What did it actually feel like to play on the Koshien field?
Zhang Han had originally imagined that everyone would be burning with excitement, overflowing with passion. Just like when his teammates at Matsukata made it to the national tournament, adrenaline surging, faces flushed, acting almost crazed with excitement.
But reality was very different.
Standing on the Koshien field, every player was extremely careful.
Careful was not even the right word. It was more like restrained.
Zhang Han had thought that everyone would be able to unleash one hundred and twenty percent of their strength, or even more. Instead, they could not even bring out ninety percent.
At best, it was around eighty.
Compared to wanting to show off at Koshien, everyone seemed far more afraid of embarrassing themselves there.
Cameras surrounded the field. Hundreds of lenses and recording devices were constantly aimed at them.
Every player knew that every movement would be clearly captured and broadcast to fans across the country.
Under such circumstances, the mental pressure was enormous.
It was not just Seido.
Even the Hosen High School players, many of whom had previous Koshien experience, were not much better. They played just as cautiously, determined not to make a single mistake.
They did not dare to swing recklessly on offense, and on defense, they gave everything they had.
By the second inning, the score was still zero to zero.
In the top of the first inning, when Seido High School was on offense, Captain Tanaka got a hit to start things off. Hidezawa followed with a bunt that turned into a safe advance.
One out, runner on second base.
The chance of scoring first was extremely high.
Naturally, the Seido supporters were thrilled.
Especially the students from the school. Many of them stood up excitedly, already imagining Seido scoring its first run at Koshien.
But their expectations were quickly crushed.
Hosen High School's ace pitcher, a third-year with a buzz cut, struck out Yamada with a powerful pitch.
Immediately after that came Seido's strongest batter.
Azuma Kiyokuni.
Tokyo's strongest slugger.
The Seido supporters held their breath.
They were eager to see Azuma's swing, convinced that no matter how strong Hosen's pitcher was, Azuma would definitely hit the ball.
There was no logic behind it.
No analysis.
They simply believed it.
But Hosen did not give them that chance.
The ace pitcher, who looked fearless and resolute, chose almost without hesitation to issue an intentional walk.
Azuma Kiyokuni walked to first base.
Two outs. Runners on first and second.
Boos immediately erupted from the Seido supporters in the stands.
But none of that changed the situation on the field.
The Seido players exchanged glances.
Did the opponent really think the batter after Azuma would be easy to deal with?
If that was the case, then Hosen was in for a rude awakening.
Azuma Kiyokuni might have been the strongest batter on the team, but he was far from the only reliable one.
"Fifth batter, first base, Yuuki Tetsuya."
Yuuki stepped into the batter's box.
Everyone waited for him to punish the opponent.
Instead, after a full count, Hosen's pitcher threw a high, teasing pitch. Yuuki swung, sending the ball into the air.
A fly ball.
Out.
On the defensive side, Hidezawa also ran into trouble.
Although he managed to get three outs, a Hosen runner advanced all the way to third base. They had come painfully close to scoring. If luck had tilted even slightly in their favor, Hosen might have taken the lead in the first inning.
Before the game, neither side had truly feared the other. Both believed that while the opponent was strong, victory would not be difficult. But after facing each other head-on, both the coaches and the players were shaken.
Only now did they realize something unsettling. The opponent's strength was likely not inferior to their own.
Koshien truly lived up to its reputation as a gathering place for elite teams from across the nation.
In the first round, weaker teams might occasionally appear. That was unavoidable, since each prefecture sent a representative.
Some regions were notorious battlegrounds, like Kanagawa, Tokyo, and Osaka. Teams emerging from those places could not possibly be weak.
But there were also remote regions where baseball was underdeveloped, with fewer teams and lower overall competition. It was difficult for true powerhouses to emerge from such areas.
That was why weak teams sometimes appeared in the first round.
By the second round, this became rare.
Teams that reached the third round were unquestionably strong.
Those that reached the fourth round were without exception powerhouses, or teams with the potential to become one.
That was the reality of Koshien.
Every step forward was like climbing a steep mountain.
And among all those battles, one stood out as especially difficult.
The first game.
In that first match, you might face a weak opponent, but you could also run into an unexpectedly strong dark horse. On top of that, players had to adapt to the field, the atmosphere, and their own nerves.
Internal problems surfaced easily.
That was why the first game at Koshien produced the most upsets.
As soon as Seido and Hosen clashed, both teams' directors secretly felt regret.
Their luck was terrible.
They had run into each other.
The opponent was strong, and their own team was struggling with nerves, unable to perform at full capacity.
In such a situation, someone had to break the deadlock.
Whoever scored first would gain a huge advantage.
The game moved to the top of the second inning, with Seido High School back on offense.
The fans in the stands continued to shout Seido's name, cheering passionately.
This puzzled the Hosen players.
Seido had already reached the sixth batter, the lower part of the lineup.
Why were the fans still so enthusiastic?
Did they really believe that if the middle of the order failed, the lower-order batters would score?
"Sixth batter, shortstop, Zhang Han."
Perhaps his teammates had dreamed of this stage since childhood.
Perhaps they had longed for it so much that once they stood on it, the pressure overwhelmed them, preventing them from playing at their usual level.
This would not do.
Zhang Han put on his batting gloves, tightened his grip on the bat, and stepped into the batter's box.
It was his first time standing on the Koshien stage.
Hundreds of cameras were aimed directly at him.
Above his head, a remote-controlled drone hovered silently.
Everything felt unreal.
Like a dream.
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