Diamond No Ace: Life As Sawamura Eijun

Chapter 505: Analysis and Countermeasures

"And then, regarding his control over breaking balls—though it's a bit hard to believe—I can say this: Narumiya has completely surpassed the typical high school level. By current standards, his mastery over breaking pitches is nearly flawless. Change-ups, sliders, forkballs—he can use each type freely. He even throws curveballs as decoys. Compared to the summer, Narumiya is now at least one tier harder to deal with."

Watanabe said this with a serious and solemn expression.

The players of Seidou High, sitting below, also had extremely serious looks on their faces.

After all, they had witnessed the match in person.

Yakushi's lineup was completely suppressed—no exaggeration. They only managed to score one run in the very last inning.

"But while Narumiya may seem unassailable, beating him isn't as impossible as it appears. Yakushi gave us a clear example. The biggest—and only—weakness of Inashiro right now is their starting catcher, Tadano Itsuki. As a first-year, his lack of experience causes him to struggle with sudden situations. Compared to veteran catchers, his ability to respond is still lacking. Even in terms of raw catching skill, Tadano isn't able to bring out Narumiya's full potential."

"Today's change-up and forkball—those are the pitches he tends to drop. Yes, Narumiya's pitches are hard to catch, but more importantly, they lack synergy. Tadano and Narumiya barely played together during the summer tournament—Tadano was only a backup then. Their lack of chemistry results in unstable catching and frequent passed balls. More dangerously, he often misses to the backstop. If there's a runner on third, that's almost a guaranteed run."

After laying this out, Watanabe paused before continuing.

"Yakushi had two really good chances in the middle innings. They were just a bit unlucky. Otherwise, Narumiya would've allowed more than one run. In tomorrow's final, we must constantly apply pressure to the catcher—create as many chaotic scenarios as possible. If we can make him panic, the odds of scoring increase significantly."

Watanabe dissected every point with impressive precision.

The likes of Maezono, Kuramochi, and the others all nodded silently.

That lined up with their own impressions—after all, they had seen the game live and had already done their own pre-analysis. The current first-year catcher was clearly Inajitsu's biggest defensive hole—and Seidou's best opening.

If they could strike that opening hard enough, tearing apart Inajitsu's defense wouldn't be far-fetched.

"Next is Inashiro's batting order. Their top order hasn't changed. Overall, their lineup is slightly weaker than in the summer due to the graduation of their clean-up hitters. However, because about half of the starting members are still there, their scoring potential hasn't diminished much. If anything, with Narumiya now the center of their lineup and his growth since summer, he's become an even greater threat. Oh—and there's also Carlos…"

Concise and clear.

Watanabe's scouting and analysis was always this sharp—no wasted words, but extremely effective.

It gave Seidou's players immediate focus—ideal for visualizing matchups and strategizing.

You could easily say that Watanabe and his scouting team contributed at least 30% of the credit for every win in this autumn tournament.

"That's all."

After laying out the key points on Inashiro, Watanabe respectfully bowed and stepped aside.

"Inashiro is an old rival. They know us well—and we know them just as well. Past losses or wins mean nothing now. What we need to do is look forward. Reset everything. Our only goal is to crush them with everything we've got."

Coach Kataoka's stern gaze swept the room as he spoke.

"Yes, Coach!"

Eijun, Miyuki, Maezono, Kuramochi, Asou, and Kawakami all responded in unison.

"Now, for those who still want to get some movement in tonight—know your limits. Tomorrow is the final. The starting roster will be announced in the morning. Everyone, get a good night's sleep and come in at your best tomorrow!"

"Yes, sir!"

"That's it. Dismissed."

With a firm nod, Coach Kataoka wrapped up the meeting.

The Seidou players got up in small groups and left the cafeteria, heading to their dorms, indoor training rooms, or the baths.

...

"Eijun-kun, are you heading to the indoor facility for some throwing?" Haruichi asked with a smile.

"You going to hit?"

"Yeah, just want to move around a bit. Want to come?"

"Nah, I'm a bit tired today. Gonna take a bath and rest in the dorm." Eijun smiled and shook his head.

"Oh, I see." Haruichi clearly looked a little disappointed.

"Heh heh, now that's rare—our ace actually saying he's tired? You only pitched three innings today. I was sure you'd be pestering me to catch for you tonight."

From a short distance away, Miyuki walked over, a mischievous grin tugging at his lips as he teased.

Eijun rolled his eyes.

What do you mean pestering you? Lately you've been the one bothering me to throw to you, haven't you?

"I've got the finals tomorrow. I need to be in perfect shape for that. I am the ace, after all, Miyuki-senpai."

Not one to lose in spirit, Eijun raised an eyebrow, shooting back with confidence.

"Hahaha,"

Miyuki chuckled, shaking his head.

"Then, Miyuki-senpai! Can you catch for me!?"

Out of nowhere, Furuya suddenly appeared, eyes intense and serious as he looked straight at Miyuki.

A few teammates around them couldn't help but break into knowing smiles.

"You pitched six innings today, didn't you? Maybe you should take it eas—"

"I'm fine, Miyuki-senpai!"

"Uh…"

"…Alright. But just for a little while, okay?"

Miyuki sighed, rubbing his temple.

"Yes!"

"Then, Mr. Ace, take the night off and rest up."

Miyuki turned to Eijun with a playful smirk.

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks a lot, Captain,"

Eijun replied with a dramatic sigh and a lopsided grin.

"Ahaha…"

Soon, Miyuki, Furuya, and Haruichi headed out together.

Once they were gone—

"Phew…"

Eijun rose from his seat, casually rolling his shoulders and strolling out of the cafeteria, his expression calm and composed.

But in a corner of the room, someone had been watching him closely.

The sharp eyes of a certain "cheetah" stayed fixed on Eijun's retreating figure. He sat in silence, lost in thought for quite a while.

His face showed hesitation—

Then a glint of determination.

Suddenly, he stood up decisively and left the cafeteria as well.

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