Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

Kuramochi-kun felt insulted.

He had never thought that there was anything wrong with his intelligence. Although his grades were average, he understood human nature and the ways of the world. As for baseball, he believed he knew quite a bit.

But now...

These three guys in front of him had been talking in puzzles for a long time, and he hadn't understood a single word.

"It's simple. If Hakuryu wants to break through this pitcher, there's no need to focus on the pitcher himself…"

Sawamura calmly explained.

"This team's overall strength is actually pretty average, their defense is the same. Do you remember the characteristics of Hakuryu?"

Of course, Kuramochi remembered the characteristics of Hakuryu.

They were the team with the highest mobility in high school, and almost all their players were incredibly fast.

Their average speed from the batter's box to first base was around 4.1 seconds.

There were not many players in high school who could achieve that. Of course, if you looked hard enough, you could still find a few.

After all, every team has a player or two who are fast runners.

But Hakuryu High's strength came from the fact that every player on their team had that speed.

Not just one or two, but every player.

Their average base stealing speed was 3.3 seconds.

These two records were absolutely top-notch in high school.

If the pitcher-catcher combination took more than 3.3 seconds from pitch to pickoff, they simply couldn't stop any player of Hakuryu from literally walking all over them.

And this was assuming everyone was playing at their full potential.

In a real game, base stealers would have even more of an advantage.

For example, mistakes in coordination or errors in catching and throwing...

Runners could also start running early.

In short, Hakuryu had turned mobility into an art form.

Compared to them, players from other teams were not even close.

Now, about the team in front of them, called Kuroba High School.

This team was a typical one-man team; their overall strength wasn't particularly outstanding.

You could tell that from the lineup for today's game from Seidou High.

How did Coach Kataoka arrange today's game?

It was to experiment with a new lineup.

If the opposing team was strong enough, Coach Kataoka would never do this. No matter what, he wouldn't test a new lineup in such an intense game.

Instead, he would use the full starting lineup and fight for victory as much as possible.

This also showed that Kuroba's strength was actually pretty average.

Right now, the reason they were so strong was because of their pitcher, Mutoyama.

If Seidou avoided facing Mutoyama, Kuroba would immediately return to their original form.

"Can't we just do the same thing?" Sawamura explained, and Kuramochi immediately understood what was going on, then proposed his own idea. His idea was almost exactly the same as Miyuki's earlier.

"I'm afraid it's difficult. At least with the current lineup, it's impossible."

The players who were arranged to play by Coach Kataoka today were all power hitters and substitutes, and their speed was actually nothing to boast about.

Let alone compared to the players from Hakuryu.

In this situation, expecting them to control the opponent like Hakuryu did was probably very difficult.

"We can't just sit back and wait. If not, I'll go ask Coach for a substitution."

Kuramochi was eager to give it a try.

He didn't mind stepping up if it meant he could use his speed to break through the opponent's defense.

"It's just the first inning, no need to rush."

It was rare to encounter such a challenging opponent, and Sawamura was interested.

Before they ran out of ideas, he hoped he could face off against this round guy a few more times in a proper manner.

In the second inning, Sawamura easily secured three Outs.

For him, it was as easy as breathing.

The players from Kuroba had no way of dealing with Sawamura.

He was too high level!

Although you couldn't see anything special from his pitching, the result said it all.

Kuroba's top and middle hitters went up and down in order six times.

They simply couldn't crack Sawamura's pitching.

Unknowingly, the game had turned into an evenly matched-pitching duel.

The people cheering for Kuroba around the field were incredibly excited.

They were genuinely thrilled.

No one had expected this practice game to evolve into such an intense pitching duel. Mutoyama was actually holding his own against the great Sawamura.

This pitching duel went on for three innings, with neither side getting a single hit.

In Seidou High's dugout, Kuramochi was grinding his teeth, jumping up and down, looking like a monkey trapped under a mountain. He looked almost crazy.

He glared at Sawamura and said in annoyance, "If we can't think of a way to deal with that little fat kid, I'll go talk to Coach myself."

He found it frustrating that he could only watch such an interesting game from the sidelines.

In Sawamura's eyes, this was the real reason Kuramochi was so upset.

'But no matter the reason, it was time to solve this pitcher.'

Otherwise, if things continued like this, Seidou High's baseball team would truly look bad.

The longer the game went on, the more Seidou's players realized just what kind of guy this Meat Tank was.

Although he looked scary, you could still spot many immature aspects.

He was a novice.

It was precisely because of this realization that Seidou's top players were even more unwilling to lose to a rookie.

Was it too shameful to play mind games with a rookie?

Now, Seidou could only grit their teeth and swallow their pride.

They would have to face off with the Meat Tank head-on.

At the start of the fourth inning, Sawamura easily recorded three Outs.

The process was exactly the same as before.

Sawamura's pitches didn't look strong at all, but the Kuroba batters were still able to hit the ball.

The eerie thing was, that these balls seemed to have been set on a predetermined path.

They kept aiming straight for the fielders' mitts.

No one was able to safely reach first base.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the first batter, Takatsu, who had been dealt with earlier, stood in the Batter's Box again.

At this point, Seidou had come up with a strategy.

Although the plan was somewhat weak, it might actually work.

The stronger something is, the harder it is to sustain.

The Meat Tank's pitching was no different.

After nine innings of play, his pitching couldn't possibly remain this powerful forever, could it?

As long as he showed even a slight lapse in focus during the process, the batters could take him down in the later innings.

Takatsu's task had changed.

Instead of hitting the ball out directly, he now had to stall, forcing the pitcher to throw more pitches.

Although the method was clumsy, as long as it worked, it could be a brilliant move.

Takatsu's idea was good, but in practice, it wasn't so easy.

Mutoyama knew his control wasn't great, so he focused all his pitches in the middle.

At first, when stalling, it wasn't too bad. As long as he got the pitcher to throw, he just had to avoid swinging.

But once he was down to two Strikes, facing a pitch almost right down the middle, could Takatsu not swing?

That was definitely impossible.

So, whether he liked it or not, he had to bite the bullet and swing the bat.

Ping!

The ball was hit and immediately bounced straight into the first baseman's mitt.

"OUT!"

Back in the dugout, Takatsu said nothing.

He kept shaking his wrist.

Just now, he even thought his wrist had been torn.

"How does it feel?"

While putting on his batting gloves, Sawamura came over to Takatsu to gather information.

He trusted Takatsu's judgment.

Takatsu certainly didn't disappoint Sawamura, quickly recounting what he had observed.

'The ball he threw wasn't a fastball!'

Like a bolt from the blue, Sawamura instantly understood what had happened.

He had been blind to the truth.

Because everyone could make contact with the ball, Sawamura had made the assumption that the pitches were all fastballs, just with more power.

Now it seemed that wasn't the case at all.

Unlike Sawamura's own Moving ball, Mutoyama's throws surely had some kind of movement, a change that was difficult for ordinary people to comprehend.

It was precisely because of this variation that the pitch speed was so formidable.

In just a short while, Kijima was also Out.

With his characteristics and abilities, it was incredibly hard for him to hit Mutoyama's pitches.

Even if he knew the trick, it would still be difficult to pull it off.

The ball speed was over 140 km/h, but less than 145 km/h.

Sawamura had previously waited for the pitch to come into range before swinging, and most of the pitches he faced were under 140 km/h.

When the pitch velocity was raised a little more, with Sawamura's prior swing, it would be difficult for him to make contact with the ball.

This time, however, Sawamura decided to fully commit, focusing intently on the pitcher's mound.

He was going to use his eyes to perceive everything.

If by the fourth inning, Seidou High hadn't scored, even without suggestions, Coach Kataoka would likely have to make a change.

He couldn't tolerate the game continuing like this anymore.

In the past, he had been able to endure some things, but now, he didn't want to put up with it at all.

With two outs and no one on base, Sawamura stepped into the Batter's Box, ready to hit.

WHOOSH!!

Like a shell out of a tank's muzzle, the ball thundered toward him.

The moment the ball left the pitcher's hand, everything around Sawamura seemed to slow down.

'This was it!'

In this highly focused state, Sawamura's dynamic vision began to kick in.

In this state, he could see every little movement in the ball.

'The spin of the ball was faster than expected.'

Now he understood!

In an instant, Sawamura's mind became clear.

He focused on the ball flying toward him, gritting his teeth and waiting for it to come within reach.

BUUUUUZZZZZ!!!!!

Only when the ball was right within his reach did Sawamura swing his bat.

BAANNG!!!!!

Seizing the opportunity, Sawamura swung his bat and hit the ball.

As he watched the ball soar, a smile suddenly appeared on Sawamura's face.

'It's over!!!'

The catcher of Kuroba narrowed his eyes.

Seeing Sawamura hit the ball so cleanly and beautifully, the catcher from Kuroba felt a sense of hopelessness.

All the tricks had been exposed.

There was no need to continue the game; he knew at that moment that there was no point in playing out the charade.

And the fact was confirmed when the ball, after being hit, soared high into the air.

The baseball flew and flew, eventually landing beyond the boundary fence.

"HOME RUN!!!!"

With that, Sawamura secured the only run of the game, giving Seidou High a 1-0 lead.

Seidou now had a commanding advantage.

Even Seidou's own teammates were dazed by the turn of events.

After Sawamura returned to the dugout, his teammates immediately crowded around him, eager to know how he managed to hit the ball so effectively.

Previously, when facing such a powerful pitcher, he had seemed completely overwhelmed.

There is no way he suddenly becomes superhuman.

Sawamura's sudden prowess definitely had a cause.

They couldn't wait to know the secret.

Sawamura shrugged casually.

"The reason we feel the ball is heavy isn't because the pitch is that sharp. It's simply because we haven't hit the sweet spot."

What Sawamura said was something everyone understood.

But they were skeptical of the reason.

The players had been playing baseball for more than a day or two. Didn't they know the consequences of not hitting the center of the ball?

When you miss the center of the ball, the baseball feels heavy yes.

But there's a limit to that; it shouldn't make it impossible to hit the ball.

However, this chubby guy's pitching was completely different. It was incredibly difficult for anyone to hit it.

Even if the ball wasn't hit on the center, it still didn't feel that heavy.

Sawamura shook his head and smiled.

"The baseball itself has a spin, which creates small movement. After it makes contact with the bat, if the bat hits the center of the ball directly, this subtle change won't show its power. But if the bat misses the center of the ball, that makes a huge difference! The ball will keep spinning, and the bat will be deflected. It makes the pitch feel like it has a lot of power and is impossible to push forward."

"What??"

"Is that so?"

The teammates were stunned.

They turned to look at that clumsy, bear-like pitcher!

The guy looked like he had no qualities at all, except for his exceptional pitching.

It was hard to imagine that he was such a brilliant pitcher.

Could it really be true that appearances are deceiving?

"It shouldn't have been specially designed or trained."

Miyuki also understood.

"From the opponent's previous actions, it's clear that Mutoyama is still a beginner. His pitching style must be something he was born with. It's because he hasn't received formal training that he developed the pitching style he has now…"

"If you said it like that, it will make us feel bad!"

Kanemaru smiled bitterly.

They all started learning baseball from a young age and received the most certified training.

In the end, they were outdone by someone who came from a wild background.

It wasn't very encouraging.

"Not necessarily! To be able to hone such skills means the opponent has these unique qualities. If he didn't have these characteristics to begin with, no amount of practice would have any effect."

Sawamura smiled and comforted them.

"Idiot, your words are not comforting at all, are they?"

Kanemaru wanted to strangle Sawamura and ask what was going on in that guy's mind.

Does he even know how to comfort people?

How did he lead a team to victory and dominate high school with his emotional intelligence this low?

Sawamura's words basically meant that they were just not cut out for it.

That's why no amount of training was effective.

Like they are a waste of time and money.

Kanemaru wanted to follow Kuramochi's example and kick Sawamura.

Let's get back to talking about the game.

With Sawamura hitting a home run, the Seidou's baseball team finally learned about Mutoyama's weakness.

Especially Sawamura, who was greatly relieved.

He had looked at the data earlier, and it turned out that Mutoyama was just a first-year player.

At first, Sawamura thought that Mutoyama was exceptionally gifted and naturally powerful.

But it turned out to be a false alarm.

Such a powerful pitch in high school was only effective because everyone used metal bats.

The wider interface of the metal bat gave more room for the Motuyama's pitching to be effective.

But once they reached professional baseball, where wooden bats were used, accuracy and power would be honed.

In that case, this chubby guy would no longer be able to get away with such a pitch.

Therefore, his pitching could only be impressive in high school.

However, it had to be admitted that his pitch was truly intimidating in high school.

Even with Sawamura pointing it out, it was still difficult for everyone to hit the ball and get a hit.

After Sawamura hit the home run, the last batter was quickly Out.

Three Outs, offense and defense exchange.

In the dugout, Coach Kataoka couldn't bear the stalemate any longer and made his move.

He replaced everyone with power hitters.

Maezono, Yuuki Masashi...

These two were given the important task.

Since the opponent wanted to play this game, Seidou High School would play along.

The result was immediate.

Although there were still few chances, there were finally some signs.

First, Maezono got a hit!

Without warning, the little ball flew out just like that.

It then landed in the gap of the defense.

Aside from Sawamura's home run, this was the second chance for Seidou High School to score.

Naturally, Seidou High School wouldn't let it go.

They played aggressively, forcing a score.

Using a series of tricks, Maezono finally made it back to home plate.

This helped Seidou High School score their second point.

It was like flipping a switch, and suddenly Seidou High School's scoring became much easier.

Takatsu and Yuuki both showed impressive performances.

But even so, Seidou High School only scored five points in total during this game.

With a final score of 5-0, Seidou High School won the fifth game.

…