Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

As long as Nishiyama can feel his own progress, that is enough for him.

He doesn't have much ambition for Koshien; his dream is in the U.S., and his dream is the Major Leagues.

He dreams of winning at least five Major League titles, at least two MVP awards…

His ambition is to surpass all previous predecessors.

Now, Nishiyama's dream is starting to come true. His Gyro ball, which initially showed no progress, has finally begun to take on a new form.

As long as he continues to push forward, he believes that his strength will undergo another leap.

After graduating from high school in three years, he'll head straight to that dream paradise…

Once Takatsu was taken care of, the defense ended.

Sawamura wanted to stand up, but then he saw Takatsu come over.

"Sorry!"

There were no extra words, but those one word from Takatsu carried a heavy weight.

Sawamura furrowed his brow and said flatly, "There's no need to apologize. Your choice just now wasn't wrong."

Takatsu's choice back then was actually the right one. In order to completely break the freshmen who were on the verge of collapse, he had to defeat their greatest support…

The only regret is that he didn't hit that ball.

It's a bit embarrassing…

Gambling has this problem—when you win, you win big, but when you lose, the losses are immense.

Therefore, when you have an absolute advantage, you must not gamble.

That would be giving your opponent a chance.

Sawamura kept these thoughts to himself and didn't voice them.

The next match still depends on Takatsu, and his record and confidence shouldn't be too damaged. As for reflecting on it, that can be done after the game.

During the game, teammates should never be blamed; instead, they should be encouraged when they make mistakes.

After all, Sawamura is not a real coach, and from his current position, all he can do is this.

"I..."

After comforting Takatsu, Sawamura was about to stand up and ask to be sent in to play.

Then he noticed the disapproving glances from Takatsu, Kenichi, and Kariba.

"Trust us. We've got this!"

Under the pressure of those eyes, Sawamura obediently sat back down.

Whether these players will encounter problems, he couldn't guarantee.

But he could be certain that right now, he absolutely could not stand up. It would be a huge blow to these second-string players.

"Kawashima-senpai, they've already started getting used to your ball. After this inning, leave the rest to Kaneda!" Sawamura turned to Kawashima and said.

"Got it!"

Kawashima didn't have any objections.

Among the pitchers in the Second String, compared to Kaneda, he didn't have a significant advantage. If Kaneda weren't a second-year student, it would be hard to say who the true ace of the Second String is.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the freshmen attacked.

Their lineup had been carefully adjusted, and Itou was the first to take the plate.

Itou had a round face, but he wasn't particularly fat. He seemed somewhat unremarkable, but his performance in the freshman tryouts was impressive.

He was definitely a promising player.

You have to say, that Takashima Rei did an excellent job with this year's recruitment. The quality of the new students was generally high, and there were even many talented players among them.

Although Itou wasn't a top-tier genius, he had a bit of a reputation in middle school.

Now that he had been assigned to be the first batter, it was clear that the freshmen had high expectations for him.

"I've got to hit this one out!" Itou muttered walking to the Box

Itou knew very well how much competition pressure he was facing right now! If he couldn't show a good performance, forget about the First String—he might not even make it onto the Second String.

This was absolutely intolerable. At the very least, he had to make the Second String to have a chance at getting into the First String.

With such ambitions, Itou naturally felt less fear when facing the seniors.

Their roster had been adjusted, but the veteran pitchers hadn't been changed.

Kawashima was still pitching.

By now, he had thrown almost seventy pitches. The freshmen had been engaged in long at-bats with him, and although they hadn't gotten many hits, they had worn him down with many Foul balls.

'He had reached the first physical limit for a pitcher,' Itou thought to himself.

'I don't believe his pitch power hasn't dropped.'

With that thought in mind, he was ready to take a swing.

His intention was too obvious, and Kariba, the catcher, saw it clearly.

'Think you it is this easy?'

'You're underestimating Kawashima-senpai!'

Although Kawashima's strength wasn't top-tier in Seidou High School, where pitchers like Sawamura, Furuya, and Kawakami, this didn't mean Kawashima was weak.

'On the contrary, Kawashima-senpai is a very good pitcher!'

'Seventy pitches were nothing for him.'

Whoosh!

The sharp ball flew like an arrow, cutting through the air in just a moment, reaching in front of the batter.

'Here it comes!'

Itou could feel every cell in his body vibrating. He clearly saw the ball approaching.

Grinding his teeth, he swung his bat without hesitation.

Ping!

The ball hit the bat, and Itou felt both of his arms go numb.

'What a power!'

Even though Kawashima had already thrown nearly 70 pitches, nearing a pitcher's physical limit, his ball was still as strong as ever.

The ball bounced off and sailed to the second baseman's mitt.

Snap!

"OUT!!!"

One Out, no one on base.

With just two Outs left, Kawashima will complete his pitching duties.

If he finishes the game like this, his promotion to the First String will have a very high chance of succeeding.

Against the talented freshmen, he pitched a full six innings, giving up only one run.

Kawashima's performance is more than enough to earn him a spot on the First String.

However, before that, he must first face the challenge of the strongest new freshman lineup.

Aside from Itou, the others in the lineup were all star players among the freshmen.

Not just locals, but nationally recognized players.

This was the toughest test for Kawashima.

And also his greatest opportunity.

This is why Sawamura insists on letting Kawashima pitch this final inning.

If Kawashima could handle the remaining freshmen batters, neither Coach Kataoka nor Coach Ochiai could ignore his performance.

At the very least, he would earn a chance to compete fairly with Nishiyama for a spot.

According to Seidou High School's usual practices, the pitching squad is generally arranged with four pitchers.

Currently, there are three pitchers on Seidou's roster whose positions are unshakable: the ace pitcher Sawamura Eijun, the main backup Furuya, and the second-year powerhouse Kawakami Nori.

These three positions cannot be moved.

If Kawashima gets the chance to join the First String or participate in their training sessions…

Then he would inevitably compete with Nishiyama for a spot.

Now, he has the chance to challenge Nishiyama head-on.

If successful, even Coach Kataoka and Coach Ochiai would have no reason not to use him over Nishiyama.

Kawashima looked gratefully toward the direction of the rest area.

He was sincerely grateful to Sawamura.

If not for Sawamura, he would never have gotten such a great opportunity.

"Second batter, catcher, Yui Kaoru!"

The next batter was stepping into the Batter's Box.

Yui Kaoru was completely aware of his position against the senior. In fact, they had already paired up several times in the Second String.

Personally, Yui Kaoru also hoped that Kawashima would join the First String.

But there were only so many spots on the First String, and only one player could fill each spot.

If they wanted to fill a spot, one had to be taken out.

In such a situation, Yui Kaoru was not going to be swayed by personal feelings.

Besides, if he wanted to be promoted to the First String himself, he knew he had to put up a performance to have any chance.

"Sorry, senpai."

'Thank you for taking care of me in the Second String, but I won't hold back against you.'

As the ball flew toward him, Yui seemed like he had been prepared for this moment. Without hesitation, he swung the bat in his hands at the incoming ball.

Ping!

The moment the ball made contact, Yui's expression immediately became fascinating.

'It wasn't the same—completely different from the information I had gathered.'

In the catcher's position, Kariba's face showed a hint of stubbornness.

Having been with the team for nearly two weeks, during these two weeks, Yui Kaoru had been observing his senior teammates.

It wasn't that he had any ill intentions; it was simply a habit of his. Whenever he encountered new players, he would immediately simulate in his mind how he would deal with them.

What would he do if he faced such an opponent?

This kind of mental exercise was extremely beneficial to Yui Kaoru.

The more he used his brain, the more flexible it became, coupled with the improvement in his skills.

Even though he wasn't tall, he was still selected as the captain of the national team.

This was because he was the most knowledgeable about baseball in the entire team.

To become an excellent baseball player, all it takes is hard training, of course, with a bit of physical talent.

With the right opportunities, the right coach, and the right team, such players could showcase their abilities and even become famous overnight.

However, no matter how good these players are, their ultimate achievements will always be limited.

In order to go further, reaching the level of star players, can't be achieved through physical training alone; you also need to learn how to think.

In other words, it's about understanding baseball.

Only by fully grasping this understanding can you continue to advance.

Yui Kaoru, Okumura Koushuu!

These two have the potential to become national-level catchers.

Just like the previous Takigawa Chris Yu, and the current Miyuki Kazuya.

In essence, these four are the same type of person.

But the second-string players of Seidou High School are not fools. With Yui Kaoru's big name, how could they not be curious?

Over the past two weeks, while Yui Kaoru has been analyzing his seniors, his seniors have also been analyzing him.

Kariba and Kawashima came up with a strategy specifically targeting him.

'Quite flattering, isn't it?'

The ball flew out of bounds, but Yui's face didn't show much joy or anger.

It's unclear what he was thinking at that moment.

However, from the bright look in his eyes, it's not difficult to guess.

'This little guy hasn't given up yet.' Kariba thought.

Or rather, because the seniors targeted him, his fighting spirit only grew stronger.

Baseball Players are like warriors, they need a bit of guts. If they see difficulties and retreat, they won't be able to go further.

Yui Kaoru-kun is clearly not the kind of coward who would retreat.

When he realized his seniors were setting him up, instead of feeling disappointed, his motivation increased.

Kawashima's strategy was simple: pitch to Yui's weakest spot!

Due to his build, it was difficult for Yui to handle outside pitches.

At this point, if they were determined to attack the outside corner, Yui would have to adjust his stance.

But as soon as he changed his stance, the seniors could immediately attack the inside corner.

With him positioned close to the outside line, hitting an inside pitch becomes very difficult.

Yui Kaoru knew this weakness of his, and his Senpais had already thoroughly studied it.

'If it were me, what would I do in this situation?'

Thinking about it, Yui Kaoru suddenly had a flash of insight.

He almost understood his seniors' intentions.

At the Batter's Box, Yui took a step toward the plate.

This position kept his body firmly in line with the inside corner of the strike zone. From here, hitting outside pitches would be relatively easier.

…

T/N: Btw, in case you guys didn't see this novel on Webnovel, I am also cross-posting on FF.net and Scribble Hub.

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