Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

It completely surpassed everyone's expectations when Aota was able to cleanly hit Sawamura Eijun's breaking ball.

The catcher, Miyuki, squinted his eyes sharply and began to look at the field with a different mindset.

His brain seemed to be working at full speed, like a supercomputer, processing everything that had just happened.

The events kept replaying in his mind.

'Sawamura had struck out the second batter of Shonan High School, and the momentum for us surged to its peak.'

'Under such circumstances, it would be extremely difficult for the next batter to swing at the first pitch.'

If the ball wasn't hit or if the batter made contact with an improperly positioned pitch, the consequences could be dire. Seidou High would seize the opportunity and dominate the game.

It was hardly surprising.

Thus, the first pitch against the batter was the same back door Cutter.

Given that Sawamura had struck out Shonan High's second batter with a similar pitch, the batter should have been more cautious against another breaking ball of the same type.

Regardless of the angle they were analyzing from, the batter should not have chosen to swing at this pitch.

'However, strangely enough, the batter swung at the first pitch!'

'And not only that, he managed to judge Sawamura's pitching course.'

Aota had already set his sights on the outside pitch from the start.

But that wasn't even the most surprising part. Despite Aota correctly guessing Sawamura's pitch, the ball still wasn't hit perfectly.

If they had prepared for it in advance, they might have been able to stop the ball.

But, unfortunately, they weren't prepared for that pitch.

'The batter changed his swing angle and hit the ball, which should have been directed toward first base, directly toward third base.'

At third base, Kanemaru didn't react quickly enough. By the time he realized what had happened, the baseball had already flown past him.

This led to a critical situation with runners on first and third.

'The pitch was anticipated!'

'And there was a defensive error.'

It seemed as though Lady Luck was abandoning Seidou.

Miyuki squinted, then reopened his eyes and looked at Sawamura on the mound.

'This isn't a coincidence.'

'From the second batter of Shonan High onward, they had correctly predicted the inside and outside pitches.'

'Such coincidences couldn't happen three times in a row!'

'This meant Shonan High had undoubtedly found a flaw in game calling.'

'But what was that flaw?'

Had their signs been deciphered? Or had Sawamura's pitching mechanics been exposed?

Miyuki's attention turned to Shonan's bench, especially to the monocular scope in Matt's hands.

The sight that appeared silly at first now made Miyuki feel strangely uncomfortable as if someone had uncovered a hidden secret of his.

Sawamura on the mound, just like Miyuki, was thinking the same thing.

Although he hadn't figured out where the problem lay, there were a few things he could infer.

For example, his pitching courses had been exposed!

The opposing team had predicted his pitches location three times in a row, and not only because they had adapted to his pitching rhythm. The more important factor was that they knew exactly where Sawamura's pitches would land.

As for Kanemaru's error, it was also due to the exposed pitching angle, triggering a chain reaction.

With one Out and runners on first and third, the situation was more critical than ever.

Shonan's fourth batter, Noma, assumed a bunting stance from the start.

It seemed like they were determined to score a run.

With runners on first and third, it was very easy to score.

At this point, Shonan High had given up the possibility of extending the lead and was aiming to score one run, which was still a realistic approach.

However, Sawamura and Miyuki still couldn't figure out how Shonan High was predicting their pitching course.

Miyuki and Sawamura had an extremely harmonious pitching partnership; sometimes, they didn't even need signs. A knowing glance would suffice to indicate what pitch to throw.

Therefore, the opponents shouldn't have been able to decode any signs.

Nor could it be that Sawamura had some subtle pitching habits that had been exposed.

At first, Miyuki considered this but quickly dismissed the idea.

If Sawamura had a specific small motion for a certain pitch, it would only apply to one type of pitch, not all three.

A top-tier Ace who had led his team to national championships twice in high school—his experience was vast, and he'd faced incredibly strong opponents. If he had any such flaws, he would have been discovered long ago.

That theory was simply impossible.

'So how were they determining Sawamura's pitch locations?'

Miyuki's mind raced, faster than a supercomputer, yet he couldn't find the correct answer.

But then a sudden insight flashed through his mind.

It was from a game last Fall, where Seidou High played against Ugumori High School.

Ugumori's strength was average, but that game had left a strong impression on both Sawamura and Miyuki.

Then, recalling Kanemaru's errors, a bold hypothesis formed in Miyuki's mind.

'But now, with runners on first and third, there was no time to verify it.'

They had to focus all their efforts on finding a way to stop Shonan High from scoring.

The team that scored first in this deadlock would gain a huge advantage.

Seidou High could not afford to let this advantage slip away.

'Should we use the level-4 breaking ball now?'

In dire situations, they would need to use their secret weapon.

Miyuki made a decision and looked up at Sawamura on the mound.

This was a Sawamura Miyuki had never seen before.

His face was stern, and there was no expression visible.

Miyuki understood Sawamura very well. Although Sawamura hadn't said a word, his eyes clearly conveyed his thoughts.

And those thoughts said,

'No need.'

Sawamura would not unlock his prized Level 4 pitch in such a situation.

'You must be confident then.' Miyuki thought, looking trustingly at Sawamura.

Miyuki understood his partner's character well. Since Sawamura didn't feel the need to use the level-4 pitch, it meant he had already an idea.

Sawamura gave a slight nod and suddenly turned around and spoke aloud.

"BALLS WILL COME FLYING!!! EVERYONE AT THE BACK PLEASE TAKE CARE OF ME!!!!!!"

Sawamura had said this many times before, usually at the beginning of the game.

But now, halfway through the match, it felt odd for him to say such a thing.

Nonetheless, his teammates responded energetically.

"LET THEM HIT IT!"

"PITCH TO CONTACT!!"

"WE'LL STOP THEM!"

"I WILL CATCH IT!! I SWEAR!!!"

"BE AGGRISSIVE!!!!"

"GO WAMURAAAA!!!"

On Shonan's bench, Matt, who had been smiling all along, suddenly looked a little stiff.

He had suspected that their strategy couldn't continue forever. Seidou's players and coaching staff would likely soon find the flaw.

But he never expected it to happen this quickly.

Sawamura, the Demon King, not only had impressive pitching skills but also possessed extraordinary game sense and sharp observation.

"I envy you Kataoka-san!" Matt said with a smile, watching Sawamura from the mound. It was a regret for him that he couldn't personally Coach such a player.

But now his setup was in place. All he needed was to follow the script.

"So, how will you stop us?" he asked, eyes fixed on Sawamura as if he were afraid of missing something.

What Matt didn't know was that although Sawamura had given the right instructions, he hadn't truly figured out where the problem lay.

The reason Sawamura was rallying the team's emotions was because Kanemaru had made two consecutive errors.

He didn't want those mistakes to affect the team's performance going forward.

Noma was clearly setting up for a bunt now. He was determined to bunt.

Sawamura didn't mind at all.

As Sawamura subtly signaled his teammates, they shifted into a defensive formation aimed at preventing the runners from advancing.

With the runner on third base being Kojima, forcing a score was quite possible.

To avoid future mistakes, they had no choice but to adopt this defensive strategy.

Seeing Seidou's players moving into position, Shonan's players breathed a sigh of relief.

They were actually afraid that Seidou might break their usual patterns, which would have rendered their prepared tactics useless.

Seidou was playing the game perfectly!

This was a strategy they had practiced countless times before the game.

Now, they just needed to execute it.

'Let's go!'

With the plan in mind, Noma raised his bat again, looking ready to face off against Sawamura.

Such a confident display was even appreciated by the fans, with many standing and clapping excitedly.

Although the result of the showdown hadn't come yet, the fact that these two were about to face off in such a direct contest was enough to raise everyone's adrenaline.

They couldn't wait to see the outcome of this battle.

On the mound, Sawamura, having set everything in motion, decisively threw the pitch.

Before releasing the ball, he deliberately glanced at the runner on third base.

Kojima wasn't intimidated, since he hadn't even considered stealing the base in the first place.

It was simply too scary!

Just thinking about Sawamura's earlier pickoff attempt sent shivers down his spine.

After all, he had already made it to third base, and he didn't want to cause unnecessary complications.

And scoring didn't necessarily require a steal anyway.

Matt, the Coach, had a more complete plan in mind.

'And now, it was time to execute.'

Ping!

The ball was hit and popped up into the air.

Noma's eyes glimmered with joy.

The feeling was exhilarating!

Until you stand opposite Sawamura, you can never truly understand the terror of facing him.

Being able to predict whether he'll throw an inside or outside pitch and lock in on a specific target area greatly helped in making contact with Sawamura's pitches.

Without this help, Noma would have found hitting the ball extremely difficult.

The ball soared high into the air after being struck.

...