Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

Although Kominato Haruichi tried his best to hit the baseball coming at him, it wasn't that easy.

The baseball came fast and furious, offering him no time to react.

On top of that, with his body instinctively resisting, Kominato's swing missed the ball entirely, resulting in a strikeout.

This moment dealt a heavy blow to the players of the Seidou baseball team.

Kominato might not be the strongest hitter on the team, but his batting skills were certainly among the best.

In terms of technique, Kominato surpasses both Sawamura and Miyuki.

'Yet, this Kominato was struck out?'

And not just once—he swung twice but didn't even make contact with the ball.

This was a devastating blow for the Seidou High School team.

If even Kominato Haruichi couldn't hit the opposing pitch, then who on the team could?

There was someone who could, but only one.

Sawamura Eijun!

It seemed like there was nothing that Sawamura couldn't do, at least that's how the Seidou High School players saw it.

Maybe Miyuki could manage, but only half as effectively.

But to think that relying on this "half" could help them score against the Los Angeles Wind Youth Academy team seemed impossible.

And…

The Los Angeles players wouldn't just stand idly by.

When a team is set on neutralizing a hitter, there are many ways they can do it.

For example, a full Walk to every at-bat!

Even if Sawamura Eijun had amazing skills, he couldn't score if that happened.

At the very least, he couldn't do it alone.

The teammates were at a loss.

With one Out and no one on base, the third batter, Shiratsu, came up to bat.

His result was nearly identical to Kominato Haruichi's.

He didn't swing at the first pitch and then missed the second and third pitches.

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

He, too, was struck out.

Different players, same outcome.

At this point, the Los Angeles team began showing their ferocious side.

The Seidou team was now facing their greatest wall since the start of the exchange games.

In the Seidou dugout, Ochiai could feel that the atmosphere on the field was unusual.

He glanced thoughtfully at Coach Kataoka, hesitated for a moment, and finally stood up on his own, walking over to Coach Kataoka's side. He murmured, "If Sawamura doesn't get a hit, we should consider making a move…"

The atmosphere on the field was quite strange. It seemed like a pitching duel was imminent.

Though Furuya has been performing well so far, if it turns into a pitching duel, it's likely that he won't be able to withstand the Los Angeles Wind Youth Academy team's attack.

If Seidou High School wanted to win this game, they might need to start thinking about substitutions at this point.

Of course, the timing for substitution was still up for discussion.

But this plan had to be in place.

Coach Kataoka stood at the front of the dugout, wearing sunglasses and staring intently at the field.

He hadn't responded throughout the entire conversation.

His silence indirectly showed his stance.

Ochiai stroked his small beard, sighed, and returned to the bench, sitting down.

He wasn't new to Kataoka's stubbornness, but he hadn't expected that after all the experiences in America, Kataoka's original plans still hadn't changed.

However, today's opponent was different. If the game really developed in the way Kataoka expected, even if they substituted, it would be difficult to turn things around.

Of course, Coach Kataoka was aware of this.

Or perhaps, that was his intention all along.

Shaking his head and pushing aside these thoughts, Ochiai refocused and watched the game.

After two Outs, it was Sawamura's turn to bat.

This was another key moment in today's game.

The matchup between the two teams' Aces would undoubtedly influence the course of the game.

What was the Los Angeles team planning to do?

Were they going to face Sawamura head-on, or completely give up on challenging him?

Though it seemed like a simple decision, this choice would directly determine the outcome of the game.

Under the watchful eyes of thousands in the stands, Conrad, the pitcher for Los Angeles, didn't back down.

He chose to face Sawamura head-on.

This was clear as he took his stance and threw the first pitch.

Roaar!

The baseball thundered through the air and quickly reached Sawamura's position.

Looking at the pitch coming toward him, Sawamura couldn't hide the smile in his eyes.

He wasn't trying to conceal it either.

He knew Conrad well; Conrad was a typical fighter.

Unless the Coach gave strict orders for him to do something, this guy would never back down.

"I really admire your courage!" Sawamura said, watching Conrad with respect.

He admired his courage, but if Conrad didn't have a good strategy, just charging in blindly wouldn't work.

Sawamura hoped that Conrad would come up with a strategy to deal with him, or else Sawamura wouldn't mind hitting another home run.

At this moment, Sawamura had absolute confidence in the bat in his hands.

He didn't waste time calmed his mind and relaxed his body to the extreme.

In this extraordinary state, the bat felt like it had grown out of Sawamura's very hands.

He and the bat had merged into one. Wherever he wanted the bat to go, it would go.

If it weren't for this connection, Sawamura's large body movements would make it impossible to hit the ball accurately.

Before his regression, Sawamura was having difficult dealing with powerful pitchers, precisely because of this.

When his movements were too big, it became difficult to make precise contact with the ball.

But now, Sawamura had completely overcome that obstacle.

As long as he focused, no matter where the baseball came from, Sawamura was confident he could hit it.

Even if his movements were wide, it didn't matter.

Because the bat felt like it was an extension of himself, and he could command it as he pleased.

It was like pointing at something with his hand—always on target.

Sawamura set his stance, ready for the pitch.

Conrad, too, didn't hesitate much. Without wasting time, he threw the baseball.

Roaar!

'Here it comes!'

With intense focus, Sawamura tracked the trajectory of the ball clearly.

Seeing it coming, he quickly made his judgment.

'A fastball, inside corner!'

As a left-handed batter, dealing with this pitch was going to be a bit tricky.

When Sawamura took a step, he deliberately stepped away from the plate.

As a result, his entire body's center of gravity shifted away by about 20 centimeters.

The ball, originally close to him, also moved towards the center position.

'Perfect!!'

Despite changing his body's center of gravity, he was still able to strike the ball with precision.

It all seemed to follow a particularly wonderful rhythm, with the bat swinging perfectly towards the baseball.

Success!

Sawamura felt a sense of relief.

Although Conrad's pitch was more difficult than the previous ones.

Eijun still had confidence that he could suppress him well.

Just as the bat was about to push the baseball forward, it suddenly jumped up a bit.

Eijun's pupils widened in shock.

Because he saw it so clearly, Eijun was even more disbelieving.

Logically speaking, with a pitcher like Conrad, whose speed exceeded 150 km/h, it was expected up by one or two balls.

But the problem was, that Conrad was a left-handed pitcher, and the angle at which he pitched couldn't generate a downward spin.

'Without that spin, how could the baseball rise?'

In the blink of an eye, many thoughts flashed through Eijun's mind.

But reality unfolded simply.

PAAK!

The baseball was struck and soared high into the air.

The speed and power of the swing were tremendous.

The baseball soared into the air. Under the sunlight, it was no longer visible to the spectators.

But in reality, when the ball fell, it didn't fly far.

It didn't even reach the outfield; the second baseman caught it.

SNAP!

"OUT!!!"

Three Outs, offense and defense exchange.

Even Sawamura was dealt with!

The players of the Seidou High School baseball team had complex expressions on their faces.

Actually, after their encounters with Conrad, the players had known that it would be very difficult for them to score.

But at that time, there was still a small hope.

That hope was Sawamura.

But now, they realized that even their last hope was gone.

To win this game, they had to defend the current score on the field.

The score was 3:1. So far, Seidou High School still led by two points.

If they could hold onto those two points, they would win.

If they couldn't, the final result would be grim.

The harsh reality weighed down on every player of Seidou High School like a heavy burden.

They had no choice but to press forward, carrying the weight.

The game continued, and the teams switched between offense and defense.

The demoralized players began to gear up and take the field to defend.

The game reached the top of the fourth inning, with the Los Angeles Wind Youth Academy team on offense.

The second batter for the Los Angeles Wind Youth Academy team, Hyman, was up.

This was also a tricky batter.

"Believe in your pitching, let's create a miracle together!"

Before taking the field to defend, Miyuki specifically found Furuya to encourage him.

This was a crucial moment for the Seidou High School baseball team. Their survival depended on it.

Miyuki spoke in a soft tone.

At this point, there could be no mistakes.

It was precisely because of this that the players had to keep their mindset relaxed.

Otherwise, if the players were too tense when they took the field, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Miyuki understood this, which is why he acted this way.

Their opponent was Hyman.

He wasn't weak, but he was also not invincible.

This was probably the only factor that was favorable for the Seidou High School baseball team.

Just as Miyuki and Furuya were preparing to pitch and face their opponent.

The Los Angeles Wind Youth Academy team's dugout suddenly became active.

Their Coach stood up and gave the signal to the umpire for a substitution.

'Substitution, at this time???'

This move shocked all the players of the Seidou baseball team.

The Los Angeles team had just gained the upper hand on the field.

"And now they were making a substitution."

"What did they want to do?"

Actually, the purpose of this move was not hard to guess. They simply wanted to strike while the iron was hot and completely turn the game around.

The key question was whether the Wind Youth team had the strength to do so.

When the player who was substituted onto the field was seen, the players of the Seidou High School baseball team fell silent.

It turned out that the Wind Youth team indeed had that kind of strength.

The substituted player didn't look particularly tall, and he was even somewhat unremarkable.

However, none of the Seidou High School baseball team members dared to underestimate him.

Because this player was the one who had previously managed to hit Sawamura Eijun's pitch to the outfield during their Tokyo exchange game.

Kyle Johannesburg!

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