Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

The members of the Seidou High School Baseball Club returned to their temporary resting place in Texas.

The players all had very relaxed expressions, chatting and laughing with one another.

Today's game was absolutely fantastic!!

The players' performances were all outstanding, with nearly every player who took the field achieving good results.

In this situation, they really had no reason not to be happy.

Thinking back to today's match, where they severely disrupted Coach Kataoka's plans and made their own Coach look bad, the players were even happier!

By the later stages of the game, the players from American ABC High School had already become numb.

They no longer dared to hope for a comeback victory, instead looking pitifully at the players from Seidou High School with eyes full of pleading.

Even the battle-hardened Seidou players couldn't help but feel soft-hearted when faced with such looks.

By the sixth inning, the score was already 13:0.

In the fourth inning alone, they had scored eight runs.

In the fifth inning, they added another three runs!

By the time the sixth inning rolled around, the players kept pushing and scored two more runs.

Seeing the players from American ABC High School completely give up, the members of Seidou High School Baseball Club finally regained some sense of conscience.

Mainly because continuing this kind of match was starting to feel pointless.

So, the players slowed down their offensive pace, and by the end, they defeated their opponents 18:0.

After the match, the ABC High School players expressed their deep gratitude to Seidou High School for showing mercy in the final moments.

With cheerful eyes, the players from Seidou High School Baseball Club returned to their temporary resting area.

They didn't have much time to linger. After a brief adjustment, they had to face their third match.

The opponent was another high school from Texas.

Their ranking was much higher than ABC High School's, and it was said that they were frequent participants in the top four, having even finished as runners-up last year.

However, after seeing the strength of ABC High School, the players of Seidou High School Baseball Club were no longer intimidated by the high school players from America.

In Coach Kataoka's room.

Kataoka, Ochiai, and Takashima!

These three heavyweights from Seidou High School Baseball Club were sitting around a round table.

"How could they be so weak?" Takashima murmured.

Coach Kataoka had actually been a bit embarrassed in this match.

This made his college, Takashima, uneasy.

"Actually, it's not that surprising!" Ochiai said while stroking the little beard on his chin.

After the match, he had been suspicious, so he had Sawamura ask the opposing players about their training times.

"How long do you usually train every day?"

The players from ABC High School held up two fingers.

Sawamura was stunned.

"Two hours of training every day?"

"Every two days, we train for about two hour and forty minutes."

This meant that, on average, they trained less than an hour each day.

When Sawamura conveyed this information to Coach Ochiai, he was equally shocked.

Such a thing was almost unimaginable in Japan, where teams that achieve good results always have long and rigorous training schedules.

Of course, teams with a casual approach might not even have proper training, but for those teams that make it to the top 16 or 8 in Tokyo, the training times are not short.

Usually, teams train for no less than three hours a day.

Other sports clubs, not just baseball, also follow a similar pattern, with training taking up most of the time outside of schoolwork.

Even teams that do not perform well typically manage three hours of training daily.

As for the Seidou High School Baseball Club, a top-tier team aiming for professional-level players, their training hours are even more extensive.

Even on non-training days, like weekends, their regular school schedule involves early mornings and long training sessions.

On regular school days, the players wake up at 5:30 AM.

Then, they do running, hitting practice, and so on before breakfast at 7:00 AM.

In the afternoon, after school, the players often start practice one period earlier (except during regular lessons or exams).

This means practice often begins around 4:00 PM.

They usually train until dark, which can vary depending on the season.

Even during winter, training can last until 6:00 or 6:30 PM, and in summer, it might extend to 7:00 or even 7:30 PM.

They have no need to worry about missing dinner because Seidou High School Baseball Club has a dedicated cafeteria that serves meals when the practice ends.

The players also have a tradition of additional practice after dinner, often practicing for one or two more hours.

Even without the extra practice, the regular training hours total between four and five hours a day, ranging from 1.5 hours in the morning and 2 to 3 hours in the afternoon.

Though not as intense as professional-level training, this time is already very close to what professional athletes experience.

Without a doubt, every player in the Seidou High School Baseball Club is a semi-professional.

While some players may not have outstanding talent, their relentless hard work compensates for it.

For the players at Seidou, their level of commitment sets them apart from teams like ABC High School, which is more of a recreational team.

"No wonder the gap in strength is so large!" Ochiai said when he explained this to Takashima and Kataoka, and the two finally understood.

They had initially assumed that teams in regional top 8 should be at the same level as Tokyo's top 8 teams, but they had overlooked the differences between the two countries' baseball systems.

Japan's baseball is a national system, while America's is an elite system.

In an elite system, there are stark differences between the strongest and the weakest.

Without this system, how could a team like ABC High School make it to the regional top 8?

"Does this mean all our plans are a failure?" Takashima said, looking at the battle schedule with a frown.

Out of the eight practice matches, only three were regional representatives, or in this case semi-professional teams. The rest were just ordinary high schools.

With this realization, their original tightly packed schedule now seemed ridiculous.

For the Seidou High School Baseball Club, playing against average high schools from America was meaningless. The matches were just opportunities for the players to showcase their performances.

It was hard to determine which team was truly stronger.

"We need to talk to Robert-san and see if we can cancel two of the high school matches and replace them with games against regional representatives," Takashima suggested.

"Would that be okay?" Ochiai asked, sounding unsure.

The Japanese work approach tends to be rigid, and once a decision is made, it's hard to change it.

They usually do this to avoid chaos and to not cause troubles for other.

"It's not a problem!" Takashima slammed the table, picked up the battle schedule, and left.

Takashima was not someone to follow rules blindly. If it benefited Seidou High School Baseball Club, she had no problem causing a bit of trouble for others.

Ochiai didn't say anything further. After Takashima left, he turned to Coach Kataoka and asked, "Shall we stick to the original plan?"

"If there is no other options, yes."

Coach Kataoka replied, though with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

Actually, even he felt that these matches were starting to feel pointless.

For a semi-professional team like theirs to play against amateur teams was frustrating no matter how you looked at it.

But the schedule had already been set, and it had been discussed with Robert beforehand.

Changing it recklessly would be breaking the rules.

So even though it felt meaningless, the Seidou High School team planned to continue playing.

"This isn't entirely pointless. While we can't train the players' ability to struggle in adversity, it's still clear who performed better," Ochiai pointed out, hoping to lift Kataoka's spirits.

He handed a sheet of paper to Kataoka, which recorded the performances of the nine players who had played.

While the opponents were indeed weaker, the fact that they had managed to hold their ground against Seidou's substitutes into the fourth inning meant they still had some value.

Against such competition, it was evident who had stood out.

The first to catch the eye was Furuya.

Two home runs, one extra-base hit! He scored a total of five Runs.

On the mound, he Walked two batters, gave up one hit, but didn't allow any Runs.

He also Struck out 14 batters!

Among the substitutes, his performance was absolutely top-tier.

Had it not been for the Ace, Sawamura Eijun, Ochiai even thought Furuya could take on the role of Seidou's Ace pitcher.

Despite only seriously starting baseball after entering high school, which had been just over a year, Furuya's talent was undeniable.

His abilities had already far surpassed his senior, Kawakami Norifumi.

Coach Kataoka wasn't too surprised by Furuya's exceptional performance.

What shocked him, however, was the second-place performer.

One home run and two double base hits.

After his impressive performance in the previous game, Yuuki Masashi once again made an impact.

Although players like Nishiyama, Yui, and Takatsu also performed well, they still couldn't compare to Yuuki.

Originally not the most standout freshman, Masashi had made a remarkable transformation over these two games.

For Coach Kataoka, it was impossible not to take notice.

In total, Seidou scored 18 runs, with Furuya contributing five and Yuuki Masashi four.

The two of them accounted for half of the total score.

So, while not all of those runs were solely their contribution, in key moments, they had safely brought their teammates home.

This was a valuable quality, particularly in a strong hitter.

Just considering these two games, there was no doubt that Yuuki Masashi had that quality.

...

T/N: Everyone has their worries.