Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

In the bottom of the 6th inning, Seidou High School was on the offense.

The first to step up to the batter's box was Seidou High School's offensive turbo engine, Kuramochi Youichi.

Kuramochi gazed at the pitcher's mound where Senzo stood, his mind filled with mixed emotions. He didn't expect to face such a tough opponent in the very first practice game.

Today, Seidou didn't send out any substitutes for the match. Everyone on the field was an absolute key player for the team.

Although Seidou High School, thanks to Sawamura, now has a reputation for being a pitcher-focused team, it often feels like their batting lineup doesn't make as much of an impact.

But the truth is far from that!

According to the most famous high school baseball magazine, Baseball Kingdom, Seidou High School boasts the number one defensive capability in high school.

With the great Sawamura and the highly praised catcher, Miyuki Kazuya, they form the high school's top battery duo.

Add Seidou High School's defense into the mix...

Their defensive capability is unquestionably number one in high school.

For Seidou High School to be the undisputed champion, winning Koshien two years in a row, it wasn't enough to rely on defense alone. If they couldn't score, they wouldn't win.

Although Seidou no longer has the same dominant batting lineup as it did a year ago, with Sawamura and Miyuki Kazuya leading them, their offensive power is still among the best in high school.

Baseball Kingdom rated their offensive power as the 7th in high school!

With such offensive power, it's surprising that Seidou has only managed to hit three singles from Senzo's pitching after two full rounds.

'This shows just how tricky this pitcher is.'

The high-drop Curveball seems to come from the top of a high tower, and the Curveball is thrown with a submarine form...

This pitcher's abilities are far higher than they had anticipated.

In this situation, if Seidou wants to break through, they'll have to come up with an effective strategy.

Kuramochi's gaze grew deep and thoughtful.

On the pitcher's mound, Senzo looked calm and collected.

Even when facing Seidou's top hitters in the third round, he showed no sign of panic.

He simply set his stance on the mound, preparing to throw.

Whoosh!

Another high drop ball dropping sharply...

Kuramochi, facing the incoming ball, swung his bat with no hesitation.

Ping!

The ball grazed the bottom of the bat and bounced behind the catcher.

"FOUL!!"

Kuramochi's expression grew more serious.

'The angle of that sharp drop was even steeper than I had imagined.'

He'd have to predict it in advance if he wanted to hit it.

But predicting it also presented another issue.

'The breaking ball!'

Senzo's curveball, whether he used a regular curve or one with a submarine form, had different drop angles. If Kuramochi couldn't differentiate between them, it would be hard to hit the ball.

Kuramochi looked back at Senzo on the mound, observing his sharply defined features, and a murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

He wanted to punch that face into oblivion.

'There has to be a way!'

'There must be a way!!'

Kuramochi's mind raced, and ultimately, Coach Kataoka's advice came to the forefront.

'Thinking of a perfect way to hit Senzo's pitches in a short amount of time seemed impossible...'

Under these circumstances, he might as well exploit the opponent's weaknesses.

After all, baseball is a team sport; there's no need to fight head-to-head with every player.

Kuramochi's eyes quickly scanned the first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, and shortstop of Tobuyasu High School.

They all looked tense, breathing heavily.

Compared to them, the first baseman, second baseman, and shortstop seemed more composed, their eyes filled with determination.

However, the third baseman had more sweat on his forehead than anyone else!

'I choose you!'

When Kuramochi had his first at-bat, he managed to reach base with an infield rebound.

The last time Tobuyasu High School faced his hit, it was their third baseman.

Given that previous mistake, it was no surprise that he looked more nervous than anyone else now.

Kuramochi loved going after players like this—easy targets. From a young age, he had a knack for picking off the weak links in a group.

The rule in such situations is to eliminate the weaker players first.

Now, as he stared at Tobuyasu High School's third baseman, it was as though he had found a hole to exploit, and excitement flashed in his eyes.

Here it comes!

Seeing the ball coming toward him, Kuramochi didn't hesitate. He swung his bat and sent the ball in the direction of third base.

Before swinging, he adjusted his grip on the bat. He didn't make the full-power swing he usually used but instead focused on making steady contact.

As long as the ball makes it into the field, it's a victory!

Ping!

The ball was struck, rolling toward third base.

To be honest, it wasn't the prettiest hit.

Even Kuramochi himself knew that if the defense were even slightly better, he'd have been thrown out.

But the reason he chose Tobuyasu's third baseman as his target was precisely because he was the weakest link.

As Kuramochi had predicted, Tobuyasu's third baseman was scared to death of Kuramochi hitting the ball toward him.

In his eyes, Seidou's Kuramochi was almost like a monster.

He was able to reach base on a grounder to third base?

The third baseman simply couldn't think of any way to stop Kuramochi.

As the ball came flying toward him, his muscles trembled with fear.

He barely moved up to catch it.

The ball clipped the edge of his mitt and bounced away.

That slight delay gave Kuramochi enough time to safely reach first base.

If the rebound wasn't so short, Tobuyasu's third baseman might have been able to grab it faster.

Kuramochi even considered running to second base.

"SAFE!!"

The situation now was: no Outs, with a runner on first.

On the mound, Senzo made an ugly face.

'How did it end up like this?'

Kuramochi was no ordinary player. Once he reached base, the threat he posed was equivalent to a tactical missile.

Just like now.

Kuramochi at first base had no intention of staying put. He moved nearly four meters away from first base!

He was ready to steal at any moment.

Tobuyasu's battery didn't act rashly.

They knew very well that this distance was nothing for Kuramochi.

Even if they threw a pick-off attempt, it would be meaningless.

It would only waste more pitches.

In this case, they decided to focus on dealing with the batter.

As for controlling the runners, they left that to the catcher.

Senzo prepared to pitch.

Kuramochi didn't hesitate. He bolted toward second base.

"That's reckless!" muttered Yui Kaoru from Seidou's bench.

Senzo had just made his stride but hadn't even begun to wind up. At this point, there was no need for any 'Last Moment Adjustment'. The catcher just had to step aside to catch the ball.

Tobuyasu High School could have hoped for something if they had done that...

"No hope!"

Sawamura, as he donned his batting mitts and prepared to bat, explained.

"Didn't you check the record? Senzo's average time from setting up to releasing the pitch is 1.22 seconds! The catcher's pick-off time is 2.02 seconds! That adds up to more than 3.2 seconds! Kuramochi-senpai's average time from first to second is 3.07 seconds. Even if the catcher steps aside to catch the ball, saving a fraction of a second, it's only theoretically possible to catch him. In reality, unless the ball is perfectly thrown to the shortstop's feet, they'll never stop Kuramochi-senpai!"

Just as Sawamura said.

Tobuyasu's catcher, after stepping aside to catch the ball, quickly threw it to second base.

But by the time the baseball reached second base, Kuramochi had already safely touched the base.

"SAFE!"

Just like that, the runner on first became the runner on second.

The catcher of Tobuyasu High School looked as pale as a corpse.

At this moment, he clearly realized a very serious problem.

That was, he had absolutely no way of stopping Kuramochi.

As long as the opponent wanted to steal a base, they simply couldn't stop him.

A runner with such speed was incredibly hard to deal with.

"Hyaa-ha-haa!"

Kuramochi's fighting spirit remained high.

This caused Senzo to repeatedly glance toward second base.

To be honest, he was truly afraid that Kuramochi would continue to steal.

But in fact, Kuramochi had no such intentions at all.

He trusted and focused on the batter in the batter's box, Kominato Haruichi.

Speaking of which, he and the Kominato brothers had a deep connection.

As the double-play partner, Kominato Ryosuke had been the one to guide Kuramochi when he first joined the team at Seidou High.

Now, Kuramochi was playing the role of mentor to Kominato Haruichi.

'If it were you, you'd definitely make it.'

Although Kuramochi himself couldn't manage to hit one of Senzo's pitches to the outfield, he firmly believed that if it were Haruichi, he would succeed.

Their batting skills had already reached an extraordinary level.

Now, it was already Haruichi's third face-up with Senzo. He must have already formed a plan in his mind.

Kuramochi remained still and stayed at second base.

The battery duo of Tobuyasu High School, however, was far from relaxed. They had to focus a lot of their attention on the potential for Kuramochi to steal a base.

Senzo and the catcher repeatedly glanced toward second base.

This gave Haruichi in the batter's box an opportunity.

Originally, he wasn't entirely sure what kind of pitch Senzo would throw at him.

But after seeing their actions, he instinctively started to guess.

In this situation, even if he hit an infield grounder, Kuramochi would certainly attempt to run.

In fact, he might even make it all the way back to home plate.

'To prevent such a situation, Tobuyasu's battery would definitely choose a different type of pitch.'

Whoosh!

As Haruichi had expected, Senzo used his submarine pitching style to throw a curveball.

His goal was for Kominato to hit a pop fly ball.

If the fly ball were caught, Kuramochi on second base would be unable to advance.

'Nice try!'

It had to be said, that Tobuyasu's battery duo had a solid plan.

But it was a little wishful thinking.

'Did they really believe that a submarine pitch couldn't be hit?'

Kominato Haruichi's eyes glowed a crimson red, as though he was awakening his devilish power.

He extended his bat and took a swing!

Senzo's curveball first rose before starting to drop slightly.

Kominato didn't swing during the rise. He waited until the ball had reached its peak and was about to drop.

At that moment, he seized the opportunity and swung his bat with all his might.

Paak!

The ball was struck, drawing a perfect arc as it dropped into the gap in the defense.

'A hit!'

'It was a long hit!'

'Perfect!'

Kuramochi, positioned at second base, shouted loudly in his mind.

Then, without missing a beat, he sprinted towards third base.

The twenty or so meters were covered in the blink of an eye by this speedster of Seidou.

In no time, he was stepping on third base.

The base coach gave him the signal to continue!

Kuramochi didn't even hesitate.

Without needing the signal from the third base coach, he knew that the ball had no chance of being stopped that quickly.

This run was as good as his.

"SAFE!!"

From second base to third, and then home.

The full distance of over 50 meters.

Kuramochi completed it in just over six seconds.

His speed was nothing short of astonishing.

...