The sudden appearance of their opponent made the Seido High School Baseball Team quite uncomfortable.
They carefully studied the opponent's game footage.
According to the Seido High School Baseball Team members' original assumption, the team they were about to see in the game footage must be a team that had silently accumulated strength and was now extremely, extremely outstanding.
In Zhang Han's words, they were quietly working hard and then stunning everyone.
What a scholar says is always pleasant to hear.
In fact, many of the Seido High School Baseball Team members had the exact same idea and opinion as Zhang Han.
But if they were to summarize it in words, they would never be able to express it as clearly as Zhang Han.
However much the Seido High School Baseball Team members had originally anticipated it, that was how disappointed they were after watching the game footage.
Judging from the game between Chiba High School and Sakurazawa High School, Chiba High School was clearly better prepared.
They had hidden an Ace Pitcher who had never played before and could use a submarine pitching style.
When the Seido High School Baseball Team members witnessed this pitching style, they were also incredibly surprised. If they had encountered the Chiba High School baseball team and such an unexpected pitcher beforehand, it would probably have taken some effort to conquer his pitches.
Since that pitcher who could use the submarine pitching style came onto the field, Sakurazawa High School did not score another run.
This meant that if the young man with the submarine pitching style had been on the field from the beginning, it would be hard to say who would have won that game.
Chiba High School's disadvantage was precisely this: they didn't bring out all their trump cards at the beginning.
They started with their original number one, a third-year pitcher, but the opponent, Sakurazawa High School, scored two runs first. As a result, even when their true Ace came on, he couldn't turn the tide in a short time, and the final outcome was quite tragic.
Two to zero, they lost the game.
Next, we need to talk about Sakurazawa High School.
Judging from the performance of the players from both teams on the field in this game, the Sakurazawa High School players' training was far less rigorous than that of the Chiba High School players.
To give a simple example, consider a ball hit to third base.
Chiba High School players could easily throw it to first base.
The entire process rarely had any mishaps.
This seems like a very simple operation in a baseball game. But it is precisely this extremely simple operation that proves one thing.
That is, their usual training is very rigorous, allowing them to make difficult tasks seem easy.
In contrast, the performance of Sakurazawa High School players on the field was clearly of a much lower caliber. Their players' skills were inconsistent, and when throwing, they couldn't even make an accurate throw in one go. Instead, they would throw the ball to the ground first, and then let the receiving player catch the rebound.
This level of difficulty is generally only seen in elementary school baseball.
For players like Zhang Han, who participate in regular youth baseball practice, this kind of throwing was rarely used once they entered youth baseball.
Unless it was a particularly long-distance throw, this would only be done to ensure accuracy.
But Sakurazawa High School players, let alone particularly long-distance throws, found it difficult to even make accurate ordinary throws.
If the screen hadn't clearly shown the game results of these two teams, the Seido High School Baseball Team members would probably have been very suspicious that the winner of today's game would be Sakurazawa High School and not the more impressive Chiba High School.
"Chiba's batters were too unlucky; not a single ball was hit well."
"Could it be that pitcher has some secret technique we can't see?"
Someone among the Seido High School Baseball Team members guessed.
You could say one or two times is a coincidence, but after playing a full nine-inning game like this, Chiba High School only managed three effective hits.
Isn't that a bit unreasonable?
He wasn't the only one with this thought; the other members of the Seido High School Baseball Team also had similar suspicions.
But very quickly, this speculation was denied by the members themselves.
"There are only so many variations in baseball, and honestly, I don't think that pitcher's ball speed poses much of a threat."
This wasn't the Seido High School Baseball Team deliberately belittling their opponent; they truly felt this way.
They really couldn't figure out what was so remarkable about that pitcher from the Sakurazawa High School baseball team.
Even if he did have something, for the Seido High School Baseball Team members, there was almost no noteworthy danger.
Only Coach Kataoka, after seeing the opponent's performance, did not give any disparaging remarks.
Instead, he earnestly warned all the players that tomorrow would be the important first battle, and they absolutely could not be careless.
They had to give it their all.
When his Coach said such words, Zhang Han, as the Ace of the team, his eyes immediately lit up.
Previously, Coach Kataoka had repeatedly forbidden him from playing in the first game. Zhang Han had already given up on that idea and was prepared to sit obediently on the bench during the first game, waiting for his teammates to win.
He absolutely had to prove to Coach Kataoka and the coaches of the Seido High School Baseball Team coaching staff that he was not a delicate vase.
He had enough strength to be the team's Ace, and he could also lead the Seido High School Baseball Team members to victory.
However, after seeing Zhang Han's gaze, Kataoka immediately turned his head away.
Seeing this scene, Miyuki almost snorted with laughter.
Unlike Zhang Han's situation, he, the team's main catcher, was on tomorrow's starting lineup.
"Are you that happy to see your partner in trouble?"
Zhang Han said grumpily.
Miyuki didn't care at all.
"The Coach also fully considered our current situation, which is why he made such arrangements. Don't be too serious about it; your chance to play will come."
Why did he need to say that?
Zhang Han, of course, knew that his opportunity would come.
But since Kataoka had said those words in front of everyone, how could he truly remain indifferent?
After watching the Sakurazawa High School game, the Seido High School Baseball Team members actually didn't find anything remarkable about this grassroots team.
They had originally been wary, fearing that the opponent had extraordinary changes. Now that they had seen the game, their original worries disappeared.
No one had anticipated how much trouble this seemingly unremarkable Sakurazawa High School would cause the Seido High School Baseball Team in the subsequent games.
So much so that their first game became a laughingstock among the major powerhouses in West Tokyo.
After watching the game footage, the Seido High School Baseball Team members continued their training.
Just then, an uninvited guest suddenly arrived at Seido High School.
In the days leading up to the Summer Tournament, some alumni and supporters of the team were sending various gifts to the team.
These gifts were dazzling and filled an entire warehouse.
Seeing the support from these former students, the Seido High School Baseball members naturally felt both happy and pressured.
It was then that a small truck drove into Seido High School.
When they saw the man sitting in the small truck, the eyes of the Seido High School Baseball Team members changed.
"Is that Azuma-senpai?"
Many of the members' voices held uncertainty.
In their original impression, Azuma Kiyokuni had always been a big fat man with a protruding belly.
But now, Azuma Kiyokuni's belly had completely receded, and he appeared taller and more handsome.
Indeed, every fat person is a potential stock.
As long as they can lose weight, they are all male gods.
This sudden change made even the members who had fought alongside Azuma Kiyokuni in the past somewhat unable to recognize him.
"I knew you little brats were dishonest. Did you slack off in training?"
Azuma Kiyokuni carried two boxes of gifts by himself and got out of the car.
Seeing this, the members immediately stepped forward to help him.
"Are these the gifts you brought, Senpai?"
The members asked excitedly.
Azuma Kiyokuni looked disdainful.
"Who are you looking down on? How could I only bring this little bit of stuff?"
Saying that, he opened the back cover of his small truck, which was filled with gifts.
"As expected of a player who entered the professional bullpen, the income is indeed different."
In his final year of high school, Azuma Kiyokuni led the Seido High School Baseball Team members to successfully enter Koshien, and his excellent performance on the field attracted the attention of many professional teams.
As a result, when he participated in the draft, his spot was competed for by several teams, and he ultimately went to a team that Azuma Kiyokuni himself was very fond of.
After joining that team, Azuma Kiyokuni's entire outlook on life underwent a significant change.
This was also closely related to his experience in high school baseball.
Originally, the Seido High School Baseball Team had never been able to enter Koshien, and as a core player of the team, Azuma Kiyokuni inevitably felt some self-abandonment.
But in his final year, through their collective efforts, the Seido High School Baseball Team successfully entered Koshien, and Azuma Kiyokuni also became a very famous player.
This event had a profound impact on Azuma Kiyokuni's entire life.
Azuma Kiyokuni's originally somewhat self-abandoning life changed completely due to the appearance of this event.
He now understood a very important truth.
Opportunities are earned; they don't just fall from the sky.
If you want something, you can only get it through your own efforts.
It was precisely because he understood this truth that Azuma Kiyokuni began his weight loss journey after joining the professional team.
Anyone who has ever lost weight will surely know that this is certainly not an easy path.
The effort a fat person needs to put in to lose weight is incredibly daunting.
Azuma Kiyokuni achieved a reversal in his life through such efforts.
"You're still the same, kid; you haven't been training well at all, even your jersey number..."
Seeing his former teammate, Azuma Kiyokuni was very excited.
He heavily patted Kawakami's shoulder.
He expressed great dissatisfaction that he had not replaced Tanba as the team's Ace.
"Where's our team's Ace now? Bring him out; I want to have a good talk with him. Don't think being an Ace is a big deal; I'll still blast his pitches out of the park."
Azuma Kiyokuni never concealed his dissatisfaction with Tanba.
Usually, even if he said such things, the members wouldn't react much.
But today, everyone's expressions were very strange.
After Azuma Kiyokuni finished speaking, he suddenly noticed that all the Seido High School Baseball Team members surrounding him had fallen silent.
"Could it be..."
Before long, Zhang Han was pushed to the front of the team by the members.
When Azuma Kiyokuni saw the number 1 on Zhang Han's jersey, his expression was as bad as if he had found half a fly in his rice.
His face was incredibly ugly.
"As a professional baseball player, Senpai wouldn't be thinking of running away, would he?"
Miyuki said faintly.