"Zhang Han! Zhang Han!"
On the Seido High School Baseball Team's field, enthusiastic cheers erupted.
Raichi Todoroki, who had seemed almost invincible on the field earlier, had put immense psychological pressure on the Seido players.
Even though the two first-year juniors who had faced Raichi Todoroki earlier didn't seem to have a strong presence within the Seido High School Baseball Team, the second and third-year players, especially those on the second team, highly acknowledged their strength.
This was also why no one had ever complained after Coach Kataoka promoted them.
However, Raichi Todoroki was facing them for the first time, yet he cleanly hit a Homerun, directly driving them off the field...
This man's strength was immense, stronger than they could have imagined.
The Seido High School Baseball Team players had a certain understanding of Raichi Todoroki's strength, and they had taken sufficient precautions before the confrontation.
However, the final result was still a significant loss for their side.
This left a very bad impression on the Seido High School Baseball Team's teammates.
But all that washed away as they watched with their own eyes as Zhang Han cleanly struck out Raichi Todoroki.
Their original worries were completely shattered.
As their seniors, the Seido High School Baseball Team players felt it was necessary to make the opponent recognize their true standing.
They were still far from it.
"The game has just begun, let's get the score back."
In Seido High School, some teammates were already impatiently shouting slogans.
"We've only gotten one out so far, don't get too excited!"
There were also teammates who appropriately poured cold water on everyone, urging them to calm down and seriously face the upcoming game.
As things stood, the situation was not at all favorable for the Seido High School Baseball Team.
Although their runs allowed could basically be controlled after Zhang Han came in, to turn the tide and win, just controlling runs allowed was far from enough.
They were still three runs behind their opponent, and the Seido High School Baseball Team only had four innings left to attack.
On the other side, in the Yakushi High School Baseball Team's dugout.
Raichi Todoroki walked off the field, looking dejected.
The players gathered around him anxiously, wanting to comfort him. But as soon as they opened their mouths, they felt like they couldn't say anything.
Any words seemed pale at this moment.
"I knew this day would come. At critical moments, it really does require a genius like me to step up."
Mishima shook his head, erasing the scene of Raichi Todoroki being struck out from his mind.
This way, he could wholeheartedly consider how to compete against the pitcher the Seido High School Baseball Team had just brought in.
He and Zhang Han were also acquaintances.
As early as middle school, the two had faced each other more than once.
However, at that time, Zhang Han was only a Matsukata Little League substitute pitcher, and his strength was not outstanding.
Mishima only felt that Zhang Han's pitching was difficult to deal with at the time, but it was certainly not to the point of being unmanageable like it was now.
But just now, during Zhang Han's confrontation with Raichi Todoroki, Mishima put himself in Raichi Todoroki's shoes, imagining what the outcome would have been if he had been hitting.
At the last moment, Raichi Todoroki had already caught the timing to swing. But just as he was about to make contact, he simply missed the ball.
If it were him, it would probably be difficult to even grasp the rhythm...
Mishima clenched his fists unwillingly.
Although he said that, he was only trying to help his teammates relieve pressure.
Everyone's expressions were too stiff; like that, let alone hitting the ball out, it would be difficult to even make contact.
As for whether the boast he made could be realized?
Mishima had no time to worry about that at all.
Todoroki Raizo's expression was very intriguing. He didn't seem particularly surprised by Zhang Han's excellent performance.
Only after his precious son had calmed down did he smile and proactively lean towards him, asking, "Did that last pitch rise?"
Raichi Todoroki shook his head.
"No, it didn't! It just suddenly, instantly, disappeared..."
The baseball had indeed disappeared from his sight at that moment.
Even many of the players observing the confrontation witnessed this scene firsthand.
As a result, the Yakushi High School Baseball Team players all fell silent after hearing Raichi Todoroki's answer.
A ball that suddenly disappeared. How were they supposed to hit that?
Zhang Han's pitch speed was already so fast. Even though they had specifically practiced against it and were familiar with a 155 km/h Fastball, to be honest, even when facing a 155 km/h Fastball from a pitching machine, only 3 people could actually hit it.
The others simply couldn't react in time.
Whether they could even make contact depended on luck.
And now, a ball that fast could also disappear?
In the Yakushi High School Baseball Team's dugout, the players' morale plummeted to rock bottom.
Todoroki Raizo scanned his surroundings out of the corner of his eye.
Under his leadership over the past few months, the Yakushi High School Baseball Team had gradually developed its own style. They were usually very proactive in dealing with difficulties during games.
But now, every single one of them had fallen silent. Clearly, they had no confidence at all in facing Zhang Han.
And they couldn't be blamed; who would have thought that Zhang Han would make such tremendous progress in just two months?
"If it didn't rise, and it's not a Changeup, then it must have dropped."
Although Todoroki Raizo spoke lightly on the surface, he wasn't as relaxed as he appeared.
With such a fast pitch, making it rise wasn't actually difficult. As long as the speed was fast enough and the ball rotated enough, rising was natural.
Zhang Han couldn't do it before simply because his pitch speed wasn't fast enough. With his current pitch speed, achieving this was easy.
However, making the ball sink was not so simple.
It was the same principle as making the baseball rise: by reducing the baseball's spin rate, the baseball could sink to a certain extent.
But while this sounded simple, actually achieving it was almost impossible.
This required two prerequisites.
On one hand, it was maintaining such a fast ball speed, and on the other, it was reducing the ball's rotation.
Doing just one of those things wasn't difficult, but to do both simultaneously...
Among the people Todoroki Raizo knew, no one had ever been able to achieve it.
This required extremely precise control.
But clearly, Zhang Han had done it.
This pitcher, who originally didn't have a distinct characteristic, had gradually found his own path.
Rising, straight, falling...
After catching up to his ball speed, one still had to pick one of these three possible ball paths to gamble on.
In the professional baseball world, because every hitter on every team was outstanding, Zhang Han might still be suppressed.
In high school, if he could keep pitching without restraint, it would be very difficult for anyone to stop Seido High School Baseball Team's advance.
Their Yakushi couldn't.
The other two teams, Inashiro Industrial and Ichidaisan Third High School, couldn't either.
In a way, if Zhang Han could maintain this pitching state, he would be the undisputed number one pitcher in the country.
At least at the high school level, it would be difficult to find a team that could simultaneously have Raichi Todoroki, Yuuki, Harada, Omae...
So many powerful hitters.
And as long as there wasn't such a strong batting lineup, it was impossible to get consecutive hits from Zhang Han and then score runs.
"We can only win this game first. If Seido High School Baseball Team doesn't care about this guy's future and lets him pitch so unrestrainedly, then Yakushi probably won't have a chance in the next two years..."
Todoroki Raizo was very unwilling.
But no matter how unwilling he was, it was useless. Even if his beloved son made rapid progress and could hit a Homerun off Zhang Han, given the huge strength difference between the two teams, Yakushi High School Baseball Team couldn't possibly beat Seido.
On the other side, in the dugout of Seido High School Baseball Team.
The players were already going crazy.
What does it mean to feel proud and elated? There was no better interpretation than this moment.
They kept shouting Zhang Han's name, expecting him to resolve the remaining two hitters in one go.
Of course, neither the players in the dugout nor those on the field thought there would be any problem.
A few freshmen looked at Zhang Han, who was almost omnipotent on the pitcher's mound, with a strange look in their eyes.
When could they be as cool as their senior? On the field, doing whatever they wanted...
"Both of you are on the verge of physical collapse. Do you know why Zhang Han's ball speed hasn't been affected?"
Chris walked over to Furuya Satoru and asked.
Furuya Satoru, who was already very shocked, raised his eyes in surprise.
It had to be said, his pitching style and his senior's were indeed somewhat similar.
Why couldn't his pitch fully unleash all his power?
And Zhang Han, who had also undergone rigorous training, even more arduous than theirs, seemed to be completely unaffected.
In the Kanto Tournament that had just ended, Senior Zhang Han's ball speed was pretty much the same.
Why could he, having just finished the training camp, exhibit his peak ball speed?
"It's not that the more power you use, the faster the ball. The key is fluidity, naturally concentrating all your body's power into the pitch. When you learn this, you should also be able to have a similar pitch."
Chris's advice not only made Furuya Satoru fall into deep thought.
It also made Sawamura, who overheard the conversation, ponder.
As for which of the two would first grasp the true meaning of Chris's words, that depended on their individual comprehension and circumstances.
Zhang Han was very good.
Coach Kataoka letting him pitch now also showed his high expectations.
In the upcoming Summer Tournament and Koshien, they would certainly need the power of Zhang Han's pitch.
But it was only to borrow it; the main pitchers would still be others.
Chris understood this point, which was why he hoped the two first-year newcomers could grow quickly.
Tanba and Kawakami weren't bad either.
It was just that one couldn't be relied on, and the other wasn't strong enough.
In truly critical situations, Seido High School Baseball Team would probably find it difficult to rely on them.
As they were talking, the confrontation on the field took a new turn.
Facing Akiba, Zhang Han, who had just been at full throttle, seemed to suddenly run out of steam.
His ball speed had dropped by at least two levels.
The white baseball flew over, wobbling.
The second team player who had just brought the speed gun saw Zhang Han pitch as soon as he returned and subconsciously flipped the switch.
147 kilometers.
Facing what might have been a wild pitch, Akiba bit his lip tightly, torn.
This kind of suddenly appearing ball was actually not easy to hit.
If possible, a skilled hitter would not swing at such a ball.
But considering Zhang Han's pitch that had just struck out Raichi, if he went all out, who could stop him?
Akiba asked himself; he probably didn't have that ability.
Thinking this, the ball that appeared before him was simply a godsend.
He couldn't let it go.
Spotting the incoming baseball, Akiba swung decisively.
Although the baseball came irregularly and its angle was difficult to gauge, he still made contact with the ball and hit it out.
Zhang Han was not surprised by the hit ball, but instead waved and shouted.
"Second Baseman!"
Kominato Ryosuke had already run ahead to the ball's landing spot before Zhang Han called out, making an emergency stop and remaining in place, waiting for the baseball to fly into his glove.
"Thwack!"
"Out!"
"Hehe, senior, you ran too fast, be careful not to overshoot..."
Kuramochi joked with a smile.
"Do you think I'm you?"
Kominato Ryosuke retorted with a smile.
Looking at his senior's smiling expression, Kuramochi suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
Why didn't he learn his lesson? Why pick on Kominato Ryosuke of all people?
Isn't this just asking for trouble?
Two outs.
Next to step into the batter's box was Yakushi High School Baseball Team's Third Batter, who was also their pitcher, Sanada.
This guy was especially good at hitting Fastballs.
Zhang Han also greeted him with a Fastball without hesitation.
It wasn't that Zhang Han didn't want to use other pitches; it was mainly because he had been studying various Fastballs recently and hadn't learned any new breaking balls.
Sanada tried very hard, swinging 3 times in a row.
But unfortunately, he never touched the ball.
"Strike!"
"Strike!"
"Strike!"
"Strikeout!"
Two strikeouts, one caught fly ball.
After Zhang Han took the mound, his performance was overwhelmingly dominant.
Todoroki Raizo's face was grim as he scrutinized Zhang Han.
This kid was tougher to deal with than he had imagined. He actually adapted to the situation, using a 'fishing' pitch to entice Akiba to swing?
Such a smart pitching strategy would greatly conserve his stamina.
With this, Zhang Han might actually be able to pitch until the end of the game.
If that were the case, Yakushi High School Baseball Team would only be able to pin their hopes on their pitcher and defense to win today's practice game.
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