Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter Has Arrived

Chapter 427 427: Competition

When the white ball shot into the sky, everyone present was stunned.

In baseball games, home runs are not too common, but if you watch long enough, you'll always see some. For example, Seido's Azuma Kiyokuni hit nearly sixty home runs in official games throughout his high school career.

He averaged roughly one per official game.

Zhang Han had already surpassed his mentor in that regard, though his total number of home runs was still far from his senior's.

So far, he had already hit over twenty home runs.

His average per official game was even higher than Azuma Kiyokuni's. Coupled with the current strength of the Seido High School Baseball Team, the number of games played was much higher than before.

It was almost a certainty that Zhang Han would surpass his senior in the future.

The fans who had followed the Seido High School Baseball Team for a long time had seen far more home runs than the average person.

However, a home run where the baseball flew directly out of the stadium still surprised them greatly.

How much power was in that swing?

How far did the ball actually fly?

As they wondered, the adrenaline in their bodies surged.

This was the feeling of surging excitement.

The reason they fell in love with watching Seido High School Baseball Team games was precisely because of this feeling.

It was too thrilling, too satisfying.

It took a full dozen seconds, even after the result was already decided, for the Seido supporters to finally come to their senses.

Then they frantically cheered, continuously shouting Seido's name.

"Seido! Seido!!"

Strictly speaking, the performance of the Ushimaru Agricultural High School Baseball Team was still good.

Especially their Ace Pitcher Aikawa, who gave the Seido High School Baseball Team a huge warning right at the start of the game.

The current Seido High School Baseball Team was not the same as a year ago. Although they were eliminated in the Autumn Tournament, their title of National First Batting Line had not been taken away.

They were still the owners of that title.

Nowadays, fewer and fewer teams could prevent Seido's hitters from getting a single chance in the first inning.

Aikawa had become one of them.

His performance was undeniably excellent.

But even if the opponent was excellent, what then? Facing the power hitters of the Seido High School Baseball Team, they could only surrender.

In the dugout, Manager Ota rubbed his hands excitedly, unable to hide the joy in his eyes.

"It's too complicated!"

The surrounding teammates looked at him strangely. What was there to be complicated about such a satisfying home run?

"Zhang Han is performing so well as the cleanup hitter. How are we going to take him out then?"

Manager Ota looked at Yuuki, who had already changed his gear and was walking up to the plate, muttering in a complicated tone.

When the other teammates heard this, they felt a sense of agreement.

To be honest, it did seem quite complicated.

Zhang Han's performance was enough to make anyone take notice.

It would be truly unreasonable to pull him from the cleanup spot with such a performance. However, placing their captain and original cleanup hitter, Yuuki Tetsuya, in another batting position also felt awkward.

Having two cleanup hitters suddenly appear on the team was indeed quite complicated.

Originally, Zhang Han had never hit cleanup, so no one had thought much of it. Although it was clear that the two core power hitters were almost equally strong, their positions were fixed and there were no disagreements or conflicts.

Now, with this change in position, problems immediately arose. A competition for the cleanup spot was very likely to follow.

Kataoka was well aware of what his players were thinking. But he had no intention of stopping it. He even fanned the flames in private.

Kataoka Tesshin never disliked competition.

An environment without competition is as quiet as stagnant water. What future does stagnant water have? If fish in a pond never face external threats, what motivation do they have to stay active?

In such a situation, it is necessary to introduce a catfish into the pond. This is the famous catfish effect.

Originally, Kataoka had been unsure about Ochiai's suggestion. But now, it seemed to be working well. Even though the fighting spirit of these two players was already among the best on the team, they were both so excellent that no one else was qualified to compete with them.

With their positions on the team unshakeable, their fighting spirit would inevitably erode over time.

The only difference was the degree of erosion.

Letting them compete with each other might allow them to take another step forward from their current level.

If it truly could have such an effect, the Seido High School Baseball Team would gain a huge advantage.

Kataoka pondered this quietly.

At the same time, Yuuki, who stepped up to the plate, did not disappoint Coach Kataoka.

He hit the ball very cleanly and decisively. Although the ball did not fly directly out of the stadium, the kind of hit that seemed to pierce through the entire field was equally awe-inspiring.

"Ping!"

The speed at which the baseball flew back far exceeded the expectations of the Ushimaru Agricultural players.

Before their bodies could react, the baseball had already landed beside them and bounced away.

After one bounce, the Ushimaru Agricultural fielders finally reacted.

Their outfielder rushed forward to stop the ball. But even though the baseball had landed, its speed after bouncing was still not slow.

Before he could reach it, the baseball had already flown past him.

One ball, having successively penetrated the infield and outfield defense, rolled to the far back of the field.

By the time the Ushimaru Agricultural High School player ran over to retrieve it, Yuuki had already successfully rounded Second Base.

"This is too much bullying!"

The Ushimaru Agricultural outfielder threw the baseball in his hand toward Third Base in frustration.

But at this moment, he was at least sixty meters away from Third Base.

How could he possibly make it in time?

By the time he wound up and threw, a full second had already passed.

The time it takes for a baseball to travel sixty meters is roughly two to three seconds.

Even if the throw was perfectly accurate, he simply couldn't make it in time. And a sixty-meter throw with no margin of error was asking too much.

Seido's Third Base coach had carefully calculated and, believing it to be safe, waved Yuuki home.

"Safe!"

A hit that penetrated the infield and outfield defense.

Not only that, the batter had run all the way from the plate to Third Base.

This kind of hit caused damage to Ushimaru Agricultural that was not much less than Zhang Han's home run.

The players of Ushimaru Agricultural High School were all stunned.

They, like the teams that had previously faced the Seido High School Baseball Team, had a big question in their hearts.

Were these really just ordinary high school students they were playing against?

Yuuki. Zhang Han.

Were these two really high school baseball players?

Compared to those two, it felt like they were in completely different worlds.

At the catcher's position, Ushimaru Agricultural's catcher stood up and called for a timeout.

Although they had been caught off guard by the home run, they could barely accept it.

After all, unexpected events are difficult to avoid in a baseball game.

But this hit that penetrated several layers of defense and completely broke through the entire Ushimaru Agricultural formation was different.

The one who was hurt was no longer just Aikawa. It was their entire team.

If they didn't help everyone adjust their mentality now and shake off the gloom, Ushimaru Agricultural would probably spend the rest of the game on the receiving end.

The catcher ran up to the pitcher's mound and communicated with his teammates.

What exactly they said, the players of the Seido High School Baseball Team had no idea.

In Seido's dugout, Kataoka suddenly turned to Chris behind him.

"If you were standing in the catcher's position right now, what would you say to the pitcher?"

The teammates who heard this were as tense as if it were a pop quiz, their hearts almost leaping out of their chests.

This was too sudden.

Were they testing the catcher already? Could it be that Coach Kataoka still wasn't satisfied with Miyuki?

If he wasn't even satisfied with Miyuki, many of the Seido High School Baseball Team's players, upon reflection, had already sheepishly bowed their heads.

What hope was there for those who weren't even as good as Miyuki?

Zhang Han, who had returned to the dugout after scoring, was also surprised.

He had originally thought that Coach Kataoka recalled Chris to the First String simply because he valued his hitting ability and wanted him as a pinch hitter.

He hadn't expected that to be the case at all.

Clearly, Kataoka had higher expectations for Chris.

This was very interesting.

Who would ultimately become the starting catcher for the Seido High School Baseball Team? Miyuki or Chris?

Zhang Han watched with great interest.

Little did he know, he himself had become an object of observation for others.

For the other players, after today's game, Zhang Han's position on the team would rise another notch.

This meant that his competitive relationship with Yuuki was now on the table.

Who would be the cleanup hitter for the Seido High School Baseball Team going forward? Who was the strongest hitter on the team?

This was a matter of contention.

Although Yuuki Tetsuya's hitting was not as dazzling as Zhang Han's, this did not mean his hitting ability or importance to the team was inferior.

Their competition was full of suspense.

For the current Seido High School Baseball Team, there was a sense of competition everywhere.

The catcher spot and the cleanup spot were just appetizers. The most intense competition was for the Ace position.

It's just that currently, all three pitchers of the Seido High School Baseball Team had their own problems.

The presence of pitchers on this team was not as strong as that of the hitters.

Therefore, even though the competition for the Ace position was the most important, there wasn't much to watch yet.

For the catcher's position, either Chris or Miyuki would do.

For the cleanup spot, either Zhang Han or Yuuki could be chosen.

Such evenly matched competition was naturally full of tension.

The Ace was different.

Currently, there didn't seem to be a suitable candidate.

Chris was not conflicted like the others. After hearing Coach Kataoka's question, he answered without hesitation.

"Get the first out!"

For Ushimaru Agricultural High School right now, the most important thing was to disrupt the Seido High School Baseball Team's offensive rhythm.

Otherwise, if these guys went wild, Ushimaru Agricultural might as well call it over and surrender now.

"Specifically?"

"Forkball!"

Kataoka was satisfied with Chris's answer.

"Then we'll be good people to the end and give them an out."

Kataoka signaled a sacrifice bunt to the batter on the field.

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