First batter, Kuramochi.
Kuramochi, who was the first to step into the batter's box, felt an immense amount of pressure.
Prestigious schools never lacked excellent players. Although his defense was very good, and his speed was unrivaled within the entire Seido High School Baseball Team, this did not mean that Kuramochi was irreplaceable. In the Seido High School Baseball Team's dugout, there were at least two third-year seniors who would not perform much worse than him if they played.
Additionally, Zhang Han was also eyeing his position like a tiger.
In recent practices, because Zhang Han's finger was injured, he was no longer in the pitcher's lineup. With Zhang Han's skill, having him permanently as an outfielder was simply a waste of talent. If there were no surprises, Zhang Han would definitely return to the infield.
First baseman Yuuki Tetsuya would certainly not be replaced. Second baseman Kominato Ryosuke's presence was also growing stronger, and he had already become a signature player for Seido High School Baseball Team. Speaking of defense, Kominato Ryosuke was second to none in the entire baseball team. The possibility of him being replaced was also very slim.
The remaining positions were third baseman Masuko and shortstop Kuramochi.
Kuramochi sadly realized that he was very likely to be replaced. His advantages were not obvious. His defense was strong, but Zhang Han's defense was not bad either, and even the other two third-year seniors' defense wasn't far behind.
As First string players from a prestigious school, they had long since perfected these skills to an art form, able to act with their bodies before their minds. Even with his agile movement, Kuramochi's advantage was minimal.
Kuramochi's remaining specialty was his speed. As the fastest player on the Seido High School Baseball Team, he was unmatched in this regard. But while his strengths were obvious, so were his weaknesses.
Zhang Han's hitting ability was leagues ahead of his. Even the other two third-year seniors were not worse than him in hitting. Even if he had the advantage of speed, if he couldn't get on base, it was completely useless.
He had to get on base. He had to perform well in front of the coach.
Kuramochi repeatedly told himself that he absolutely had to perform well this time. However, the more he yearned internally, the crueler reality became.
Facing Kuramochi, Koudai Affiliated's Ace pitcher threw the baseball with all his might. When Kuramochi saw the baseball flying towards him, he was startled. With such fierce momentum, he had expected the opponent's pitch speed to be incredibly fast. Unexpectedly, that wasn't the case at all. The white ball flew over slowly and then landed in the catcher's mitt.
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
The first pitch was quite slow. If Kuramochi hadn't been cautious and wanted to observe one pitch first, he actually had a good chance of hitting that ball.
Immediately after, the second pitch also flew over. Having observed one pitch, Kuramochi felt more confident. Seeing the baseball fly towards him, he swung his bat directly. His timing was perfect; the bat struck the white ball hard, sending it flying. The white ball soared high into the sky, directly clearing the head of Koudai Affiliated's third baseman.
Seeing this, Kuramochi was overjoyed. Even if the baseball didn't fly far, as long as it landed behind the third baseman, it would be a long hit. With his speed, if the opponent reacted slowly, or if there was any error, he might even have a chance to get to Third Base or even Home Base.
But just as Kuramochi was rushing to First Base, the ball was caught by Koudai Affiliated's outfielder.
"Pop!"
"Out!"
Kuramochi was furious. Why was the opponent's outfielder crouching behind the third baseman? One out, no one on base.
Kominato Ryosuke, batting second, was much more confident compared to Kuramochi. As long as he saw a good pitch to hit, he would never let it go.
"Ping!"
On the first pitch, Kominato Ryosuke swung his bat, and the white ball flew high into the air, eventually landing in Koudai Affiliated's second baseman's mitt.
"Pop!"
"Out!"
The Seido High School Baseball Team's members were still very wary of the current situation. Catching one ball might be a coincidence, but the probability of two catches both being coincidences was not high.
"It seems like the opponent knows where we want to hit the ball?"
"With every pitch the opponent throws, the defensive players' positions change accordingly. What's the name of this pitcher, number eleven?"
"Fujita Satoru."
Initially, Seido High School Baseball Team's members hadn't paid much attention. They thought that Koudai Affiliated's Ace might be injured or saving his strength, which was why he didn't directly play at the start of the game. But now, it seemed their initial guess was wrong.
Koudai Affiliated had previously hidden their true Ace, and that Ace was the one in front of them now.
Fujita Satoru. His pitching didn't seem sharp, but his control was precise, and he cooperated well with his teammates. He could even, to some extent, anticipate the opponent's psychology and habits. That was how he could set traps, waiting for Seido High School Baseball Team's players to fall into them. This game was possibly not as simple as the members had previously thought.
"Third batter, outfielder, Zhang Han."
Two outs, no one on base.
At this moment, it was Zhang Han's turn to hit.
Koudai Affiliated's pitcher clearly had a headache when he saw Zhang Han. This also indirectly indicated that he had seriously considered facing Zhang Han before. The result of his deliberation was not ideal. That was why he was reluctant to face Zhang Han now.
Seeing the opposing pitcher's hesitation, Ota frowned and said.
"The opponent isn't going to intentionally walk him, are they?"
As Zhang Han's skill grew stronger and his reputation grew bigger, situations where Zhang Han was intentionally walked in games would also become more frequent.
"No, they won't. Intentionally walking Zhang Han and then facing the next batters, they wouldn't feel at ease either."
Facing Yuuki, Isashiki Jun, Masuko, and Miyuki with runners on base? As long as the opponent wasn't brain-dead, they wouldn't do such a thing. None of the upcoming batters were easy to deal with.
Moreover, to take a step back, if the opponent still didn't dare to face Zhang Han with two outs, then how would they face the entire Seido High School Baseball Team's batting lineup next? Intentionally walking batters was, after all, just an emergency measure to deal with a crisis. It was impossible to win the game by relying on such a method.
After all, if you intentionally walked a batter, the opponent's lineup would advance. You couldn't intentionally walk everyone. There were always some opponents you inevitably had to face.
Seido High School Baseball Team's biggest confidence was that no matter which opponent the other side chose to face, they had the confidence to score runs. As long as the opponent dared to play, Seido High School Baseball Team had the courage to accompany them to the end.
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