Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

"Why do you look so down?"

Miyuki, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but ask with confusion as he looked at Sawamura.

"I don't need any energy. The game doesn't even require me to play. You guys just focus on the match."

Although Sawamura said it lightly, his tone was so sour it could make your teeth ache.

Miyuki couldn't help but roll his eyes.

He knew Sawamura well—this guy was a total game fanatic.

As long as he was on the field, he would be full of energy.

But once he had to sit in the dugout and cheer for his teammates, it was like torturing him.

In Chris's words, Sawamura was a warrior at heart.

As long as he was in the game, everything was fine, but the moment he was sidelined, he just couldn't sit still.

"Just sit tight and watch!"

Comforting others wasn't Miyuki's style. He continued to tease Sawamura with his sharp tongue.

Sure enough, after hearing this, Sawamura's eyes widened, and he glared fiercely at Miyuki.

Sawamura was already frustrated at not being able to play, and now, after hearing Miyuki's teasing, he felt like strangling him.

'This guy was too good at hitting sore spots.'

Miyuki seemed to have some kind of special ability to instantly spot people's weak points.

"Fourth batter!"

Ahead, Kataoka, who had been paying attention to the argument between Sawamura and Miyuki, glanced at them thoughtfully before announcing his decision.

"Outfielder, Sawamura Eijun!"

"Whoa!!"

This was huge, like poking a hornet's nest.

Everyone's gaze shifted.

Sawamura was better suited to be the team's fourth batter, and no one in the Seidou High School baseball team knew this better than his teammates.

But their teamwork was so well-coordinated, and Miyuki was also the type to excel when there were runners on base, making everyone accept the arrangement without question.

They had no choice but to accept it. Sawamura didn't voice any complaints, so they had no grounds to argue.

However, judging by the current situation, things might change.

The tables were turning.

After hearing his assignment, Sawamura was slightly disappointed not to be the pitcher, but he was still happy to be playing.

He shot a triumphant look at Miyuki.

Miyuki didn't seem to mind.

Perhaps he already thought this outcome was inevitable.

"Fifth batter, catcher, Miyuki Kazuya!"

After Sawamura moved to the fourth spot, Miyuki would take the fifth position in the lineup.

This arrangement was undoubtedly the most suitable for the entire team's coordination.

"Sixth batter, pitcher, Furuya Satoru!"

With the first five batters decided, the teammates started to get the sense that things were turning out differently from what they expected.

Compared to the 20-player roster for the selection, Kataoka seemed more concerned with the makeup of the starting lineup.

It was just like today's game: although Sawamura and Furuya had swapped places, this was just Kataoka trying to explore more possibilities.

At its core, nothing had changed.

The names he announced were, after all, the main players for Seidou High School's baseball team moving forward.

After hearing the lineup, the teammates' expressions shifted.

Although this didn't concern most of them, they were still curious about what Kataoka had in mind for the game.

Besides the core players, who else would rise to become the new key figures of Seidou High School?

With everyone's eager gazes on him, Kataoka continued with his announcements.

"Seventh batter, first baseman, Maezono Kenta."

"Eighth batter, third baseman, Kanemaru Shinji!"

"Ninth batter, outfielder, Toujou Hideaki!"

During this process, no one was surprised by anything unexpected.

Everyone's positions were announced in order.

Of course, not everyone would be satisfied with the lineup.

But no one could point out any mistakes either.

In fact, from a certain perspective, this lineup was one of the strongest combinations Seidou High could offer at the moment.

Several first-year players had performed exceptionally well in previous practice games, but challenging the spots of the veteran players was still a tall order for them.

When Kataoka announced the starting lineup, the Los Angeles Wind Youth Academy team was also studying Seidou High's baseball team.

The trip to Tokyo a few days ago had been a huge blow to the Los Angeles team.

Their players were inevitably affected.

The baseball played in Tokyo showed them a different kind of charm, and the clash of baseball cultures had left an impact on the players.

After that, they felt more frustrated.

They only realized later that they had been outplayed.

If they had known the opponent's tactics and strategies beforehand, they wouldn't have been so passive during the match.

The feeling of regret was hard to bear.

Over the past few days, none of the Los Angeles players had slept well.

They were regretting their earlier mistakes and were looking for a chance to regain their pride.

It was in this situation that they heard about Robert trying to find a practice match for Seidou.

It was like a pillow falling into their lap when they were sleepy.

The Los Angeles Coach immediately contacted Robert.

Robert, eager to fulfill Kataoka's task, and the Los Angeles team, eager to redeem themselves, quickly agreed to the practice game.

After confirming the schedule, the Los Angeles players began studying Seidou High's games. Upon further investigation, they were shocked.

They originally thought Seidou was just a team from the Tokyo area, not comparable to the Tokyo representative team made up of all the Tokyo elite players.

But after watching the videos, they realized the one player they should've been most wary of in the Tokyo representative team was none other than Seidou's Ace.

Whenever they thought about Sawamura Eijun's pitching during that game, the Los Angeles players would feel a headache coming on.

Originally, they had hoped to redeem themselves, but now it seemed like it wouldn't be easy.

They would have to put in a lot more effort if they had any chance of success.

That afternoon, with little preparation on either side, the game between the two teams began.

In this match, both teams had their own objectives.

Who would come out on top? It was still unclear.

~~~

The next day, the game between Tokyo's Seidou High School and Los Angeles's Wind Youth Academy started.

Boom!

On a baseball field in America, a small baseball shot out like a cannonball from a cannon.

The sound echoed in the entire field!!!

With just one pitch, both the opposing team and their cheerleaders fell silent.

This was Furuya.

Even the Los Angeles team, who had previously faced the Tokyo representative team, were stunned.

"Tokyo still had pitchers of this level hidden away?"

"Is this some kind of joke?"

"Even though I had heard some rumors, seeing it live was still unbelievable."

Furuya, standing at 182 cm, didn't seem particularly tall to the Los Angeles players.

In fact, his build appeared somewhat lean.

It was hard to imagine how such a body could contain such immense power.

Anthony, the African-American batter in the first spot licked his dry lips with his tongue.

Originally, he thought that with Sawamura not playing, he would have a chance to shine.

But now, it seemed he had been completely wrong.

Not only the batter on the field but even the spectators around could feel a chill down their spines.

After seeing Furuya's pitching, many fans brought along radar guns to measure the pitch speed.

As soon as Furuya threw, they immediately measured the speed with the radar guns.

When the readings came in, the spectators were left dumbfounded.

The numbers displayed were in Arabic digits.

98!!!

"My God!!"

"He is a high schooler, right?!"

"So there are pitchers like that in Japan!!"

Exclamations rang out, one after another.

Anthony in the strike zone felt like he was dreaming.

'That pitch was terrifying.'

How could he possibly hit such a fastball?

If he couldn't, he'd have to go with a bunt.

Humans are easy to compromise, and even though the batter had thought of various plans before stepping up to the plate, including teaching Furuya a lesson for the loss in Tokyo, now, all those thoughts had been thrown out the window.

His only goal now was to reach base safely.

After coming to this realization, Anthony immediately switched to a bunt.

Paak!

Miyuki, the catcher, glanced at the play, his eyes flashing slightly.

He was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected the batter to have the courage to try and bunt against Furuya's pitch.

After all, trying to bunt against such a fast pitch took both courage and nerve.

If the ball hit you by accident, the consequences could be dire.

Even if it didn't hit you directly, simply making contact from such a close distance wasn't something just anyone could pull off.

But to bunt Furuya's pitch successfully?

Wasn't that a little too naïve?

The baseball, after striking the bat, flew high into the air.

Anthony stared at the ball in disbelief.

'How could this be?'

The situation had turned out completely differently from what he had expected.

In his mind, the ball should have just bounced straight down after contact.

'How did it fly so far?'

The only reasonable explanation was that the pitch had too much power behind it.

He hadn't fully absorbed the ball's speed, and that's why it bounced so far.

The batter's face turned ashen as he realized the severity of the situation.

Just like he had imagined, the ball bounced high and far.

Maezono, the first baseman, took a few steps forward and easily caught the ball.

Snap!

"OUT!"

Clean and efficient!

Furuya's strength was evident for all to see.

The Los Angeles team's Coach and players stood dumbfounded.

The reason they were playing against Seidou was because they thought they had already seen the best of Tokyo baseball.

They felt they had a good understanding of all the top players from Tokyo.

Before the match, they had come up with many strategies to face these players.

This included, of course, Sawamura Eijun.

Though they couldn't be certain that their strategies would work on him, at least they had plans they could try.

But against Furuya, they couldn't even come up with a single idea on how to approach this.

"Second batter, third baseman, Hyman!"

After the first Out, it was the turn of Hyman, the second batter from the Los Angeles team.

When Hyman stepped into the Batter's Box, he found himself in the same situation as Anthony.

He had no idea how to deal with Furuya on the mound.

As a result, his outcome was no different from the first batter.

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

He was also Out.

If there was one difference, it was that his Out came even quicker.

He was struck out cleanly.

After two Outs, the batter was now Reinhardt, the third batter.

His baseball skills were excellent.

However, he too was Out, just as cleanly as the others.

The only difference was that he at least made contact with Furuya's pitch.

However, he didn't try to bunt; he used a normal swing.

Paak!

The baseball flew high into the air and was easily caught by Miyuki, the catcher.

Snap!

"OUT!!!"

Three Outs, offense and defense exchange.

Back in the dugout, Kuramochi was puzzled.

"What does 98 mean?"

He didn't quite understand what those two numbers referred to.

"It's miles! 98 miles per hour, which is about 158 kilometers per hour."

Upon hearing this, Kuramochi finally understood.

Those fans had been talking about Furuya's pitching speed!!!

…