Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter

Chapter 214: Second At-Bat

When Furuya left the field, his frustration and fighting spirit were palpable to everyone.

"Leave it to me! I'm looking forward to your next turn on the mound!" Sendo couldn't help but say as Furuya walked off, causing Furuya's shoulders to tremble slightly.

Afterward, Sendo watched Sawamura getting hit with great interest, especially when Kuramochi's sharp remark came: "Stop acting like the protagonist."

"The coach must have chosen Sawamura for his guts, right?" Ryousuke explained the substitution.

"True," the captain agreed.

"Ooga!"

"Wait... what's going on, everyone?" Kuramochi asked in confusion.

"The coach personally tested Sawamura's courage last night," Sendo explained.

"Ah, I see! So everyone witnessed it!" Kuramochi caught on quickly.

...

As the opposing batter walked up, taking wide strides, he called out confidently, "Just let me score a bit more, will you?"

The game resumed with two outs and a runner on first.

"Come on, Ninomiya!"

"Don't let any easy balls go!"

"Ahaha! Leave it to me!"

"Score more? You won't even get one!" Sendo shot a disdainful glance at the opposing dugout.

Although he acknowledged their camaraderie, Sendo equally enjoyed pouring cold water on their arrogance and reminding them of reality.

"Weaklings shouldn't talk big, right, black-bellied glasses?" he quipped, glancing at Miyuki before taking a few steps forward.

"Coach, is Sendo's positioning really okay?" Ota, the manager, immediately noticed Seidou's movements.

"No problem. That guy may talk nonsense, but he only acts when he's confident," Coach Kataoka assured.

"But what if the opponent hits a long ball?" Ota remained uneasy, recalling how Sawamura's pitches were often sent to the outfield during practice, though rarely for hits.

"That just means he's confident he can recover in time—or that he's judged the opponent can't pull it off."

"How can you be so relaxed?" Ota was exasperated by Kataoka's seemingly careless explanation.

"Sendo, what kind of person are you really?" Kataoka wondered inwardly as he watched Sendo in the outfield.

Sendo licked his lips—a familiar sign that he was in peak condition. However, his eyes darting unpredictably made him seem unreliable.

It was a habit often criticized by Coach Nakani, who claimed that if Sendo could focus better, he'd be a transcendent player—on a whole different level. "Gods wouldn't bother playing baseball," Nakani joked.

Meanwhile, Sawamura glared at the runner on first before unleashing a wild pickoff throw that only the captain's quick leap saved.

Ota nearly cramped up, and the audience was left in shock.

"That was close!"

"What are you doing?!"

"Where are you throwing?!"

"Get a grip!"

"Calm down, idiot! Or you're getting subbed out!" shouted Kanemaru's from Seidou's support section.

Unable to sit still, Ota paced nervously near Kataoka.

Sawamura finally realized his blunder and exaggeratedly sat down on the mound, taking deep breaths like an obedient schoolboy.

Sendo, who had just barely composed himself, nearly burst out laughing again.

Miyuki gave the first sign, and Sawamura openly checked his grip right in front of the batter—a comedic sight.

The antics were endless.

Sendo felt that despite the tough training and games, having Sawamura around made it all worthwhile. Suddenly, even those romantic shoujo manga didn't seem as appealing anymore.

Sawamura's blunders stopped there, though. With a beautiful inside pitch, he struck the batter out swinging.

"Nice ball!" The captain was genuinely impressed.

"See? He can do it," Isashiki commented.

"Ooga!" chimed in Pudding-senpai.

"Yahaha! Let's go on the offensive!"

"Not bad!" Even Ryousuke offered encouragement.

Sendo knew it—this game had officially shifted into Seidou's rhythm.

Ping!

"Foul ball!"

With just two pitches, they had cornered the batter.

Ping!

"Ooga! (Mine!)"

"Third baseman!" The usually tense managers shouted in sync.

Clap!

"Oh! He's out!"

"Sawamura didn't let a single runner on base!"

The most shocked ones were his own cheering teammates.

"Yosh! Yosh, yosh, yosh! Yosh, yosh, yosh!" Sawamura hollered, clearly unwilling to leave the mound.

Luckily, Miyuki was there to keep him in check.

Ota also gained new respect for Sawamura, realizing just how strong-willed the pitcher was.

No one was more excited than Sawamura himself. Unlike his previous brief test during the second inning, this was a true mid-relief appearance—with runners already on base no less.

It was hard to believe it was his first time in such a critical role.

"Bottom of the fourth inning, Seidou's turn to bat.

Batting third, left fielder, Isashiki-kun!"

"My turn, you bastards!" Jun-san growled as he strode toward the batter's box, his face fierce.

"Jun-san! Your helmet!" Kuramochi pointed out.

Returning with his helmet on, Jun-san was suddenly polite, bowing respectfully to the umpire.

"Walaa Urah!" Sawamura, with a slow reaction, raised his fist and launched into a mimicry act.

"Stop imitating people randomly!"

...

On the first pitch, Jun-san swung hard, chopping at a high inside ball as if cleaving a mountain.

"Oh! He hit it!"

"A long shot down the left-field line!"

"No way! He hit that awful pitch..."

"Haha! That guy doesn't care even if the pitch is a little off—he'll still go for it!"

"So, kind of like you, Sendo. Could you hit that ball?" Sawamura turned to ask Sendo after hearing Kuramochi's explanation.

"If I hadn't seen this at-bat, I'd avoid it. But now..."

"You want to try, huh?" Kuramochi teased.

You Shunshin glanced at Jun-san, who was now standing on second base, utterly unreadable—until Jun-san glared back, making You Shunshin flinch.

Next, the captain's second at-bat shook Akikawa's defense with his powerful foul balls. You Shunshin chose to intentionally walk him.

"Their control's slipping! Precision machine, Sendo, this is your chance!"

"Batting fifth, center fielder, Sendo-kun!"

"All the tasty stuff's yours, you jerk!"

"Hit it, Sendo!"

Amid the cheers, Sendo stepped into the batter's box. From the intensity of the support, it was clear that Sendo had become a fully recognized core hitter.

"Speaking of unreadable players, this one too!" You Shunshin's eyes narrowed as he observed Sendo and then glanced at Jun-san on second.

"Lately, Eijun's been growing at an impressive pace!" Seidou's thoughts drifted elsewhere.

What Sendo didn't realize was that the coaching staff was having a similar discussion about him.

It was Ota who spoke first.

"But he doesn't seem aware of it at all," Chris added with a warm smile.

"Hmph! Originally, we planned to drop him back to seventh as a secret weapon. But with how fast he's grown, there's no way anyone would believe he's not fit for the fifth spot now," Coach Kataoka commented—surprisingly without sounding critical.

His words made it clear: since Sendo had the skill, there was no need to hide anymore. Even though Sendo's unpredictable nature could still act as a trump card in its own way.

"What now, Shun?"

"Let's settle this once and for all!"

At this point, Akikawa Academy had shifted to a middle infield defense, with the outfield pulled back to show great respect.

"This pitcher mainly uses four-corner control. What a waste of his pitching power," Sendo muttered to himself as he stepped up to the plate, eyeing You Shunshin.

Even Sendo, who didn't particularly like playing catcher, couldn't help but admire You Shunshin. It was a shame that no one could fully utilize his "nine-grid" control and guide his pitching.

"Then, I'll be the one to guide you, You Shunshin!" Sendo whispered.

The catcher for Akikawa didn't understand, but he recognized that Sendo was speaking.

Faced with Sendo, You Shunshin hesitated for a moment, unsure of where to throw his first pitch. However, recalling Jun-san's example, You Shunshin quickly made up his mind after thinking it over.

"First pitch!"

Boom!

Snap!

"Strike!"

The first pitch—a forkball on the inside corner—missed as Sendo swung and missed.

"A forkball on the first pitch? Changing the pitching strategy already?" Chris remarked, surprised.

In Chris's analysis, curveballs were usually used to gain a favorable count, set up by fastballs. With You Shunshin's precise control, it was easy to mistake a curve for a fastball and swing at a bad pitch.

Even though curveballs were more effective in expanding the batter's view, the forkball's trajectory couldn't be kept too low before it dropped. It still required space for the ball to fall and for the catcher to catch it.

"This shows they can't predict Sendo's thinking. Even with a bad pitch, they're reluctant to throw him a fastball," Coach Kataoka explained, a rare moment of clarity.

"True enough!

Sendo's batting average is mainly against fastballs.

Although he barely hit that curveball in his last at-bat, it still proves that breaking balls can work on him.

But fastballs... Sendo's already become such a dangerous batter in the eyes of the opponent without even realizing it!"

"Also, that inside pitch was high and wide, which helped expand his view of the strike zone and made the batter subconsciously focus on the inside."

"Phew! As expected, they're not going to let me pass easily!" Sendo let out a deep breath.

To avoid losing focus, Sendo closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and cleared his mind of the previous pitch.

"Calm down! Focus more and swing when it counts!" Sendo reminded himself, thinking the opposite of what he had told You Shunshin in the first inning.

Opening his eyes, Sendo straightened his right arm, raised the bat with his right hand, and with his left hand in a bow position, he stretched out his body and prepared himself.

"Next!" You Shunshin signaled the catcher for the second pitch.

Whoosh!

Snap!

"Ball!"

"The second pitch is a breaking ball again! A curveball that barely misses the outside corner! It seems like You Shunshin is avoiding throwing Sendo a fastball!"

"Could he be relying solely on breaking balls this at-bat? No, no matter how good a breaking ball is, without a fastball, it's hard to pose a real threat. You Shunshin's breaking ball isn't a magic pitch!" Chris pondered.

"Sendo! You've got this! You've got this!" The cheering section was tense but enthusiastic. This was a golden opportunity—if Sendo got on base, it could greatly boost the team's morale and potentially turn the game in their favor.

Sendo extended again as he did before, but this time, he placed his left hand near his mouth and gave it a quick kiss.

"Uh-oh! What now, Sendo?" Miyuki from the bench also kept a fixed gaze on Seidou.

"So far, he's thrown me two curveballs and one forkball. I've seen a forkball behind Captain too!"

"Don't think that just because there's no fastball, I can't hit your breaking balls!" Sendo wasn't one to back down, even when abandoning the breaking balls didn't mean he'd totally ignore them in such a special situation.

"Third pitch!"

"Fastball!"

Ping!

Foul!

"Hey, hey! Are you okay? You swung at that pitch despite how far off it was?" Worries rang out from the cheering section of Seidou's team.

Even though it was clear that the pitch was way off the mark, Sendo still took a swing, and it was obvious to everyone—his action wasn't a mistake, but a calculated choice.

"Did he just swing?" You Shunshin was confused now.

That pitch, a wayward inside fastball, was just meant to mess with Sendo's visual perception, to open up the strike zone further for the next pitch.

"This batter isn't great with breaking balls," You Shunshin thought to himself.

Although Sendo's previous at-bat had been a bit of a struggle, You Shunshin had interpreted that Sendo's weak performance was more due to the fastball than the breaking ball. He hadn't considered that Sendo might struggle more against breaking pitches, assuming he was mostly vulnerable to fastballs.

Even when Sendo relied on fastballs to score, it just made others think that he was especially good at hitting fastballs, and that his breaking ball hitting ability was just average.

But now, after seeing the foul ball and realizing Sendo had chosen to swing at a pitch way outside, You Shunshin's thoughts shifted. He couldn't help but feel there was a new, plausible interpretation.

Sendo himself knew this and was already thinking along the same lines.

"Does he think I can't handle breaking balls?" Sendo wondered inwardly, noticing the slight confusion on You Shunshin's face.

You Shunshin's confusion was probably going to be the bridge that Sendo could use to read You Shunshin's mind completely.

But if it were someone else, without Sendo's sharp eyes, they probably wouldn't be able to catch on to those subtle microexpressions as accurately!

Once the actions in baseball are predicted, it turns into a mental game.

"Fourth pitch!"

"It's coming! Outside corner! Don't rush, observe carefully!"

"Sure enough, he didn't swing at the breaking ball."

Just as You Shunshin thought he had the upper hand, the yellow bat shadow flashed before him.

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