Diamond No Ace: Life As Sawamura Eijun

Chapter 220: The Top Eight Assemble

After Seidou High School's victory, the remaining matches over the next two days concluded, determining the final results.

The Top Eight have officially entered the national spotlight: Komadai Fujimaki High School, Seidou High School, Yamamori Academy, Yoshinaga High School, Osaka Kiryuu High School, and others—renowned national powerhouses well-known even in the original narrative.

These teams, often seen competing in spring and summer Koshien tournaments, are legendary in their own right.

Except for Komadai Fujimaki's surprising rise and Seidou High's return as reigning champions, the other six teams have all reached the Koshien National Tournament at least once in the past two years.

These are teams that consistently perform at the pinnacle of national competition.

However, in terms of overall strength, aside from Komadai, the other teams are comparable to or slightly weaker than Seihou. There's little reason for Seidou to fear them.

But in sports, one cannot rely solely on surface-level comparisons. If that were the case, Yakushi High would be weaker than Ichidaisan, and yet Seidou High, supposedly inferior to Inashiro Industrial, still managed to secure victories.

Baseball, like football, is unpredictable. As long as the disparity in strength isn't overwhelming, anything can happen.

Just because Seidou defeated Inashiro, Yokohama, and Seihou doesn't guarantee they'll overcome all future opponents.

In fact, Seidou's ability to overcome stronger teams like Inashiro highlights the need to remain vigilant.

Complacency can be a fatal mistake in any competition.

Even Narumiya Mei, arguably stronger than Eijun, succumbed not due to arrogance but because of the immense pressure he placed on himself.

After his third-year teammates left, he felt the responsibility to lead and carry his team single-handedly.

Though he respected his opponents, his altered mindset led to his team, a Koshien runner-up, losing in the second round of the autumn tournament—a cautionary tale worth remembering.

Seidou High, now the top contender for the championship after defeating Seihou, must meticulously focus on every detail in the upcoming matches.

Be it Osaka's Kiryuu High, Hokkaido's Komadai Fujimaki, or any other powerhouse teams, Seidou must give their all to secure victory.

The Top Eight is merely a new starting point; the championship remains the ultimate goal.

The day after the final match concluded, with the list of the Top Eight finalized, Seidou's captain, Tetsuya Yuuki, headed out once more for the draw—this summer's last draw.

It would determine Seidou's path forward, and luck of the draw could significantly influence the eventual champion.

After all, when evenly matched teams compete, one might breeze through to the finals, while the other fights tooth and nail through grueling matches.

In a tightly packed schedule like the national tournament, it's clear which team would hold the advantage.

Thus, the saying that luck plays a role in the outcome isn't without merit.

At Seidou's lodging:

"Whoosh—

"Thwack!"

"The trajectory isn't too noticeable, but there's still a hint of it," Miyuki remarked as he caught the ball and threw it back.

Eijun caught it, silently nodding in agreement.

Nearby, Coach Kataoka and Chris stood watching. Both wore serious expressions as they observed Eijun and Miyuki's pitching and catching practice.

Their focus was on Eijun's pitch trajectory and mechanics.

Coach Kataoka had only recently learned about Eijun's Numbers series, which had initially been developed in secret by the pitcher-catcher duo.

After the Yokohama match and the successful use of the five-seam fastball, Miyuki and Eijun reported it to Coach Kataoka.

As the team's coach, it was essential for Coach Kataoka to be aware of such developments, especially when a new pitch was introduced in a game.

When Eijun informed Kataoka, he could clearly sense the slight sternness in the coach's expression.

Well, it was understandable.

This was the national tournament, the grandest stage, and the opponent was none other than Yokohama Kouhoku, one of the strongest teams.

Yet, they had the audacity to use a new pitch.

Although this kind of move was very much in line with Miyuki's style, as seen repeatedly in the original story, it didn't stop Coach Kataoka from showing a bit of disapproval.

Otherwise, these kids might just get too carried away.

Today's practice stemmed from the seventh inning of the match against Seihou.

In that inning, Eijun's five-seam fastball was hit by Shuuzou Sano.

That moment gave Eijun new insights.

Coupled with some newfound ideas for other grips, today's session was arranged.

Coach Kataoka had time to join in, too.

As Seidou's ace pitcher, Eijun's performance would directly influence how far the team could go.

"Sawamura, how does it feel when you grip the ball?" Coach Kataoka finally broke the silence, speaking to Sawamura in a calm tone.

"Feel?" Eijun was momentarily stunned and furrowed his brows in thought.

He could certainly feel the difference—different pitches, grips, and even subtle adjustments in his stance.

But accurately putting those sensations into words?

That was a challenge.

Coach Kataoka seemed to sense this difficulty and rephrased his question.

"For each new pitch, in terms of control, is there any difference compared to a standard fastball?" Kataoka asked in a simpler manner.

Control?

That question suddenly gave Eijun a sense of clarity.

Of course!

No wonder he had been feeling a bit off.

"Yes, there is, Coach. Broadly speaking, with the Numbers series of pitches, it's hard to keep the ball low. The grip is adjusted to fit the pitch type, but it's not fully adapted yet. Plus, my natural motion for fastballs tends to use a specific way of applying force, but when throwing a Numbers pitch, I can't fully transfer that force to the ball. That's why it's harder to control."

Eijun stared at the ball in his left hand, fiddling with different grips as his eyes grew brighter. His words became more fluid and rapid, as though he had suddenly had a breakthrough.

"So, in other words, the problem with your Numbers pitches is just that your control isn't fully developed yet?" Miyuki stood up, speaking with an exasperated tone.

He had been expecting some technical issue, only to find it was a basic problem—control.

Of course, control was also the most difficult and time-consuming aspect to master.

Pitch control wasn't something that could be perfected overnight.

It required patience and practice over a long period.

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