Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

The offense was ineffective, and it seemed there were issues with the defense as well.

Seidou High School, which had originally held a significant advantage, suddenly found themselves struggling for no apparent reason.

In the previous Koshien games, the pitcher Furuya Satoru had shown excellent performance, but now he threw four consecutive Balls.

As a result, the first and second batters of Tobuyasu High School both successfully reached base by posing and looking cool.

The situation turned into one with no Outs and runners on first and second base.

Seidou High School was in a major crisis.

In Tobuyasu High School's dugout, their Coach stood confidently with his hands on his hips, looking toward the Seidou High School bench, especially toward Kataoka in the middle of the team.

Seidou High School, which had dominated the country for so long thanks to their lucky acquisition of a pitcher like Sawamura, was nothing more than a lucky team in the eyes of Tobuyasu High's Coach.

As for Kataoka, the Coach of Seidou High School, he was simply lucky.

But luck can only go so far. In the end, the teams that remain on the baseball field and continue to fight are those with true strength.

As long as Sawamura wasn't on the mound, Seidou High School could be defeated.

"Keep attacking, kids."

'Let these so-called Kings see the spirit of Tobuyasu High School.'

This was also a rare opportunity for Tobuyasu. Not every team gets the chance to face the reigning champions of Seidou High in a practice match.

Even though Seidou High was not in its peak form right now, and Sawamura wasn't on the mound, the reality was undeniable: this was the true Seidou High. Not their second-stringers or backups, but the full-fledged powerhouse team.

For the players of Tobuyasu, defeating the mighty Seidou before the Summer Tournament held great significance.

The team's morale, as well as the players' confidence, would see a major boost.

Once that morale was raised, facing other top teams in Kanagawa would feel less daunting. Even if they were to struggle during a match, they would have the confidence to fight back.

These high school baseball players were, after all, just a bunch of teenagers.

Their performance was deeply tied to their mental state and the condition of their team.

When they played well, they could be unstoppable. If they faltered, a collapse was entirely possible.

In such circumstances, the Tobuyasu High School Coach would do whatever it took to boost his players' morale, regardless of the cost.

The gap between them and Seidou High still existed, but it wasn't as wide as everyone thought.

Just like now, after Furuya faced issues, Tobuyasu seized the opportunity and made aggressive moves.

"Kosugi, it's all up to you now!"

"Hit the ball out!"

"You must hit it!"

"Attack! Attack!!"

The Tobuyasu High players cheered with all their might from the dugout.

The spectators outside the field erupted into loud cheers as well.

These cheers were not for Seidou but for Tobuyasu's players.

They were urging them to play their best and not embarrass their school.

The school's pride was strong, and aside from a few teenage girls who ignored everything to cheer for Sawamura, everyone else—whether or not they supported the school—at least refrained from rooting for the opponents.

The batter in the Batter's Box was the third batter of Tobuyasu.

His appearance and wild looks didn't match up at all.

He looked very sharp, standing about 185 cm tall.

Not only was he tall, but he also had a very muscular build.

Baseball players were generally much more robust than athletes in sports like football or volleyball.

It was important to note that baseball players were typically bulkier.

The players from Seidou were an exception, as most of them had well-proportioned builds, which was rare.

This batter was a classic example of a prime baseball player's physique.

Even with clothes on, you could clearly see his muscular frame.

His entire presence was filled with a sense of brute force.

His eyes were locked onto the pitcher's mound, intensely watching every move Furuya made.

He looked incredibly dangerous. The moment Furuya made any subtle movement, this batter would surely unleash a powerful attack.

'Come on!'

'Come on!!!'

The runners on first and second base had already started moving.

They quietly advanced toward the next base.

It was unclear whether they really had a plan or if they were just trying to distract the pitcher.

'Don't worry about the runners, leave them all to me.'

Once the runners appeared on the bases, Furuya's entire demeanor changed.

He constantly looked toward the two runners, his eyes full of concern.

Even though catcher Miyuki kept trying to ease the pressure on him, this bad habit of Furuya's still hadn't been shaken off.

After all, Furuya had only been seriously learning baseball for one year.

When there are no runners on base, or when he's in good form, he can pitch at a very high level.

But once runners get on base and there are more situations for him to handle, it becomes difficult for him to perform as flawlessly as before.

Because he's so concerned about the opposing runners, he frequently looks toward them.

This essentially means he's letting his own weakness show to the opposing team.

The Coach of Tobuyasu High School wasn't stupid.

At first, he had some doubts about whether it was acting or true.

But soon, he dismissed that thought.

'It couldn't possibly be fake.'

Furuya's performance said it all; he was genuinely flustered and didn't know what to do next.

"Keep pressuring the pitcher with the runners!"

The Coach immediately devised a new strategy.

Then, they saw the two runners of Tobuyasu continuously advancing toward the next base.

Furuya, noticing this, gritted his teeth and began to throw pickoff attempts.

Whoosh!

His pitch speed was the fastest in the country, and his pickoff speed was also the fastest.

He didn't need a large windup, just a simple toss, and the ball was traveling at over 140 km/h. (87 mph)

The ball flew into the first baseman's mitt with a whoosh.

Unfortunately, it didn't do much. As Furuya threw the pickoff attempt, the runner of Tobuyasu quickly returned to first base.

Dealing with Furuya was much easier than dealing with Sawamura.

He didn't have Sawamura's agile shoulders and wrists, nor did he have the acting skills of a movie star like Sawamura.

Every time he pitched, he needed to focus, wind up, and then release the ball.

Any experienced base runner could easily read his intentions and either steal the base or return to their original base.

In this situation, it would be strange if Furuya managed to tag the runner out.

After throwing several pickoff attempts, none of them were effective.

Furuya stopped dwelling on it and turned his full attention to the batter.

But even though that was his plan, it wasn't easy to calm his mind.

As he prepared to focus on the batter, his thoughts kept drifting back to the runners' movements.

Without realizing it, his pitch became erratic.

Whrroosh!

This pitch lacked the dominance of his previous throws.

Although the speed was still high, above 150 km/h, from the batter's perspective, Furuya's pitch now clearly lacked the sharpness it had earlier.

The ball now resembled one from a pitching machine more than a pitcher's throw.

'Great!'

Originally, the batter of Tobuyasu had no intention of swinging.

But now, he couldn't resist.

No good batter could turn down a sweet ball right in the middle.

They simply couldn't resist the temptation.

The third batter of Tobuyasu was no exception.

So, it was almost a given that he swung his bat at the pitch.

Ping!

The small ball, after being hit, flew straight up above the shortstop's head.

Kuramochi sprinted toward it, leaping into the air, ready to catch it.

Unfortunately, despite his jump and reach, he still couldn't reach the ball.

In the end, he could only watch as the ball flew over his head.

The ball that flew above the shortstop's head landed in the gap between the two outfielders.

Pak!

The two outfielders from Seidou desperately sprinted toward the spot where the ball was about to land.

They couldn't make it in time and could only watch as the ball flew past them.

Both outfielders missed!

What seemed like a routine single became a super-long hit.

The entire stadium fell silent because of the sudden turn of events.

But the players of Tobuyasu High School didn't stop their offensive push.

As soon as the ball was hit, their runners were already in motion.

The runner on second base ran past third base and directly headed for home plate.

Step!

"SAFE!"

There was no suspense as he easily made it back home.

Soon after, the other runner followed closely behind.

In the direction of the outfield.

Having failed to stop the hit ball at first, Toujou's face was filled with frustration.

His indomitable fighting spirit urged him to desperately chase after the ball.

Eventually, he caught up with it!

But when he turned around, he saw that the runner who had been on first base was now approaching third base.

'Danger!!'

It was impossible to stop the runner originally on second base from returning to home plate.

At this point, the only thing Seidou High School could do was to try to stop the runner originally on first base from returning home.

WHRROOSH!!!

'This is enough!'

A super-long throw, more than 80 meters, flew like a laser.

...