Yuuki not swinging at the first pitch greatly surprised Harada Masatoshi.
Putting himself in Yuuki's shoes, he believed that swinging at the first pitch would undoubtedly have been the best choice.
But Yuuki just didn't do it.
Had he miscalculated? Or had Yuuki already seen that this pitch was a ball?
It was so fast, and not far from the edge of the strike zone; the probability of seeing through it was extremely small.
Another one.
Harada signaled Narumiya Mei.
Narumiya Mei showed a hint of a smile; he felt a special sense of accomplishment in tricking Yuuki this way.
So he did it without hesitation.
"Whoosh!"
The white ball instantly pierced through more than ten meters of space, appearing above home plate.
On the first pitch, Yuuki was still a bit hesitant, his hands instinctively gripping the bat.
By the second pitch, it was as if he already had a clear idea, with no intention of swinging at all.
Then he watched the baseball fly past him with his own eyes.
"Crack!"
"Ball!"
The count was zero strikes, two balls.
No matter how unwilling he was to admit it, Harada Masatoshi knew that his previous judgment was wrong.
Yuuki didn't not want to swing at the first pitch; rather, he had already seen that the ball was flying out of the strike zone.
Although this was incredibly unbelievable, eliminating all other possibilities, the remaining possibility, no matter how unbelievable, was the only truth.
"Don't test him anymore; use a breaking ball."
Harada signaled Narumiya Mei.
Narumiya Mei nodded and released his pitch.
This time, the baseball grazed the edge of the strike zone and flew into Harada's glove.
Yuuki seemed to be affected by the previous two pitches; he couldn't swing at this one and watched the baseball fly past him.
"Crack!"
"Good!"
Harada, catching the ball in his glove, nodded approvingly. With this strike, their pitch selection afterward could be much more flexible.
But before Harada could think further, he heard the umpire's voice from behind him.
"Ball!"
Harada turned his head back in disbelief, staring at the umpire.
"Is there a problem, student?"
There was a hint of hesitation in the umpire's eyes, but he quickly firmed up his thoughts.
He looked at Harada candidly and asked.
"No, nothing…"
In the Seido High School Baseball Team dugout.
Miyuki had a slight smile on his face: "This is called trying to eat more than you can chew."
"Because of Yuuki's precise judgment on the first two pitches, the umpire subconsciously assumes that if he doesn't swing at those corner pitches, they are all balls. This way, Narumiya Mei's particularly wide corner pitches probably can't be thrown at all."
Chris also had a smile on his face.
Zhang Han, having changed his gear and ready to bat, thoughtfully glanced at the pitcher's mound.
Three consecutive balls; Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team's subsequent pitch selection would be difficult.
No matter what they chose, they had to get strikes quickly. And the next pitch had to aim for a position slightly towards the center of the strike zone.
Because if it wasn't a pitch towards the center, Yuuki simply wouldn't swing.
"Whoosh!"
Narumiya Mei's face was slightly gloomy, but he was very stubborn when pitching. With almost no hesitation, he threw a pitch that was low and slightly towards the center of the strike zone.
Low angle, three consecutive…
This thought had just emerged in everyone's minds.
Then people witnessed a very magical scene: Yuuki, who had remained silent in the batter's box, after successfully forcing the opponent to throw three balls, still had no intention of swinging.
He stood there handsomely, like a statue, without any movement.
Just as everyone was wondering, they saw that the ball, which was about to enter the strike zone, suddenly dropped sharply, bounced off the ground, and rebounded.
"Crack…"
"Ball!"
"Walk to First Base!"
Narumiya Mei on the pitcher's mound had completely blown up.
"Damn it, not swinging at a single pitch?"
He stubbornly believed that Yuuki would swing at the last pitch.
After all, there had already been three consecutive balls; they had no chance to throw another ball. That's why he did the opposite and specifically threw a ball.
It was all to successfully trick Yuuki once.
Unexpectedly, his trick was completely seen through by Yuuki; he had no intention of swinging at all.
Instead, he watched the baseball fly past.
No outs, runner on First Base.
Yuuki Tetsuya expressionlessly ran to First Base.
"Fourth Batter, outfielder, Zhang Han."
The fans in the stands were all stunned at this moment.
Even the Seido supporters, whose batter was walked and successfully reached First Base, were basically at a loss, not knowing what exactly had happened.
How did Yuuki get walked out of nowhere?
Narumiya Mei, who hadn't thrown a single ball for over an inning, for a full three innings, how did he suddenly throw four consecutive balls?
They simply couldn't understand.
"Han-san! Han-san…"
Just as most people in the stands were in a state of confusion, a group of people were the first to regain their senses. They joyfully raised the ribbons in their hands and waved them continuously.
Their hero was finally coming to bat.
And this time, there was also a runner on base.
Although the runner was on First Base, it would be difficult to score with a regular hit.
But this was still hope!
And for them, they didn't care whether Seido High School Baseball Team could score with this opportunity.
What they truly cared about was whether the man in the batter's box was handsome enough.
Other fans also had their attention drawn and began to chant Zhang Han's name.
At this moment, it was as if Seido High School Baseball Team had already scored.
"It's like he can really break my Three-pitch Sequence?"
Narumiya Mei was unconvinced by this.
Even though he had just thrown four balls, it didn't affect Narumiya Mei's pitching state.
After all, the reason his pitches didn't enter the strike zone was due to his miscalculation, not a problem with his condition.
At this moment, he went all out to face Zhang Han, and he had learned from his previous lesson. He didn't use a Fastball but instead used a low-angle breaking ball.
"That's it, Curveball!"
Although Narumiya Mei hadn't been practicing the curveball for long, perhaps he truly had extraordinary talent. In Harada's opinion, Narumiya Mei's curveball was already very sharp.
When the baseball flew, it was basically aimed at the upper half of the strike zone, but it felt as if it was aiming for a low angle.
And the actual landing point of the baseball was also at a low angle. It was just that this angle was not as low as people perceived.
This breaking ball alone would create a sense of visual displacement.
Paired with regular Fastballs and Forkballs, such pitches are basically unhittable.
He shouldn't have tried to trick Yuuki just now. If he hadn't initially assumed that Yuuki would swing at the first pitch, in a head-on confrontation, he might not have been able to hit such a pitch.
Harada felt a bit annoyed.
Fortunately, it wasn't too late for him to realize. As long as he successfully dealt with the remaining three batters, the mistake with Yuuki could still be compensated for.
Just as Harada was thinking this, he noticed Zhang Han moved.
Zhang Han's choice was exactly as they had previously guessed.
He didn't give them a chance to use the three-pitch sequence to disrupt his vision at all.
He aimed for the first pitch and swung directly.
The success rate of hitting like this is naturally higher, but Narumiya Mei's curveball is not that easy to catch.
Not to mention, Zhang Han had no way of judging whether this pitch was a regular Fastball, a Forkball, or a curveball.
His swing would definitely hesitate, and it wouldn't be thorough enough.
"Boom!"
Zhang Han put all his strength into his swing, without any hesitation.
Unstoppable!
"Ping!"
As the baseball was falling, Zhang Han's swing precisely caught the descending trajectory of the baseball, sending the ball flying far away.
The baseball that was sent flying soared directly into the sky, almost in a straight line, and slammed hard into the electronic scoreboard.
"Crack!"
Cracks appeared on the electronic scoreboard.
But at this moment, no one cared about Zhang Han damaging public property anymore.
They were all deeply shocked by this swing.
"It flew, it flew out! Zhang Han hit a two-run Homerun, helping Seido High School Baseball Team regain the lead."
Total score 3:2!
Seido High School Baseball Team went from being down by one run to leading by one run.
Harada's expression was incredibly rigid.
It seemed his previous guess was not wrong.
Zhang Han getting a hit was no coincidence.
************************************
Upto 50 Chapters In Advance At: P@treon/Vividreader123