After finishing their run, Tanba and Zhou Hao lay on the playground, exhausted and unable to move.
Sure enough, there is no good ending for going against Coach Kataoka at Seidou High School.
Such a "spectacular" scene naturally attracted many students from the first and second teams to watch.
Among them was Hisashi Watanabe.
"What happened to you two?" Watanabe asked a little worriedly.
These two were from his dormitory, one a senior and the other a junior.
But Watanabe's voice was as soft as a mosquito's. The two heard nothing and just lay on the grass, gasping for breath.
"What happened to Tanba-senpai? And who is this guy next to him?"
Hiroshi took a look at Zhou Hao and had no impression of him at all. He only remembered that he was a first-year student in the Tanba dormitory.
"Okay, let's go and have dinner."
At this time, Yuki came out to rescue and evacuate these people.
Just now, Zhou Hao and Tanba were like monkeys in a zoo, being watched by countless people.
This time, Zhou Hao truly felt the horror of Director Kataoka.
In the following days, Zhou Hao trained with Seidou High School every day to improve his level.
He also went to watch a game of Seidou High School's Spring Tournament.
The two teams in the competition were Seidou High School and City University High School.
In this game, both Tanba and the ace pitcher of City University High School, Shinaka, performed well and each had their own highlights.
But unfortunately, the offensive firepower of both sides was too strong, and the game became a complete offensive battle, making it seem that the two ace pitchers had no brilliance.
In the end, Seidou High School relied on its own powerful firepower and the steady relief of pitcher Kawakami to win this fateful duel and help Seidou High School advance to the finals of the Spring Tournament.
But in the final match, Seidou High School unfortunately lost to its opponent and ended up as the runner-up, still missing out on Koshien.
This time, they were only one victory away from Koshien!
First-year rookie Zhou Hao watched both games.
Seeing Seidou High School's excellent batting lineup, he fell into deep thought.
He is a player who excels in hitting, and although his defense is not bad either, if he only knows how to defend, he will have no chance of making it into the starting lineup.
For the sake of his own future, it is best to practice hitting.
But that's the problem.
It seems that Seidou High School's batting lineup doesn't need any strong hitters. Do they really still need me?
This is a question Zhou Hao needs to consider.
He was usually very arrogant, but at this moment, he lowered his head.
Zhou Hao's arrogance also depended on the situation.
If it was someone like Azuma Kiyokuni, who bullies the weak and fears the strong and always brags, Zhou Hao would show his arrogant side to break the confidence of such people and teach them a lesson.
But facing a humble senior like Tanba, Zhou Hao seemed like a little brother next door.
…
It was the fifth day after the match between Seidou High School and City University High School.
On one of the training grounds of Seidou High School, all the first-year students stood together.
And in the lounge opposite them, there was a group of fierce senior students!
This group of senior students was headed by Tanba, and behind them were top hitters from the second team, such as Maemu Kenta.
Even Masuko Toru sat quietly in one of the corners.
They were the second team of Seidou High School, consisting of a group of second and third graders.
This was the annual freshman orientation competition of Seidou High School! It is held almost every year.
Many times, the senior students defeated the freshmen by a large margin. The ending of each year is predictable, and it actually doesn't seem that exciting anymore.
There is no point in watching a game when you know the outcome.
However, this game still attracted many fans from around Seidou High School to watch.
A one-sided game is boring to watch, but it is really fun.
"Has Seidou's welcome match already started?"
"It's this time every year. It seems to have become a regular event."
"The winner of last year's orientation tournament was Miyuki. I wonder which newcomer will stand out this year."
The fans began to talk about it with relish.
They were also looking forward to this welcome match.
Some people have been watching Seidou High School's welcome game here for five consecutive years, without missing a single year.
They all understood the plot and pattern of the Seidou High School Orientation Tournament.
The purpose of watching the welcome match this time is to see which newcomer will be the "future star" of Seidou High School this year.
Last year it was the "savior of Seidou High School" Kazuya Miyuki, and in front of him was the catcher Chris Takigawa, whom Kazuya Miyuki admired the most. I wonder who it will be this year.
"The seniors all look so scary."
"That's right. I don't know if I can still display my original strength."
"Um... is it too late for me to go to the bathroom now?"
Looking at the expressions of their seniors, all the freshmen at Seidou High School began to feel scared without exception.
Before the game even started, they were already intimidated by the aura of the second team.
This group of first-year students really got a warning.
Zhou Hao looked at his classmates, his heart calm as he flicked his ears. He was not afraid.
He had seen storms and waves.
He thought back to when he was in junior high school, facing the defending champion in the national competition.
Almost the entire stadium was filled with their fans, and it felt like they were playing away.
I would like to mention here that all junior high and high school games are held in neutral stadiums, and there is no such thing as home and away games.
As soon as Zhou Hao came on the court to bat, the defending champion team mocked him. It seemed that everyone was not optimistic about the Eagles and even wanted the Eagles to lose the game!
In such an environment, Zhou Hao still maintained himself and played well, not disappointing the Eagles and the few Eagles fans.
Faced with pressure, Zhou Hao had an excellent performance with five at-bats, four hits, a home run, a 100% batting average, and three RBIs.
Faced with such a severe environment, Zhou Hao remained invincible and led the Eagles to win the championship.
So Zhou Hao was not afraid of this situation at all.
Coach Kataoka walked over with a piece of white paper in his hand.
What was written on it should be the starting lineup this time!
Coach Kataoka handed the blank paper to Kanemaru, which also attracted many people to come over.
Zhou Hao was no exception. He stood behind Kanemaru and checked the starting lineup this time.
But Zhou Hao looked around and didn't find his name, which surprised him a little.
"That's weird? Why am I not here?"
Zhou Hao, who had impressed Kataoka during the rookie tests, was expected to be a substitute for the first-year player in this welcome match.
Could it be because of the incident with Tanba?