Chapter 652 - 652: Home plate?

Two outs, runner on Second Base.

In the stands, voices cheering for Zhang Han were everywhere.

In that instant, Zhang Han became the most dazzling superstar on the field.

Seido High School Baseball Team supporters, and those girls who specifically came to cheer for Zhang Han, all frantically waved whatever cheering tools they had in their hands.

It was as if by not doing so, they couldn't express the surging passion in their hearts.

Little did they know, their actions successfully infuriated another person on the field.

Narumiya Mei's face was so gloomy it looked like water was about to drip from it.

Although he never hoped to win the game against Seido High School Baseball Team without giving up a single run, he never admitted Seido High School Baseball Team's title of Best Batting Line.

But he was actually very clear in his heart that, at this stage, among all the hitting lineups in the country, the biggest challenge for him was undoubtedly Seido High School Baseball Team's batting line.

This was for two reasons. First, Seido High School Baseball Team's hitting strength was indeed at the highest national level.

The other reason was the relationship between the two teams. Seido High School Baseball Team was too familiar with Inashiro Industrial, especially with him, Narumiya Mei.

The two sides had clashed many times and were mortal enemies in the same district.

In this situation, it was clearly more disadvantageous for the pitcher.

Although both sides collected information on each other, Narumiya Mei alone had to deal with nine people.

Conversely, the nine hitters of Seido High School Baseball Team could concentrate on dealing with him alone.

Just this point alone meant Narumiya Mei was at a huge disadvantage.

But the arrogant Tokyo Prince was confident he could suppress Seido High School Baseball Team's batting line for the first two rounds, preventing them from scoring.

What he didn't expect was that they would give up the first run in the very first inning.

Although from the situation just now, Zhang Han very likely just got lucky, like a stroke of blind luck, and gambled correctly on a Fastball.

But whether it was luck or not, the fact that they gave up the first run was undeniable.

"Hmph, I don't believe your luck can last forever."

Narumiya Mei, in a fit of pique, threw the baseball in his hand.

This pitch was up to his usual standard, extremely fast, and the angle could be considered tricky.

"Why is it an inside pitch?"

But Harada, Narumiya Mei's partner, stared wide-eyed when he saw this pitch.

Isashiki Jun was known as the most unpredictable hitter in Seido High School Baseball Team.

Sometimes, he could even hit balls that Zhang Han and Yuuki couldn't.

His presence wasn't as strong as some of Seido's star players, but he was by no means slacking off. So, when facing him, one must be very careful.

Even if you don't need to set up a specific strategy like you do for Yuuki and Zhang Han, you at least shouldn't pitch to the areas he's good at hitting, right?

Although Isashiki Jun seemed to be able to hit from all positions, even swinging at wild pitches, in fact, if you truly analyze his hitting performance, you can still see some clues.

For example, there are some positions he is better at. And there are also some positions where his hitting success rate is relatively much lower.

Overall, Isashiki Jun is still a hitter with exploitable weaknesses, unlike Zhang Han and Yuuki, who have completely formed their own hitting systems and simply have no obvious weaknesses to attack.

And Isashiki Jun's most proficient hitting position is the inside corner.

Including inside pitches that were balls, inside pitches accounted for fifty-seven percent of all his hits.

The other high pitches, low pitches, outside pitches, and pitches down the middle, combined, only accounted for forty-three percent of his hits.

According to Narumiya Mei's usual personality, he would definitely use other positions to decide the outcome against Isashiki Jun.

Even if it meant fighting until the end of time, he would never change.

But this time, he didn't know why, but he actually chose the inside corner.

At the batter's box, Isashiki Jun hadn't expected Narumiya Mei to throw an inside pitch. This wasn't their first confrontation; they knew each other extremely well. Isashiki Jun could guess with about eighty to ninety percent accuracy what Narumiya Mei would do.

At this moment, he had already prepared to hit an outside pitch. He didn't expect Narumiya Mei to choose an inside attack.

A provocation?

For the aggressive-swinging Isashiki Jun, there was no reason to back down at this moment.

The opponent dared to choose to confront him head-on with an inside pitch.

What reason did he have to be polite?

Almost the instant he saw the inside pitch, Isashiki Jun didn't even think; he took a step forward and swung his bat.

"Ping!"

The bat solidly connected with the baseball, sending it flying.

Isashiki Jun let go of his bat and ran forward desperately.

Before he acted, Zhang Han, who was on Second Base, had already advanced towards Third Base the moment Isashiki Jun made his hitting motion.

With two outs already, Zhang Han would not hesitate. Anyway, if this ball was an error, their attack would end.

Two outs wasn't entirely a bad thing.

At this point, the offensive players could completely abandon all distracting thoughts and advance aggressively.

After all, they had nothing left to lose.

Although the ball Isashiki Jun hit didn't completely penetrate Inashiro Industrial's defense, it still left them in disarray.

Shirakawa leaped up and barely stopped the bouncing ball with his body.

But he paid a huge price, tumbling twice before barely steadying himself.

By the time he stood up and wanted to throw the ball to First Base, time was already tight.

"Damn it!"

Shirakawa still stood up, preparing to throw to First Base.

After all, at this point, Zhang Han was only three or four meters away from Third Base; he couldn't possibly be stopped.

But him not stopping Zhang Han didn't mean Zhang Han would just stay there obediently. The moment he saw Shirakawa turn around, Zhang Han didn't hesitate at all.

He ran at full speed, reaching Third Base in a few steps.

Not yet finished!

Seeing Shirakawa about to throw the baseball in his hand, Zhang Han gritted his teeth, rounded Third Base, and charged directly towards home plate.

Although they could have waited, after all, the next batter was Miyuki, and with runners on First Base and Third Base, Miyuki had a high probability of getting a hit.

But this would also lead to two problems.

First, Isashiki Jun might not have enough time to reach First Base.

If Zhang Han pressed on, Yamaoka Riku on First Base would very likely be affected, whether it was acting in a hurry or being anxious.

There was a certain probability that he would make an error.

The other one was Miyuki.

Although Miyuki had gotten some hits during his confrontation with Narumiya Mei, overall, even with runners on base, he had never gained too much advantage in their matchup.

In the previous game, Uehara's three consecutive pitches had given Miyuki a lot of trouble. He only managed to reverse the situation at the very last moment.

Now it was Narumiya Mei, with an enhanced version of the three-pitch sequence.

In Zhang Han's opinion, Miyuki's hitting success rate probably wouldn't be very high either.

These things sound complicated, but they were all judgments Zhang Han made in an instant. He believed that at this moment, if he ran directly to home plate, the team had a greater chance of scoring the second run.

"That's decisive enough."

Coach Ochiai in the dugout had sweaty palms.

As a professional baseball coach, and from an observer's perspective, he saw things even more clearly than Zhang Han.

From his angle, Yamaoka Riku was indeed affected, and his body had subconsciously left the First Base bag.

For experienced regular players from a powerhouse school, this was already an incredible error.

As long as Zhang Han seized this opportunity, then Seido High School Baseball Team was indeed very likely to create a miracle at this point in time.

Home plate!

Step by step, he got closer. Once he decided to act, Zhang Han had no way back.

But just when he was halfway there, Zhang Han's peripheral vision suddenly caught a white speck of light flying towards home plate.

What's going on?

Zhang Han had no choice but to brake hard and run back desperately.

But he wasn't Kuramochi; he didn't have Leopard's ability.

Ultimately, as he returned to Third Base, he was tagged out by Inashiro Industrial's Third Baseman.

"Out!"

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