was about to bat, hadn't left yet, preparing to go to the on-deck circle.
Zhang Han suddenly patted his shoulder.
"It's up to you!"
The possibility of Isashiki Jun getting a hit and scoring a run was probably not high.
At this point, they could only place their hopes on Miyuki, who, when there were runners on base, performed no worse than Zhang Han and Yuuki.
"Are you pleading with me?"
Miyuki asked with a smile.
"This is an encouragement!"
Zhang Han corrected.
While they were bickering, they didn't forget to keep an eye on the changes on the field.
Next, it was the last pitch.
Perhaps he was angered by Isashiki Jun earlier, or for some other reason.
In short, for the last pitch, Uehara did not follow the usual pitcher's routine of throwing a ball to entice the opponent to swing.
He threw a low-angle pitch, combined with his previous forkball.
Three consecutive low balls could basically be considered Uehara's trump card.
Originally, everyone thought he would only use it when facing Zhang Han.
Against others, especially in the early stages of the game, he shouldn't easily bring it out.
But clearly, everyone guessed wrong.
Uehara not only brought it out but did so without hesitation.
He wanted to get Isashiki Jun out, even if it meant revealing all his techniques.
When Zhang Han saw this, his heart trembled.
Although Uehara's attitude was resolute, Zhang Han, also a pitcher, had a different thought.
Would a pitcher who could conserve his strength even against Ichidaisan Third High School really bring out all his hidden techniques so quickly?
Whether others believed it or not, Zhang Han didn't.
The other party must have another motive.
Or rather, he must still have techniques he had never used before.
For the first time, Zhang Han found Uehara, standing on the pitcher's mound, to be unfathomable.
Previously, players of the same age who could make Zhang Han feel tricky were basically from prestigious schools and had already achieved results in middle school.
Many were even members of the National Team, or at the very least, like Zhang Han, players who had shown promise and gained some fame in middle school.
This was the first time he had seen a wild player like Uehara, who had little prior recognition.
Perhaps there will be more and more such players in the future...
Just as Zhang Han was deep in thought, Isashiki Jun, who he thought was about to be retired, suddenly made a move.
Facing the low-angle pitch, Isashiki Jun decisively swung the bat in his hand.
The previous missed swing seemed to have left not even the slightest shadow in the senior's heart.
At this moment, he was still able to swing his bat with full force, without any hesitation.
"Ping!"
Seeing the bat connect with the baseball, the catcher of Yokohama High School Baseball Team's eyes widened.
Although the drop was not significant, how could such a suddenly dropping fast forkball be hit so easily?
Not only him, but even his teammates in the Seido High School Baseball Team dugout widened their eyes in surprise.
Some even stood up directly.
They watched with wide eyes as the baseball was hit out and landed in a gap in the defense.
"Wow!"
"It went through!!!"
"Awesome, Jun-san!!!!"
The surprised cheers of the teammates burst out in unison.
They were surprised, and even more so, pleasantly surprised.
The reason they were surprised was that they truly hadn't expected Isashiki Jun to hit the ball so beautifully and get a hit.
One should know that even Zhang Han had been tricked by such a pitch before.
Unlike the players in the dugout, most of them didn't believe Isashiki Jun could hit the ball out.
But Yuuki, on Second Base, seemed to have already known this outcome, as he had already started running before the baseball, hit out, had even landed.
He had already calculated that the baseball would land.
Yuuki successfully ran to Third Base, and without even the guidance of the base coach, he immediately rushed towards home plate.
Yokohama Kohoku, as expected of a top prestigious school in Kanagawa, reacted very quickly in defense, and the baseball was quickly thrown back.
But facing Yuuki, who had started running early, their throw was still a step late; just as the catcher caught the ball in his glove, Yuuki had already slid in, successfully reaching home plate.
"Safe!"
Seido High School Baseball Team, after trailing by two runs in the previous inning, in the second inning, with no outs, relying on the perfect cooperation of the Fourth Batter and the Fifth Batter, they successfully pulled one back.
2:1
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