Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter Has Arrived

Chapter 426 426: Home Run Cannon

Tanba's excellent performance reassured the players of the Seido High School Baseball Team.

He struck out two batters consecutively and forced the opponent's Third Batter to hit a ground ball.

Most importantly, they felt Tanba's fighting spirit and good condition. As long as Tanba was in good condition, he was a good pitcher.

Before Zhang Han was injured, even though he could already pitch at speeds above 150 kilometers per hour, he dared not say his pitching was definitely stronger than Tanba's.

As long as the pitcher didn't have problems, the players of the Seido High School Baseball Team could basically rest easy.

Even if the current opponent was much stronger than the intelligence they had previously gathered.

Not only did Aikawa have outstanding ball velocity, but he also used a forkball. This pitcher was several times stronger than they had expected.

But even so, the Seido High School Baseball Team still had confidence that they could score runs against him.

They might even break him.

Scoring was a certainty. The question now was when.

And that time might be arriving very soon.

The next batter to step up to the plate was their Fourth Batter, Zhang Han.

Rewinding a bit: yesterday, when Coach Kataoka was setting the lineup, he not only assigned the starting players but also arranged the batting order.

It's worth noting that since the previous batch of third-year students left the baseball team, this team had been together for eight months.

After the Autumn Tournament, winter training, and several practice games at the end of the third semester, the Seido High School Baseball Team was already a very mature team.

It wasn't that every position in the team was set in stone.

However, the core starters, especially the batting order for the first few batters, were fixed.

But this time, Coach Kataoka made a change to the most core position.

The Fourth Batter.

Zhang Han was arranged as the Fourth Batter, while Yuuki Tetsuya was moved to Fifth Batter.

When this was announced, everyone was stunned.

Although Zhang Han's hitting was not inferior to Yuuki's, their previous batting order had already been polished and was very mature.

There was absolutely no reason to change it.

Furthermore, Captain Yuuki hadn't made any mistakes. Which game had he not perfectly completed his task?

He hadn't made any mistakes himself, and while his hitting ability might not be stronger than Zhang Han's, it wasn't much worse either.

Under these circumstances, why would they still replace Yuuki?

Could it be that Coach Kataoka really didn't consider Yuuki's position as captain and senior at all?

This was the era of the third-years. Even if Seido High School's future batting lineup was to be led by Zhang Han, handing the baton to Zhang Han now seemed too early.

What would the third-year players think?

Zhang Han himself was also bewildered.

He even wanted to stand up and refuse directly.

The seniors had always taken great care of him, and Zhang Han had never thought of usurping their position.

Furthermore, Zhang Han truly didn't think there was anything worth fighting for regarding the Fourth Batter position.

It wasn't the Ace spot.

If it were the Ace, there would be value in competing for it. After all, there was only one pitcher's mound. If you got it, you could play. If you didn't, you could only sit on the bench.

But the Third Batter or Fourth Batter? What was there to argue about?

In professional baseball teams and many strong high school programs, they would even deliberately arrange their strongest batter as the Third Batter.

In terms of importance, the Third Batter position wasn't much different from the Fourth Batter.

If there had to be a difference, it was probably just a matter of reputation.

After all, the Fourth Batter was the representative of a team's strongest hitter, while the Third Batter was simply one of the core batting positions.

To make the seniors unhappy and cause trouble for himself over such a superficial distinction, Zhang Han was unwilling.

But before he could stand up, he was stopped by Coach Kataoka's stern gaze.

"As our fame and strength grow, opponents will increasingly walk our strong batters. To avoid being walked, we will temporarily adjust the batting order for each game based on the situation and the needs of the game."

Once Coach Kataoka explained, everyone felt relieved.

Zhang Han wasn't truly fixed as the Fourth Batter. He was just one of the rotating players.

But even so, that was still quite significant.

This meant that in the minds of Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff, Zhang Han's hitting ability was already second to none in the entire team.

However, everyone still had doubts.

With the same players batting, was the change in order really that important?

On this point, Kataoka himself wasn't very certain.

But when Coach Ochiai raised it with him, the expression on Ochiai's face was very confident.

Kataoka thought that since he didn't fully understand it, he might as well listen to the professionals and give it a try.

It would certainly not work in important games, but against grassroots opponents like Ushimaru, there shouldn't be much of a problem.

However, Kataoka also hadn't expected that at the start of today's game, Ushimaru Agricultural High School would give him such a big surprise.

They had actually held back their strength in previous games.

Fortunately, Tanba performed well, so he didn't have to worry too much about today's gamble.

As for Zhang Han, this was his first time batting as the Fourth Batter.

Even though he became a core starter for Matsukata very early on, he was always the Fifth Batter there. Even in his last year, Hoshida was the Fourth Batter, not him.

This was a memorable day.

This was his first time standing at the plate as the team's Fourth Batter.

Zhang Han's mood was complex. He felt a hint of anticipation, along with a sense of responsibility.

As the team's Fourth Batter, the burden on his shoulders was clearly much heavier. Today's opponent, and especially Aikawa, had far exceeded the expectations of the Seido High School Baseball Team.

Aikawa had already given Seido a strong warning.

At this point, if the opponent chose not to confront him directly, that would be one thing.

But if the opponent decided to confront him and he were to be struck out, the blow to Seido would be too great.

Once the strongest Fourth Batter was struck out, the players would naturally view Aikawa as a top-tier pitcher. They would already be intimidated going into their at-bats. How could they hit under those conditions?

He had to make contact. At least get a base hit.

Zhang Han made up his mind.

Based on the information Kuramochi had provided, Aikawa's pitching variations were not many. The only breaking ball he used was the forkball.

What was most surprising about Aikawa was his terrifying ball velocity.

It was truly something to behold.

According to Zhang Han's thinking, if the ball velocity was so terrifying, did it also mean that the ball's rotation speed was faster than a normal fastball?

Everyone's palm size, finger length, and grip on the ball were different.

This meant that even with the same fastball at the same speed, the power behind each pitch could vary. It was like throwing a long ball. Even if two pitchers had the same initial ball speed, the distance they threw could be very different. The one who threw farther had greater effective velocity, regardless of the reason.

Zhang Han gripped the bat tightly.

How much had he improved at Seido? This next at-bat would reveal the answer.

Aikawa had the spirit of a newborn calf unafraid of tigers. Even facing Zhang Han, he showed no hesitation.

Instead, he put everything into his pitch.

"Whoosh!"

The baseball flew.

Zhang Han had already pinpointed its direction.

The speed of this pitch was average, and its location was about three balls below the center.

Aikawa's pitching relied on his momentum. His actual control was poor.

His pitches were mostly concentrated around the center of the strike zone.

The catcher had probably already given up on calling pitches. With Aikawa's skill level, just getting the ball into the strike zone was already good enough.

A good one.

The white ball arrived in front of Zhang Han in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Han firmly planted both feet at the plate, generating power from his legs, then his waist, and finally his arms and wrists.

At this moment, Zhang Han's entire body was like a well-coordinated machine operating at full power.

Eyes fixed on the incoming baseball, Zhang Han swung his bat without hesitation.

"Ping!"

Speed against speed. Power against power.

At that instant, Zhang Han's full strength erupted.

A body capable of pitching at 154 kilometers per hour became even more formidable when used for hitting.

After all, compared to pitching, Zhang Han's hitting was undoubtedly more natural.

"Whoosh!"

The ball flew directly into the sky.

In the stands, thousands of eyes were fixed on that white ball. They felt as if it was soaring endlessly upward, as if it would never come down.

As if it would just keep flying, into the deepest reaches of the universe.

They truly did not see it fall.

Carried by the spring breeze, the white ball flew directly out of the stadium, turning into a small white dot, its whereabouts unknown.

Zhang Han raised his hand high.

"The first team to score is the Seido High School Baseball Team. Fourth Batter Zhang Han has hit a home run, and the ball has flown directly out of the stadium."

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