Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

A powerful hit from Sawamura helped the team score four runs.

The score on the field instantly changed to 5:2!

Seidou went from being one run behind to leading by three runs.

Sawamura's miraculous performance as a pinch hitter stunned everyone on-site.

Coming in as a pinch hitter and immediately hitting a home run!

Such a performance could only come from the Dai Maou, Sawamura Eijun.

If anyone else had been in his place, they would have thought it unreasonable.

In the stands.

Fujio, a seasoned journalist from Baseball Kingdom Magazine, was also left in awe.

Since most of the fans in the stadium were diehard supporters of the Seidou High School baseball team, they had slowly become accustomed to Sawamura Eijun's superhuman performances.

After Sawamura stepped up, he immediately delivered an excellent performance.

For Seidou High's fans, this had already become an expected thing.

Not to mention Sawamura's fans.

Those people came to watch the game, not even thinking.

They just came to see Sawamura Eijun's invincible performance.

Because Sawamura had done such extraordinary feats so many times, people had gradually forgotten how incredible these things were.

As long as Sawamura Eijun decided to perform, he would undoubtedly deliver an excellent show.

How terrifying is this power?

How terrifying is this talent?

Sawamura Eijun, a mere high school student, was already one of the most famous baseball players in the entire country.

'What kind of sensation will he cause when he eventually joins the pros?'

Fujio dared not even think too deeply about it.

He wrote this down in his notebook:

"If a legendary player were to reflect on their life in the future and recall their youthful rise to fame, they would surely model themselves after Sawamura Eijun."

This was the youth of a legendary player!

Just as he finished writing, he picked up his pen and scratched it out.

"Early brilliance doesn't always predict greatness. Many amazing young talents don't fully bloom!"

Fujio was especially afraid that if he defined Sawamura Eijun too early, it would limit his achievements to the position Fujio had placed him in.

With Fujio's experience, he couldn't even imagine how high a baseball player could go.

But something told him that Sawamura Eijun's future achievements would far surpass his own predictions.

In another corner of the stands, someone shared Fujio's thoughts.

That person was Sawamura Eijun's mentor, Chris.

"He has gotten even stronger!!"

After spending some time in the minor leagues, Chris had gained a clearer understanding of Japanese high school baseball.

Baseball in Japan, especially at Koshien, though it's world-renowned, is mostly because of the hype surrounding it.

It's a national sport, and they keep the topic alive.

While the Koshien format is highly successful, it's hard to say that the high school players themselves are particularly outstanding.

These high school players have two fatal flaws.

The first issue, often questioned, is the overexertion of high school players.

Some highly talented players, in their rush for early fame and Koshien dreams, exhaust their bodies before they have fully matured.

This leads to a serious consequence: these players, having burned their potential, no longer have space to grow further.

There's also the issue of injuries.

Chris himself was a direct victim of this issue.

Japanese athletes experience the highest rate of injuries during their youth.

From a normal health perspective, this might not be a big deal, but for the athletes themselves, it's a deadly disaster.

While Japan's overall athletic ability has improved, it's an undeniable fact that some exceptionally gifted players suffer premature career-ending injuries.

Depending on the perspective, this issue can be interpreted in many different ways.

When it comes to cultivating baseball players, the Koshien high school system sometimes forces growth prematurely.

This is the first issue facing Japanese athletes.

The second issue is that high school baseball is a knockout tournament, while professional baseball is a league format.

When comparing them in a single match, they might seem similar, but in reality, they are two entirely different types of competition.

The demands for each are also different…

When high school players graduate and enter professional baseball, they usually go through a period of adjustment.

This is the second problem they face.

Because of these two issues, baseball players who dominated in high school often don't perform as strongly when they enter university or professional leagues.

This is completely different from America.

In America, high school players may not perform very strongly.

There are often cases where one player leads a team, and once that player is out, the team collapses.

The player's skills are highly polarized.

But once they reach a certain age, like after 18 when they enter the minor leagues, everything changes!

Their rough techniques begin to refine, and their physical abilities settle.

This is the stage where players explode with potential.

Chris, with his experience, still struggled in the minor leagues even after half a year of play.

Even now, he hadn't fully adapted to the minor league pace.

For a Japanese player who just entered the American system to dominate, such a story can only exist in Manga and Novels.

In reality, when Japanese players transfer to the minor or major leagues, they typically experience a period of quiet before finding success.

And overall, the success rate isn't high—it's actually very low.

Every year, countless players make it to the minor and major leagues.

But the number who can truly make a name for themselves can be counted on one hand.

Like Fujio and Chris, there were countless people immersed in Sawamura Eijun's performance.

But while everyone else was entranced, Miyuki Kazuya, who was responsible for hitting, quietly made a move.

Sawamura Eijun's home run had turned the game around.

Both Sakaki, the Coach in the dugout, and Higashiyama, the pitcher on the mound, were greatly impacted.

They had to reassess the game and reconsider Sawamura Eijun's strength.

'Opportunity!'

Miyuki Kazuya, who had just stepped into the Batter's Box, keenly noticed this.

Sawamura's home run had opened a breach, like a concentrated attack on a weak spot.

'Now that the breach was open, we couldn't let it close again.'

Miyuki's eyes narrowed slightly, and he swung without hesitation.

Whoosh!

As expected, the first pitch from Higashiyama wasn't particularly tricky.

Having just experienced such a shock, the pitcher needed to adjust his state with the first pitch.

In this situation, there are usually two choices: either throw the winning shot, the pitcher's best pitch or throw something easier to hit.

Taking this into account, if the catcher wanted to help the pitcher adjust, they would likely throw an easier pitch for the batter to hit, with a 70% probability.

Miyuki wasn't a greedy person; if he were, it would be ridiculous.

So, naturally, he swung at this pitch.

Paak!!

The baseball was forcefully hit and flew into the gap in the opponent's defense.

After Sawamura's home run, Miyuki hit a long drive.

He sprinted to second base and entered scoring position…

By all accounts, Miyuki's strike was beautifully executed.

If Sawamura Eijun had struck the first blow to Yura Sougou, then Miyuki's action was like adding salt to the wound.

But Miyuki himself wasn't entirely satisfied with the result.

He had originally aimed for a home run.

It felt as though he had never hit a home run in such situations

In the dugout of Yura Sougou High School, Coach Sakaki's face had started to show signs of losing composure.

Though he was once a renowned Coach for the Seidou High School baseball team and had a deeper affection for Seidou High School than anyone else, seeing the Seidou team perform well was something Coach Sakaki was happy about.

But now, their positions were clearly different.

Coach Sakaki had been re-hired by Yura Sougou not to act as a sparring partner for Seidou High School.

With the game going poorly for Yura Sougou, Coach Sakaki found it hard to even return to explain things to those who had invited him.

No, this cannot continue.

Watching Miyuki safely reach second base, Coach Sakaki began signaling to his players.

What exactly he told them was unknown to the Seidou players, but based on the actions that followed, it was clear they had a plan.

When Maezono, the fifth batter, came up, he looked quite eager to carry on and grab a hit to send Miyuki home.

But Coach Kataoka didn't give him that chance.

Instead, he decisively signaled Maezono for a bunt.

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."

Coach Kataoka still respected his former mentor, Coach Sakaki, deeply.

The more smoothly the game went, the more Coach Kataoka felt that the team should stay cautious.

Since Miyuki was already on base, it made sense to secure that one run first.

2:5!

While the score was good, making it 2:6 would be even better.

Step by step, there's no need to rush.

It was only the third inning, after all, and the plan was to snowball their advantage until they overwhelmed the opponent.

Such a method had a much higher success rate.

An all-out offensive wouldn't be bad either, but it carries more risk—just like investing.

The higher the return, the greater the risk.

That's how Seidou's baseball team was at the moment—they had an absolute advantage and didn't need to rush.

Ping!

Maezono wasn't entirely sure of Coach Kataoka's intentions, but he followed orders.

Even though bunting wasn't his strength, he easily moved Miyuki to third base.

"OUT!"

"SAFE!!"

Miyuki successfully made it to third base, but they lost an Out in the process.

With one Out and a runner on third, Seidou's options were plentiful.

They had practiced this kind of play countless times.

A hit-and-run!

Though the batter didn't hit the ball at a great angle, it didn't matter—Miyuki had already made his move.

Once the batter made contact and the ball landed, there was no stopping Miyuki from reaching home.

"SAFE!!"

Without a doubt, Seidou added another run.

The score now stood at 2:6, with Seidou leading by four runs.

This was already a surprising turn of events—just one inning had not only reversed the game but had given Seidou such a large lead.

For the opponent, this was a devastating blow.

Considering it was under Coach Sakaki's instructions, Seidou had become an unstoppable force.

Victory was already in their grasp.

The players were fired up, their momentum building.

The crowd was thrilled.

Although Coach Kataoka's cautious approach left some fans feeling dissatisfied, it did feel a bit less spectacular than a dominant, all-out offensive.

A true powerhouse team should be crushing their opponents, not slowly accumulating points.

But the fans had to admit Coach Kataoka's strategy was the safest.

They watched as Seidou's goals were achieved one after another, and the opponents were helpless to stop them.

For some fans, they even found pleasure in watching the teams face off against Seidou, feeling frustrated but unable to do anything about it.

That feeling was quite satisfying.

By the end of the inning, the score was 2:6, with Seidou's baseball team securing five runs, leading by four.

From the way the two teams were playing, it was hard to imagine how Yura Sougou could catch up in the remaining six innings.

Was it over?

The Yura Sougou players weren't sure, either.

But regardless of whether they thought they had a chance, the game had to continue.

And no matter their inner thoughts, they had only two options:

One was to give up completely, and the other was to go all-out to score.

It was only the third inning, and the gap wasn't so large as to make them desperate.

Without hesitation, the Yura Sougou players chose the latter.

They were going to go on an all-out offensive!

Now, it was their best opportunity to score.

In the top of the fourth inning, the core of Yura Sougou's lineup—batters three, four, and five—was up.

If they could seize this moment and score a run or two, the game's outcome wasn't completely beyond reach.

The third batter told himself: "I have to hit the ball. I have to hit it!"

It was now the fourth inning, and if they didn't score, the later innings would become much more difficult.

With Furuya's pitching power soaring, relying on the lower-order batters to get hits off him seemed unrealistic.

Therefore, Yura Sougou's best chance to score rested on their key batters.

Each turn through the lineup, their opportunities would dwindle.

So they had to seize this chance—even if they couldn't catch up completely, at least they needed to score a run or two to alleviate the pressure.

The batter had a good plan in mind. He had already faced Furuya's fastballs before.

The velocity was crushing, but he believed he could still handle it.

Coach Sakaki had specifically worked with them on this, and with a bit of luck, the batter felt he could get a hit off Furuya.

If he could do that, he believed that his teammate Senda would be able to bring him home.

This had happened many times before in their previous games.

He had a good feeling about it.

The third batter had prepared himself well and was confident.

But when Furuya threw the first pitch, all his hopes evaporated immediately.

The only thing in his mind now was one thought:

'How could it be so fast?'

The baseball flew from Furuya's hand and into Miyuki's Mitt in the blink of an eye.

The batter had barely finished his preparation and didn't even have time to swing his bat.

It was too fast. Everything happened too quickly.

Had he not seen it with his own eyes, the third batter wouldn't have believed it was possible for someone to throw a pitch that fast.

No wonder Furuya was known as the fastest pitcher in high school.

ROOOOAAARR!!

BOOM!

"STRIKE!!"

Two pitches came in so fast that the batter didn't even have time to swing.

When he finally swung, the ball was nowhere near the strike zone.

BOOM!

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

...