Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter

Chapter 222: The Yakushi Battle (5)

"Raichi! You may be a fool, but you're the only one who can change the game with a single swing."

"No matter what, you must get on base!"

"Make sure there's a runner on when it's your turn to bat." Kobayashi gave a deep look at the wild monkey on the bench.

Ping!

"Yes! We got this inning!"

"Captain! Onii-san! Sendo!" Sawamura called out to the three players rushing toward the ball.

"Damn it!"

The ball landed right between them. Sendo quickly picked it up, but it was too late!

"Ahhh!!!" Kobayashi roared from first base.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yesss!"

He celebrated his lucky hit over the top, bending his left leg forward and pumping his fists with each shout.

Sawamura watched the celebration intently.

"Don't mind it, Sawamura! You already beat him! The ball just happened to land in a lucky spot," Kuramochi encouraged.

"That's right!" Sawamura turned his head, accepting the explanation like a lifeline—proof that he was feeling the pressure.

Coach Raizou looked on with envy. Even with a lucky bounce, Seidou's defense reacted so quickly. The middle infield was practically a no-go zone, with the infielders and even Sendo in the outfield forming an impenetrable wall. Their corner infielders were rock-solid, too.

"Hahaha! Nice hit, Kobayashi-senpai!" Raichi stepped out from the bench.

"Batting ninth! Center fielder, Ota-kun!"

Sawamura, as usual, shot a sharp glare at the runner on first, keeping him from making any reckless moves.

His eyes still held a hint of unease.

"Crush him! Just one more out!" Jun-san shouted from the outfield.

"That's right, Eijun! Just one more out and this inning is over! That way, Raichi won't get a chance to bat this inning!" Sendo fixed his gaze on the on-deck circle where Raichi stood, thinking to himself.

Pop!

"Strike!"

"Okay! Okay! That ball had some serious heat!"

"It's fine! Sawamura isn't shaken!" Chris assessed.

Coach Kataoka remained silent.

"Still no movement, huh? Then we should take our time and work the count." Miyuki eyed the ninth batter stepping into the box.

"Think for yourself and take responsibility for your actions! That's what Coach taught me," Ota muttered internally.

Whoosh!

Huh? He moved?! Miyuki's pupils dilated in an instant.

"You can't time it perfectly in just one at-bat. Might as well take a swing at a good pitch and try to earn something!"

Ping!

"Third baseman!"

It was a determined swing, but the ball went straight to third base.

"Damn it! Go through!" Ota shouted as he sprinted.

However, just as Masuko waited for the ball to bounce up, it clipped the edge of the base and rolled foul!

No doubt about it—it was ruled a fair ball!

"Whoa!!!"

"How did that happen?" Sawamura was momentarily stunned.

Two unexpected plays in a row—it felt as if luck was siding with the opponent today.

"Yakushi's luck is insane!"

"None of that matters now! The next batter is—!" The crowd murmured about Yakushi's streak of good fortune.

"Batting first! Third baseman, Raichi-kun!"

The stadium announcement rang out, unnervingly sharp, as if refusing to give Sawamura even a moment to breathe.

"He's here! The monster slugger!"

"Give us a big hit!"

"It's about time for your counterattack!"

Even Raichi himself seemed surprised by the overwhelming cheers before breaking into wild laughter.

With his small, sharp fangs showing, he looked exactly like a mischievous monkey.

Neutral spectators were eager to see how this would play out.

"What an incredible atmosphere!" Owada could only repeat herself, at a loss for words.

"The crowd is hoping for another upset like Ichidaisan's game!"

"Sawamura-kun is facing Raichi for the second time!"

"The same trick won't work twice!"

Reporter Mine understood the situation well.

Two outs, runners on first and second!

Kawakami was known for his fragile mentality, easily overwhelmed by pressure.

To be honest, it might sound funny, but the most reliable player in terms of mental fortitude right now was Sawamura on the mound.

In Coach Kataoka's mind, Kawakami was never really an option. The choices were either letting Sawamura continue pitching or bringing Furuya back from left field to the mound.

However, compared to Sawamura, Furuya was a riskier choice against Raichi. His pitch selection was too limited—he couldn't afford to challenge Raichi with his fastball, and his breaking pitches rarely hit the strike zone. His only real option was a high fastball, which was practically inviting disaster.

As soon as Ota got on base, Miyuki called for a timeout. Sendo also joined in, and at that moment, Coach Kataoka made his move.

The message was relayed by Haruichi.

"H-Hey! Haruichi! What are you even doing here? Are we switching places? You're a position player!" Sawamura sounded overly agitated.

"I'm just here to relay Coach's instructions."

"Wait… boss's final words?"

Pffft! Sendo choked on his breath.

"You are so annoying to deal with!"

Haruichi ignored the antics and delivered the message.

"Sawamura will finish this inning!"

"…That's it?"

"Yep. That's all."

"Wait, Boss actually said that?"

"Well, even if I explained, you wouldn't get it," Miyuki quipped.

"Just pitch with confidence! But make sure you actually look at my glove this time," Miyuki added, clearly taking a jab at Sawamura's previous wild pitches.

"Chest out, head up!" Captain encouraged. If they could get Raichi out here, half the battle would already be won.

"Leave the defense to us!" Even Masuko spoke up, which was rare.

"I can't do much to help you, but if the ball comes to center field, I'll handle it!" Sendo added his support.

Sawamura's mind was in turmoil.

"Don't forget, we still have a five-run lead," Ryousuke pointed out, throwing a bit of cold water on the hype.

...

Inhale.

Sawamura lowered his head, took a deep breath, and—

Sendo was curious. What's he going to yell this time?

"Thank you, boss!!!"

"I will not let you down!"

"I will absolutely—not—let boss's expectations down!!!"

Pfft! Sendo's stomach started hurting from laughing too hard.

"B-Boss…?"

"Wait, did he just call him Boss?"

"Is that how Seidou addresses their coach?"

"That's so big-league!"

"An unexpected side of Seidou!" The spectators buzzed with discussion over the peculiar nickname.

Ota clutched his head and shouted, "Our school's reputation…!!!"

"…I'm sorry," Chris muttered apologetically.

"Hmph." Coach Kataoka had already resigned himself to it. Ever since the Duo joined the team, he'd developed a sense of acceptance.

The only silver lining was that Sendo wasn't the type to loudly call him 'Sunglasses Uncle' in public.

With that, the game resumed!

Both teams fired themselves up.

Except for Furuya, who couldn't accept it…

But there was no helping it. His fastball was his only real weapon, and in his last at-bat, Raichi had crushed it. There was no way they could let him pitch against Raichi a second time.

In this situation, an intentional walk wasn't even an option—not for the pitcher's confidence, not for the game's momentum.

In high school baseball, a player's confidence, mentality, and fighting spirit were the most critical factors in deciding a game.

Raichi was also the only Yakushi batter completely unrestricted by the dugout.

He had absolute freedom. And that made him the most dangerous.

Their last showdown had already fired Raichi up to his peak.

The pressure was suffocating. If Kawakami were on the mound, he probably would have collapsed immediately.

That would have meant losing two pitchers at once and leaving the final innings to Tanba alone—a massive risk.

Tanba's fastball wasn't as overpowering anymore. He couldn't hold out in a drawn-out battle.

Now, pitcher and batter locked eyes—like two swordsmen about to duel.

Under the weight of the moment, Sawamura fearlessly threw his first pitch.

PING!

FWOOOSH!

THUD!

The ball landed against the wall behind third base.

It was low and outside—a clear ball.

Sawamura wasn't aiming for the outside corner of the zone. He deliberately threw a pitch that no one would swing at.

"No! Not this pitch!!!" Raichi yelled right after making contact.

Miyuki completely ignored the idiot.

"…Not this pitch?" Only Sendo frowned at those words.

A fragmented memory flickered in his mind. He felt like he was onto something—but at the same time, it slipped away.

Miyuki called for the same pitch again!

The result was the same—a hard hit beyond third base.

But this time, everyone tensed up.

It was the first time today someone had perfectly timed their swing.

Sendo, usually lost in his own world, happened to glance at Furuya stepping back.

That had nothing to do with his memory, but—a sudden realization hit him.

It was that fleeting moment of clarity, where your mind empties, and everything clicks.

Like seeing something, yet not seeing it.

Like not seeing something, yet clearly perceiving it.

It felt as if, for just an instant, his soul left his body—completely immersed in his realization.

"No way!" Sendo muttered to himself, suddenly looking up, his muscles tensing.

Ping!

At that moment, Miyuki called for a high breaking ball meant to deceive the batter—but Raichi connected.

The instant the ball took off, Sendo instinctively started retreating in that direction. Keeping the ball's trajectory in his peripheral vision, he sprinted toward left field at full speed.

Furuya, lacking experience, had already stepped back. However, he was watching the ball the whole time, slowly backpedaling—completely unaware of the wall behind him.

"Yes! Left field!"

"It's you, Furuya!" Sawamura assumed it was just a routine fly ball since the exit velocity didn't seem too fast.

"Get out of the way, Furuya!!!"

Sendo shouted as he charged at full speed.

Furuya snapped out of his daze just in time to see Sendo descending like a god of war into left field.

Seidou's outfield alignment had Sendo covering the middle, but in reality, both he and Isashiki had absurdly wide defensive ranges.

Regardless of whether their corner outfield partner was Shirasu or Furuya, Sendo always tilted his coverage to compensate.

In fact, this setup allowed Sendo and Isashiki to cover even more ground than a traditional center fielder.

To put it in numbers: normally, a center fielder might cover three-sevenths of the field, while the left and right fielders split the remaining two-sevenths each.

But in this arrangement, Sendo and Isashiki each took about two-and-a-half sevenths, meaning their range exceeded that of most conventional center fielders.

Seidou was the only team luxurious enough to field two outfielders with such ridiculous coverage.

Especially Sendo—his spatial awareness, reflexes, reaction speed, and sprinting ability made his range almost unnatural. Even then, crossing from center to deep left field in this short amount of time was something only he could do.

"This ball is going over the fence! …Screw it, I'm going for it!"

Right before his final sprint, Sendo took one last glance at the ball's expected landing spot.

Then, without looking up again, he pushed his speed even further.

"Why the hell is he even there!?" Raizou was visibly shaken.

With explosive speed and power, Sendo planted both feet against the home run wall and launched himself upward.

In that moment, it was as if he had defied gravity.

Both arms stretched high above his head, reaching nearly five meters off the ground.

Everyone's eyes locked onto his right glove.

No one even had time to be shocked by his insane vertical leap.

The ball was still descending. No one knew what the outcome would be—only that Sendo had positioned himself perfectly.

It all came down to whether his height was enough.

Tch! In the final moment, Sendo gritted his teeth in frustration.

Thud!

For an instant, Sawamura felt like he had gone deaf.

At the most crucial moment—the biggest heartbreak.

"It's gone!"

"A three-run home run!"

"That was a high breaking ball, right?"

"How did he hit that into the stands?!"

"The score is suddenly down to just a two-run difference!"

"Yakushi is striking back!!!"

Miyuki immediately realized his mistake.

It wasn't that he had tried to bait Raichi into swinging at a bad pitch.

It wasn't that the breaking ball was poorly placed.

It was because from the very start—Raichi had been hunting Sawamura's four-seamer, the very pitch that got him out last time.

Everyone, including Captain, tried to offer some words of encouragement.

But Sendo just jogged back to center field in silence.

He said nothing.

He understood—sometimes, comforting words only make things worse.

Coach Kataoka left Sawamura in for now, watching how he handled the next few pitches.

After all, they still had a two-run lead.

However, Sawamura's pitches had lost their sharpness.

Akiba swung at the very first pitch—not a clean hit, but it still bounced past the infield.

Then, after issuing a four-pitch walk, Coach Kataoka gave up.

He stepped out and officially announced the pitching change.

Yakushi, having shattered Seidou's early lead, had completely flipped the momentum.

The pressure that had kept them in check for so long erupted in an instant.

"Even though it was hit into the stands, that was the most powerful pitch you threw today," Coach Kataoka said, looking at the lifeless Sawamura.

"What matters isn't getting hit—it's how you respond after it happens!"

"Do you remember how Sanada from Yakushi reacted after giving up a home run?" Chris added, offering his own encouragement.

As expected, the words of Seidou's two biggest figures had an effect.

Coach Kataoka's words shifted Sawamura's focus back to pitching, helping him move past the impact of the home run. Meanwhile, Chris provided a real-time lesson, using Sanada's previous example to make a stronger impression.

Thinking back, Sawamura's memory of how Sanada faced Sendo and the others became even clearer.

Finally, Coach Kataoka reminded Sawamura to learn from this experience and use it as fuel for his growth.

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