Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter Has Arrived

Chapter 469 469: I'll Get Them Back

In the bottom of the first inning, Seido High School Baseball Team was on offense.

The first batter to step up to the plate was still Seido High School Baseball Team's offensive engine, Kuramochi Yoichi. His opponent was a previously unknown third-year pitcher from Yakushi High School Baseball Team.

It wasn't their guessed Ace, Sanada.

Seido, of course, wouldn't think that Yakushi was deliberately holding back their strength. Nor was Seido arrogant; there wasn't a single team in the entire country that would dare to hold back against them.

This left only two possibilities for Sanada Shunpei not taking the field. One was that he was currently injured and unable to continue playing The other was that his stamina was insufficient to allow him to pitch nine innings. Whichever of these two possibilities it was, it was good news for Seido High School Baseball Team.

When Sanada played against Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team previously, he displayed extraordinary pitching strength. Even Seido High School Baseball Team's lineup would have to put in some effort to score runs off him.

At this moment, for Seido High School Baseball Team, sending out a third-year pitcher who was easy to hit was like a pie falling from the sky.

"Heh-Heh, Then I won't hold back!"

Kuramochi looked at his opponent and raised his bat.

His opponent had a buzz cut and looked very capable. Even through his clothes, one could see the bulging muscles on his body. What a strong man. He was over 1.8 meters tall, and his weight was estimated to be over 100 kilograms. With a body full of toned muscles, he looked like a typical baseball player.

Generally speaking, pitchers like him usually have similar styles. Expecting them to use breaking balls and precise control would probably be difficult. Their style is mostly like their physique: just one word, fierce.

Aggressive pitching, coupled with fierce ball power. They don't necessarily aim for a strikeout; as long as they can force the opponent to hit poorly, they consider their mission accomplished. As for what happens next, that's up to the defense.

Of course, this was just Kuramochi's judgment based on the opponent's physique. Was it actually like this? He wasn't entirely sure; he still needed to observe.

But this team called Yakushi was really interesting. They seemed to particularly like being unpredictable, just like this pitcher who appeared today. Seido High School Baseball Team had never received any information about him before. But looking at the opponent's physique and aura, he was not an easy character to deal with.

He had a certain level of combat power.

What specific level? Kuramochi couldn't judge yet. But he always believed that the opponent had strength, and it wasn't weak.

"Whiz!"

As if to respond to Kuramochi's expectation, the rather robust pitcher threw a powerful pitch. Although the ball speed wasn't very fast, the momentum was quite astonishing.

Kuramochi didn't swing at the first pitch. He watched as the baseball flew past him. His intuition was very accurate; judging from the opponent's pitching style and control, the opponent was indeed a momentum-type pitcher.

The pitching stance was very impressive, and the baseball appeared in front of him almost instantly. And it seemed to have considerable power. Basically, it was not much different from Kuramochi's judgment.

In Seido's dugout, Coach Kataoka turned to Chris and asked, "Do we have any information on this player?"

"No! He doesn't seem to have ever played for Yakushi before. We only know his name; he's called Mino Yuuto!"

Yuuto, a player who had never played for the team before, was being used to face Seido today. And the opponent wasn't a first-year; he was a third-year player.

"What's the ball speed?"

"One hundred thirty-seven kilometers!"

Kataoka nodded slightly.

Contrary to what he had expected, although this ball speed was not a small difference compared to top pitchers, Zhang Han could push his ball speed to 156 kilometers, nearly 20 kilometers faster.

But even this ball speed was not something an ordinary person could casually throw. It indicated that the opponent was not a beginner and must have undergone very strict training before.

"A secret weapon?"

You didn't need to see too many pitches; that one pitch alone was enough to judge that this guy named Mino Yuuto was not as good as Sanada Shunpei. In other words, Yakushi High School Baseball Team's true Ace was still Sanada, not anyone else.

But this pitcher wasn't meant to be the Ace; he was used as a secret weapon. His purpose was to delay innings and wait for the true Ace to take the field.

"We can't follow their rhythm; we must quickly take out this guy who appeared out of nowhere!"

Coach Kataoka thought to himself.

Meanwhile, on the field, Yuuto was displaying his prowess. After getting a good pitch count, his entire state was quite frenzied, and he immediately threw the second pitch.

So fast-paced.

Kuramochi was a little surprised, but he still gritted his teeth and swung. The opponent had already gotten one good pitch count, and Kuramochi couldn't just stand by and wait to be pressured. He couldn't let this pitch go.

"Ping!"

The moment the bat hit the baseball, Kuramochi's expression immediately became very interesting. So heavy. Judging from the recoil force on his hands, Kuramochi felt as if he wasn't hitting a ball, but a stone. At most, he could push the ball forward about ten meters; he simply couldn't advance it further.

"Foul!"

Fortunately, this pitch went wide of the line and landed out of bounds. Otherwise, Kuramochi would most likely have been out.

Kuramochi's breathing suddenly became rapid.

The opponent's power was considerable. What kind of players were the Seido High School Baseball Team? They were all top-ranked baseball elites in the country. Their vision was extremely sharp, and they saw through the opponent's limit at a glance.

"It should be an explosive pitcher, able to burst out his power instantly, but this kind of pitcher generally doesn't last long."

Explosive pitchers burn through stamina quickly; generally, they only last two or three innings, at most three or four. If the goal was simply to outlast such an opponent, it wasn't difficult. Just avoid his strong period and then handle him easily.

"The opponent probably doesn't intend to pitch indefinitely. He's just delaying innings, waiting for their Ace to take the field."

From this perspective, there was no more suitable starting pitcher than this guy named Mino Yuuto. He was powerful enough to control the pace and could delay innings, giving his Ace a relatively relaxed environment.

"Didn't you eat? How can you be suppressed in terms of power?"

Isashiki Jun swung his bat in displeasure and shouted at Kuramochi. It must be said, his way of cheering on his junior was quite unique.

And Kuramochi, surprisingly, fell for it.

He bit his cheek and looked at his opponent. This guy's strength was really something. But when it came to strength, Kuramochi wasn't about to lose either.

When the next pitch flew over, Kuramochi used every ounce of his strength, determined to hit the ball out. But just as he swung, Kuramochi suddenly realized with a sinking feeling that he had been tricked. This seemingly straightforward guy had actually used a bad pitch to fool him into swinging.

"Thwack!"

The bat and the baseball crossed paths, neither touching the other.

Kuramochi was struck out.

One out, no one on base.

Seido High School Baseball Team sent up their second batter, Kominato Ryosuke. When Kuramochi returned to the dugout, he was greeted by a storm of ridicule from his seniors.

"Are you stupid? A bad pitch after two strikes isn't standard procedure? You didn't even think of that, what were you thinking?"

"Your mindset broke, didn't it? Good that it broke, saves you from making a fool of yourself."

The seniors' sarcasm was merciless. But precisely because of this, it showed the closeness between them. Kuramochi's relationship with the third-year seniors was one of the best among all the second-year players. Only Zhang Han could compare with him.

But their feelings were different.

Because Zhang Han had entered the First string earlier than most third-year seniors, the seniors respected him more. Some seniors, though they wouldn't admit it, secretly regarded Zhang Han as a senior.

The capable come first. Compared to most seniors, Zhang Han, who became a core player last year, was the capable one. Their communication was more equal.

Kuramochi was different. The third-year seniors had a closer bond with him, along with the care a senior has for a junior. They could play and talk together.

And the seniors said what they said because Kuramochi's at-bat had genuine problems. He was too engrossed in the duel and completely forgot to think calmly. If he had been a little calmer, he could have continued to battle it out. Even if he ultimately didn't get a hit, he could have worn down the opponent's stamina and observed more pitches.

Kuramochi's quick strikeout had a negative impact, to some extent, on Kominato Ryosuke batting second. Kominato Ryosuke himself wasn't good at facing explosive pitchers, and now he had no information whatsoever. As a result, he was deceived by the opponent and only hit an infield grounder.

"Thwack!"

After the ball was caught by Yakushi's shortstop, it was thrown directly to First Base.

"Thwack!"

"Out!"

Two outs, no one on base.

In the first inning, although Seido High School Baseball Team showed considerable combat power, the entire game situation was completely suppressed by the opponent.

First, Zhang Han had given up a run. Now, two consecutive batters had been retired, and by a pitcher nobody had ever heard of. Seido High School Baseball Team's situation was firmly in the opponent's grip.

Zhang Han stepped into the batter's box under these circumstances.

In the past, every time he went up to bat, he would chat with his teammates and share information. But this time, he didn't say a word from the moment he started putting on his gear. He put on his batting helmet, his gloves, and dragged his bat to the plate.

Zhang Han just stood in the batter's box.

This game made him feel very frustrated. He finally had a chance to pitch, but those guys from Yakushi High School Baseball Team showed no respect at all. He had actually given up a Homerun. Failed before even starting.

How could Zhang Han be happy? He was seething with anger and had to vent it no matter what.

So what if he gave up one run? Since those guys from Yakushi High School Baseball Team could snatch that run from him, he would make them return it exactly the same way.

As soon as he stepped up, Zhang Han took the longest grip on his bat. His intention was obvious: he wanted to hit a Homerun.

Even if Yakushi High School Baseball Team's catcher wasn't an elite, he wasn't a fool. Zhang Han was so obvious; how could he not see it? This was clearly an attempt for a long hit.

Could they let Zhang Han have his way? No way.

You want to hit a Homerun? You want to use the longest grip? Then I'll give you an inside pitch.

Although Yuuto's control was a bit off, he could generally distinguish between inside and outside pitches.

"I don't believe you can hit this kind of pitch with that swing!"

Yakushi High School Baseball Team moved quickly. Zhang Han's objective was too obvious. And precisely because of that, he wasn't too difficult to deal with. Those truly difficult batters wouldn't let others see their intentions. Letting others see your intentions makes it easy to be targeted.

Mino Yuuto on the pitcher's mound, after receiving the signal, knew this was a huge challenge. He took a deep breath, putting all his strength on the tips of his two pitching fingers. The power he unleashed in this pitch even exceeded 100%, reaching 120%.

"Whoosh!"

The white ball, like a cannonball, instantly appeared above Home Base.

Seeing the baseball flying in, Zhang Han directly took a step out, pulling his body back by more than twenty centimeters. This way, the inside pitch that was originally difficult for him to hit essentially became a middle pitch. He gripped the bat tightly with both hands, and when the ball came close, he swung hard.

Although this swing successfully neutralized the inside pitch, the posture was very awkward. In such a posture, it was difficult for Zhang Han to unleash his full power.

But even without full power, the bat still hit the baseball hard, sending it out.

The ball drew a huge arc, finally crossing a distance of ninety-one meters and landing near the stands along the foul line.

"Homerun!!!!"

At that moment, the entire stadium erupted.

Whether looking at Zhang Han's batting posture or the flight path of the ball, most people hadn't held much hope. In their opinion, with good luck it would just be a long hit. If luck was slightly worse, it might even go foul.

Who would have thought that even in such an awkward posture, Zhang Han still powerfully blasted the ball out?

This Homerun only flew about ninety-one or ninety-two meters before coming down. Among all Homeruns, besides inside-the-park Homeruns, it should be considered the shortest. But a Homerun is a Homerun. Even at the shortest distance, Zhang Han successfully got that run back.

He fulfilled his promise. The run he gave up, he got back himself.

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