Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

Kominato Haruichi felt a little regretful.

What should have been a timely hit was now gone!

The defense of the Shonan High School team was unexpectedly fast.

This was something Seidou High School had already experienced many times before. Their current pitcher, Kawaki, certainly had a unique pitching style, but he wasn't the type of pitcher that was impossible to hit.

In other words, the players from Seidou High School were capable of getting the ball into the outfield.

Kawaki's good performance should also be attributed to the strong defense backing him up. If it weren't for their solid defense, Seidou High School would have already scored in two digits by now.

The game wouldn't have dragged on this long.

Haruichi had worked hard to get the ball into the outfield, so of course, he hoped to score.

With Kawaki's pitch being so tricky, no one could guarantee when they'd get another chance like this.

After all, there were already two Outs.

Even if Seidou High School had the best scoring chance, their offense could suddenly be shut down...

Sigh...

Kominato could only helplessly sigh.

There was nothing he could do, and all he could do was watch as the ball was caught.

But the runner, Kuramochi, who had already reached third base, wasn't giving up!

Although the signal from Ono, the third base coach, was unclear,

It was obvious that Ono was uncertain.

Ono wasn't sure if the ball could make it back to home plate.

Kuramochi noticed his teammate's hesitation, and a plan formed in his mind.

'There was a chance!!'

And it seemed like a decent one.

Otherwise, Ono wouldn't have hesitated like that.

The next batter was Sawamura.

To be blunt, Sawamura was one of Seidou's most reliable players.

If there were runners on first and third base, having Sawamura at bat would be an incredibly advantageous scoring opportunity for Seidou.

Ono surely knew this as well. And even knowing this, he was still hesitating.

Which meant the opportunity was indeed great!

At this moment, Kuramochi's gambler-like nature kicked in.

'Even if I die, I'll die fighting!'

With two Outs already, they could be shut down at any moment. If there was any chance, they absolutely couldn't let it slip away!

Determined, Kuramochi stepped off the third base bag.

He shot forward like a flash of blue light, racing toward home plate!

The catcher, Noma, had been keeping an eye on Kuramochi's movements.

When he saw Kuramochi not staying at third base but heading toward, Noma's face changed.

'The opponent was too fast, and his movements were too decisive.'

'This wasn't a good sign.'

'If they weren't confident, why would they do that?'

Shocked, Noma raised his mitt and shouted loudly,

"BAAACK HOOOOME!!!!!"

Noma's voice was loud enough that the entire stadium could hear him.

In the outfield.

At this moment, the Shonan High School outfielders had already moved up and snatched the ball.

Snap!

When Noma shouted in panic, the outfielder raised his head, confused at first.

Then he saw something that terrified him.

Kuramochi had already passed third base!

'The ball had just been hit; how could he possibly be that fast?!'

The only reasonable explanation was that he had started running before the pitch!

'What boldness!'

'He had used a hit-and-run!'

Now that he thought about it, it wasn't entirely illogical.

After all, with two Outs, just one more out would end the inning.

How could Kuramochi not dare to steal?

He had no worries at all...

But perhaps they were underestimating them a bit.

As champions of Kanagawa Prefecture, Shonan High School, though a rising team, still had its pride.

"DIE!!!"

The outfielder threw the ball with all his might, sending the baseball flying.

The ball was like a white arrow of light.

It crossed several dozen meters, instantly landing in the catcher's mitt.

Snap!

'Good!'

The moment the ball landed in Noma's Mitt, he mentally cheered.

As a dark horse, Shonan High School was, of course, not as strong as they appeared.

Compared to true powerhouse teams, they still had their weaknesses.

For instance, long throws.

This was a skill that tested the abilities of players, and it wasn't something that could be perfected quickly.

Shonan High School's outfielders were directly throwing from the outfield to home plate.

Almost a third of their throws had significant errors.

The remaining two-thirds still had some errors, but they were relatively minor.

This throw was quite good, even though it was off by a meter or so.

But the distance was still acceptable.

At least Noma now had confidence that he could tag Out Kuramochi.

After receiving the ball, he immediately turned, preparing to tag the speeding Kuramochi.

He didn't need to completely stop him; just touching him with his Pitt would suffice.

Noma had done this countless times before and was confident in his ability.

But just as his Mitt was about to make contact with Kuramochi's body…

Kuramochi ducked low, twisting his body awkwardly to slip past the Mitt's barrier.

Before Noma's Mitt could reach him, Kuramochi had already stepped on home plate.

'For a player to make such a nimble move while running full speed...'

Among all the high school players today, perhaps only Kuramochi Youichi could pull that off.

"KRAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!!!!!!"

"YEAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

"KURAMOCHI!!!!"

"SEIDOU!!!!!"

"KING SEIDOUUU!!!"

"CHEEEEETAH!!!"

The crowd went wild when they saw this scene.

They couldn't believe their eyes.

How could such an amazing player exist, capable of pulling off such a move at that speed?

"Seidou, it's secured!"

In a corner of the stands, the players from Hakuryu High School gathered.

Mima Soichiro said coldly, "Seidou High School is definitely secure now."

With their overwhelming advantage, combined with such an impressive play,

Shonan High School's players wouldn't be able to stand up to them now.

They were too strong! Really too strong!

If Seidou High School still couldn't win now, then there's no justice or fairness!

"SAFE!!!!!"

The score was now 3-0.

There were two Outs, and a runner on first.

The crowd in the stands erupted in cheers, chanting Seidou High School and Kuramochi Yoichi's name.

On first base, Kominato Haruichi was a bit jealous.

This timely hit was originally his.

But the one who stole the spotlight was You-san.

Although Kominato's character was such that he wouldn't necessarily mind these things,

He still had complicated feelings about it.

At that moment, Sawamura stepped into the Batter's Box.

As he stood there, his gaze never left the pitcher's mound, where Kawaki stood.

After Kuramochi's amazing performance, would Shonan High's battery simply accept it?

If the opponent showed even the slightest crack, Sawamura was confident in exploiting it and sending the ball flying right back at their face.

At first, he didn't seem to be in any special state.

In Sawamura's subconscious, he wasn't particularly fixated on this game.

Although the Shonan High players had surprised him, they were not in any tough spot now.

In Sawamura's view, they were only three Outs away from winning.

At the start of the ninth inning, Sawamura was confident he could cleanly take those three Outs.

Victory would naturally follow!

Of course, this was something he only thought about internally.

He never mentioned it to his teammates or Coach.

No way would he openly discuss morale like that!

It could really affect the team's momentum.

Gradually, as Sawamura observed, he entered the Zone.

Though Seidou's players had already decoded Kawaki's pitching, Sawamura still had a major question lingering in his mind.

How did the opponent's pitching cause such slight misalignments in the batter's vision?

That question kept lingering in his head.

As the living avatar of the breaking ball, he was instinctively eager to know the answer.

'Here it comes!!!'

Whoosh!

Kawaki didn't disappoint Sawamura's expectations. Even though Kuramochi had scored a Run, Kawaki wasn't fazed in the least.

The baseball came flying toward Sawamura, seemingly plain and unremarkable.

Sawamura had already been dealt with by this type of pitch once before.

And the fourth batter, Miyuki, had been dealt with twice.

To Sawamura's eyes, the ball seemed to slow down.

It was as if the video had been put in slow motion.

The changes in the opponent's pitch were now crystal clear to Sawamura.

The ball came toward him, looking completely normal.

But how could that be?

Such a pitch must have some miraculous change hidden within.

Now, Sawamura could see the change.

Vooooo!

When he finally saw the pitch clearly, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

His vision was good, and it really helped him.

In that state, Sawamura finally saw all the changes the pitch had.

This gave him a deeper understanding of this type of pitch.

And it also gave him a clear idea of how he could use his own new breaking ball.

Moreover…it gave him the inspiration and the road to finally retrain his prized pitch that made him famous all over the Major League…

…His Slider!

Of course, there was no time to think much more now.

He had to focus on the battle before him.

With his bat raised high, his body twisted into a spiral shape like a rope,

When the second pitch came toward him, Sawamura narrowed his eyes.

'A Sinker!'

In this magical state, Sawamura could now see the movement clearly,

And he felt a jolt in his heart.

'Very well!'

'This was perfect!'

If he didn't swing now, then when?

Buzzzzzzzzzzz!

His bat swung around like a windmill.

PAAAAAANGGG!!!

The baseball was bombarded and sent flying away.

The ball soared, flying all the way across the field and into the left-field stands.

Crash!

As the ball hit the ground, the atmosphere in the stadium exploded with excitement.

"SO SUDDENLY!!!"

"INCREDIBLE!!!!!"

"WOAAAAAH I CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF THIS!!!"

"SAWAMURAAAA!!!!!!"

"SAAAWAMURAAA!!!!"

Seidou High School, which had been pressured by an unknown underdog,

Had now risen to the top.

For Seidou's supporters, it was an immense relief.

They had even been too ashamed to cheer properly during the game.

But now, with Sawamura's example,

They had a reason to cheer once again!

...

T/N: Sorry guys, I planned to update an extra chapter today and finish the game but I got busy.

Anyway, Thank you all for reading!!

I hope you all have a nice day!

You also can check my Patre0n for extra Chapters.

https://www.patre0n.com/ColdColt

There are +155 Chapters there.