The score was 7-7, and the game had reached the eighth inning.
Furuya Satoru, the pitcher for Seido High School Baseball Team who had just entered the game, ignited a frenzy in the stadium.
Before this, apart from Zhang Han's hitting, the fans in the stands had never been so excited.
And their gaze was entirely fixed on the tall young boy on the pitcher's mound.
"So cool!"
"That ball speed is simply insane!"
"Did anyone measure it just now?"
"Fastest ball speed, 150.5 kilometers…"
This ball speed was a bit slower than most of the audience at the scene had imagined. Judging by the ball the boy had just thrown, they had always thought the speed would be even more astonishing.
Of course, no one would voice such a true thought. After all, even 150 kilometers was already very impressive.
The Shonan Gakuen players' faces went from clear to cloudy.
They had originally thought they had a chance to reverse the game today, but they never expected that Seido High School Baseball Team would hide such a pitcher?
As a result, they were caught off guard and didn't know how to play the rest of the game.
"It's just a tie. As long as we keep hitting, we have a chance to take the lead."
Kurokawa, as the team captain, was the first to step forward at this moment and said to his teammates.
"The captain is right. Our most important task right now is to hold the score and not let Seido High School Baseball Team take the lead again."
Having played this far, Mikura was absolutely unwilling to give up the fight for victory. After all, this was his hard-won opportunity to prove himself, so how could he give up?
Even with only one percent hope, they had to give one hundred percent effort.
What's more, although they hadn't been able to score against Seido High School Baseball Team, hadn't Seido High School Baseball Team's offense been stopped by them as well?
Their current situation was, at most, evenly matched.
The game moved to the bottom of the eighth inning, with Seido High School Baseball Team on offense.
Although the Shonan Gakuen players had already unified their thoughts, they still felt uneasy when they saw the batter stepping up.
The clamor in the stands grew louder and louder.
Although Furuya Satoru, who had just thrown the super fastball, had left the field, the audience's enthusiasm had not subsided.
There was no other way, who let Zhang Han be the one standing in the batter's box at this moment?
Not to mention the fans in the stands, who were all incredibly excited.
Even Seido High School Baseball Team's own teammates were filled with passion. Before stepping up to hit, Zhang Han uncharacteristically walked over to Furuya Satoru.
When the surrounding players saw this scene, they inexplicably became nervous.
First, Tanba had declared himself the Ace, and then the substitute Furuya Satoru had delivered such a performance.
Zhang Han, the Ace recognized by them, faced a path full of thorns on his way to the number one spot.
Putting themselves in his shoes, if it were an ordinary person facing this situation, they might not even be able to bear it psychologically.
But to everyone's surprise, Zhang Han didn't say anything extreme, nor did he do anything extreme.
He just nodded approvingly at Furuya Satoru.
"Well done! We won't let your pitch go to waste."
This was the highest recognition and encouragement from a powerful senior batter to a new pitcher.
For anyone else, all of Seido High School Baseball Team's teammates would probably consider it a matter of course.
But when it came to Zhang Han, they felt very complicated.
To make a pitcher who already possessed the highest ball speed say such words. How much grievance must Zhang Han have felt in his heart?
The surrounding teammates looked at Zhang Han with much softer eyes.
Zhang Han felt a bit creepy from being stared at.
Fortunately, he didn't know the true thoughts of these teammates, otherwise, he would surely have spat blood.
Heaven knows, Coach Kataoka and the coaches not forcing him to pitch was for his own good, so what did he have to feel wronged about?
Zhang Han considered it his fortune to be able to stay in such a team.
He knew what was good for him and who genuinely cared for him. It was precisely for this reason that Zhang Han's feelings for Seido High School Baseball Team had grown deeper.
He sincerely hoped the team would do well, so when he saw Furuya Satoru able to throw such a ball, he was genuinely happy for the team.
Zhang Han stepped into the batter's box, his eyes never leaving Aoki.
He was more serious than ever before.
In this upcoming showdown, even if all the gods in the sky stood with Shonan Gakuen, he would still hit the ball.
As long as he hit the ball, even if he couldn't get a Homerun, Zhang Han believed that the senior behind him would definitely be able to send him back to home plate.
He had to get this point, no matter what!
Zhang Han's stance was slightly open, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the pitcher's mound.
As long as the ball came, whether it was a breaking ball or not, he would hit it.
At this moment, not only Aoki on the pitcher's mound, but even his catcher Akiyama, felt their hearts pounding like drums.
Zhang Han's stance was nothing special.
Neither forward nor back, neither left nor right, even his waiting posture was as perfectly regular as a specimen.
He stood in the exact center of the batter's box.
His arms were long, and his physique was well-proportioned, which meant he could reach even the balls in the furthest corners.
As for using an inside pitch, that would be asking for death.
What Zhang Han was best at hitting were inside pitches.
Before going on the field, Akiyama had thought of countless brilliant strategies to deal with Zhang Han in his head.
He believed that even after entering the game, even if it was their fourth confrontation, and even if Zhang Han had already hit two Homeruns before.
They still had a fighting chance.
But the reality was completely the opposite.
Looking at Zhang Han, who was now standing ready, Akiyama couldn't find any weak points to exploit.
There wasn't a single flaw, not a single loophole to be found…
He didn't even know how to call the pitch anymore?
Even the catcher felt this way, let alone Aoki on the pitcher's mound.
As he held the ball and took his stance to pitch.
He suddenly had a chilling premonition.
It will be hit!
This feeling was so strong that when he released the pitch, he subconsciously put more power into it.
"Thwack!"
The baseball smashed onto home plate and bounced into the catcher's glove.
"Ball!"
Zhang Han in the batter's box watched coldly as the ball zipped past him.
Then he narrowed his eyes and refocused his gaze on the pitcher's mound.
Zhang Han suddenly had a not-so-pleasant premonition.
"Thwack…"
"Ball!"
"Ball!!"
"Ball!!!"
"Walk!"
For the next few pitches, Aoki didn't throw a single one into the strike zone.
Zhang Han was walked directly to base.
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