Volume 1 Chasing the Baseball Dream Chapter 009: The megalomaniac and the pragmatist
One out, runner on first base.
Zhang Han was responsible for guarding first base, and at this time he had the opportunity to chat with Manaka who had already run to first base.
The two are old acquaintances, so when they meet, they naturally have a lot of topics to talk about.
"See? Our pitcher has been keeping an eye on you. Let me tell you in secret, he's a famous dog-skin plaster. Once he gets on you, you'll definitely be in trouble."
Zhang Han spoke nonsense.
"I don't trust you!"
Zhenzhong didn't believe a single word that came out of Zhang Han's mouth.
But he also felt that Tianjiu on the pitcher's mound was staring at him.
Shinaka, who was originally preparing to steal a base, had to stop.
As first-year high school players, they were competing against juniors who were one year younger than them, and the psychological pressure was much greater than that of their juniors.
It’s not that they can’t make mistakes or lose points, but they absolutely cannot lose face.
When he had already reached base, he was pinned out by a junior who was one year younger than him and had not yet entered high school.
That would be so embarrassing!
I guess the guys on the same team would taunt him to death.
Although this possibility is not very high, as a senior, I cannot take the risk even if there is only a slight possibility.
Especially they won't take risks when they are leading by a large margin.
Looking at Zhenzhong who stayed where he was, Zhang Han silently breathed a sigh of relief.
Tianjiu was looking at Zhenzhong Yao, but not because he was trying to prevent him from stealing bases.
The boy was probably just unwilling to accept the result and wanted to get back at the person when he got the chance.
As for Tianjiu's ability to prevent base steals and containment techniques.
Zhang Han has no confidence at all.
When the Matsukata Little League Baseball Team played practice games with Ishikawa, Zhang Han often played.
Zhang Han was quite familiar with this opponent, especially their trump card, a pitching madman.
As a pitcher, Tianjiu is particularly enthusiastic about pitching. However, his interest in things other than pitching drops sharply.
Even the responsibilities of a pitcher were often not taken seriously by him.
For example, in terms of containment, this guy only cares about throwing the ball and rarely pays attention to the situation on the bases.
The fact that Matsukata Little League always wins has a lot to do with this.
It is precisely because the Matsukata Little League players made full use of this point that they were unable to maintain their advantage in the game against Ishikawa.
Having resolved this worry, Zhang Han breathed a sigh of relief.
“Ping!”
"The outside world!"
The small white ball was hit out again.
This caused quite a stir among the middle school students.
In fact, the three middle school pitchers who had played before were already considered quite strong by other middle school students.
But when they came into conflict with the first-year students from the city's senior high school, they were like chickens and dogs, they collapsed at the first touch and could not be stopped at all.
Tianjiu is now on the court, and his pitching seems almost unsolvable to middle school students.
Originally, according to the ideas of those middle school students, even if the freshman players of the city’s third high school were very good, it would take some time for them to adapt to Tianjiu’s pitching.
Unexpectedly, that was not the case at all. These seniors, who were only one year older than them, had amazing swing speeds.
Tianjiu's pitch was considered very fast for a middle school student. The swing speed of ordinary batters could not keep up.
But the guys from the city's third high school were all able to keep up with the speed. As long as they judged the direction correctly, they could kick the ball out.
"Fuck, are these guys really human?"
I didn’t think so before, but now with the standard of Tian Jiu Guang Sheng, the players in the middle school team are really a bit stupid.
They are not unaware that their abilities are still a little immature and there is a gap compared to the players from the top clubs.
But they never thought that the gap between the two sides would be so big!
Even Zhang Han was a little surprised.
He once thought that due to age and tradition, there was a gap in strength between ordinary middle school students and the players who were trained in prestigious high schools.
But there should always be exceptions.
The top middle school students should still be able to compete with high school students.
But now, Zhang Han's view has also changed.
Tianjiu's changeup was undoubtedly beyond the level of a junior high school student. According to his previous theory, Tianjiu should be able to compete with a high school student.
But the reality is cruel. Judging from the situation of the fight, Tian Jiuguangsheng is undoubtedly at a disadvantage.
There weren’t any major problems for the time being, mainly because the city’s junior contestants didn’t know Tianjiu well.
Once they get familiar with it, there will definitely be a lot of hits.
Just when Zhang Han was secretly worried, the situation changed again.
It was still Tianjiu's best sliding ball, and the second batter from the city's junior year swinging the bat without hesitation.
“Ping!”
The moment the bat hit the baseball, the batter felt the recoil on his hand and his face became very strange.
He actually missed!
He originally thought that the timing of his swing was just right.
The ball was hit off target and fell into Sasaki's defensive range.
He jumped out with a whoosh, picked up the ball, and passed it to second base, who then passed it to Zhang Han at first base.
“Out!”
“Out!!”
"Double kill!!"
Despite the unfavorable situation, they relied on Tianjiu's pitching to get a double play.
In the corner of the court.
The assistant coach of the city's junior year university muttered.
"That third baseman looks very skillful!"
Playing against the main players of a high school powerhouse and under such tremendous pressure, he was able to display his strength perfectly.
This guy called Sasaki seems to be worth training.
Supervisor Tahara also nodded slightly.
Tianjiu’s pitching certainly played an important role in the double play just now, but without Sasaki’s cooperation, there would not be the current effect.
Three outs, offense and defense exchange...
Next it was the middle school team's turn to attack.
When they returned to the rest area to rest, Tianjiu took the initiative to move closer to Zhang Han.
"Hey, I mean, is the deviation of my slider too high?"
"Yes, you are a genius!"
"That is to say, the pitch was very good..."
Sasaki and Adachi were both very supportive.
They are grateful from the bottom of their hearts if they didn't have such a good pitcher in charge.
Even if they have the ability, they cannot display it.
Zhang Han glanced at Tian Jiu and lost interest in paying any attention to him.
Although the middle school team did not lose any points in this inning, and even because of the double kill, their momentum was boosted.
But objectively analyzing the current situation, it is impossible for the freshman team to turn defeat into victory, and it will even be difficult to score points.
"It's no longer possible to turn the tide. Next, I can only try my best to prove my worth. And I can't do that to undermine the overall interests of the team."
Zhang Han is a practical man.
It never made any sense for him to indulge in the achievements before his eyes.
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