One out, runner on first.
Zhang Han was guarding first base. At this moment, he had a good opportunity to chat with Manaka Kaname, who had just reached base.
The two were old acquaintances, and meeting each other naturally led to conversation.
"See that? Our pitcher is staring you down. Let me tell you a secret: he's like a sticky plaster. Once he latches onto you, you're definitely in for it."
Zhang Han spoke casually.
"I don't believe a word you say!"
Manaka Kaname didn't believe a single word that came out of Zhang Han's mouth. However, he also felt that Amahisa on the pitcher's mound was constantly staring at him.
Manaka, who was originally preparing to steal, had no choice but to stop.
As first-year high school players, they were under much greater psychological pressure when playing against their juniors. It wasn't that they couldn't make mistakes or give up runs, but they absolutely couldn't lose face.
If they were picked off by a middle schooler, that would be a huge embarrassment. Their teammates would mock them to death. Although the possibility wasn't high, as seniors, they couldn't risk it. Especially not with such a large lead.
Watching Manaka stay put, Zhang Han silently breathed a sigh of relief.
Amahisa was indeed looking at Manaka, but not because he was trying to prevent a steal. That kid probably just felt disgruntled and was thinking about getting even later.
Zhang Han had zero confidence in Amahisa's ability to hold runners.
When Matsukata Little League played practice games against Ishikawa, Zhang Han had seen it often. Their Ace was a pitching fanatic. He was enthusiastic about pitching, but for fielding duties, his attention dropped sharply. He rarely paid attention to the runners.
Matsukata Little League always won largely because they exploited this weakness.
Having resolved this concern, Zhang Han relaxed.
"Ping!"
"Foul!"
The white ball was hit out again.
This caused a stir among the middle school team. The three pitchers who had played before were considered good, but against Ichidai Third High School, they crumbled like wet paper.
Now, Amahisa's pitching seemed almost unsolvable to the middle schoolers, yet the Ichidai batters were keeping up.
Originally, they thought the high schoolers would need time to adapt to Amahisa. Unexpectedly, these seniors had incredibly fast bat speeds.
Amahisa's ball was fast for a middle schooler, but the Ichidai players could match it easily. As long as they judged the direction correctly, they could blast the ball out.
"Damn, are these guys even human?"
With Amahisa Kousei as the standard, the players in the tryout team were truly dumbfounded.
They knew their strength was immature compared to prestigious schools, but they never imagined the gap would be this huge.
Even Zhang Han was surprised.
He thought top-tier middle schoolers should be able to compete. Amahisa's Slider was undoubtedly beyond the middle school level, yet Amahisa was at a disadvantage.
For now, there weren't major problems mainly because Ichidai's players didn't understand Amahisa yet. Once they became familiar with him, the hits would come.
Just as Zhang Han was worrying, the situation changed again.
Amahisa threw his best Slider. Ichidai's second batter swung without hesitation.
"Ping!"
The moment the bat hit the baseball, the batter felt the recoil. He had mis-hit it.
The ball landed in Sasaki's fielding range.
He dashed out, picked up the ball, and threw it to second base. Second base threw it to Zhang Han at first.
"Out!"
"Out!!"
"Double Play!!"
Despite the unfavorable situation, the tryout team managed to get a double play thanks to Amahisa's pitching and Sasaki's defense.
In the corner of the field, Ichidai's assistant coach muttered.
"That third baseman looks very agile!"
Playing against the main players of a prestigious high school under such pressure, yet perfectly displaying his strength, this Sasaki kid seemed to have potential.
Coach Tahara also nodded slightly.
Amahisa's pitching played a role, but without Sasaki's cooperation, they wouldn't have turned the double play.
Three outs, change of offense and defense.
Next, it was the middle school team's turn to bat.
When they returned to the dugout, Amahisa approached Zhang Han.
"Hey, was the break on my Slider too much?"
"That's right, you're a genius!"
"Exactly, you pitched very well..."
Sasaki and Adachi were very supportive. They were sincerely grateful; without such a good pitcher, they wouldn't be able to compete.
Zhang Han glanced at Amahisa sideways and ignored him.
Although they didn't give up runs and gained momentum from the double play, objectively, it was impossible for the tryout team to turn the tide. Even scoring runs would be difficult.
"It's impossible to win. Next, I can only try my best to prove my worth without undermining the team."
Zhang Han was a pragmatist. Getting drunk on temporary success meant nothing to him.