Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter

Chapter 183: The Debut

"Kuramochi-senpai, you should learn how to bunt from Eijun!" Sendo casually remarked, right after Kuramochi had been roasted mercilessly by Miyuki.

"???" Kuramochi was completely baffled, with a look that screamed, "I didn't even provoke you!"

Miyuki, momentarily stunned, noticed Sendo directing his comment toward Masuko instead, as if it wasn't aimed at him in the first place.

"If you can actually learn it, that is," Sendo added shortly afterward.

"Pfft! Hahaha! My stomach hurts!" Miyuki couldn't hold back his laughter anymore.

"And you, you sly glasses-wearer, your batting average is so inconsistent! You crumble the moment things don't go your way, huh?" Sendo fired back, not sparing Miyuki either.

"..." Miyuki was left speechless.

"If anyone could learn bunting from Eijun, they'd truly be a genius," Sendo thought to himself as he finished his internal monologue.

As the group bantered, Ryousuke had already toyed with the opposing pitcher, leaving him utterly frustrated.

The duel had dragged on for five pitches.

With a count of two strikes and one ball, the pitcher then threw two consecutive balls, making it clear that their ace was completely rattled.

"Ball four! Walk!"

"Yes!!! Way to select the pitches, Ryousuke!".

"How many bad pitches was that?"

"Including the strikes, it was nine pitches! What a tenacious batter this No. 2 is!"

"How's Seidou doing this year? Haven't they failed to make it to Koshien in recent years?"

"I heard they've had issues with their pitching, but their batting lineup seems strong!"

"Well, we'd better watch closely. That pitcher in the first inning looked pretty decent."

"Batting third, left fielder, Isashiki-kun!" While the audience gossiped, it was finally Seidou's heart of the lineup's turn to bat.

Having learned from the Ichidaisan game, the crowd refrained from shouting any taunts like "mutt" this time.

"Please take care of me!" Jun-san greeted the umpire with uncharacteristic politeness.

The umpire, thinking, "What a nice kid," had no idea what was coming.

"Let's go, Yaksha!"

"..." The catcher was visibly startled by Jun's outburst.

"What are you staring at?" Jun growled at the opposing pitcher, who kept glancing his way.

But it would take more than that to intimidate an ace from a powerhouse school.

First pitch!

"Come on!"

Ping!

Thud!

The ball went straight back to the pitcher, bounced, and landed directly in his glove.

"Out! Double play! Side retired!"

Jun returned to the dugout, his face flushed with embarrassment.

Before entering, he shot a sharp, intimidating glare toward the younger players, particularly Miyuki.

Miyuki, feeling the pressure, immediately tried to divert the situation. "Alright, let's go!"

"Here's your glove, Jun-san! Don't worry about it; the game's still long!" Sendo handed Jun his glove and, as they passed each other, offered some quiet words of comfort.

"What a reliable junior!" Jun thought, his mood lifting.

...

"Top of the second inning, Yokohama Kouhoku Academy at bat!"

"Batting fourth, first baseman, Furano-kun!"

"Although he's batting cleanup, this team seems more like a balanced, defensive squad," Sendo observed from center field, deep in thought about the opponent's No. 4 batter.

"Crush them!" Jun was already fired up beside him.

"Bring it on, Tanba!"

"Ugh!"

As the duel began, with the pitcher and catcher exchanging signs, Sendo stood straight, his relaxed posture contrasting sharply with the rest of the defense, who were hunched and ready.

But no one on Seidou cared.

If the opponent underestimated Sendo's ability based on his seemingly casual stance, they were in for a rude awakening.

Sure enough, the moment Tanba released the ball, Sendo lowered his center of gravity, his long arms almost brushing the grass, his body poised like a coiled spring ready to explode.

"Strike!"

Hearing the ball land in the glove, Sendo stood upright again, resuming his carefree demeanor as if the intense moment moments ago had nothing to do with him.

"Looks like it'll be tough to hit anything into the outfield in this first round," Sendo said with a yawn.

Second pitch!

"Ball!"

"A bit off. It's a ball. Following the first pitch curveball, this one was an outside ball. The count is now one ball, one strike."

"So far away! Damn it!" Furano muttered, gritting his teeth.

The previous pitch had created an illusion that made this one seem even farther away than it actually was.

The psychological impact of that diagonal trajectory was devastating for the batter's spatial awareness.

Even someone as skilled as Raichi had fallen victim to this strategy.

Third pitch!

Thud! "Ball!"

Fourth pitch!

Thud!

"Strike!"

A fastball straight at the batter's chest caught Furano off guard, making him hesitate.

"Let's finish this with the next one!"

Ping!

"Center field!" As soon as Sendo had declared the outfield safe, Miyuki deliberately called for a pitch that induced a hit toward center field.

It was a harmless high fly ball, easy enough for even Sawamura to catch.

Smack!

"Out!"

The final pitch was a high hanging ball that the center fielder caught effortlessly.

The next two batters, Nos. 5 and 6, were both struck out consecutively.

Yokohama Kouhoku Academy turned out to be quite an interesting team.

Not only did their coach have a distinctive appearance, but their players' names were also peculiar enough for Sendo to make fun in his mind.

Seidou remained relaxed as the game had just begun, and their batting lineup, like Yokohama Kouhoku's, started with the cleanup hitter.

While Yokohama relied on solid defense from all nine players and balanced hitting to score, Seidou's strength lay in their explosive batting lineup.

Though Kuramochi was currently inconsistent and often struggled to get on base against strong teams, from the second batter onward, the lineup was packed with power hitters.

Including Miyuki, who was nearly unbeatable when runners were on base, Seidou's powerful hitters extended all the way to Sendo at the seventh spot.

Each one forced the opposing team to stay fully alert, as if they were facing the heart of another team's lineup.

Even Shirasu at the eighth spot was more reliable than Kuramochi.

Fans of the original story knew that replacing the offensive and defensive liability Sakai with the all-rounder Sendo had transformed this lineup significantly.

Against powerhouse teams, even if Seidou's pitchers struggled to shut down the opposition, their explosive batting could still turn the game into an offensive slugfest.

This, however, was a temporary compromise.

Much depended on how much Furuya could improve before the summer.

As for Sawamura, aside from Sendo, no one seemed to think he'd make a significant impact this summer.

Most of Seidou's strategic minds were focused on Sawamura's potential for the future.

...

Bottom of the Second Inning: Seidou's Attack!

"Batting fourth, first baseman, Yuuki-kun!"

"Hit it out of the park, Yuuki!"

"Crush it! Crush it!"

"Hit it out, Yuuki!"

"Masuko-senpai!" Sendo reminded Masuko to shorten his grip on the bat, urging him to be ready.

Yuuki, with his composed demeanor, clearly looked like a tough batter to deal with. Yokohama's battery approached him with extreme caution.

"Ball!"

The first pitch was an inside ball. They carefully began to challenge Seidou's cleanup hitter.

"Strike!"

The second pitch was a small breaking curveball on the outside corner, just barely grazing the strike zone.

As long as any part of the ball touches the strike zone, it counts as a strike.

It was a lucky pitch, but Yuuki remained still.

With little scouting information, Yokohama's battery had no intention of intentionally walking Yuuki.

Their approach was to aggressively throw borderline pitches, conceding a walk only if the count turned unfavorable.

The third pitch came.

Whoosh!

Smack!

"Strike!"

"A splitter! Yuuki swung and missed! Seidou's cleanup hitter is now in a tough spot!"

"Yuuki-senpai, what do you usually think about while batting?" Yuuki suddenly recalled Sendo's question from before.

"Nothing," he had replied back then.

"That's amazing! I can never focus like you when I'm at bat," Sendo had remarked.

Remembering this, Yuuki, ever the natural airhead, allowed a faint smile to creep onto his face.

Ping!

"Left field!"

"The ball lands! A long hit down the left field line! Seidou's first hit of the game is a double from their captain!"

"Alright, time for me to get ready," Miyuki said as he grabbed his helmet, making sure to inform Sendo before stepping out.

"Looks like you're getting all the good opportunities again! You're always so lucky," Sendo muttered, half complaining about Miyuki's uncanny fortune.

With Yuuki on second, Miyuki would now have a prime scoring opportunity.

Unless Masuko hit a home run to clear the bases entirely, Miyuki was guaranteed to bat with a runner in scoring position.

"Heh heh," Miyuki grinned smugly at Sendo, flashing a mischievous smile.

Ping!

Smack! "Out!"

Despite gripping the bat short, Masuko's raw power was overwhelming, resulting in a towering pop fly to the shortstop.

"Masuko-senpai, too much power!" Sendo said softly, covering his face with his hand as he watched the ball.

"Batting sixth, catcher, Miyuki-kun!"

"Take all the good stuff, you bastard!" Jun yelled from the bench, echoing what many of his teammates felt.

"Miyuki's luck is abnormal; we need to find a way to balance it," Sendo thought gloomily as he stepped out of the dugout.

"All the good opportunities go to you. I'm just the guy batting behind you, left to pick up scraps."

...

"Do your best, Sendo-chan!" Masuko encouraged as he returned to the bench.

"Got it!" Sendo replied, turning his attention to Miyuki's at-bat.

Sendo had noticed that Yokohama's catcher was the conservative type, unlike Miyuki's aggressive style.

Chris fell somewhere in between, adapting to the situation, while Sendo's approach closely resembled Chris's.

Smack!

"Ball!"

The first pitch was an outside ball.

Since it was the first inning, the Yokohama battery focused on probing pitches, unlike the data-driven games in the summer.

The second pitch came inside and hit the strike zone.

The third pitch, back to the outside, was a good ball. Miyuki swung but fouled it off.

The fourth pitch was another splitter.

Miyuki, however, kept his focus. Even without fully understanding this catcher, he wouldn't be easily fooled.

On the fifth pitch, an outside ball, Miyuki swung again and fouled it off.

"Let's settle it with this pitch!" Yokohama's battery decided to end the at-bat.

They now understood why Seidou's bench cheered so loudly for this sixth batter.

Miyuki's focus and strength were truly on par with a core hitter.

Containing him here was crucial.

An inside splitter came next.

Whoosh! Smack! "Strike! Batter out!"

Miyuki, having been pushed to his limit, had no answer for the pitch.

"Two outs!"

"All that's left is that first-year rookie!" Yokohama's battery thought in unison.

"TWO OUTS!"

The field erupted with encouragement, though the first-year batter wearing the No. 8 jersey still couldn't escape the fact that he was a rookie.

There was always some degree of underestimation.

But for a prestigious team, underestimation was relative.

They still thoroughly tested each batter, not recklessly using fastballs against a first-year just because of his status.

After all, any player starting for Seidou had to be competent. Otherwise, they'd be relegated to the ninth spot in the lineup.

...

"Batting seventh, center fielder, Sendo-kun!"

"Swinging and missing already? Don't tell me you're losing your edge!"

"Don't say 'losing my edge!' I'm in great shape!"

Sendo retorted sharply.

Ever since Miyuki had explained the full implications of "losing your edge," even he avoided saying it lightly.

"Don't let them corner you too easily! That splitter is tricky to handle!" After joking around, Miyuki placed a hand on Sendo's shoulder, giving him a brief but serious reminder.

"Got it! Don't worry. I'll ignore all the breaking balls."

"…" Miyuki hesitated. Could Sendo really differentiate between breaking balls and fastballs under pressure?

"I have my own way of telling them apart, as long as the speed difference isn't too small," Sendo added, almost as if reading Miyuki's thoughts.

"Don't look so surprised; your expression gave you away. Also, I'm not like you."

With that, Sendo confidently strode toward the batter's box.

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