Diamond No Ace: The Monster

Chapter 210: Driving the Opponent Insane!!

"Seidou! Seidou!!"

From the stands, Seidou High's die-hard supporters were shouting with all their might.

The scoreboard remained 5-2.

It was the top of the seventh inning, and Seidou was on the attack.

From the perspective of Seidou's most dedicated fans, they had to admit—Seidou had been playing well.

But that's just how baseball is.

Even if a team performs exceptionally, it doesn't necessarily mean they will dominate the game completely.

Take the current situation, for example. More than half of the game had already passed, yet Seidou was only leading by three runs.

At this point, hoping to end the game early was no longer realistic.

Even aiming for a blowout victory seemed incredibly difficult now.

"The players from Sensen High are really well-trained!"

Some fans couldn't help but admire the opposing team.

"Especially their ace—he's incredible!"

"His name is Maki, right? To be able to hold off Seidou this long, that's no small feat."

As the crowd marveled at Sensen's performance, a familiar figure stepped into the batter's box—the senior with the little mustache.

It wasn't just the fans in the stands who recognized Sensen's tenacity—even Seidou's players acknowledged their opponents had put up a strong fight today.

"Even with all the chances our coach gave us, we've only managed to score five runs?"

The mustached senior tightened his grip on the bat.

Those five runs were far from satisfying.

Just like his teammates, he felt like they had let their coach down.

"This is my fourth time at bat... No matter what, I have to drive in more runs!"

Determined, he steeled himself for the next pitch.

On the mound, Maki wound up, giving it his all.

"Whoosh!"

The ball came flying in, and the mustached senior swung his bat with precision.

"Ping!"

The bat connected squarely with the high-breaking curveball.

"Thwack!"

The white baseball shot into the air.

Both the fans in the stands and the players in the dugout erupted with excitement.

"It's flying! He's found the rhythm!"

Up until now, Seidou's batters had struggled against Maki's high-breaking curveballs.

They put all their strength into their swings, but for some reason, they always seemed just a bit off.

Either they missed entirely, or when they did make contact, the ball would either pop up too high or hit the ground awkwardly.

Getting a clean hit?

Most of the time, it felt like luck played a huge role.

Now, things looked different. The mustached senior gave off the feeling that he had truly locked onto the pitch.

On Sensen High's bench, their coach wore a pained expression.

Even though his team had already given up five runs, and Seidou's mustached player had successfully reached base, he couldn't say that Maki had pitched poorly.

In fact, Maki's performance had exceeded his expectations.

"Looks like they've figured out his pitches. Should we make a change?"

The Sensen coach hesitated.

It wasn't that he didn't want to switch pitchers—it was that Maki was still in top form. Their bullpen simply didn't have a reliever capable of filling his shoes.

Especially against a team like Seidou.

If they sent in a relief pitcher now, there was a high chance they would get completely blown apart.

The score difference was three runs.

Realistically, Sensen had almost no chance of making a comeback.

But that didn't mean they should let the gap widen even further.

"Forget it. Might as well inspire the players—who knows, maybe we'll get a miracle."

"Send the message!"

A staff member rushed to deliver the coach's instructions to their ace.

"Pitch until the very end! The coach believes in you!!!"

What young athlete could resist such encouragement?

Maki instantly felt revitalized, his energy fully restored.

A Critical Showdown

The situation on the field: no outs, runner on second base.

Stepping into the batter's box was Seidou's No. 4 hitter—Tetsuya Yuuki.

Upon seeing the batter, Maki instinctively glanced toward his dugout.

Yuuki was the most fearsome hitter in Seidou's lineup.

Maki had already suffered at his hands before—more than once.

Would he face him head-on?

From the dugout, the Sensen coach gave a slight nod.

The ace vs. cleanup hitter showdown was about to begin.

Of course, this wasn't the coach's true preference.

If he had a choice, he would have preferred to avoid this confrontation altogether.

But then what?

With no outs and runners on first and second, they would have to deal with Masuko in the sixth spot and Miyuki in the seventh.

Masuko's bat was a deadly weapon—if he even nicked the ball, it could easily fly out of the park.

Seidou had already scored a run earlier because of him.

And Miyuki?

With runners on base, his hitting ability was just as terrifying as Yuuki's.

No matter how the Sensen coach looked at it, avoiding Yuuki wouldn't solve anything.

Seidou had already cracked Maki's pitching.

As the Kanto Tournament champions, one of the nation's most elite teams, of course they had the ability to adapt.

Since there was no way to escape, they might as well face the strongest opponent head-on.

Maybe, just maybe, lightning would strike, and Maki could take Yuuki down.

And if that happened… Sensen might still have a sliver of hope.

Even if they failed, the worst-case scenario was giving up one more run.

Even if Maki gave up a run against Yuuki, it wouldn't impact Sensen's overall morale too much.

In fact, many people would see it as an expected outcome.

So, let's face him head-on!

With his coach's unwavering support, Maki stood tall, his fighting spirit burning stronger than ever.

He took a deep breath and unleashed his next pitch with full force.

From the stands, some of the more excited spectators couldn't help but cheer for Maki's courage.

They had to admit—Sensen's ace was incredibly brave!

So brave that words struggled to capture it.

"Whoosh!"

The baseball came screaming in.

This wasn't a breaking ball—it was a fastball.

A precise, sharp-angled pitch!

Maki was clearly trying to mislead the batter, hoping to throw off his timing.

Even if the ball landed outside the strike zone, he wasn't concerned.

That was his plan.

But in the batter's box, Yuuki had an entirely different idea.

He had never planned to wait for a high-breaking curveball.

As soon as the ball was released, Yuuki's instincts took over.

This is hittable!

The pitch location was tricky, but not unhittable.

The key was his stance and his swing angle.

If he adjusted those just right, sending the ball flying would be inevitable.

"Now!"

As the baseball came in, Yuuki's eyes flashed with sharp focus.

His bat whipped through the air with terrifying force.

"Boom!"

The sheer power of his swing stunned Sensen's catcher.

"Terrifying!!!"

His mind went completely blank.

Before he could even process what had happened, the white baseball was already soaring through the field.

"Ping!!"

Maki's face twisted into a look of pure agony.

"How…?!"

He couldn't comprehend it. No matter how powerful Seidou's cleanup hitter was, there was no way he should have been able to hit that pitch so perfectly.

And yet—he had.

The baseball shot forward like a meteor streaking across the sky.

Sensen's fielders reacted desperately, trying to stop it.

But they couldn't.

The ball was too fast.

Even if it landed near them, they wouldn't have been able to react in time.

And in this case, the ball didn't even land close—it touched down five or six meters away from them.

They had no chance of cutting it off.

"It got through!!!"

Seeing their opponents completely helpless, Seidou's players and fans erupted in celebration.

And they had every reason to be ecstatic.

The sight of the ball flying through the field was absolutely thrilling.

As it soared past the defense, the mustached senior safely rounded third and slid into home plate.

Still no outs, runner on second.

The scoreboard now read 6-2.

"A four-run lead!!!"

For Seidou's players and their die-hard supporters, these four runs meant everything.

It was more than just a score—it was proof that they had reached another level.

To be fair, SensenHigh had given them a serious challenge.

Throughout the game, Seidou had faced multiple obstacles.

But despite those difficulties, Seidou still overcame their opponents with sheer strength.

Now, leading by four runs, this was the answer they had given.

"What now?"

Sensen High found themselves in deep trouble.

Their coach watched as Masuko stepped into the batter's box, with Miyuki standing right behind him, eyes sharp and eager.

He knew full well—Seidou's batting lineup had come alive.

If they were allowed to continue swinging freely, Maki—who had just barely regained his confidence—would crumble under the pressure.

Not just him, but the entire Sensen team.

"If this keeps up… If this keeps up…!"

To prevent his players from overthinking and losing their composure, the Sensen coach made a decisive move.

Intentional walks.

Having just been rattled by Yuuki's devastating hit, Maki obeyed his coach's orders without hesitation.

The coach had given him chances before.

Just moments ago, he had been allowed to face off against Seidou's cleanup hitter, Yuuki.

But in the end, he had lost.

This loss had forced Maki to accept a harsh reality—no matter how badly he wanted to win, there was still a gap between him and Seidou's batters.

Now that he understood this, he was willing to follow his coach's orders without resistance.

He would intentionally walk the batters he wasn't confident against and only challenge those he had a real chance of retiring.

"Ball!"

"Ball!!"

"Ball!!!"

"Ball!!!!"

"Walk!"

Just as the game was heating up, Sensen suddenly shifted their strategy—choosing to walk batters instead of pitching to them.

First, they intentionally walked Masuko.

Then, they did the same to Miyuki.

In an instant, the bases were loaded with no outs.

The fans in the stands, as well as professional reporters covering the game, were completely stunned.

"What is Sensen doing!?"

They had willingly put themselves in a bases-loaded, no-out situation.

"If they make even a single mistake, they'll give up even more runs!"

Even the experienced journalists were baffled, let alone rookie reporter Akiko, who could hardly believe what she was seeing.

Sitting nearby, the veteran journalist Fujio adjusted his cap and nodded firmly.

Sensen High's strategy was undeniably risky, almost as if they were backing themselves into a corner on purpose.

With bases loaded and no outs, even a simple base hit from Seidou could completely shift the game's momentum, further widening the gap on the scoreboard.

"Maybe Sensen doesn't care about giving up more runs anymore."

A sudden realization flashed through Fujio's mind.

He finally understood the true purpose behind Sensen High's decision.

"If they had let Seidou continue their relentless attack, not only would their ace, Maki, have been exhausted, but the entire team's morale would have taken a continuous beating!"

Every player has a breaking point.

Even someone as mentally tough as Sawamura had struggled after giving up a home run to Raichi.

That kind of mental collapse is only natural.

"Sensen's coach probably figured that instead of slowly losing control of the game, they might as well go all-in on a desperate gamble."

By intentionally loading the bases, every player on Sensem's defense would be fully focused.

In this scenario, yes, a base hit would mean giving up runs.

But at the same time—if Seidou's batter hits a pop fly or a grounder, the defense has a much higher chance of turning a double play.

"That's their real goal!"

"The situation is already this bad—why not risk everything for one last shot at survival?"

Sensen's coach might look harmless with his casual smile, but his ability to read the game and make bold strategic decisions was top-tier.

Now, Seidou's eighth batter stepped up to the plate.

The tension in the stadium reached its peak.

Sensen's strategy seemed insane—willingly putting themselves in a bases-loaded, no-out situation.

And yet…

It didn't feel like Seidou had the advantage.

Even Seidou's players weren't relaxed.

The batter in the box was completely on edge.

If he got a hit, he'd be the team's hero.

But if he failed… he'd be the one to blame.

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