Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

May 21st, the day before the start of the Kanto Tournament semi-finals.

The coaching staff of the Seidou's baseball team had finally gathered all the information on their opponents.

All the players who had gone out to practice at the hotel were called back and attended the meeting together.

They would discuss the opponents they were about to face, and what their next strategies should be.

The 20 first-string players of Seidou High School, including Coach Kataoka, Coach Ochiai, Vice-President Takashima, and several team coaches, were all gathered together to watch the video of the previous game of Shonan High School.

In the two games of the Kanto Tournament, Shonan High School won easily. They led their opponents by a large margin and advanced to the next stage ahead of schedule.

With such a dominant team, there was no need to study them in great detail; the players of Seidou High School could immediately assess their national standing.

This was a top-tier opponent, one that Seidou High School would have to give them all to confront.

"The Coach of Shonan High School is this person!"

The figure of a person holding binoculars appeared on the screen.

"This person is named Matt, and he is a Hafu. He has an extraordinarily high intelligence and is also an expert in micro-expressions. His major has nothing to do with baseball, but since joining Shonan High School, their overall strength has improved significantly. It can be said that this person is the core soul of Shonan High School."

Praising an opponent's Coach to this extent was very uncommon at Seidou High School.

"In other words, there will be many tactical duels and mind games during the match!"

Sawamura nodded. This was indeed a very difficult issue.

Seidou High School, the reigning champion, was well-known, and almost everyone was familiar with their strengths, offensive tactics, and defensive strategies.

However, Seidou had no such detailed information on their opponents.

In terms of intelligence, the two teams were not on an equal footing.

In this situation, Seidou would be at a disadvantage in any tactical confrontations with their opponent.

Coach Kataoka, wearing sunglasses, folded his arms across his chest and spoke in a very serious tone.

"The opponent has their rhythm, and we have our own rhythm. We don't have to be led by the nose. We can play according to our own rhythm."

"So, the key to tomorrow's game is: who can truly control the rhythm of the game."

Whoever can control the rhythm will take the initiative in the game.

Such a simple and straightforward theory, and yet it was the truth.

"Controlling the rhythm is the responsibility of the Ace pitcher. Don't lose."

From the back of the room, Miyuki quietly nudged Sawamura and said.

Sawamura nodded his head confidently.

Although he still didn't know what kind of pitcher Shonan High School's Ace was,

He wasn't going to lose! No matter who the opponent was, he would not lose.

As long as he was standing on the mound for Seidou High School, he had the confidence to protect this team.

He also believed that his teammates would give him the best support.

"Next up is their Ace pitcher, Nigima Aota. Nigima Aota is in his third year, 183 cm tall, and weighs 85 kg. He is both a strong pitcher and a strong hitter, usually batting in the third spot."

At this point, everyone looked at Sawamura.

It must be said that the opponent's characteristics were somewhat similar to Sawamura's.

Sawamura was also the third batter for Seidou High School and one of the team's strongest players.

"His fastest pitch reaches 143 km/h, with very precise control, and his breaking balls are also very sharp! He is a very tough opponent, with his signature pitch being a Slider from the inside corner. In the Kanagawa regional competition, he shut out every opponent."

The phrase "shut out every opponent" meant that no one had gotten a hit off him, and no one had scored any runs against him.

In other regions, that might be impressive, but in Kanagawa, a fierce competition zone full of strong teams, such a performance was terrifying.

"What about Akamori?" (A prestigious Kanagawa team)

"They were the same. In the game between Shonan and Akamori, Shonan didn't allow any runs either."

This information was so shocking that the players of Seidou High School looked at each other in disbelief.

They didn't even know what kind of expression they should be making at this point.

"It's just Shonan, we will definitely score. I believe in you all!"

Just as everyone remained silent, Sawamura suddenly spoke.

He looked at his teammates around him with trust, and the players of Seidou High School in the room were moved by his gaze, feeling energy spread through their bodies.

The Ace pitcher of the team said to trust them. How could they let him down?

"Just focus on pitching your game. As for this opponent, leave it to us!"

Kuramochi said confidently.

The players around him agreed, each making their own bold statements.

A few first-year players exchanged glances.

Only now did they truly feel the charisma of the Senpai.

The confidence to dominate the country twice was no small thing, and now Seidou High School was not afraid of any challenge.

No matter who the opponent was, as long as they stood in opposition to them, the opponent would ultimately be destroyed.

This was the confidence of the players of Seidou High School.

Coach Kataoka and coach Ochiai were both satisfied with the scene before them.

At least they didn't have to worry about the team's morale.

"Don't underestimate your opponents too much. I've watched their game videos, and their strength is still considerable."

Coach Ochiai stroked his chin and advised.

'Confidence is a good thing, but too much confidence is not necessarily a good thing.'

'So, they needed to prepare themselves in advance.'

The players of Seidou High School naturally understood this.

They had confidence, but they were not arrogant.

As the national champions, the players themselves had that kind of confidence.

Next, Watanabe introduced several star players from Shonan.

Shonan High School, the starting shortstop Kojima.

He was also the first batter for the team, with traits similar to Kuramochi.

He was a very fast player with quick base-stealing abilities.

It was said that his on-base speed was under four seconds.

Just looking at that, his abilities were already comparable to Kuramochi Youichi.

The other two players were also no slouches.

Tanaka was the second baseman, and Kawaki was the center fielder and also a backup pitcher for the team.

These three were the absolute core of Shonan High School.

When Watanabe introduced the information, he specifically mentioned Kawaki's name.

In Shonan High School, the truly powerful pitcher is not just Nigima Aota. As a backup pitcher, Kawaki also possesses extremely strong abilities.

His fastest pitch reaches 146 km/h, which is almost the same speed as the current Sawamura.

It is said that he also has very sharp breaking balls, but the only flaw is that his control is not as good as Nigima Aota's.

However, his pitching quality is also very high, and up until now, he has only given up one run.

This is also the only run Shonan High School has allowed in the spring tournament.

In fact, this one run doesn't hold much reference value. As the saying goes, 'Even the best can make mistakes'.

Even the powerful Sawamura Eijun, the Demon King, has given up runs before.

Judging a player's strength based solely on the runs they concede is a bit too subjective.

Of course, a truly great pitcher won't concede runs endlessly.

"A dark horse team that suddenly emerges has such terrifying strength!" Maezono muttered.

This was a huge deviation from the values he had held before.

He had always believed that players who were truly ambitious and capable would definitely join the giants.

While Shonan High School is also a well-known comprehensive school nationwide, it is far from the level of a baseball giant.

Why would so many potential players choose to join Shonan?

He couldn't figure it out.

"Everyone has different choices, and that's nothing big. We just need to play to our style," Miyuki said with a smile.

He smiled happily, making it seem like he wasn't concerned about the opponent at all.

But Sawamura, who knew him well, understood that the more relaxed Miyuki appeared, the more cautious he was.

'He too must have sensed an extraordinary crisis from Shonan High School.'

'So, he pretended to be relaxed in order to ease everyone's pressure.'

The title of 'King' indeed brought a great sense of honor to Seidou High School.

With such a title, the players would work even harder.

But on the other hand, it also created pressure.

If not guided well, it could eventually backfire.

"As expected of the team's Captain!"

Few people could understand Miyuki's careful efforts, and his partner, Sawamura was one of them.

After the initial adjustment period, Miyuki Kazuya had become increasingly like a team's Captain.

At this point, even the old Miyuki would not have believed it.

After instructing the tactics for tomorrow's game, Coach Kataoka confirmed the starting lineup for tomorrow.

Unsurprisingly, the Ace pitcher Sawamura would be starting.

Such an opponent definitely caught the attention of Coach Kataoka and the Seidou High School coaching staff.

They carefully analyzed the strength of their opponents and concluded that if they didn't give their all, the risk of losing was significant.

Even after two or three innings, there might not be any opportunity to recover.

In this case, they would naturally go all out.

Not to mention that Sawamura had already had a round of rest.

A few first-year rookies, who had opportunities to perform in regional competitions, were completely ignored by Coach Kataoka in this Kanto Tournament.

They wouldn't even have the chance to play.

Only Nishimura, with his superb hitting skills and solid defensive abilities, had done well in the outfield.

But that was just as an outfielder; it wasn't his original position.

The position of the pitcher was too important, and Coach Kataoka and the Seidou coaching staff didn't feel comfortable entrusting such a heavy responsibility to Nishimura.

Even in tomorrow's game, Nishimura wouldn't get a chance to play.

Instead, Furuya Satoru would take his place.

Though Furuya's batting seemed a bit like blind hitting, his swing power couldn't be ignored.

Shonan's pitchers were indeed fast, but overall, they relied on precise control and breaking balls.

Such an opponent was, of course, very tricky.

In addition to being more skilled than the opponent, in order to hit the ball, they would have to rely on immense power.

Currently, Seidou High School was most lacking in power batters.

In the end, Furuya was called up, and Coach Kataoka even promised that if the situation required, he would send Masashi to pinch-hit.

Although he was a first-year, Masashi's power hitting could rank among the top two in Seidou's baseball club.

The first was Furuya Satoru, and the second was him.

After the meeting, Coach Kataoka told Sawamura, Kuramochi, and Kanemaru to stay.

Their teammates were puzzled, but the three of them already knew what the reason was and were already sweating buckets.

"You already know what you have done, right?" Kataoka said in a voice as cold as the South Pole.

The three of them nodded like frightened chicks hanging their head low in shame.

They knew arguing with the Coach in this situation was the epitome of idiocy, so they shut up and said nothing.

"As we are in the middle of the Tournament, I will ruffian from any harsh punishment. But after we return to Seidou, you will have 300 extra swings every day for a week. And by the end of the week, I expect a 2000-word essay about being responsible and fooling orders. Am I Clear?"

"Yes Sir!"

"Good. Keep in mind that if any of this foolishness repeats itself, the punishment will be way more severe. I don't care about how good your skills are or how talented you are. I won't tolerate any unruly player on my team, do you understand?"

"Yes Sir! We Are Deeply Sorry!!" The three of them bowed their heads and apologized.

Seeing them sincerely apologetic for their action, Kataoka this was a whim from them and they very likely won't repeat it.

They were his student and he had a great trust in them.

'And as a mentor, I need to guide these emotions to their right place and give them a goal to work for. This will help them grow as characters and help the team as a whole.'

"Alright, now that we have settled this fiasco, your task now is to be ready for the game. If you are truly sorry, I want you to adjust your mental and physical state to its best. So when the game starts, you will show me that what you learned and trained for in Seidou wasn't in vain. Are you ready for this?"

"Yes Sir! We Are Ready!" The three players replied, already on fire.

"Now go and be ready."

the players dismissed, and Ochiai, who witnessed the whole thing, was impressed.

'As expected of Kataoka-san, he really knows how to equalize the punishment and encouragement.'

'Instead of tolerating their behavior, he gave them a fitting punishment. Teaching them that they have clearly made a mistake.'

'And before he let it affect their performance in the next game, he transformed it into fuel for them to redeem themselves.'

'Truly wonderful!' Ochiai couldn't help but shudder at this.

***

Time passed quickly, and before long, the next day, May 22nd, arrived—the day the semi-finals of the Kanto Tournament began.

At the Metropolitan Stadium in Gunma Prefecture, half an hour before the game, all 36,000 seats were already filled.

Sawamura's two fan clubs had arrived early and set up their banners.

Obayashi and Kobayashi stood at the front of the line, with a cheering drum in the middle.

"Do you think Sawamura will play today?" Kobayashi asked, uncertain.

Obayashi nodded confidently.

"Reporters have already reported that today's opponent is no small matter. Sawamura will definitely pitch."

As the Seidou baseball club's pitching squad became stronger, Sawamura's time on the mound was greatly reduced.

Sometimes, he wasn't even seen pitching for the entire game.

For Sawamura's dedicated fans, this was, of course, very disappointing.

But they had no choice but to come.

What if they didn't show up, and Sawamura played?

Wouldn't it be embarrassing if no one cheered for their Demon King?

To avoid such a situation, no matter who the opponent was, the Brotherhood of Red Heart would send someone to cheer.

They couldn't let the Demon King's Guard surpass them.

Although both groups were Sawamura's fans, there was competition between them.

The Demon King's Guard believed that the Brotherhood of Red Heart was less important than them, only a fraction of their members.

The Brotherhood of Red Heart thought the Demon King's Guard were latecomers and should be their Kohais.

Both factions had their positions, so they couldn't get along.

Their rivalry was very strong.

The Brotherhood of Red Heart had drums, while the Demon King's Guard had shirts and banners.

This time, they wore their shirts, and the entire first-base side of the stands became a sea of red.

What a magnificent sight it was.

The cameras in the hands of the reporters no longer obeyed the commands, focusing entirely on the Demon King's Guard instead of the players on the field.

This was the real big news.

A high school baseball player had made it into the top 100 national celebrities.

How incredible is that?

With the reporters' help, Sawamura's fame would become even more remarkable.

…

T/N: We literally flew over this match.

But this is good, as now we can focus on the more important Matches.

As always, Thank you all for reading!!

Have a good day people!