Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

'Crazy!'

The leadoff hitter of Kaihin Sougou felt like he was about to lose his mind.

'How could it be the most ordinary straight ball?'

'It shouldn't be.'

In the Seidou High School dugout,

Lee-Hyun was also sweating heavily over Sawamura's pitch.

'That pitch just now was too dangerous.'

Even though the batters of Kaihin Sougou weren't particularly strong, the opponent was still a powerhouse in the Chiba area.

They had solid fundamentals.

A 140 km/h straight ball down the middle should have been no problem for them.

If the batter had swung at that pitch, the probability of a hit would have been pretty high.

Luckily, he didn't swing, which allowed Seidou High School to earn a Strike.

"Don't get too careless, kid!"

"Be careful with your pitching!!!"

A few substitutes in the dugout, who were friendly with Sawamura, started cheering him on!

But their cheering tone wasn't friendly at all, it almost sounded like they were wishing for his downfall.

In fact, judging by their expressions, they were indeed wishing for his downfall.

As for Sawamura's current condition, they weren't worried at all.

"That was dangerous!"

Lee-Hyun muttered.

Yui Kaoru glanced at Lee-Hyun, smiled, and shook his head.

"Don't worry. That pitch just now was intentional by Sawamura-senpai."

"What?"

Lee-Hyun looked at Yui Kaoru in confusion, then turned to glance at the teammates around him.

He wasn't stupid and quickly put two and two together, his face showing a thoughtful expression.

If Sawamura's pitching was really off, wouldn't his teammates be a little more concerned?

Could it be that there was something he missed in that pitch?

Yui explained with a smile,

"The reason Sawamura-senpai threw a straight ball in the middle just now was because they already predicted that the batter wouldn't swing at it."

"Really?"

Lee-Hyun couldn't quite believe it.

Yui nodded in affirmation.

"That's exactly how it was."

'That pitch was likely a signal from Miyuki-senpai, who had spotted a flaw, directing Sawamura-senpai to throw it.'

But then again, after receiving such a signal, Sawamura-senpai threw a straight ball without hesitation—

'it took a lot of guts and trust.'

Obviously, Sawamura-senpai trusts Miyuki-senpai's judgment very much. If he didn't, he never would have thrown that pitch.

And that's exactly what Yui lacked.

How could he earn the trust of Sawamura-senpai and Furuya-senpai?

This was the problem Yui Kaoru had to solve. Without solving it, he wouldn't be able to succeed Miyuki Kazuya.

The batter of Kaihin Sougou, in a state of panic, was completely manipulated by Miyuki.

Sawamura easily struck him Out for the first Out.

"Swinging at such an obvious Ball..."

"Does the pressure from the pitcher affect the batter that much?"

"It seems the pressure must be huge."

The first batter was struck Out, and the second batter was affected by the first one.

He realized he couldn't wait for Sawamura's pitch, so as soon as the small ball came flying, he had to swing.

He thought that, and he did it.

As Sawamura pitched, he swung immediately.

Ping!

Believe it or not, his luck was on his side, and he hit the ball.

But the hit wasn't clean, and the ball bounced right in front of third base.

"Shortstop!"

Miyuki, the catcher, immediately shouted for Kuramochi to cover.

Before Miyuki could finish, a swift figure had already moved to field the ball.

When it comes to defense, Kuramochi is definitely number one on the Seidou High School team.

He effortlessly caught the bounced ball in his mitt and passed it directly to first base.

Snap!

"OUT!!"

A clean play—two Outs.

Sawamura on the mound looked especially relaxed.

The Coach of Kaihin Sougou High School looked at Sawamura with admiration.

"So this is the Maou!"

It was so easy to rack up two Outs from his team.

The contest between the two sides felt like an adult playing with a child—the difference in power was enormous.

'Incredible!'

Luckily, Seidou High School isn't from Chiba Prefecture, or else Kaihin Sougou High School could never even dream of making it to Koshien.

The strength of this school is far beyond the high school level.

The Coach of Kaihin Sougou even wondered if there was any team in the current high school leagues that could match Seidou High School.

The game continued, and Sawamura naturally secured the third Out.

This third Out came even easier than the first two.

Sawamura lightly pitched the ball and was immediately hit.

Ping!

The ball flew high, then landed right in Sawamura's mitt.

The Swallow's Homecoming!

Today, the game wasn't just being watched by the media but by many Kaihin Sougou High School students as well.

Who knows why they stayed at school during the holidays? In any case, there were hundreds of people watching the game, and many of them were recording with their phones.

One person happened to record the moment.

Afterward, they quickly uploaded the video to the school's forum.

[Kaihin Sougou High School against The Swallow's Homecoming!]

Immediately, the post was pinned to the front page of the campus forum.

The student who posted it gained some fame as well.

Sawamura's [The Swallow's Homecoming] wasn't something he invented, but because of his fame, it became his signature stunt.

Everyone prefers to believe it's his signature.

As for the original creator, who cares about that?

In the bottom of the first inning, Seidou High School took their turn to bat.

Ping!

Kuramochi, the first batter, hit the ball.

This speedster, who usually relies on his speed, showed a rare display of power, hitting a clean single and getting on base.

He was the engine of Seidou High School's offense, and once he was on base, the entire lineup came alive.

Next up was Haruichi, the second batter.

Paak!

Once again, it was a clean and sharp swing, and the ball was sent flying.

This time, Seidou High School didn't employ any base-stealing tactics, but instead, they used a hit-and-run strategy.

It seemed risky, but Seidou High School executed it as if they were fully confident.

No wonder they had that confidence; their batting was indeed impressive.

Kominato Haruichi cleanly got a hit.

Kuramochi used the opportunity to run to third base.

The situation became: no Outs, with runners on first and third.

At this point, Seidou High School's next batter was Sawamura.

The battery of Kaihin Sougou High School was completely confused.

They really didn't know how to handle the situation they were facing.

They looked towards the Coach in the dugout for guidance.

Not every team relies solely on the players' own judgment during a game.

For instance, Kaihin Sougou High School, who were now playing against Seidou High School, relied heavily on their Coach's decisions.

Kaihin Sougou High School's coach, however, was also at a loss.

The game had only just started, and Walking Sawamura seemed a bit inappropriate at this point.

Moreover, even if they Walked Sawamura, what good would it do?

Next, they'd still have to face Miyuki Kazuya, a batter whose strength was just as formidable as Sawamura's, with a loaded base.

Avoidance would be pointless!

Kaihin Sougou High School's Coach quickly realized this and decisively gave instructions to his players.

'Since avoiding the situation was futile, it was time to go all in.'

If this resolve to go "all-in" came from the players themselves, their performance could indeed shine.

But this resolve was imposed by the coach.

The determination forced upon the players by the coach wouldn't have the same impact.

With a nervous heart, Kaihin Sougou's pitcher tremblingly threw the ball.

He worked hard to appear as though he wasn't afraid at all.

But his shaking pitching betrayed him.

He lacked any confidence in his pitch.

A pitch thrown without confidence felt soulless.

As the ball came flying toward him, Sawamura slightly lifted his eyelids but didn't pay it much mind.

The pitch had no power.

This wasn't just Sawamura's subjective judgment; it was a fact.

The ball had no strength as it came toward him.

'Good!'

'This was truly perfect.'

Without hesitation, Sawamura swung his bat at the incoming ball.

PANG!

The ball was hit and flew high into the air, eventually landing far beyond the outfield fence.

He beautifully hit a three-run home run.

The pitcher seemed on the verge of breaking down.

But no one expected that after this, the Kaihin Sougou High School pitcher actually relax.

'Well, since things had already gone this far, how much worse could it get?'

With this mentality, his pitching actually became much more relaxed.

Even Sawamura couldn't help but admire the way he was pitching.

Not everyone can pull themselves together after getting hit with a home run.

On the baseball field, many pitchers collapse mentally after giving up a home run.

Kaihin Sougou High School's Ace wasn't very strong overall, but his mindset was surprisingly solid.

However...that didn't matter much.

Faced with Seidou High School's strength, he quickly collapsed.

Four runs in the first inning, two in the second, five in the third...

By the time the game reached the seventh inning, Seidou High School had a 17-run lead. This was still after the Seidou players deliberately eased up after seeing the widening score. Otherwise, the score would likely be even more frightening.

Kaihin Sougou High School did manage to get a few hits off Sawamura's Moving ball.

Altogether, they managed three hits.

But it didn't matter.

Once a batter reached base, Sawamura's pitching seemed to completely change.

He no longer took it easy; he was fully focused on striking Out the next batter.

Once he started paying attention, even his ordinary straight balls were enough to intimidate the batters.

The difference between Sawamura when he was focused and when he was relaxed was huge.

Not to mention, after changing his gear, his pitch speed increased to another level.

With no preparation, Kaihin Sougou was completely helpless against pitches like these.

As for the occasional off-speed pitches (Change-ups), it only deepened their sense of despair.

They were no match!

The practice game against Seidou High School was of great significance to Kaihin Sougou High School.

They realized the many areas where they were lacking, and if their players' fighting spirit was strong enough, after addressing these weaknesses, they believed their strength could improve significantly.

In Chiba Prefecture, a place that wasn't considered a battleground, advancing to Koshien wouldn't be surprising.

For Seidou's baseball team, it was a real opportunity to feel their own strength.

In the final two innings, Seidou High School made another substitution.

Furuya replaced Sawamura on the mound.

This substitution was entirely to simulate real game situations.

Furuya was Seidou High School's primary backup pitcher.

In most cases, Sawamura pitched the latter half of the game.

When a change was needed, Furuya was the one to replace Sawamura.

His performance was also quite impressive.

His pitching speed was off the charts, making it feel almost unfair.

Having just witnessed Sawamura's unique pitches, Kaihin Sougou High School now faced Furuya's overwhelming velocity.

The players of Kaihin Sougou High School were truly impressed.

There was no resisting; they couldn't even make contact with the ball.

Furuya struck Out six batters in a row!

That wasn't all— in the final two innings, Kaihin Sougou High School also gave up three more runs.

The final score was 20–0.

This score didn't mean that Kaihin Sougou High School was truly weak; it just highlighted how strong Seidou High School is right now.

Back when they were in the quarterfinals of Koshien, the powerhouse Kaihin Sougou High School beat their opponent 10–0.

It's clear that the gap in strength between the top-tier teams and the strong, but not elite, teams is significant.

…