Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

Two Outs, no runners on base.

With Sawamura hitting a home run, the score was once again back to square one for both teams.

In center field.

Mima couldn't believe his eyes as he looked at his mitt. Just now, he thought he had almost caught the ball perfectly.

His mitt had already made contact with the ball, but the baseball just tore through his defense and flew out, grazing his mitt.

To Mima Soichiro, this was an unbelievable thing. The ball had flown deep into the outfield, at least over a hundred meters.

How could it still have that much power?

But no matter how hard Mima tried to believe it, that was the truth.

He looked at Sawamura once again.

Somehow, Sawamura's figure seemed much bigger now.

The game continued, and it was now the turn of the next batter for Seidou High School, Miyuki Kazuya.

'No Runners On Base!!!'

In this situation, Miyuki didn't give the feeling of being reliable.

At least, the teammates of Seidou were not at ease.

As teammates, they knew their Captain too well.

If there were runners on base, he could immediately score. Miyuki's performance would definitely be star-like.

But if there were no runners on base and with a couple of outs...

Then Miyuki's reliability takes a nosedive.

Even the Coach of Hakuryu High School was very aware of this.

Coach Sasaki gripped his stopwatch, secretly relieved. Although, in some ways, the opponent they were facing now wasn't any worse than Sawamura Eijun.

But under certain conditions, many of Miyuki's actions could be anticipated and predicted.

Just like now!

Two outs, no runners on base.

Miyuki seemed particularly unmotivated. Based on the information they had gathered before, under these circumstances, it was harder for Miyuki to get a hit.

'This is good!'

Originally, Sasaki had hesitated to go head-to-head with an opponent like this. After all, judging by the situation, after just giving up a home run, it would be unwise to challenge Seidou High School's power hitters right away.

The opponent might take advantage and completely control the game.

However, considering Miyuki Kazuya's characteristics, in this situation, going head-to-head with him didn't seem that hard to accept.

At least Sasaki could accept this.

'Go!'

Receiving the signal, Ouno Shintarou's eyes flashed with excitement.

Even after being hit by a home run, he wasn't intimidated by Sawamura's swing. On the contrary, it ignited his fighting spirit.

His fighting spirit seemed almost tangible, ready to burst out.

Whoosh!

Having made up his mind, Ouno made his stride and threw the pitch.

Despite the surge of excitement inside, Ouno's expression remained unchanged, cold as usual. His face revealed no emotions, making it impossible for the batter to read anything from him.

In the blink of an eye, the baseball was right in front of him.

Facing this incredibly sharp pitch, Miyuki didn't choose to avoid it.

Instead, he decisively met the pitch head-on.

Ping!

The baseball was struck and rolled foul.

"FOUL!"

The first pitch was a foul ball, handing the opponent a free strike.

Of course, the players of Seidou High School couldn't be pleased with Miyuki's performance like this.

It was so unsightly!

"Get it together!"

Seeing his friend's performance, even Kuramochi couldn't help but feel irritated and commented sarcastically.

On the other hand, Sawamura looked at the situation more objectively.

"After all, the game just started, and it's not surprising that Miyuki-senpai hasn't found his rhythm yet. I believe he'll be fine after a while."

Though he said that, seeing his own team's cleanup hitter being suppressed by the opponent still had an impact on Seidou High School's morale.

This lack of trust could not possibly make Miyuki feel okay.

Miyuki felt a surge of defiance rising inside him.

Previously, because of Sawamura's presence and the reliability of his teammates, Miyuki felt less pressure, so he had been somewhat careless.

It wasn't until he became the team captain, especially after reaching his third year, that his mindset started to change to some degree.

However, due to Seidou's smooth path, this change didn't fundamentally alter his nature.

At his core, Miyuki still hadn't completely changed some of his habits.

But now, with the pressure from both opponents and teammates, Miyuki's thinking had done a complete 180.

He believed it was important for him to get a hit right now!

For the team and for himself

He raised his bat high, and his brain was working furiously like a high-speed computer.

When there were runners on base, his predictions would be more precise.

Because the pitcher had to consider the runners, there were fewer options for pitching.

It was like a process of elimination, where the more information Miyuki gathered, the more he could rule out the strategies his opponent wouldn't use.

In the end, his judgment would become more accurate.

Without runners on base, the pitcher had more freedom to showcase his abilities.

As a result, the pitch was harder to predict.

Of course, it wasn't completely without clues.

Even without runners, some information could still be gathered and analyzed.

'For example, the pitcher's tendencies, or the current situation...'

One by one, Miyuki eliminated the incorrect answers from his mind.

In the end, only two remained.

Miyuki couldn't be certain which one was correct.

So now, he faced two choices.

Either gamble on one of the pitches or wait for the pitch and judge after it was thrown.

'With Ouno's fastball speed, the second option carried a high risk.'

So he had no choice but to gamble on the first.

Miyuki made up his mind and locked onto the coming pitch.

Whoosh!

Ouno on the mound wasn't holding back in the slightest.

The baseball in his hand whistled as it flew.

The baseball shot toward Miyuki like a beam, reaching him in the blink of an eye.

'Fast!'

Miyuki knew very well why the pitch felt so fast. Ouno Shintarou's pitching velocity was one factor, but the most important factor was the opponent's rhythm.

With his cold expression, Ouno looked like an iceberg.

His pitches had no warmth.

Faced with such pitching, the batter's reaction was inevitably slower by half a beat.

Just like now, Miyuki was somewhat caught off guard.

Fortunately, he had already decided which pitch to go for, so his swing was still on point.

With a low whistling sound, his bat swung through the air.

Miyuki unleashed all his strength.

Ping!

The baseball was struck and soared high into the air.

It traced a perfect arc, eventually landing in the gap in the field.

Miyuki, in the Batter's Box, let go of his bat and ran toward first base.

During this process, his fist extended, his palm opened, and then he clenched it tightly again.

He was full of pride!

"Eh?"

"No Way!"

"He did it?!"

Not only were the players from Hakuryu astonished, but even the members of the Seidou baseball team were equally surprised by Miyuki's performance.

They never expected that Miyuki, in a non-crucial moment, would show such competence.

"It almost didn't seem like him!"

"Who are you? And what have you done with our clumsy Captain?!"

Two Outs, a runner on first base.

Seidou High School's offensive momentum didn't stop; on the contrary, it seemed to be gaining strength.

In response to this crisis, Hakuryu High School reacted swiftly.

They made an immediate adjustment to their lineup.

A home run, a single.

The consecutive hits didn't break the resolve of Hakuryu's players. On the contrary, it strengthened their belief.

The entire Hakuryu team seemed to be united, impossible to break apart.

"I guessed right!"

Miyuki, standing on first base, didn't pay much attention to the changes in the game. In his mind, there was only one thought that kept repeating.

That he had guessed correctly!

On that last pitch, he had predicted the pitcher's throw location correctly.

Miyuki felt like a new path had opened before him.

He had glimpsed a different dimension.

He believed that as long as he continued to hone this technique, he would definitely see results.

However, these were all future matters and didn't help in the current situation.

After reaching base, the next batter for Seidou was the fifth hitter, Shiratsu.

He was a well-rounded batter, skilled in all types of hitting techniques.

Such an opponent was always someone to watch closely.

In Hakuryu High School's dugout.

Coach Sasaki was making signs for his team.

At this point, he wanted to stabilize the situation.

Realistically speaking, Hakuryu couldn't afford to give up any more Runs.

If they allowed another Run, their initial lead would be overtaken.

"Don't be too afraid of this batter!"

Sasaki kept his eyes fixed on Shiratsu, who was now in the Batter's Box.

Before the game, they had studied Seidou High School's data. From that information, they learned that Shiratsu was a very well-rounded player with a frighteningly high hit success rate.

He even ranked in the top four at Seidou.

Just looking at his statistics, it was undoubtedly impressive.

"But impressive statistics don't always reflect true skills!"

In fact, when facing top-tier opponents, Shiratsu's performance was merely passable.

There was no need to fear; his ability wasn't as strong as the data made it seem.

The players of Hakuryu were quite confident about this.

Thus, they acted decisively.

Whoosh!

"STRIKE!!"

Ping!

Shiratsu didn't manage to swing at the first pitch, but he hit the second one directly.

However, the ball's break exceeded his expectations.

When the bat made contact with the baseball, it didn't hit the sweet spot.

The ball weakly flew away.

The infielder of Hakuryu quickly darted forward and confidently caught the ball in his mitt.

Snap!

After catching the ball, he swiftly threw it to first base.

The sequence of actions was smooth and fluid, like a flowing river.

"OUT!!!"

"Wow!"

"That was fast!"

"Nice!"

Many of the viewers watching the live broadcast stood up, excited.

This round of offense and defense was incredibly satisfying to watch.

Even though the score was still low, with only one point each, the back-and-forth action, with each side taking turns in the spotlight, was thrilling.

Fans watching the game felt their adrenaline surging, and they could barely contain their emotions.

It felt like they were about to fly.

It wasn't just the regular viewers; even the sponsors that Robert had brought in were looking on with shining eyes.

They had originally thought that only Seidou's Sawamura had that kind of extraordinary appeal on the field.

But now, they realized that wasn't the case at all.

The charm of baseball was irresistible.

Even if Sawamura wasn't playing, the other players on the field could still deliver an amazing performance.

Of course, the most exciting performances were still those of Sawamura.

When Seidou High School was at a disadvantage, their fans felt embarrassed and kept their emotions in check.

But since Sawamura hit a home run, it was like a switch had been flipped in the stands, and everyone went wild.

Especially Seidou's supporters.

Whether they were Sawamura's personal fans or Seidou's loyal fans, everyone in the stands was waving anything they could, completely swept up in the excitement.

They had completely lost control of their emotions.

Seeing the scene before them, the investors couldn't help but think of the money involved. (Why are you surprised?)

'The stands were free.'

'But if we charged for tickets...'

'If the seats were always full, and the stadium was to be filled with advertising banners, broadcasting crews, and onetime-merchandise booth, the money would be...'

'A fortune!'

Three Outs, offense and defense exchange.

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