Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

Even though the game had reached the seventh inning, for Sawamura and Miyuki, it was just getting started.

The lineup had turned to the first batter of Seidou High School's baseball team, Kuramochi.

'That guy Sawamura has worked so hard already if we don't do something now, we'll be so embarrassed as his Senpais!'

Under Sawamura's lead, his teammates were now full of ambition.

When the pitcher leaves no worries, the batter's task becomes very simple.

They just needed to focus on hitting the incoming baseball and seize the opportunity to score.

Four runs!

In a baseball game, that's a considerable gap.

But it wasn't entirely impossible to close.

Kuramochi and Lincoln started their duel.

At this moment, the fans in the stands seemed to have snapped back to attention.

"Wow, three consecutive Strikeouts!"

"Even the bunt didn't work!"

"Unbelievable, that's incredible."

"Nine pitches, three Strikeouts, even for someone known for getting strikeouts, that efficiency is just amazing."

"That guy just used a lot of breaking balls, right?"

"Yeah, probably! The distance was too far, we couldn't see clearly. But judging by the reactions just now, the ball had a lot of movement..."

No one's eyes were blind.

Although the spectators didn't fully understand just how astonishing Sawamura Eijun's actions on the pitcher's mound had been, it didn't stop them from observing the essence of it.

For example, the pitcher from Tokyo not only had good fastballs but also many breaking balls.

In America, they were used to pitchers who threw straight balls.

But pitchers like Sawamura, who mastered a variety of breaking balls, were rare.

"Could he be overdoing it, a young guy honing so many breaking balls, can his body handle it?"

An older fan murmured.

His view was shared by many around him.

Sports are strange like that—when played well, they build strength and health. But if done poorly, the consequences can be severe.

While everyone was chatting away.

In the corner, the half-white-haired Abel smiled with a sense of relief.

Having studied Sawamura's profile and watched his pitching videos in detail, Abel wasn't as worried about Sawamura's body as others were.

He understood very well that Sawamura's breaking balls were his innate talent!

By simply altering his grip without changing his pitching motion, he could produce various types of breaking balls.

Through high-powered cameras, MLB scouts could see this clearly.

It was this feature that led Abel to have a high regard for Sawamura.

'Hard work can be done, the body can be trained...'

'A star player relies on 1% talent and 99% effort.'

'People often focus too much on that 99% effort, not realizing that without that 1% talent, no amount of effort would help.'

'Eijun Sawamura had that 1% talent.'

'And that talent shone brightly.'

Whether as a relief pitcher, Stopper, or Ace, Sawamura was an excellent choice.

Abel, the coach, absolutely didn't want to miss out, and he didn't plan on missing it.

"After this game ends, I should find a chance to talk to that kid. I wonder if he understands English. Does he know who I am?"

These two issues were actually quite troublesome.

If Sawamura didn't understand English or didn't recognize Abel, he might think Abel was a fraud.

This would be a normal reaction from a person!

But even so, Abel still wanted to find an opportunity to talk to Sawamura after the game.

'As a student, he believed Sawamura's thoughts must still be simple.'

'It would be good if we could make a good impression now.'

While Abel thought about his plans.

On the field, an unwilling Kuramochi had just struck out.

'This guy… he really did take the bait!'

In the Seidou High School baseball team's dugout, Sawamura furrowed his brows slightly.

He couldn't quite understand.

Although up until now, the Seidou High School players hadn't posed much of a threat to the Texas team's defense, these teammates weren't just sitting idly by. Except for the special case of Masashi, the others—despite being dealt with—had still caused Texas Lone-Star Academy quite a bit of trouble.

Especially Miyuki and the others, who had tangled with quite a few pitches.

Despite the game being only in the seventh inning, and no one from Seidou having reached base before, that didn't mean they hadn't contributed. On the contrary, their contribution was significant.

They had drained a considerable amount of Lincoln's stamina and also gathered useful information.

'The preparatory work had all been done, and now it was time to reap the results.'

So far, Lincoln had already thrown close to 90 pitches.

That was well beyond the range of a normal pitcher's peak performance.

Not to mention that Lincoln had thoroughly disrupted his own pitching rhythm during the game.

'His stamina was likely more depleted than usual.'

With such significant fatigue, logically speaking, his pitch speed should have slowed down by now.

'But why hadn't it?'

Sawamura couldn't figure it out.

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

Not only had his pitch velocity not decreased, but he had even managed to suppress Kuramochi with his pitches.

He forced Kuramochi to swing and miss, ultimately striking him out.

'If this game continued like this, Seidou would truly be in trouble.'

After all, they hadn't gotten a single hit yet, and their lineup had made no progress.

If their performance didn't change this round, it would be the last opportunity for Seidou High School's baseball team to have a chance at scoring in this game.

In other words, for every batter on the field, including Sawamura and Miyuki, this would be their final chance to face Lincoln.

Needless to say, the situation was dire.

They had to come up with a plan.

While Sawamura was lost in thought, Shiratsu stepped into the Batter's Box.

Shiratsu also understood that this opponent wasn't going to be easy to deal with.

So, from the very beginning, he set a clear goal for himself.

'I have to stall as much as possible.'

Even if he was ultimately dealt with, he needed to create an opportunity for the next batter.

At this moment, if he didn't create an opportunity, everything would be in vain!

This could very well be his last chance to face the pitcher on the field!

Usually, batters in such situations would desperately try to reach base.

But Shiratsu was different.

Paak!

"FOUL!"

"FOUL!!"

He thought about the team's interests first.

He was calm and steady, with solid skills.

Paak!

"FOUL!!"

If it weren't for his calm nature, he would have been a good candidate for captain.

Even though, with Miyuki around, it was impossible for a senior to be selected as the captain, Shiratsu would at least have been a competent vice-captain.

Paak!

"FOUL!!"

"FOUL!!"

Paak!

Snap!

"OUT!!"

With Shiratsu's steady approach, they really did manage to stall for a few pitches.

Although he was ultimately retired, his contribution was already clear!

It was thanks to Shiratsu's persistence that Sawamura realized something.

He had been wrong.

Lincoln wasn't unaffected; his stamina had indeed been drained.

It was just that there was some reason he absolutely couldn't give up, and that was why he kept pushing himself.

This meant that Lincoln had effectively exhausted all of his stored energy.

It was possible for a person to perform beyond their normal level in such situations.

However, this also meant that dragging Lincoln down over the course of nine innings might not be as easy as it seemed.

'But that was fine!'

Although the nine innings might not be enough to wear Lincoln down, the fact that his stamina was decreasing was undeniable.

Even though, on the surface, his pitch speed and power appeared unchanged, in reality, they had diminished.

'In his best form of the Gentle Reaper, Shiratsu-senpai wouldn't have been able to drag out so many pitches.'

A flash of realization crossed Sawamura's eyes.

Two Outs, no one on base.

At this moment, Sawamura stepped into the Batter's Box.

When the crowd saw him walk to the Batter's Box to face Lincoln, they held their breath.

Even though there were some details of the game that the spectators didn't fully understand...

They knew that this duel could very well decide the outcome of the game.

The fans were on the edge of their seats, and you can imagine how it must have felt for the two competitors on the field.

"This time, I lost before, but I'm going to win it back!"

Lincoln's fighting spirit was burning hot.

It wasn't the first time the two of them faced off. They had already clashed once before, with Lincoln as the batter and Sawamura as the pitcher.

But now their roles had reversed.

In their previous encounter, regardless of the process, Lincoln had lost.

Lincoln wasn't someone who couldn't accept defeat, but if there was a chance, he'd definitely want revenge.

And now was that chance!

Lincoln took a deep breath, getting ready to deliver the ball, and threw it with all his might.

'Here it comes!'

In the Batter's Box, Sawamura Eijun remained remarkably calm.

Watching the baseball fly toward him, he swung his bat without rushing.

Paak!

The moment the bat made contact with the baseball, Sawamura almost lost his grip on the bat.

'As expected, Lincoln's pitch was as powerful as before.'

Even after 90 pitches, his throws still maintained considerable force.

'But...'

'It wasn't impossible to handle!'

Tap!

"FOUL!"

Because, after the previous batters had drained some of Lincoln's stamina, the Lincoln on the mound now couldn't muster his peak performance.

The baseball was sent flying Foul by Sawamura.

The tension between the two players grew, and the confrontation became even more intense.

Whrroosh!

Without hesitation, Lincoln quickly delivered the next pitch after the Foul ball.

Clearly, he was trying to throw Sawamura off with a fast-paced pitching rhythm.

Unfortunately, Lincoln didn't understand Sawamura well enough.

After testing the first pitch, Sawamura had already figured him out.

His eyes widened as he locked onto the incoming ball, watching it closely.

In Sawamura's vision, the baseball seemed to move in slow motion.

He could clearly see every movement on the ball.

Now!

It was as if the ball had been programmed onto a specific path, and Sawamura was ready.

At the same moment, he took a step forward.

Shuuuuuuuuu!

With a swift movement, he swung the bat.

PAAAAAAKK!

The bat made a solid, powerful connection with the baseball, sending it soaring.

"Home... RUN!!!"

…