"Azuma Kiyokuni! Azuma Kiyokuni!!!"
In the stands, tens of thousands of fans shouted Kiyokuni's name in unison, their voices shaking the stadium.
Even neutral spectators could not help but cry out.
"The players of the Seido High School Baseball Team are truly monsters!"
The pitch thrown by Hosen High School's pitcher just now was, by all standards, not bad. The ball speed was extremely fast, and although the location was not especially tricky, it was still an outside pitch.
For most batters, such a pitch would be very difficult to time, and even more difficult to hit solidly. Even if contact were made, with that speed and being an outside pitch, it would be hard to drive the ball far.
Yet Kiyokuni not only caught up to it, he blasted it an astonishing distance.
His strength was simply unfathomable.
That terrifying power sent a chill through the hearts of the fans watching. It was difficult to imagine how Seido High School's opponents could possibly deal with him.
Kiyokuni, in his first appearance at Koshien, in his very first game, had hit a home run.
His performance was so flawless that it left people speechless.
On the other side, the coach of Hosen High School furrowed his brows deeply.
Kiyokuni's home run had greatly impacted the situation on the field.
Fortunately, Hosen's players placed blind trust in their Director, so they would not collapse because of this blow.
The real problem was that the individual strength of Seido High School Baseball Team's players was simply too terrifying.
He had only heard about it before.
Now, he was seeing it with his own eyes.
The players of Seido High School actually possessed the ability to change the situation of the game by themselves.
That was frightening.
Even in professional baseball, such ability usually belonged only to top star players. What kind of luck did Seido's Coach Kataoka have, to assemble such a lineup?
The ace pitcher was strong enough to lead the team forward.
The defense was as airtight as an iron barrel, making it nearly impossible to find weaknesses or openings. If opponents wanted to score, they could only choose to fight head-on.
As for the hitters, they possessed the potential of top-tier stars.
Hosen High School's coach felt his eyes redden as he looked at this Seido team. If he had such players under his command, why would he worry about not dominating Koshien?
Unfortunately, this team did not belong to him.
Worse still, they were his opponents.
"Play it safe. Get the outs first."
Suppressing his jealousy, Hosen High School's coach calmly signaled to his players on the field.
No matter how good someone else's players were, they were still someone else's. He had only his own limited resources, and he needed to make the best use of them.
After such a heavy blow, it was natural for players to waver.
At times like this, rather than giving complicated tactics, it was better to give them a simple objective.
Complex tactics required perfect execution. Once mistakes occurred, they would only deepen the players' sense of loss and might even rob them of the courage to continue.
In this situation, it was better to play it safe.
Build confidence through action.
Even if there were shortcomings in the process, as long as the players' fighting spirit remained intact, everything would be worth it.
The tactics adopted by Hosen's Director might not have been humane, but they undeniably had their strengths. It was precisely under his leadership that this team had reached its current heights and achieved its present glory.
The players of Seido High School soon felt the opponent's tenacity.
Yuuki Tetsuya stepped into the batter's box for his second at-bat and tangled with the opposing pitcher for seven or eight pitches.
"This is too tenacious."
"To be honest, this is the first time I've seen Yuuki drag out an at-bat this long."
Those unfamiliar with Yuuki might think he was deliberately prolonging the at-bat.
But his teammates knew better.
They understood exactly what kind of batter their fifth hitter was.
He was a true master. If something could be resolved with one swing, he would never wait for a second. The fact that the at-bat dragged on this long was proof enough of how stubborn the opponent was.
"Ball!"
"Walk!"
In the end, Yuuki was sent to first base.
Immediately after, it was Zhang Han's turn to bat.
The moment Zhang Han stepped into the batter's box, the Seido supporters erupted into loud cheers.
By now, everyone in the stadium understood how much Seido's fans anticipated Zhang Han's at-bats.
They believed that as long as Zhang Han stood in the batter's box, he would deliver.
For a first-year rookie to generate such influence was already proof of his success. At the very least, his personal baseball career had been remarkably successful.
Successful enough to cause such a stir.
Hosen High School, as the opposing team, treated him with utmost caution.
Their first run had essentially been given up because of Zhang Han.
Whether it was this game or the information they had gathered beforehand, they could not afford to ignore the batter standing in front of them.
Even though he was only a first-year rookie, Zhang Han's destructive power was by no means insignificant.
Inside Seido High School Baseball Team's dugout, Coach Kataoka did not relax despite the two-run lead. His sharp eyes stared intently at the Hosen players across the field.
Their movements were clean and decisive, the mark of players who had undergone long-term training.
Sweat never lies.
As long as enough effort is put in, heaven will always give something in return.
Just like these Hosen players, sharp and capable, impossible to overlook.
To face such an opponent, one's own actions had to be even cleaner and more decisive.
On that point, Coach Kataoka was equally confident.
Do not think that passing the heart of the lineup meant things would become easy.
Among Seido's players, anyone standing on the field had earned that position.
Zhang Han, Miyuki, and Isashiki Jun included.
Each of them had defeated dozens of competitors for their spot.
So even though many of them were only first or second-year students, Coach Kataoka had complete confidence in them.
With Yuuki already on base, he believed the batters coming up had more than enough ability to send him back home.
"Whoosh!"
Baldy's pitching showed no sign of being affected by the home run or the lost run. Whenever he threw, it remained powerful and sharp.
The baseball shot forward in the blink of an eye.
"Oh no, the runner stole a base!"
Yuuki took off from first base almost the instant Baldy released the pitch.
The Hosen catcher clenched his teeth, determined to teach Yuuki a lesson the moment the ball hit his glove.
"No, this is not right. This is…"
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