They gave up a run right at the start. When it was their turn to hit, things didn't go smoothly either. The first two batters were out in quick succession.
Seido High School Baseball Team surprised all the fans present right from the beginning of the game.
Before the game, fans had high hopes for Seido High School Baseball Team. They had advanced to this point by relying on their formidable strength, overcoming every obstacle. And their opponent, although renowned and considered a world-class prestigious school, when it came to the strength of their baseball team, there was still a considerable gap compared to a powerhouse like Seido High School Baseball Team.
Especially after Seido High School Baseball Team won their game against Yakushi High School Baseball Team, basically all the fans in Tokyo were now supporting them. Coupled with Tokyo Television's promotion, Seido High School Baseball Team had virtually become the most promising team to win the championship.
Due to Tokyo Television's live broadcast, this Spring Tournament was more lively and had higher visibility than in previous years. However, even though Yakushi High School Baseball Team, which had just made it to the quarterfinals, defeated Inashiro Industrial High School, the reigning champion of the Spring Koshien, it was difficult for them to become renowned throughout Tokyo.
After all, the Spring Tournament championship held little appeal for true powerhouses. It only meant reaching the finals and qualifying for the Kanto Tournament. If it weren't for this benefit, it was estimated that Tokyo's top powerhouses would slack off once they secured a seed spot. The seed spot was the most important; other than that, only the Kanto Tournament entry spot had some appeal.
As for the Spring Tournament championship and results, they were just so-so. Even if Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team lost, everyone would only assume they were deliberately holding back their strength.
After all, the Summer Tournament was not long after the Kanto Tournament. The champion of the Summer Tournament earned the right to challenge Koshien. And the annual Summer Koshien was the ultimate goal pursued by tens of thousands of baseball players nationwide.
However, because of Tokyo Television's live broadcast, the significance of this Spring Tournament had become somewhat different. Even powerhouse teams had started to show their true strength and play with full dedication.
It was against this backdrop that Yakushi High School truly made a name for itself by defeating Inashiro Industrial. Their game against Seido High School Baseball Team garnered so much attention. And in that game, the two teams combined for a double-digit number of Homeruns. That game was hailed as the most classic hitting battle in Tokyo in many years, bar none.
Among them, Seido High School Baseball Team was even more dominant. After all, they accounted for more than half of the double-digit Homeruns. It was also after this game that the voices questioning Seido High School Baseball Team's National First Batting Line were almost completely silenced.
Whether they were loyal supporters of Seido High School Baseball Team or new fans who fell in love with Seido High School Baseball Team after watching that game, their confidence in Seido High School Baseball Team was extremely high. They all wanted to grab a megaphone, stand on the street, and shout, "Who else?"
Who else could challenge Seido?
Some fans even directly predicted online that Seido High School Baseball Team would definitely be the champion. And not just the Spring Tournament; by the Summer Tournament, they would also surely overcome all challenges and reach the end. Even Koshien.
Everyone said Seido High School Baseball Team was a powerhouse revival. One loyal supporter believed what everyone said wasn't enough. Seido High School Baseball Team wasn't a powerhouse revival, but the return of a king. Next, there would inevitably be an era belonging to Seido High School Baseball Team.
This post, naturally, was met with opposition from fans of other powerhouse teams. But many of Seido High School Baseball Team's supporters also backed it. Many of those who supported the post did so simply because of Seido. As loyal fans, if someone online was criticizing their team, how could they not retaliate?
And some people genuinely believed it. After all, the current Seido High School Baseball Team had truly begun to display the aura of dominating the nation.
And their opponent?
Koudai Affiliated High School was indeed a world-class prestigious school. But their baseball team had not reached that level. Although their strength was not bad, they were probably still far from challenging Seido. I
t wasn't just Seido High School Baseball Team's own supporters who thought this way; even those fans of other powerhouse teams who opposed Seido's supporters online did not believe that Koudai Affiliated High School Baseball Team could stop Seido High School Baseball Team's momentum.
This could be seen from their replies, which consistently agreed that Seido High School Baseball Team would face a challenge in the final.
As for Koudai Affiliated High School Baseball Team, they didn't even appear in these people's discussions. Even those who strongly opposed Seido High School Baseball Team couldn't claim that Koudai Affiliated could stop Seido.
However, today's game clearly revealed a cruel reality to everyone. Anything could happen on a baseball field.
Now, Koudai Affiliated was just one out away from securing the first inning. As long as they got this final out, Koudai Affiliated High School Baseball Team could proudly face Seido.
To defeat them easily was simply a pipe dream.
First inning, 1:0.
Not to mention later, just in the initial confrontation, Koudai Affiliated High School Baseball Team had undoubtedly gained an advantage. In this situation, even the game's commentator couldn't easily make a prediction.
The baseball commentator invited by Tokyo Television was, of course, top-tier and very well-known. And the more experienced a commentator, the less he dared to make conclusions easily. They were not entertainment commentators; they could not just say what the audience wanted to hear.
As professional representatives, if they made a prediction, they had to ensure an accuracy rate of at least 80 to 90%. Otherwise, if they often predicted incorrectly, who would listen to their commentary?
"Koudai Affiliated's players are performing very diligently. If they can keep it up, they might bring a big surprise to the fans present."
This statement was very cautious. Only bringing surprises to the fans. As for whether they could challenge Seido, what the direction of the game would be, not a single word was mentioned, for fear of being proven wrong.
"I don't think so. The most severe challenge for Koudai Affiliated is yet to come."
Another commentator spoke directly. The first commentator frowned immediately. Tokyo Television had given him such a bold partner; he expressed that he simply couldn't handle it.
But there was no choice. Since Tokyo Television was paying generously, he could only cooperate.
"Then, Mr. Kameshima, what is your insight?"
Kameshima was the commentator for Tokyo Television.
"Because the next batter is Zhang Han!"
What kind of reason was that? The first commentator was full of questions. Just because the next batter was Zhang Han, could it really bring about some change in the game?
Soon, he understood that it really could.
Ever since that young man stepped into the batter's box, the atmosphere of the entire stadium completely changed. Many of Seido High School Baseball Team's supporters excitedly stood up. Two cheerleaders in the front row danced together. Even in other parts of the stands, one could faintly hear voices cheering for Zhang Han.
"It's up to you, Mr. Clutch!"
"Hit it out!"
"Homerun!!!"
The commentator looked at Kameshima beside him, puzzled. "Is this player really that famous?"
"Of course he's famous. 100% hits!"
Actually, three Homeruns in one game, in the eyes of many, was still quite remarkable. This involved an element of luck. Similar batters had appeared on the Koshien field before. The most interesting thing was that person was also the team's Ace. Ace slugger, iron-armed hitter. These two terms seemed tailor-made for him.
While Zhang Han's performance was stunning, it wasn't unacceptable to everyone. However, in such an intense game, achieving a 100% hitting rate had a completely different meaning. Such a reliable power hitter, a player who could deliver results at crucial moments, was highly coveted by any team. Not to mention Zhang Han also had the Light Speed Ball. Just speaking of his hitting ability, it was estimated that many professional teams were already drooling.
The first commentator still didn't understand what was going on. He had been too reckless in his preparation, only caring about making money and forgetting to prepare the information beforehand. This wouldn't do; he had to change this habit.
After he went back, he definitely had to thoroughly research this young man named Zhang Han. He couldn't ignore up-and-coming high school players just because he was a professional baseball commentator.
This commentator later became incredibly grateful for his current thought. If it weren't for that flash of inspiration, he might have missed out on a super contract worth tens of millions.
The reactions in the stands, the reactions of the players in the dugout, especially the reactions of those two cheerleaders. All of these were telling Fujita Satoru, who was preparing to pitch, just how extraordinary the opponent he was about to face was.
His heart was pounding fast. This was the first time he had felt this way during a game.
He scrutinized Zhang Han in the batter's box, trying hard to imprint that tall figure in his mind. This was one of the top batters in the nation. Although the two Seido batters he had dealt with earlier were also very tough, they clearly hadn't reached this level. Even if Fujita had gotten them out, he couldn't claim to have measured his own true level.
But Zhang Han was different.
Having already reached the pinnacle of the nation, he was undoubtedly the best whetstone. As long as he could defeat this opponent, not only would their team's situation improve significantly, but he himself might also be elevated by this confrontation.
The coach of Koudai Affiliated in the dugout gave no instructions. The meaning was clear: let Fujita do as he pleased. With two outs and no runners on base, if they didn't even dare to confront Zhang Han directly, then how would they play the rest of the game?
After all, Seido High School Baseball Team's hitting lineup wasn't just Zhang Han; there were many other terrifying batters. Could they avoid one, and then two, and then more? It was simply unrealistic. The best approach was to confront him directly.
Fujita began to warm up his body in a small area, which left some of Seido High School Baseball Team's players puzzled. However, the players of Koudai Affiliated High School Baseball Team were very familiar with Fujita's small movements. This was a sign that Fujita was preparing to give his all.
Facing Zhang Han, this renowned opponent, Fujita was now going to unleash his full power. The players suddenly felt a surge of confidence and morale. Even if Zhang Han, according to the data they had collected, was a complete monster, so what? This was Fujita's first time facing him, and Zhang Han had never seen Fujita's pitching from the batter's box either. They believed Fujita definitely had a chance.
"Whoosh!"
Having re-warmed up, Fujita seemed to switch into another mode. His pitching motion was large, and the white ball whistled out. In the Seido High School Baseball Team's dugout, many of the teammates saw this scene and a strange glint flashed in their eyes.
They had never expected that this Ace hidden by Koudai Affiliated High School Baseball Team hadn't used his full strength when facing Kuramochi and Kominato. In other words, he was still holding back a trump card. Only now did he pull it out.
This undoubtedly made Seido High School Baseball Team's teammates very wary. Today's game probably wouldn't be as easy as they thought.
Before the teammates could fully grasp their thoughts, Zhang Han in the batter's box took action.
Facing the constantly moving Fujita, Zhang Han remained unresponsive throughout. It wasn't until Fujita fully wound up and pitched with all his might that a cruel smile appeared on Zhang Han's lips.
So naive.
Seeing the opponent's exaggerated movements, Zhang Han instinctively thought that the opponent wanted to increase his ball speed. When Zhang Han pitched the Light Speed Ball, he used a similar motion. Because he had done it himself, he was naturally more wary when he saw his opponent use it.
As a result, the ball thrown by the opponent was only around 135 kilometers per hour. Compared to his previous pitches, the speed was indeed faster. However, the accuracy of the control dropped by a whole level. The originally extreme inside pitch was off by about five or six centimeters, turning into a relatively easy-to-handle inside pitch.
Wasn't this just asking for death?
He seemed clever, but in reality, he hadn't even figured out his own weapon. Zhang Han stepped out, opened his body, and swung the bat directly at the incoming baseball.
"Ping!"
Before anyone could react, the struck white ball flew directly out. The eyes of all the fans at the scene followed the flying baseball, watching it land in the stands in the outfield.
It was at this moment that the girls standing in the front row of the stands, who had come to cheer for Zhang Han, were the first to raise two large signs. One read "3," and the other read "0."
Tokyo Television's camera quickly focused on them. Not only the fans at the stadium, but at this moment, at least hundreds of thousands of people witnessed this scene simultaneously.
Zhang Han had hit his 30th career Homerun in high school.
For a player who had just entered his second year, this achievement was undoubtedly explosive. It was worth noting that since this data began to be collected, only a double-digit number of players had hit 30 or more Homeruns throughout their entire high school career.
Zhang Han, who had only fought for one year in high school, had already achieved a miracle that 99.99% of batters could not.
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