Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

The pitching and catching duo of Hakuryu High School did not shy away from confronting Miyuki right from the start.

This was excellent news for Seidou High School.

Initially, after seeing that Hakuryu High School had deliberately Walked Sawamura with four consecutive Balls, the Seidou players were worried that they might use the same tactic to Walk Miyuki next.

Now, it seems that their concerns were unnecessary.

After all, Hakuryu High School is one of the top giants in the country, and they have their pride.

They would never allow themselves to back down in such a situation.

This was certainly a relief for the Seidou players, who were eager for Hakuryu High School to face off with Miyuki directly at this moment.

With a runner on base, there is no one more reliable than Miyuki.

Now there are two Outs and runners on first and second base.

The probability of Seidou High School scoring has dramatically increased.

Even though the score on the field is already 3:1, with Seidou leading by two runs, no one would complain about scoring more.

Not to mention, the difference between two runs, three runs, or four runs is significant.

Miyuki, standing in the Batter's Box, had a relaxed expression.

According to his original thoughts, Hakuryu High School should have already decided to intentionally Walk both Sawamura and him.

'But now it seems we underestimated them?'

Hakuryu High School displayed remarkable courage and showed no sign of retreating.

They chose to confront them head-on.

'This is perfect!'

With a smile on his face, Miyuki took his stance, preparing to hit the incoming pitch.

Now the situation was that there were runners on first and second base.

The pitches the opponent could throw were quite limited.

With some analysis, it wasn't hard to predict what kind of pitch might come next.

Miyuki, full of ambition, was eager to hit the ball. Little did he know, Hakuryu High School was now thinking of something entirely different.

In Hakuryu High School's dugout, Coach Sasaki kept tapping his stopwatch with his fingers.

The third base bag was still open, meaning there was no necessity to face Miyuki directly.

On the pitcher's mound, Ouno seemed to understand the plan, as the baseball in his hand whizzed through the air.

Whoosh!

This pitch was completely different from the previous one. Instead of entering the strike zone, it headed straight for Miyuki's body.

'A Ball?'

This unexpected action startled Miyuki.

He had already anticipated what pitch would come, but he never expected them to throw a Ball at this moment.

This didn't make sense!

If Hakuryu High School truly wanted a head-to-head confrontation, they would never throw a Ball at this point.

Without overthinking, Miyuki turned his head to avoid the pitch.

Snap!

"BALL!"

'What kind of strategy was Hakuryu using now?' Miyuki had no idea.

He could only focus on the pitcher's mound and try to observe the opponent's next move.

Soon, the third pitch came.

Just like the previous one, it was another Ball flying toward Miyuki's body.

It seemed like they were setting up for an offensive four-Ball strategy.

With two consecutive Balls like this, it was hard to believe they weren't intentional.

"Could it be that Hakuryu has changed their mind? They don't want to face Miyuki-kun directly now and are instead going for an offensive four-Ball?" Akiko in the stands thought aloud.

This thought flashed in Miyuki's mind too just as Ouno from Hakuryu High School threw the fourth pitch.

After forcing Miyuki to back away with two consecutive inside Balls, Ouno threw an extreme outside pitch.

Snap!

"STRIKE!!"

This sudden angle change caught Miyuki off guard. He could only watch as the ball passed by.

Now, the count was two Balls and two Strikes.

Miyuki's expression in the Batter's Box became quite awkward.

He knew very well that he had been tricked by the opponent.

In Hakuryu High School's dugout, Coach Sasaki's eyes were filled with determination.

"But now we're behind. If we want to reverse this, we have to create a miracle. Otherwise, we'll just wait for defeat. With runners on base, Miyuki's hitting ability skyrockets."

'But that's not absolute; it's not impossible to reverse the situation.'

'With the right opportunity and aggressive play, there's always a chance to take down Miyuki.'

'And this is the point where we will start our counterattack.'

Whoosh!

Just like that, Ouno threw his final pitch.

It was a low-course pitch, likely a Splitter.

This was Ouno's newly honed decisive pitch.

Miyuki, who had been tricked, was not an easy opponent. After being pushed to two Strikes, he had almost figured out the opponent's plan.

Now that Ouno had thrown his winning shot, Miyuki's mind was clear.

'It was now or never!'

There could be no hesitation. He had to swing at the ball immediately.

His stance opened, and all his power focused on his arms as he swung the bat.

Buzzzz!

At that moment, Miyuki's reaction reached its peak.

He swung his bat forcefully at Ouno's 'winning shot'.

As the bat was about to make contact with the ball, a strange look flashed in Miyuki's eyes.

To his surprise, the ball did not sink.

This meant that the pitch was not the decisive pitch Ouno had used before, but a regular fastball.

'He got me…!'

By the time Miyuki realized this, it was already too late.

His bat had already made contact with the ball.

Ping!

The bat brushed the bottom of the baseball, sending it flying high.

Ito, the catcher, almost effortlessly stood up and caught the ball securely in his glove.

Snap!

"OUT!!!"

With that, Seidou High School's offense in the fifth inning ended.

The myth of Miyuki Kazuya being invincible with runners on base was shattered!

Although Seidou High School still led by two runs, Hakuryu High School's exceptional performance made it inevitable that the momentum on the field began to shift toward Hakuryu High School.

At the start of the top of the sixth inning, this shift became even more pronounced.

In the top of the sixth inning, Hakuryu High School was up to bat. The first batter to step up was Hakuryu High School's ninth batter, who was also their Ace pitcher, Ouno Shintarou.

Although Ouno was positioned at the ninth spot in the lineup, anyone who underestimates his batting ability will regret it.

The reason he was placed at the ninth spot was mainly to allow him to focus on pitching, not because of a lack of batting skill.

Just like now.

Ping!

Ouno, with a blank expression, managed to send the ball flying despite not hitting the sweet spot of the bat.

The first hit came as a double.

The situation on the field immediately changed drastically.

With no Outs and a runner on second base, Seidou High School faced an unprecedented major crisis.

In the dugout, the substitute players all wore solemn expressions.

Yui Kaoru was especially taken aback.

The partnership between Sawamura and Miyuki was, in Yui's eyes, undoubtedly the best in the nation.

He never expected that even they would face such a terrifying crisis.

High school baseball, a term that previously held little special significance for him, now seemed profound and complex.

It was so deep and incredible!

It was hard to imagine how he would face such a challenge if he were a main player on the team.

Though Miyuki was still around to shield him for now, it wouldn't be long before he would have to face such challenges alone, in three or four months.

'I had to watch closely.'

He had to carefully observe how Miyuki dealt with this kind of crisis.

Although there weren't as many games after moving up to the first string, the things he could learn were far greater.

After all, with such excellent mentors around, if he couldn't grow, that would be inexcusable.

The game continued on the field.

Mima Soichiro, Hakuryu's first batter, took his stance, preparing to face Sawamura head-on.

Sawamura, of course, wasn't about to back down.

Even though he knew it was extremely risky to face Mima directly at this moment.

Although there were no Outs and a runner on second base, first base was still open.

Walking Mima to first base and then facing the batter behind him wasn't out of the question.

But Sawamura didn't want to do that.

He intended to use his own abilities to solve this problem.

Miyuki, his partner, also took a stance to show his support.

With his partner's backing, Sawamura's resolve grew stronger.

He quickly took his stance and threw the pitch.

WHRROOSH!!

Under these circumstances, Sawamura decided to use his best breaking ball.

Though throwing sharp breaking balls could easily miss the strike zone, what did that matter?

'The chances of getting a Strike were still higher, as long as I could ensure that.'

As for the breaking balls that went Foul, they would simply serve as a weapon to confuse the opponent.

If the goal was to focus on one or two batters, rather than everyone, sharp breaking balls could still be effective.

Even if he used them, the probability of exposing weaknesses wasn't very high.

After all, overall, Sawamura didn't throw many balls out of the Strike zone. People rarely considered walking him intentionally.

With all this in mind, Sawamura threw his first pitch.

He threw a Straight-Fastball.

Facing this sharp pitch, Mima Soichiro didn't swing.

Immediately, Sawamura threw his second pitch.

He threw a Change-up!

PING!

Down 1-0 in the count, Mima Soichiro had no choice but to swing at this pitch.

And he swung cleanly, sending the ball flying.

But the ball's movement was more than he expected. Even though it was a Change-up, he didn't hit it well.

The ball veered near the third-base line and went Foul.

One Strike and one Foul.

In the blink of an eye, Sawamura led with two Strikes.

After taking the lead with two Strikes, Sawamura didn't hesitate and threw his third pitch.

WHRROOSH!

This pitch was Sawamura's signature pitch, one of his current trump cards: the Cutter Kai.

On the Batter's Box, Mima's eyes widened.

He wasn't about to miss any details of Sawamura's pitching.

Due to Sawamura's pitching style, it was generally difficult for anyone to clearly see his grip or release point.

But Mima was different.

He had the best dynamic vision in the high school.

Even with a brief glance, he could clearly see Sawamura's grip on the ball.

'The Cutter!'

'IT IS HERE!!!!'

Sawamura's pitch went straight into Mima's expectations.

He had been waiting for this pitch.

'It is time to hit it!'

Vizzzzzzz!

Mima, determined, spread his legs and took a perfect stance, swinging the bat with all his might.

Pang!!

The baseball was struck cleanly and flew off.

Mima had successfully gotten a hit.

Immediately after the ball was hit, Mima dashed toward the next base.

Ouno, who was on second base, was not far behind.

Seeing the opportunity, he swiftly started running.

First, he reached third base, then saw the third base coach signal to continue.

Without missing a beat, Ouno sprinted toward home plate.

"NOT SO FAST!"

At that moment, from the outfield, a white streak of light — the ball — shot toward home plate.

The player who threw this crucial pick-off was none other than center fielder Toujou.

Now it was his turn to shine.

But unfortunately, he was just a step too late.

Ouno still has the signature of his team, speed.

He had already stepped on home plate a moment earlier, scoring a run for the team.

"SAFE!!"

This run was the culmination of Hakuryu High School's effort.

It could very well be called a blood-soaked point.

...