The cheerleaders for the Seido High School Baseball Team, their staunch supporters, and even some curious onlookers who specifically came to watch the game, were all incredibly excited in the stands.
Even neutral fans, after witnessing the unexpected performance of the Seido High School Baseball Team players, offered their most sincere applause.
"As expected of the Batting Line, this hitting power is truly explosive."
"I just wonder what the Seido High School Baseball Team will choose to do next? If they play it safe, they might even be able to score another run."
After Zhang Han was retired, Yuuki managed to get a hit with his powerful swing.
From the audience's perspective, the Seido High School Baseball Team's chances of scoring at that time were not very high.
If it weren't for the incredible speed of the ball Yuuki hit, which caught Yokohama's fielders off guard, they would have stopped it.
Given the angle at which Yuuki hit the ball just now, it would have been no surprise if Yokohama had stopped it.
So even though Yuuki was already on First Base, not many people in the stands were optimistic about the Seido High School Baseball Team's ability to catch up.
No one expected that at this critical moment, Isashiki Jun, who usually seemed a bit unstable, would hit the ball cleanly.
With Yuuki's stolen base, they surprisingly scored a run with no outs.
This feeling was simply amazing!
Yokohama's Ace, Uehara, showcased seven or eight breaking balls.
Even those in the stands who didn't understand baseball felt a headache watching the baseball fly up, down, left, and right.
People were already surprised that Uehara, a second-year player, could become the Ace of the powerhouse Yokohama.
After Yokohama's game against Ichidaisan Third High School, although people were still a bit surprised, they gradually began to accept this reality.
Uehara, perhaps, had that kind of talent and potential.
Now, when he brought out seven or eight breaking balls, no one questioned Yokohama's choice anymore.
If such a player wasn't the Ace, they couldn't even imagine what kind of person would be qualified to be Yokohama's Ace.
Yet, such a pitcher was scored against early in the game against the Seido High School Baseball Team.
And looking at the current situation, the Seido High School Baseball Team's offense likely wouldn't give up easily.
After all, the next to step into the batter's box was their catcher, Miyuki Kazuya.
With runners on base, his probability of scoring was astonishingly high.
It even rivaled Yuuki and Zhang Han.
Such a hitter, with no outs and a runner on Second Base, stepping into the batter's box, was a very nerve-wracking situation for both sides of the game.
In the Seido High School Baseball Team's dugout, the players enthusiastically cheered for Miyuki.
In the Yokohama Kohoku dugout, the players' expressions were solemn, almost identical to their players on the field.
They all knew in their hearts how big this challenge was.
And now, they had no retreat, they could only push through.
The Seido High School Baseball Team's style is very aggressive on offense.
Their players seem to actively steal bases.
Not to mention others, but Zhang Han and Yuuki are definitely pillars of the Seido High School Baseball Team.
Yet, even those two, after getting on base, showed great restlessness.
It seemed that as long as they were given a chance, even a very slim one, they would actively aim for the next base.
This was the impression the Seido High School Baseball Team gave people; they seemed like a bunch of lunatics, as if they had no qualms whatsoever.
If it were an underdog baseball team with such a style, people would be surprised but not find it strange.
After all, underdog baseball teams originally had nothing to lose, so it was understandable for them to dare to risk everything.
Even if they lost the game, they wouldn't lose anything significant relative to themselves.
But it's different for powerhouse high schools.
Powerhouse high schools already have a certain reputation.
If they lose a game, they can barely accept it.
But if they lose a game too badly, it will definitely be widely publicized by the outside world, whether it's their subjective consciousness or objective thoughts…
All powerhouses, whether their Coach or their players, subconsciously try to avoid this.
Therefore, their offense is often based on stability.
Only when they are unable to break the deadlock, when the game is stalled, or when they are far behind and want to make a change, do they consider taking risks by stealing bases or using similar tactics.
With no outs and a runner on Second Base, if the Seido High School Baseball Team were to implement an aggressive offense, using speed to break through the defense, the probability of scoring would undoubtedly be higher.
The Coach of Yokohama Kohoku shook his head decisively.
"They won't do that."
"Why?" the Assistant Coach asked, puzzled.
At this stage, shouldn't the Seido High School Baseball Team actively try to score and tie the game?
If it were other powerhouses, Yokohama's Assistant Coach wouldn't find it strange.
After all, other powerhouses are similar to their Yokohama Kohoku, focusing on stability.
But the Seido baseball team's style is different from theirs, isn't it?
So he believed that the Seido High School Baseball Team was entirely capable of doing that.
"The next person to bat is Miyuki, who is very likely to get a hit, and behind him is Masuko Toru, who has extraordinary hitting power. Wouldn't it be too wasteful to have such hitters bunt? Moreover, their chances of scoring with a bunt are not necessarily higher than with normal hitting. Coach Kataoka of the Seido High School Baseball Team would not make such a losing deal."
Although he had a rugged appearance and didn't look like a good person, his insight was actually very keen, and he was also very meticulous.
If not for this, it would have been very difficult for him to become the Coach of Yokohama Kohoku, a top powerhouse in Kanagawa.
His judgment was not wrong.
Coach Kataoka had considered relying on continuous bunts and hit-and-runs to score a run first.
But he ultimately did not do so.
On the one hand, while such a tactic had a relatively higher probability of scoring, it was not one hundred percent guaranteed to score.
On the other hand, it was because of the players on the field.
If Coach Kataoka had given such an order to the players on the field, it would have been tantamount to him publicly admitting that the Seido High School Baseball Team had no other way to deal with Yokohama's Ace Pitcher Uehara, and could only resort to a positional battle to score.
Once such a psychological suggestion was given to the players on the field, they would definitely be at a great disadvantage in their subsequent confrontation with Uehara.
If you already believe in your heart that you are inferior to your opponent, how can you compete?
It was precisely because of these two considerations that Coach Kataoka temporarily abandoned the plan of using a positional battle to score a run first.
He placed his hope on the hitter on the field.
In the stands, to the background music of the orchestra playing the cheering song, Miyuki almost hummed a tune as he stepped into the batter's box.
He loved this situation too much; with a runner on Second Base, the opponent's pitching range was greatly restricted, allowing him to more accurately judge what kind of pitch the opponent would throw.
Miyuki was confident that as long as the opponent dared to throw the pitch he expected, he would be able to hit the ball.
First pitch!
The white ball suddenly dropped as it approached the strike zone.
Facing this pitch, Miyuki did not swing.
Second pitch, the baseball dropped again, but the drop increased slightly.
Miyuki didn't miss it and decisively swung.
The baseball was hit into the infield and bounced foul.
Forkball, curveball!
Miyuki Kazuya was cornered.
With two consecutive breaking balls, Uehara seemed to have a premonition when facing Miyuki that his current opponent was extraordinary.
So he directly used his trump card, a three-pitch sequence of low breaking balls.
Zhang Han had discussed this issue with Miyuki before.
Zhang Han believed that since the opponent had a habit of conserving strength, he probably wouldn't reveal all his hidden abilities at the beginning.
Now, whether facing Zhang Han, Yuuki, or him…
Uehara was using this three-pitch sequence!
What does this indicate?
This indicates that Zhang Han's guess might not be wrong; the opponent still had hidden cards they didn't know about.
As for what that trump card was, Miyuki was not without curiosity, but he forcefully suppressed his curiosity.
Now was not the time for him to be curious; instead, he needed to hit the baseball thrown by the opponent solidly.
Taking a deep breath, Miyuki focused all his attention on the opponent, waiting for him to throw the last pitch.
Based on the previous pattern, his last pitch could almost certainly be one of a curveball, a forkball, or a fast forkball.
Other pitch types weren't entirely impossible, but the probability wouldn't exceed ten percent.
In this situation, Miyuki could only aim to hit low-angle pitches.
He couldn't even be sure which of the three pitches the last one would be.
The game had just begun, and although he had gathered a lot of information, Uehara knew too many pitching types.
As a result, his intelligence was not fully collected.
And so, he couldn't determine what the last pitch would be.
"Swish!"
The white ball whistled in, and Miyuki swung decisively.
The baseball showed little drop.
Fast forkball!
Miyuki Kazuya instantly made a judgment in his mind.
Before this thought could even reach his body, his body had already reacted naturally.
The bat moved down by one or two ball lengths, and he swung hard at the incoming baseball.
"Ping!"
When the bat made contact with the baseball, there was no joy on Miyuki Kazuya's face.
The hit baseball flew high, but not far.
It flew less than twenty meters forward, landing above the pitcher's head.
Uehara raised his glove and caught the ball.
"Pop!"
"Out!"
With Miyuki out, the situation for the Seido High School Baseball Team was basically determined.
After he was out, Masuko and Sakai were successively retired.
The Seido High School Baseball Team's offense stopped at the Ninth Batter.
Top of the third inning, Yokohama's offense.
Although it was their upper-order hitters' turn to bat in this inning, facing a fully unleashed Tanba, their upper-order hitters were successively retired without being able to show much.
Bottom of the third inning, Seido High School Baseball Team's offense.
Tanba, who was the first to step into the batter's box, was struck out.
One out, no runners on base.
Kuramochi, who came up next, calmed himself down this time, intending to get on base with a bunt.
Although Coach Kataoka had previously told the players to confront the opponent head-on, he didn't want the players to be affected by negative emotions.
But how could the young players not be affected?
They watched helplessly as powerful teammates were retired one after another, and unconsciously, they elevated Uehara's position in their minds.
Although Captain Yuuki and Isashiki Jun cooperated to score a run, from the perspective of other Seido High School Baseball Team players, there were quite a few elements of luck involved.
Not to mention that Miyuki, Masuko, and even Zhang Han were all retired.
Even if they didn't want to think highly of the opponent, they simply couldn't help it!
Kuramochi hit well and ran very fast.
It was just a pity that his plan seemed to have been seen through by Yokohama's players long ago.
They started running forward the moment the pitcher threw the pitch.
After the baseball bounced, they picked up the ball immediately and threw it to First Base.
"Pop!"
Despite Kuramochi's incredible speed, he was still a step too slow and was tagged out.
"Out!"
Two outs, no runners on base.
In the second round against the Seido High School Baseball Team's hitters, Uehara still appeared so at ease.
This had too great an impact on the Seido High School Baseball Team!
If this continued, the Seido High School Baseball Team's hitting in the second round would likely also be wasted.
Fortunately, Kominato Ryosuke, with two outs, kept battling and found an opportunity to get a hit.
He extended the hope of hitting to Zhang Han.
Two outs, runner on First Base.
"Third Batter, Outfielder, Zhang Han."
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