Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

Right now, this was the sixth and the last practice game for Seidou in this campaign.

Seidou once again gathered all of their main players, including the pitchers, using a rotation system.

The first three innings were pitched by Furuya, followed by three innings from Kawakami, and the final three innings were handled by Sawamura.

It was a dominating game.

From the very start, Seidou High School displayed their unparalleled offensive power.

They scored a total of 11 runs in the first inning.

The opposing Coach was almost in tears.

They knew their own team's strengths very well. They knew that they could play against Seidou's first-string team and even their second-string team was not out of the question.

They were a team with very average strength.

In theory, the Seidou's baseball team didn't need to go this hard on them.

'There was no need to be this fierce!'

The pitching of Furuya made them feel desperate.

Although they had two pitching machines on their team, they had never set them to 155 km/h. (96 mph)

The fastest pitch they had ever seen was 150 km/h. (93 mph)

But Furuya's fastest pitch reached 157 km/h. (97 mph)

Was this a joke?

In the end, they couldn't even make contact with the ball and could only watch helplessly as the baseball kept coming.

In the end, Furuya struck out nine batters in a row.

Kawakami, following right after, also wasn't going to back down.

Although he gave up a hit due to an error, it was only that one hit.

He still managed to get three Outs in three innings quite easily.

Sawamura was the last one sent to the mound.

By the time he came on, the opposing team had already been completely numbed.

They didn't even care about the current score anymore; they just wanted to see Sawamura's legendary pitching.

Throughout the practice game, Sawamura had been using his Moving balls, fastballs, and Change-ups.

These three pitches were the absolute essentials of his pitching, no matter when.

Without needing to use higher-level breaking balls, Sawamura used this as a practice for these three.

Now, his partner was Miyuki.

The practice game was nearing its end.

Sawamura felt there was no need to hold back anymore.

'Let's do this.'

He threw with all his might, showcasing his exquisite breaking balls.

It was at this moment that the Seidou High School freshmen finally realized that their senior was not just a fastball pitcher.

Although they knew this before, during the practice game, they had somehow forgotten that Sawamura was capable of more than just fastballs.

What made the 'Great Demon King' famous was his incredibly sharp breaking balls.

It really made their heads spin.

And just like that, Seidou High School finished all six of their practice games.

They won all of them by large margins.

Even in the fifth game, where they only scored five runs, a 5:0 victory was still a comfortable win.

The team had perfectly adjusted their form, and Seidou High School was confident that no matter who they faced, they would face them with confidence.

Next, they would need to actively prepare for the Kanto Tournament.

By the time Golden Week ended, it was already May 6th.

The Kanto Tournament was set to begin on May 18th.

They had only a little over a week left to prepare...

After the final practice game, Mima Soichiro invited everyone to visit Hakuryu High School.

Coach Kataoka hesitated but in the end, declined the invitation politely.

The players had their thoughts, and the coach had his own considerations.

Mima Soichiro probably wanted to use this opportunity to play a game against Seidou High School.

But from Kataoka's standpoint, he could not agree.

Hakuryu High School was a different level from the schools they had just played practice games against.

For Seidou High School, Hakuryu High School was a true rival.

Before the Kanto Tournament, Seidou High School could not afford to give away too much information to its competitors.

It would be like asking for trouble.

Mima expressed regret but still invited everyone to visit Gunma Prefecture for sightseeing.

This time, Kataoka did not object.

The teammates had a rare chance to take a break.

With the practice games over, all the players could finally relax.

They had a great time in the morning, and in the afternoon, they prepared to return to Seidou High School by bus.

Sawamura also used his phone to take a picture of the third-year players' smiling faces.

Although he knew deep down that there was no real point to this, he still did it foolishly.

"Let's take one too!"

Under a lush green tree, Sawamura, Yoichi Kuramochi, and Kazuya Miyuki stood together.

Sawamura was in the middle.

Kuramochi had his arm around Sawamura's shoulder, and Miyuki smiled cheerfully on the other side.

The three of them stood under the big tree, leaving behind an image that was their own.

Later, Sawamura eventually printed the photo and placed it in his bedroom.

There were some things he wanted to cherish for his whole life.

From his mind, from every corner of his life.

When he made the firm decision to join the Seidou's baseball team, in the end, wasn't it all for these teammates?

"We still have three months together. Let's make the most of this time and create the best memories!"

As they were heading back, Miyuki suddenly became sentimental.

Sawamura extended his fist, and they made a fist bump.

"Alright!!!"

There were only two months left before the summer tournament, and just over a week until the Kanto Tournament.

The time they had left together could no longer be measured in days but in hours and minutes.

But Sawamura believed that the memories they had created together would be cherished forever.

In each of their memories, lasting for many, many years.

The players of the First String of the Seidou's Baseball Club boarded the bus, preparing to return to Seidou High School.

They had played a total of six full practice games, and these six practice games held special significance for the players of the Seidou's Baseball Club.

Initially, they thought that with their level of skill, teams that were not among the top national powerhouses wouldn't even have a chance.

Even the media hyped them up, an era of Tokyo, the era of Seidou.

However, none of the six teams they played in the practice matches were top national giants, and their strength was at most considered upper mid-tier nationally.

Yet, even these teams had their own unique strengths.

There were even two teams that caused significant trouble for Seidou High School.

Whether it was Tobuyasu High School or the later encounter with Kuroba High School.

When compared to Seidou High School, the overall strength of these two teams was far from on the same level.

But because these teams had two high-level players each, they posed a huge impact on Seidou.

In those two games, Seidou had a tough time. Judging by the results, it seemed like Seidou High School held a significant advantage.

But those who actually watched the games would not necessarily think the same.

If either of those two teams had a bit of luck, they might have managed to give Seidou a serious blow.

In conclusion, when Seidou plays with anyone, there's always a risk of being eliminated.

And these weren't even top national tyrants, nor were they teams with the elite national strength.

Even teams like these posed such a threat to Seidou High School.

How many such teams are there across high school?

Not to mention those top national giants that could go head-to-head with Seidou High School, how many of those teams exist?

If you line them up, there may not be a hundred, but at least eighty.

The giants with top national strength can be counted on your fingers, and you won't even need all ten fingers.

For Seidou High School to go through so many teams and reach the end, it certainly isn't that easy.

"It's said that it's easy to conquer the top, but difficult to hold onto it. Our journey to defend our national title will probably be much harder than the Spring Koshien," Miyuki remarked thoughtfully.

"If it weren't for our luck, we would have been completely eliminated after the Fall Tournament, we wouldn't even be qualified to participate in the Spring Koshien. The national competition has never been this simple."

Although Sawamura has won many national championships by now, he has never underestimated this title.

Thinking back to the strength of the Akagi Middle School baseball team, they managed to reach their third year without losing their core players.

And yet, they still lost in the Autumn Tournament.

"No matter how difficult the process is, all we can do is play every game well," Kuramochi said, more at ease.

"Yeah, if we think so far ahead we will only fall at the doorsteps," Maezono added.

Some things can only be taken one step at a time. Overthinking now will be of no use.

The four of them sat at the back of the bus, and as they chatted, many of their friends gathered around.

But no one else could join in on their conversation.

Unconsciously, the four had become the spiritual leaders of Seidou High School. Their concerns had expanded beyond their own games to include the future of the team.

Up front on the bus, the assistant coach was also muttering something to Coach Kataoka.

"Yui Kaoru has great potential. Although he had some issues when partnering with Furuya, he performed well when partnered with Sawamura."

The fifth game, the one against Kuroba, had been particularly challenging.

However, they encountered unprecedented resistance from the muscular Mutoyama, causing Seidou's offense to struggle—scoring only five points over nine innings.

But on defense.

Yui Kaoru had partnered well with Sawamura, not allowing the opponent to score any runs.

"Sawamura was holding back a lot, and the game was also largely dominated by Sawamura's might. Simply watching that game isn't enough to judge Yui's abilities," Kataoka explained, offering a different perspective on the game.

Sawamura's personal abilities were formidable, and he knew how to lead a team.

When you can lead a team, you naturally know how to work with the catcher.

Comparing the two games where Yui Kaoru had teamed up with Furuya and Sawamura, it was more about the overall strength of Sawamura.

This didn't mean that Yui Kaoru performed excellently; at best, he was merely competent.

In fact, he didn't even meet the minimum standard.

After all, during that practice game, Sawamura's pitching was severely limited. Many breaking balls couldn't even be thrown.

Not only did he fail to guide the pitcher to perform at a higher level, Yui Kaoru even hindered Sawamura's pitching ability.

It would be impossible for Coach Kataoka to honestly say that Yui Kaoru was a qualified catcher.

For now, it can only be said that Yui Kaoru has great potential.

The real question is whether he can make a leap in the coming months.

Even if he can't do that for now, at the very least, he must be able to catch Sawamura's pitches, right?

Among the freshmen, there are three catchers:

Yui, Okumura, and Matsumoto.

Originally, Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff had placed the most importance on Yui Kaoru.

After all, based on both his past results and the tests seen after he entered the team, Yui Kaoru was far ahead of the other two competitors.

However, during the previous orientation match, Okumura had impressed Coach Kataoka once again.

When he wasn't playing, it was easy to overlook him, but once he was on the field, Okumura's presence was magnetic, drawing attention from everyone around.

Watching Okumura like this, Coach Kataoka felt as if he were seeing when Chris and Miyuki first joined the team.

The same brilliance, the same overflowing talent.

On the surface, it seemed like a competition between Okumura and Yui Kaoru.

But Coach Kataoka knew very well that if these two had not fully developed before Miyuki retired, there was a chance that the new catcher could be someone else.

Matsumoto!

During the game, his presence compared to Yui Kaoru and Okumura was like comparing stars to the moon.

They were not even on the same level.

But there was one thing he had that neither Yui Kaoru nor Okumura had.

That was his talent for catching.

According to Coach Ochiai, Matsumoto had already been able to catch Sawamura's Grade 3 breaking balls.

Balls like the Cutter Kai and the Splitter.

Even Ono finds it quite difficult to catch them and wouldn't dare say he could catch them 100% of the time.

Yet Matsumoto could reliably catch them with ease.

When Sawamura led the Akagi Middle School baseball team all the way to the top of high school, Matsumoto played a huge role in that as well.

If it hadn't been for the year-long separation, even Sawamura's newly developed Level 4 breaking balls could probably have been caught by him too.

Not just Sawamura's pitches, but also Furuya's breaking balls, and Nishiyama's bullet-like fastballs.

Matsumoto could catch them all very well.

Although Coach Kataoka was deeply dissatisfied with this candidate.

The team's main catcher could also be seen as a temporary coach on the field. It was difficult to feel at ease with someone who didn't fully understand baseball taking on such a responsibility.

If there were no other options, Coach Kataoka wouldn't be so conflicted.

If there were no other options, why hesitate? Whatever the player, you just have to make do.

But now, there were clearly better choices. Both Yui Kaoru and Okumura were top-tier promising talents.

To not use such great talent and instead use Matsumoto...

Not only would the surrounding players be dissatisfied, but even Coach Kataoka himself found it hard to accept.

This was probably a happy kind of trouble.

If other Coaches knew how Coach Kataoka was worrying over this, they would surely chase him with ball and bats.

Great pitchers are hard to come by, and great catchers are just as rare.

Talents like Yui and Okumura are so rare that they're nearly impossible to find.

That Coach Kataoka was troubled by having too many great catchers and even complained about their lack of strength was truly a case of not knowing how fortunate he was.

The bus was silent as it drove toward Seidou High School.

In West Tokyo, at Seidou High School…

The second and third-string players had already learned that the first string was returning.

These past few days had been quite chaotic. Including the second and third strings, a total of ten practice games had been played.

After enjoying those games, they soon heard the news that the first string was coming back.

"It looks like from this afternoon, we'll be focusing on first-string practice again!" Takuma said as he walked, chatting with his friend beside him.

In today's information age, even before the first-string players returned, the news had already reached them.

Six practice games, all victories.

And it was said that the first-string had won all six of those games by large margins.

They had shown unparalleled strength.

The second and third-string players felt energized after hearing this.

Several first-year players had discussed and decided that before the first string returned, they should properly clean up the field.

Although training for the second and third strings was getting more attention, the main power of Seidou High School still rested on the first string.

After all, it was those first-string players who would truly compete for rankings in the big tournaments.

"I wonder if Lee-Hyun got to play yet?" Takuma mused aloud, used to his friend's silence, as he gossiping to himself.

Okumura shook his head, "He can't be playing. Once he's on the field, how can he still be the secret weapon?"

For Seidou High School now, Lee-Hyun was their one-use secret weapon.

Although it could only be used once, with Seidou High School's current strength, any crises they could face would likely only occur once or twice.

If Lee-Hyun could help Seidou High School overcome such a crisis, their chances of defending their national title would rise dramatically.

"Since he can't play, what's Lee-Hyun supposed to do?" Takuma asked.

"Watch and learn," Okumura replied.

By the time they finished speaking, they had arrived at the baseball field.

A number of first-year players had followed them, but once they arrived at the field, they realized they couldn't maintain it.

People were already working on the field, using tools to level it up and maintain it.

These people were seniors from the second and third years.

Although Seidou High School placed emphasis on skill, so there wasn't a strict hierarchy for seniority among the players.

Still, it wasn't right for the first-year players to be idle while the seniors worked.

Takuma took the initiative and ran forward to grab a tool.

"Senpai, leave this work to us," he said.

But the senior was unmoved.

"The first-string players are coming back soon, and we want to help however we can."

In an instant, Takuma was in awe.

He had been playing baseball since he was a child and had seen plenty of situations where seniors looked down on their juniors.

But he had never seen substitute players willingly working hard for the first string.

The Seidou's Baseball Club was truly a magical place.

It is like a family, where there is always someone who has your back.

At this moment, Takuma felt a surge of determination in his heart.

He, too, wanted to become part of this family.

He wanted to work hard for the Senpais who didn't have a chance to make the first string or to officially step onto the field.

…

T/N: The Practice matches are now completed, and after a bit of preparation, we will be running through the Kanto Tournament.

But for now, this will be it.

Thank you all for reading!!

And I hope you all have a nice day!

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