Diamond No Ace: Life As Sawamura Eijun

Chapter 385: The Unexpected Stalemate in the Battle Against Ugumori

Effortless and simple.

Just as everyone expected, Furuya completely overpowered Ugumori High School's batting lineup.

At least, so far.

This was the scenario most had envisioned. Without the overwhelming momentum and impressive track record from the previous timeline — where Ugumori famously defeated Inashiro Industrial — the general public's expectations for them were significantly lower.

Especially when their opponent was none other than Seidou High School, the reigning summer champions.

To the spectators, a one-sided blowout felt like the only logical outcome. If Eijun knew what these casual fans were thinking, he wouldn't know whether to laugh or cry.

After all, Ugumori was a team capable of explosive miracles, a true wildcard squad.

Regardless, Eijun remained on full alert, determined to eliminate any chance of unexpected developments.

However, if there was one thing that had truly surprised the audience so far, it was Seidou's uncharacteristically quiet offense — and the stellar performance of Ugumori's ace, Seiichi Umemiya.

In the first inning, Seidou had runners on first and third — a prime scoring opportunity — yet they failed to capitalize. That alone left the spectators stunned.

And in the bottom of the second inning, Seiichi continued to hold the upper hand.

"Fifth batter, first baseman, Maezono-kun."

The bottom of the second inning began with Maezono Kenta stepping into the batter's box.

Seidou stuck to their pre-game strategy — aggressively attacking every pitch.

The goal was twofold: to apply constant mental pressure on the pitcher and to gather intel through sheer offensive force. Weak pitchers would crumble under the barrage, while strong pitchers would inevitably reveal useful information about their arsenal and tendencies.

This was Seidou's standard approach.

Especially after the first inning, when Seiichi had surprised both Sawamura and Miyuki with that unexpected vertical slider (a power curveball).

It was a pitch Seidou hadn't anticipated at all — and it didn't resemble a typical slider.

That pitch alone solidified Seidou's resolve to stick to their aggressive scouting approach. After all, if they could gather enough data, perhaps Coach Ochiai and Kataoka could come up with a counterstrategy on the spot. If not, it would all come down to the players' individual adaptability and skill.

Seiichi's unique slow-moving, sharply placed fastball, combined with his well-timed slow curve, made life especially difficult for Maezono, whose hitting style relied heavily on raw power.

"Whoosh!"

Clang!

"Whoosh!"

Thud!

"Foul ball!"

With every pitch, Maezono had to consciously hold back his swing speed.

If he swung too early, he'd miss completely.

After all, very few batters — even in pro baseball — could replicate Miyuki's ability to swing with full power while still perfectly adjusting his timing and making precise mid-swing adjustments.

That was exactly why, after the summer tournament, so many powerhouse teams were after Miyuki.

Of course, Miyuki had likely already made his decision, but everyone would have to wait until the mid-to-late October draft to find out.

Compared to Miyuki, Maezono was nowhere near that level.

Without the ability to precisely control his swing timing, Maezono was forced to commit to his swings early — and without the ability to make mid-swing adjustments, his only option was to slow down his swing altogether.

That was the only way to avoid completely whiffing on Seiichi's pitches.

On top of that, the pitch that struck out both Eijun and Miyuki was still lingering in Maezono's mind, making him extra cautious.

The result was a half-hearted swing — one that couldn't fully tap into Maezono's raw power.

And in this battle of pitcher versus batter, it left Maezono at a clear disadvantage.

Swing after swing, all he could manage were big, looping foul balls.

And finally…

"Whoosh…"

The powerful curveball that everyone was bracing for didn't come.

Pop!

Caught off guard by a slow curve, Maezono swung and missed for strike three.

"Strikeout! Batter out!"

With no choice but to swallow his frustration, Maezono reluctantly walked back to the dugout.

Following him, Furuya managed to sneak a single into right field off Seiichi, giving Seidou a brief spark.

But that was as far as they got.

The seventh batter, Shoji, and the eighth batter, Tojo, were both perfectly shut down.

Top of the third inning — Ugumori High School's turn at bat.

As expected, the bottom of their lineup, batters seven through nine, faced off against Furuya's peak-level fastballs for the first time.

And unsurprisingly, they were completely overmatched.

Without unlocking any hidden potential, Ugumori's lineup only had at best one or two hitters capable of even standing a chance against Furuya.

That level of raw power wasn't something ordinary high school batters could handle.

As predicted — and completely within expectations — Furuya ruthlessly struck out all three of Ugumori's bottom batters.

Three innings. Nine batters. Nine outs.

Furuya's dominant start had the spectators nodding in approval.

This power pitcher had a bright future ahead.

But compared to their stellar defensive showing, Seidou's offense had been disappointing.

Two straight innings of ineffective offense — and the drought extended into the third inning.

The murmurs of unease rippled through the stands.

After all, this was the reigning summer champion Seidou High School. Even after the graduation turnover, this was the team that had humiliated the powerhouse Teito High School.

Yet here they were, unable to break through against a mid-tier opponent from East Tokyo.

Bottom of the third, with Shirasu leading off.

Once again, the same story — the combination of a powerful curveball and a slow curveball.

With no prior scouting reports or video footage to rely on, Seidou's batters were facing these pitches for the very first time.

Shirasu struggled to adapt to the unpredictable rhythm and was ultimately beaten by the alternating assault of slow and power curves.

"First batter, shortstop, Kuramochi-kun."

This time, there's no way I'm letting you get on base.

Oh yeah? Bring it on!

The second face-off between these two fierce competitors.

Sparks flew the moment they stepped into the box.

With the experience of getting burned once already, Ugumori held the slight upper hand this time. After all, their manager — and acting head coach — Matsubara had thoroughly researched Seidou's main lineup and briefed his players before the game.

On top of that, Seiichi was carefully picking his pitches, aiming for the edges of the zone to keep Kuramochi uncomfortable and off balance.

"Whoosh."

Ping!

In the end, wary of the powerful vertical slider, Kuramochi ended up lifting a slow curveball into shallow left field — an easy flyout for the left fielder.

Ugumori successfully recorded the second out.

Next up, Haruichi in his second at-bat.

Seiichi gave it everything he had, pushing his arm to the limit. What his fastball lacked in velocity, he made up for with precision, late movement, and sharp angles.

It was a fierce battle of adjustments — fluctuating pitch speeds, pinpoint control, and carefully calculated pitch sequences.

Even for Haruichi, it was hard to fully unleash his potential in this at-bat. The biggest hurdle was still that power curveball — even Seidou's vaunted lineup couldn't figure it out on their first trip through the order.

As a result, in the bottom of the third, Seidou went down in order — three up, three down.

After the first full round of offensive exchanges, the unexpected stalemate between Seidou and Ugumori left everyone in the stadium with a look of subtle astonishment.