After successfully passing the first round of evaluation, Zhou Hao let out a long sigh of relief.
The pressure brought on by the upperclassmen was intense.
Especially in the first round, where he faced Matsumoto, whose overall abilities were exceptional.
Zhou Hao had worried that a rough start might affect his performance going forward.
But now, it seemed he was overthinking it.
Even these third-year seniors of the Seidou High baseball team struggled to adjust to his spiral ball on their first encounter.
And then there was Zhou Hao's fastball...
Originally, Zhou Hao didn't have high expectations for his fastball.
He simply felt that, as a qualified pitcher, not being able to throw a proper fastball would be unacceptable.
It was like patching a shortcoming in his arsenal.
But now, it seemed he had underestimated the Kunai Straight Throwing Technique.
Although this pitch felt less impressive than the spiral ball...
In an actual game, the effectiveness of a straight pitch might not necessarily be less than a spiral ball.
The second opponent to step up was Shimoike Teru, who had previously played alongside him in a match.
Zhou Hao had been deeply impressed by this upperclassman's performance in that previous game.
Now that he saw him stepping up to bat, Zhou Hao couldn't help but be on high alert.
Chris, clearly sensing Zhou Hao's tension, immediately gave a sign.
"Don't worry. Just keep doing what you've been doing."
Chris's insightfulness even surpassed that of Miyuki Kazuya.
Whether it was observing opponents or teammates—
He could see everything clearly.
With Chris guiding him, it was a huge help to the relatively inexperienced Zhou Hao.
Seeing the signal Chris gave, Zhou Hao felt much more at ease.
With his mood settled, Zhou Hao gripped the baseball in his hand once again.
Although a baseball is round, that doesn't mean how you grip it doesn't matter.
A baseball has seams.
Gripping different parts affects the power you generate when pitching.
Zhou Hao didn't follow the traditional grip. He simply chose the most comfortable position based on his own feel.
"Let's start with a fastball!"
Chris signaled.
Zhou Hao had just used his spiral ball to knock Matsumoto's bat out of his hands.
Cheers erupted from the crowd.
If it had been anyone else, the Seidou players might have chalked it up to coincidence.
But the one who threw that pitch was Zhou Hao.
Everyone knew it wasn't luck.
That was his specialty.
During the practice match with Matsuyama High, this had already happened.
Once might be a coincidence. But now that it was happening repeatedly, it clearly wasn't.
Even the spectators had vivid impressions.
Let alone the opponent standing before them now.
Those guys would undoubtedly have lingering impressions in their minds.
As long as that impression existed, their batting would inevitably be affected.
Especially Shimoike Teru—he had played with Zhou Hao just recently.
His impression of Zhou Hao's pitching would definitely be stronger than the others'.
Chris had calculated all of this perfectly.
Zhou Hao, on the other hand, didn't need to think about any of that—he just had to get into position and pitch.
As he threw more and more pitches, Zhou Hao's motion became increasingly fluid.
It was hard to believe he had no prior pitching experience.
Yet now, he pitched like a seasoned pro. The man in the batter's box widened his eyes in surprise.
Shimoike Teru had just seen Zhou Hao pitch yesterday.
But now, Zhou Hao looked even stronger than he did then?
"It must be an illusion! Just an illusion!"
Shimoike kept telling himself.
Maybe it was just because he was standing in a different position this time.
Before, they were teammates, so Shimoike could only watch from the field.
Now that they were opponents, and he was in the batter's box, it just felt different.
As he tried to reassure himself, the white baseball came flying toward him.
It came in incredibly fast—almost in the blink of an eye.
Shimoike instinctively tightened his grip on the bat.
As a seasoned batter, he quickly judged the pitch's speed and type.
It wasn't a spiral ball.
Even though the spiral ball flashed through his mind several times—
He could tell this was just a normal fastball.
What wasn't normal was that it clocked over 130 km/h!
Other than the spiral ball, Zhou Hao had never thrown at that kind of speed before.
"With that kind of build, how can he throw such a fast fastball?"
Just as Shimoike had that thought, the ball whizzed past him.
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
The spectators' eyes all widened in shock.
Even from a distance, they could see it clearly.
"Wasn't his speed just under 120 earlier? How did it suddenly go up so much?"
Hearing this, Miyuki Kazuya grumbled:
"That's a four-seam fastball!"
Yesterday, when the two of them had played together, Zhou Hao only used the spiral ball.
Miyuki had assumed that was all Zhou Hao could throw.
That's pretty common for wild, self-taught pitchers like him.
But now, Miyuki realized he had been a total fool!
Zhou Hao could throw a four-seam fastball this well? No way he couldn't throw fastballs!
"That bastard… he totally did this on purpose!"
Miyuki vowed to get back at him somehow.
Crouching in the catcher's position, Chris's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Zhou Hao's previous fastballs were way too slow.
At first, it was manageable, but give these seniors a little time, and they'd quickly adjust.
By then, Zhou Hao's fastball would be like a target dummy.
But now, things were different.
Zhou Hao's fastball could reach 130 km/h, nearly matching the spiral ball.
Batters would have a much harder time picking and reacting to pitches.
"Let's do it again!"
Receiving Chris's signal, Zhou Hao didn't hesitate and fired another fastball.
Already down one strike, there was no way Shimoike would just stand there and let another one pass.
He swung decisively.
"Crack!"
The white ball was hit but flew just outside the first-base line.
"Foul ball."
One strike and one foul—Shimoike was already cornered.
The first-year spectators were fired up with excitement.
Zhou Hao, who had been unknown in the third string, suddenly looked reborn.
Not only had he made it into the first string, but he was also performing outstandingly against senior players?
"That's amazing!"
"Absolutely perfect!"
It was like they were watching themselves dominating the field through Zhou Hao.
In the batter's box, Shimoike Teru took a deep breath.
The boy standing on the pitcher's mound looked frail and weak.
Yet in an actual showdown, he brought so much pressure?
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