Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

This year's welcome match was an unprecedented event in the history of Seidou High School.

This should be stated like this: Even though Seidou High School is a top-tier powerhouse nationwide, they had never recruited so many promising freshmen in a single batch before.

As a result, due to the outstanding performances of these freshmen, some unexpected events naturally occurred on the field.

For instance, the score gap was pitifully small.

It didn't even reach double digits.

As one of the seniors, Takatsu was, of course, unwilling to see this situation unfold before his hand.

So he stepped up and delivered results.

"He hit it!"

Nishiyama's eyes deepened.

When dealing with Takatsu, he always gave his all.

Because he knew that Takatsu was different from the other seniors, his strength was on an entirely different level.

Unexpectedly, even after evolving the Gyro ball, it was still hit.

'Just how fast was this Senpai's swing?'

He was able to match the speed and trajectory of the Gyro ball, which was simply unbelievable.

"Takatsu!"

"Takatsu!!"

The upperclassmen were too busy cheering for Takatsu to care about Nishiyama's thoughts.

If it weren't for this strike from Takatsu that saved face, they truly wouldn't know how to face the situation at hand.

In the upperclassmen team's dugout.

The players were all excited.

"Great!"

As the acting coach, Sawamura was also satisfied.

'The fact that everyone managed to adjust their mindset was enough.'

'However, the score on the field was still quite glaring.'

'Another point had to be scored.'

No Outs, a runner on second base.

In such a situation, it wasn't necessarily about how excellent the batter was to score.

Thinking this, Sawamura decisively gave a signal to the upperclassmen team.

Receiving the signal, the upperclassmen all nodded affirmatively.

They understood Sawamura's intentions and knew this wasn't the time to relax.

So they carried out Sawamura's order without hesitation.

Ping!

The fifth batter, who had been in a normal batting stance, suddenly changed to a bunt.

His bunting skills weren't great, but he was able to make contact with the ball.

The ball was knocked and fell in front of Nishiyama.

Nishiyama glanced at third base out of the corner of his eye.

As expected, Takatsu had already reached third base.

'Clearly, this had all been planned.'

He turned and threw the ball to first base.

At this point, stopping Takatsu was no longer possible.

It was more practical to get the Out first.

Snap!

"OUT!"

The batter was out, but his task was completed.

Takatsu was successfully advanced to third base.

The situation was now one Out, runner on third.

In this case, there were many ways the upperclassmen could score.

It seemed almost inevitable that the freshmen would give up another point.

But Nishiyama appeared unfazed as if he didn't care at all.

Yui Kaoru also had a composed expression.

They knew very well what the Senpais were planning to do next, but so what?

They were confident in their understanding of their seniors.

They were absolutely not going to let them score.

Even with a runner on third, they had confidence in stopping him.

Nishiyama and Yui were confident like that.

The offensive strategies the Senpais could come up with, they could come up with too.

So, they had already planned their defense against the upperclassmen's potential strategies from the start.

First, all the infielders moved forward, setting up a tight defense.

Then, as a pitcher, Nishiyama kept using his gaze to control Takatsu, who was preparing to run the base.

This prevented the opponents from forcing any runs.

Now, the upperclassmen's choices were limited to a direct confrontation or a hit-and-run!

Nishiyama didn't back down when facing a hard confrontation.

Especially when the opponent was the not-so-powerful catcher, Kariba.

Whoosh!

The ball was pitched, like a sharp white light.

In the blink of an eye, it was in front of the batter.

Kariba's cheeks puffed up as if he was about to swing at the ball, but ultimately didn't.

He chose to let it go.

Snap!

"STRIKE!"

'As expected!'

Neither Nishiyama nor Yui was surprised by this result.

For them, once all the unfavorable factors were eliminated, the remaining outcome was undoubtedly in their favor.

In the freshmen's dugout.

Takuma's words before really represented the freshmen's mindset.

Even though they were both star rookies, the two of them shone in a way that was different from the others. Having participated in world tournaments before, they naturally carried a different kind of aura.

An aura that belonged to the world stage.

This aura was something the other players lacked.

In the Senpai's dugout.

Sawamura had been paying attention to Nishiyama and Yui's performance. He knew exactly what they were about to do.

Then, he gave Kariba the signal.

Seeing the signal from Sawamura, Kariba assumed a bunting stance.

However, the freshmen team, which had already set up their defense, didn't seem concerned at all.

Nishiyama's pitch had no hesitation.

Whoosh!

The ball was pitched.

And Kariba, who had been set up to bunt, pulled back his bat.

Snap!

"STRIKE!!"

Before anyone knew it, Nishiyama was already ahead with two Strikes.

After getting two Strikes, Nishiyama and Yui both let out a subtle sigh of relief.

Their movements were very slight, and most people wouldn't notice.

But unfortunately, their opponent wasn't an ordinary person.

Sitting in the dugout, Sawamura keenly noticed this.

'Now was the time!'

Whoosh!

Nishiyama adjusted his stance, preparing to pitch the third ball.

On third base, Takatsu immediately took action and sprinted toward home plate!

'Now?'

The catcher, Yui Kaoru, showed a hint of surprise.

If the upperclassmen team had intended to force a run from the start, they shouldn't have waited until now to act.

After all, it was highly likely that Nishiyama would use the Gyro ball.

If that happened, the upperclassmen wouldn't know how they lost!

But no matter how illogical it seemed, the upperclassmen still did it.

And they did it without hesitation.

Whoosh!

The ball flew out, but it was just a regular fastball.

However, this ball missed the strike zone.

After gaining a 2-0 lead, Nishiyama and Yui planned to use a Ball outside the zone to tempt Kariba into swinging.

Sawamura had predicted this.

Nishiyama and Yui both received the most formal baseball training.

This kind of training wasn't necessarily bad. The education system that could be spread universally was undoubtedly very good.

But it could be somewhat rigid.

Just like now.

They were able to reach a consensus so quickly because they shared the same baseball perspective.

Sawamura was taking advantage of this very point.

It was actually his bread and butter in middle school.

Ping!

The ball was hit.

The infielders, who had moved forward for defense, clearly didn't expect the ball to actually come their way.

Their response was a bit slow.

Yui Kaoru and Nishiyama couldn't help but sigh.

They knew that their tactics had been applied flexibly, but ultimately, the team had only been formed for just four innings.

There wasn't truly any coordination yet.

When facing the little ball that had been hit, their reactions were inevitably sluggish.

They hadn't yet learned to move their bodies before their brains.

"SAFE!"

Takatsu smoothly made it back to home plate.

The score on the field changed to 16:6.

The seniors extended their lead to ten points.

And that was the final score of today's welcome match.

After the match, all the supporters of Seidou High School were very satisfied.

The upperclassmen displayed their excellent skills and teamwork.

They proved that they hadn't wasted the past two years at Seidou High School.

The freshmen also showed their unique features, especially those star players.

Their performances were truly breathtaking.

Seeing the team they supported have a bright future, as an alumnus or supporter of Seidou High School, they couldn't help but feel happy and proud.

The audience was satisfied, but the players on both teams weren't quite the same.

After nine innings, the final score stayed at 16:6.

The seniors had mostly the second-string main players on the field. Though they defended their honor, their performance wasn't outstanding.

But through this match, they had all come to terms with it.

Their strength just wasn't enough, and who could they blame?

But there were still some players who hadn't had a chance to take the field.

They watched the freshmen showing off, even knowing that if they had played, it likely wouldn't have changed anything.

Deep down, they felt some dissatisfaction.

Just thinking that their high school baseball careers might be ending here left them frustrated.

For the freshmen, they also felt dissatisfied.

In the final stages, the freshmen were ahead 3:5.

At that point, not all of their star players were on the field.

At most, half of them had played!

If they had all played, the upperclassmen would have had no chance.

Not to mention that many freshmen hadn't played in this match at all.

They also had emotions.

The players who had been on the field weren't willing to accept the loss, and those who hadn't played felt resentment.

As a result, after the match ended, both teams lingered on the field.

They didn't want to leave.

Sawamura looked at both the freshmen and upperclassmen teams.

He had experienced both phases.

Whether it was for the freshmen juniors or these soon-to-be-graduating seniors, Sawamura felt he needed to do something.

"If there are any of you who aren't done yet, I'll stay and play with you!"

Sawamura Eijun stood up voluntarily.

"For those who just played, that doesn't count. For the remaining players, who's interested in playing with me?"

His suggestion stirred everyone's heart.

However, it seemed like such matters shouldn't be decided by Sawamura, as there were still true big shots at Seidou High School.

Everyone shifted their attention to Coach Kataoka.

Not only the players, but even Coach Ochiai and President Ota looked at Kataoka.

Sawamura's position in the current Seidou baseball team was too special, and his suggestion could not be ignored by the coaching staff.

Coach Kataoka then turned his gaze to Sawamura.

Sawamura stared directly at Coach Kataoka without flinching.

Time seemed to freeze around them.

Everyone anxiously waited for the decision of these two.

'I see, so you want to pitch…'

After nearly a minute, Coach Kataoka finally moved his gaze away from Sawamura and turned to the new students.

"Is there anyone who still wants to play?"

Under Coach Kataoka's cold stare, all the new students tightened in their hearts.

Some of them hesitated.

This hesitation didn't last long, and soon someone stepped forward.

Okumura took the lead and walked to the front of the team.

Following him, one by one, the new students stood up.

Nishiyama, Yuuki, Yui, Takuma, Kagami, Kuki, Matsumoto, Hirota, Mogami, Itou…

As they watched these star players step forward, a rare spirit of bravery emerged among the new students.

One by one, many more stood up.

The number of those who stepped forward reached two-thirds of all the new students.

These newcomers, who had come from afar to Seidou, were eager to test their abilities.

It was clear they had made a big decision.

Now that the opportunity was right in front of them, none of them wanted to back down.

Coach Kataoka nodded, then turned his attention to the Senpais team.

The players who hadn't gotten a chance to play before now looked at him eagerly.

It was obvious they also wanted to play; they didn't want their entire high school career to end here.

After this match, those who didn't make it to the second string were almost like they had retired. Although they could stay on the team, Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff simply wouldn't have the energy to invest in them.

Seidou had to prepare for the upcoming Summer Tournament.

That would be the key to the life or death of the team.

"Alright!"

Both teams displayed high spirits.

Coach Kataoka nodded and without further words, signaled for the match to continue.

For the players who had already played nine innings, they had already shown what they were capable of. Now it was up to Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff to make a decision.

They wouldn't be going back on; next up were the substitutes from the second-string.

Sawamura walked over to the side of Kariba and patted his chest with the mitt he had just put on.

"Can you still hold on?"

The previous match had been intense, and Kariba had already expended a lot of energy over nine innings.

But since there were no other catchers in the second-string, and the third-string catchers couldn't handle Sawamura's pitches, he had no choice but to partner up with Kariba.

Kariba looked at Sawamura and nodded confidently.

"Don't worry, I'm fine."

He was still out of breath, but the thought of getting to play again, especially with Sawamura as his partner, was invigorating.

"That's good!"

Sawamura nodded and greeted the other players from the second-string. During the greetings, he also assigned positions.

In a short time, a new team had formed.

Takatsu saw Sawamura pull together a new team in just a short period.

He couldn't help but admire him.

Generally, players with excellent skills are often very arrogant.

Someone with Sawamura's skills would usually want to be above everyone else.

This naturally creates a distance between them and the regular players.

But there was no sign of this in Sawamura.

No matter where he was or who he was with, he could quickly get along with everyone.

It was no wonder he managed to form a team back in middle school; without such traits, he certainly wouldn't have been able to do that.

The team of the Senpais was quickly put together, with Sawamura and Kariba as the battery, and the second-string substitutes as the main players.

In stark contrast to the smooth formation of the Senpais team, the freshmen team faced numerous struggles.

The main issue was that everyone was too eager to play.

After all, their opponent was Sawamura Eijun, a well-known "demon king" in high school baseball and the most famous talent scouted at Seidou.

None of the new students wanted to miss out on this opportunity.

If not for the opening match, there might have been fewer disputes. After all, the difference in skill levels was clear, and they would have known their place.

But after that opening match, most of the talented new players had already played.

Now, how could they shamelessly ask to play again? Wasn't that a bit too much?

For the players who had already been on the field, they too didn't want to miss this chance.

The temptation to challenge the 'Maou' Sawamura was enormous.

For these excellent players, how could they let go of such a temptation?

One by one, they weren't willing to give up.

Initially, Okumura and Yui could balance things out.

But now, the new team had split into two factions, neither willing to yield. Everyone was watching them, waiting for a fair decision.

Both of them were in a difficult position.

The situation became awkward.

Coach Kataoka quickly understood the dilemma of the new team after casting a glance their way.

There were just too many excellent players, which sometimes caused problems like this.

Fortunately, Coach Kataoka had gradually adapted to such situations over the past year.

Not wanting to waste more time, he decided to call out names directly.

The players who had already been on the field would obviously not play again now.

So, he called up those who hadn't played yet.

These players, except for the pitcher Haruyama who had a bit of a reputation, were mostly average.

Haruyama was from the youth baseball team and was a substitute pitcher. He became well-known due to the team's popularity.

He had come to Seidou High School because he was determined to receive the best training and education in baseball.

After undergoing several rounds of tests, the coaching staff at Seidou gave him the feedback:

He had great potential and was worth developing.

Don't underestimate this evaluation, because many people want to be pitchers, so each year, a large number of pitchers emerge among Seidou's freshmen.

For a team, having too many pitchers would waste resources.

That's why the coaching staff tests everyone's abilities and reports back to Kataoka.

Coach Kataoka then discusses with others on how to proceed.

Those with potential will continue to be developed, while those without are encouraged to consider other positions.

Of course, this is done with respect for the players' free will. If a player is determined to be a pitcher, the coaching staff will respect their decision.

But whether they can progress, whether they can make it to the first string, is a different story.

After Coach Kataoka called up the new players to play, Sawamura happily suggested a game of rock-paper-scissors with the new team captain.

The player, Haruyama, pushed forward with a face as red as a tomato, unsure if it was from nerves or excitement.

Sawamura smiled and played rock-paper-scissors with him.

In the end, Haruyama won.

He chose to attack first.

These new students were eager to see the Demon King's pitching in action.

Sawamura felt a little disappointed.

The ones going on were all the pure newcomers who hadn't played yet. He had hoped to give them a shock right from the start.

Now, it seemed like that wasn't going to happen.

Top of the 10th inning, the freshmen team attacks.

Sawamura stood on the mound right from the start.

Before pitching, Kariba seriously wanted to discuss the strategy with Sawamura.

"Against these kids, what's there to plan? Just throw it right down the middle!"

'Eh? Isn't that a bit too much?'

Kariba looked at Sawamura with concern.

...

 T/N: As always, Thank you all for reading!!

See you Tomorrow!

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