By the ninth inning, the ga was nearing its end.
The score stood at 17–1.
Seido High School had strong pitching and an ironclad defense, while Shinko High School was not a team known for overwhelming offensive power. As a result, throughout the ga, Shinko managed very little production. Although they recorded five or six hits, they were only able to score a single run.
Seido High School Baseball Team, on the other hand, was a completely different story.
They opened the ga by striking hard, blasting two ho runs for a total of four runs. That first inning essentially set the tone and the outco of the entire match.
Given Shinko High School's offensive capabilities, chasing down a four-run deficit was already an almost impossible task. To put it bluntly, the result of the ga was practically decided from that mont.
In the innings that followed, Shinko High School maintained the dignity of a powerhouse and stubbornly refused to give up, but it was nothing more than a prolonged, desperate struggle.
The second, third, and fourth innings were still manageable. During that stretch, Kuse Hikaru still had ample stamina. Although he encountered several dangerous situations, he resolved them with skill and composure, giving up only two additional runs.
By the fifth inning, however, the score had already widened to 6–0.
Playing a ga that was clearly slipping away even one filled with constant challenges from powerful batters was exhausting. While Kuse Hikaru initially found the confrontation stimulating, fatigue was inevitable.
Especially against Seido High School Baseball Team's offense, only those who truly faced them could understand how terrifying it was.
Suppressing these monsters consud an amount of stamina far beyond what ordinary pitchers could endure. If there had been hope of a coback, Kuse Hikaru might have pushed himself further, perhaps even lasting the entire ga through sheer willpower.
But in a match that was already destined to be lost, his stamina drained several tis faster than usual.
By the middle innings, his breathing rhythm was completely disrupted, and sweat poured down his forehead like streams.
The Seido batters, watching him like predators, naturally did not miss the opportunity to strike while he was weakened.
Azuma Kiyokuni was the first to capitalize, smashing his second ho run of the ga and sending shockwaves through the stadium.
The tournant had only just entered its third round, and Seido High School had even played one fewer ga than most teams.
Yet Azuma Kiyokuni had already hit four ho runs.
Although he hadn't tied a record like Zhang Han, he now stood as the player with the most ho runs in the entire Koshien tournant.
He had earned the nickna: Tokyo Monster.
Moreover, judging from the current situation, no one could say for certain that he wouldn't go on to challenge the all-ti record as well. He already had four ho runs; just three more would bring him to seven.
Three ho runs.
For most players, that would be an almost impossible task. But for Azuma Kiyokuni, it didn't seem out of reach at all.
As long as Seido High School Baseball Team continued advancing, opportunities would inevitably co. Not to ntion, even in this very ga, there was still ti left. No one could say for sure whether Azuma Kiyokuni or Yuuki might add more ho runs before the final out.
How terrifying was Seido High School Baseball Team's offensive power?
And it wasn't just those three ho runs.
In the seventh inning, Yuuki launched a ho run as well as Seido's fourth of the ga.
Even so, the Seido players were still not satisfied.
That ho run didn't help them break any records or tie new ones.
Zhang Han also had his own sense of vanity.
He had already achieved his goal of making a splash at Koshien. At first, he thought that would be enough. But reality proved otherwise after performing so well and drawing so much attention, his ambitions grew.
If nothing else, he wanted to hit at least one more ho run.
The highest ho run record for a rookie at Koshien was actually quite low only two. Zhang Han had already tied that record at the start of the second ga.
One more.
That was all it would take to break it.
Faced with such temptation, who could resist?
Zhang Han was no exception.
If the ga had been closely contested, he would have had no choice but to prioritize the team's victory above everything else.
But now, victory was already firmly in their grasp.
Under these circumstances, it was only natural for him to pursue a higher goal.
Even if Coach Kataoka or Manager Ota knew what he was thinking, they wouldn't object. If Zhang Han could set a new rookie ho run record at Koshien, it would be a trendous benefit not just for him personally, but for Seido High School Baseball Team as a whole.
Why did the school invest so heavily in the baseball team's journey to Koshien?
There were only two reasons: fa and profit.
And those two went hand in hand.
The more famous Zhang Han beca during the tournant, the happier the school would be. It would justify the trendous cost they had paid to bring him into the team in the first place.
Perhaps Zhang Han focused too much on the result, which caused him to lose so of his usual composure.
In his next few at-bats, although he continued to get hits, he was unable to send another ball over the fence.
Azuma Kiyokuni found himself in the sa situation.
Perhaps they were both trying too hard, and because of that, neither could seize the perfect opportunity.
It wasn't until the ninth inning, with Seido High School back on offense, that the batting order finally rotated back to Zhang Han.
Whether in the stands or in the dugout, he could clearly feel the concentrated gazes of his teammates.
They were all hoping eagerly that he would hit another ho run and bring even greater glory to the school.
Zhang Han, of course, felt the sa.
He wanted to seize this chance and break the record he had only just tied.
By this point, Shinko High School had already replaced their pitcher.
Kuse Hikaru, one of the nation's top pitchers, had thrown 143 pitches and lasted six innings. But it had been in vain. He personally gave up nine runs.
This man, once hailed as one of the strongest pitching prospects in the country, was completely knocked out of contention in this ga. After being battered so thoroughly by Seido High School Baseball Team, he could no longer claim that title with any confidence.
After him ca the tall relief pitcher now standing on the mound. But his ability was clearly limited. In just two innings, Seido High School Baseball Team scored seven or eight runs off him.
Against such a pitcher, getting a hit was not difficult.
The real question was whether Zhang Han could hit a ho run. He waited patiently, planning carefully, and finally caught a pitch he liked.
He swung hard.
The white ball soared high into the sky. But it only landed deep in the outfield, at the very edge of the field.
Zhang Han felt a twinge of frustration.
Even he couldn't guarantee a ho run. After all, this kind of thing didn't depend on skill alone.
Sotis, it also depended on luck.
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