"Manaka!"
Seeing Kuramochi successfully run to Second Base, Coach Tahara's expression completely changed. He stared at his Ace, his eyes filled with encouragement. He believed his Ace would definitely be able to pull through.
Manaka also felt his coach's gaze, and he kept holding his breath internally. That last pitch, he had missed again.
Ever since returning from Koshien, no matter what game he pitched, he would always recall his time pitching at Koshien Stadium at the beginning of each game. That feeling was too captivating.
Manaka encouraged himself over and over again. He definitely had to go back. It was precisely this distraction that caused his pitching to go out of control.
No. This couldn't go on.
Shaking his head, Manaka temporarily pushed those precious memories aside. Immersing himself in past glory offered no help to his pitching; on the contrary, it might even restrict him. His current enemy was Seido High School Baseball Team. Only by adjusting this mindset could he unleash his full strength.
"Whoosh!"
The Manaka who started pitching again was like a completely different person from the one who threw the first pitch. His Fastball was very fast, and his control was very precise. Even Kominato Ryosuke, with his excellent hitting skills, felt somewhat at a loss when facing this kind of pitch. He could only try his best to calm down and feel the changes in the baseball.
"Thwack!"
"Strike!"
"Ping!"
"Foul!"
Manaka, fully utilizing his pitching characteristics, only took two pitches to corner Kominato Ryosuke. Then he threw his third pitch. Facing the batter from Seido High School Baseball Team, Manaka's fighting spirit was very high. He didn't think about what came next, but directly used his decisive pitch. The baseball was thrown directly at a low angle.
Kominato Ryosuke, seeing this pitch fly towards him, was extremely shocked. He didn't expect Manaka to bring out his decisive move so early in the game.
Fastball or Slider?
This kind of low-angle pitch could not be hit with a horizontal swing; it had to be hit with an upward scooping motion. In other words, the bat had to be at a vertical angle. Since it was an angle, naturally, one could only aim at one point. If you aimed for a Fastball but hit a Slider, it was a sure out. Similarly, if you aimed for a Slider but hit a Fastball, the outcome was the same.
This was the decisive pitch of Manaka Kaname, the Ace pitcher of Ichidai Third High School, one of the West Tokyo Three Great Powerhouses. During the Spring Tournament, this pitch took down many strong hitters nationwide, earning him great renown.
If Ichidai Third High School hadn't been unlucky enough to face a championship contender in the quarterfinals, with Manaka's condition at the time, they might have been able to advance further.
If they had advanced further, they would have been in the semifinals, with even a certain probability of reaching the finals and meeting Inashiro Industrial. Manaka's pitching was recognized nationwide.
Facing this opponent, even Kominato Ryosuke was quite perplexed. He could only grit his teeth and choose one of them. Unfortunately, he chose incorrectly. The result was that the bat and the baseball passed each other, neither able to make contact.
"Thwack!"
"Strike!"
"Strikeout!!!"
After Kuramochi got on base, the probability of Seido High School Baseball Team scoring had greatly increased. In contrast, Ichidai Third High School fell into crisis. Under these circumstances, Ichidai Third High School's Ace, Manaka, stepped up and powerfully struck out Seido's second batter, Kominato Ryosuke.
One out, runner on Second Base.
In the initial exchange, both sides went back and forth, barely managing a draw.
"Seido!!"
"Zhang Han!!!"
"Han-san!!!!"
Before Zhang Han even stepped into the batter's box, a huge cheer erupted from the stands. This left the players of Ichidai Third High School bewildered.
What happened?
Soon, they found out. Because that highly anticipated man stepped into the batter's box after the second batter was retired.
Zhang Han.
Zhang Han was originally a core hitter for Seido High School Baseball Team. When he reached Koshien last summer, he was already on par with Azuma Kiyokuni and Yuuki. In addition, he also broke two Koshien records and was called a super rookie. No matter which of Zhang Han's achievements was brought up, no one dared to underestimate his presence.
Not to mention, in the last two games, Zhang Han had been like a cheat, almost never missing a hit, and even hitting a total of four Homeruns. Facing such a person, the Ichidai Third High School players couldn't help but be careful.
Hoshida at Third Base, his ears already filled with the shouts for Zhang Han. In middle school, because everyone was young, Zhang Han was just cute in the eyes of many. He didn't cause much of a stir in the baseball team.
But the situation now was clearly different. Zhang Han, over fifteen years old, had completely shed his childishness and grown into the appearance of a young master. Although with his family's conditions, it was difficult to call him that. But people's first impression when they saw Zhang Han was still to think that way.
Listening to the screams of the girls in the stands, Hoshida couldn't take it anymore.
Han-san was finally starting to shine, just like the coach had said.
As early as two years ago, Ono Tomoaki had predicted that Zhang Han would cause a huge sensation in the future. At that time, Hoshida and the others weren't very convinced. Although Han-san's strength was indeed good, it wasn't to the extent of crushing them. How could he cause a sensation?
Now it seemed that Ono Tomoaki had foresight. After the baptism of Seido High School Baseball Team, Zhang Han had indeed undergone a complete transformation. The current him was truly enough to cause a sensation.
Hoshida was even worried for his Ace. How would he fight and deal with such a Zhang Han?
If Manaka Kaname knew that his junior was so worried about him, he would definitely be very touched. But he would also tell his junior: you're overthinking it.
Facing Zhang Han, remembering the Homerun Zhang Han had hit in their last confrontation, Manaka's fighting spirit burned. Come to think of it, it had really been a long time since they last faced each other. Nearly ten months.
The current Manaka had made significant progress compared to himself ten months ago. He now desperately wanted to reclaim what he had lost from Zhang Han.
"Whoosh!"
Manaka's first pitch flew almost skimming the ground. So low.
Zhang Han, seeing the baseball fly towards him, gripped the bat in his hand, looking for an opportunity. But from beginning to end, he didn't feel any opportunity from that pitch. He couldn't even distinguish whether what the opponent threw was a Fastball or a Slider.
Compared to the Manaka from ten months ago, the current Manaka's pitching was truly different. Even Zhang Han couldn't swing at the first pitch and could only watch the baseball fly past him.
"Thwack!"
"Strike!!"
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