Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

During the match between Seidou High School and Kasugaichi High School, Coach Kataoka unexpectedly sent out a full lineup of substitutes.

Initially, the audience thought that Seidou High would surely suffer a significant loss in this game. The rules in wars dictate that overconfident soldiers will inevitably be defeated.

Even though Kasugaichi isn't particularly strong, this is still the Tokyo quarter-finals.

Which team that has made it this far can be considered weak?

However, the progression of the game was quite unexpected.

In this match, it was not the strong Kasugaichi that first took the lead in runs and gained the upper hand, but rather Seidou High School.

The offensive was spearheaded by Nishiyama, who made an immediate impact when the pitcher had yet to fully adapt to the game's rhythm, hitting a double.

Seidou High's substitutes capitalized on this opportunity and smoothly secured the score.

The score stood at 1:0.

Soon after, when Kasugaichi showcased their strength and matched Seidou's performance, another newcomer, Yuuki Masashi, maintained his distinct swinging style.

He hit a powerful home run, extending the score to 2:0.

By the time the fourth inning rolled around, Seidou had already established a commanding lead.

Even with substitutes on the field, they kept Kasugaichi, a not-so-weak team, thoroughly disoriented.

Seidou's strength suddenly became deep in the eyes of everyone.

Especially for those scouts from other elite schools who had come to gather intel on Seidou High.

At that moment, they wore expressions of frustration.

The information they needed to gather was non-existent, and instead, they were shown up by Seidou High's substitutes.

"Damn, this is also a quarter-final in Tokyo. Kasugaichi is just too weak."

"Don't say that; I heard the previous quarter-finals with Yakushi High were even more sensational."

"In high school baseball, it's like this: once the opponent loses momentum, it's not surprising for the situation to turn one-sided."

The scouts murmured among themselves.

On Seidou High's cheering side, players from the second and third teams sat there cheering on their teammates.

After witnessing the performance of the two newcomers, even the senior players found it hard to remain skeptical.

Not only were the players still in the second string, but even those substitutes in the first string on the field were less noticeable than these two.

"I understand now why the Coach promoted them exceptionally."

One boy with a spiky hairstyle shook his head and sighed.

This disparity in talent and skill left him feeling defeated.

"If we don't have the confidence to take these guys down, we'll never make it to the first team."

Beside the spiky-haired boy, a rather tough and cool young man named Takatsu Hiroomi chimed in.

When Sawamura and the others first entered the school, he was also a well-known newcomer. However, due to his thin physique and immature skills, he didn't have a strong presence on the team and thus was never promoted.

Now after a whole year of training, eating three large bowls of rice, going to the weight room and getting gains, and swinging his bat like crazy, he finally became sturdier, and his overall presence began to show. Among the players in the second string, he had become quite famous and was now the fourth batter.

He was eyeing a position on the first team.

If it weren't for the abundance of talented newcomers in this class, President Ota and Coach Ochiai might have already recommended him to Coach Kataoka.

"Your words are true!"

The spiky-haired boy, Oka Kenichi nodded firmly at Takatsu.

Though everyone was striving hard, they were all aware of each other's strengths.

Before these freshmen joined the team, they might have had some chances to make it to the first string.

With the arrival of these powerful newcomers, their chances of entering the first string were now very slim. Of course, that didn't mean all hope was lost.

For instance, Takatsu in front of him and Mimura-senpai in the third year.

Their batting strength ranked third and fourth in the second string, respectively.

They appeared significantly stronger than the first string's substitutes.

The two were the ones with the biggest chances to break into the first string.

"I will not lose!"

Takatsu didn't deny his friend's praise, his eyes sharp as an eagle.

Meanwhile, in Seidou High School's rest area, the former main players who were now benched were increasingly vocal about their displeasure.

"Are you guys even trying? Letting two underclassmen lead the charge?"

"If you're this spineless, you might as well step aside!"

At this point, they had fully embraced Sawamura's philosophy.

Since there was no way around it, they sincerely offered their warm blessings. Now, they would take on the role of the disgusting friends that you need to have in your life.

If there was something that needed to be said, he'd directly tell the shortcomings of his friends.

That would also be a form of help.

The group of players sitting on the bench at Seidou easily adjusted their mentality and began angrily critiquing the players on the field like they owned the place.

"Shut up if you didn't play!"

While others felt embarrassed, Asou had no such concerns. Originally a main player, he now naturally wanted to show results.

Ping!

This guy was not only loud but also had solid batting strength.

Although he failed to hit the ball in the first round, by the second round, he was able to read the pitch perfectly.

After making contact, the white ball flew out in a perfect arc.

'Nice!'

Asou roared internally and dashed to first base without hesitation.

"Finally doing something!"

"And I was thinking that you forgot how to bat!"

"Turns out you still got it!"

"Don't get cocky because of it! It is only a passable hit!"

His teammates of course didn't forget to add their dirty two cents.

"You Guys Are So Noisy!!" Which in turn made Asou angry, as he was a bit happy with his hit.

In the rest area, Coach Ochiai stroked his chin and murmured.

"This player has a good sense of the game and talent. The only things he lacks are the drive and mentality to work hard! If he can adjust these two aspects in the final stretch, his potential will be very promising."

While saying this, he subconsciously glanced at Maezono, sitting in the rest area.

'If Asou could be half as diligent as Maezono, his main position wouldn't be so unstable.'

'If he could work as hard as Maezono...'

'He actually had a chance to become the fifth batter for Seidou.'

'What a pity!'

Some things the coach can help with, while others, no amount of coaching can effectively change.

How well the players train ultimately depends on their own insight and adjustment.

Although Asou managed to reach base, Seidou failed to capitalize and score.

Ono, who batted sixth, hit an infield grounder.

His batting strength was typically strong, but today it seemed suppressed.

He didn't even play close to his usual level.

"Ono, what are you doing?"

"With your current performance, how could you possibly take the main position from that damn brat Miyuki?"

Kuramochi shouted angrily.

"Oi! When you mention him, just talk about him and leave me out of it, alright?" Miyuki looked innocent.

He felt just as wronged as Kanemaru before.

What did Ono's poor performance have to do with him?

"Kasugaichi's Ace pitcher has a sharp breaking ball that really restrains Ono."

Someone nearby stepped in to explain to Ono.

It was evident that his popularity within the team was still good.

Sawamura rolled his eyes secretly but didn't say anything.

It was inevitable that Kasugaichi's Ace pitcher would restrain Ono.

Sometimes, pitchers and batters have that kind of relationship.

But in this Seidou baseball team, it wasn't just Ono who was being restrained.

Now, Yuuki Masashi, batting fourth, was also feeling the pressure.

Masashi also dislikes breaking balls and prefers straight ones. Yet, even against the breaking ball he dislikes, he managed to hit a home run.

'Now that's what qualifies as a solid performance.'

From this perspective, Ono's earlier performance can't be considered up to par.

Of course, as the backup catcher on the team, he is second only to Miyuki in catching.

After all, he has been training alongside Sawamura and Furuya for quite some time. This experience is unmatched by several other freshmen.

In the short term, his position should not be threatened.

'But when summer comes, it might not be the same.'

"If he wants to stay on the first string, Ono-senpai needs to work harder."

Sawamura muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?"

Haruichi looked at Sawamura, puzzled, having apparently not heard him clearly.

"Nothing, I said that true gold will always shine."

"Yes, I also believe in Ono-senpai."

Kominato smiled brightly.

While several people were talking, the game continued to progress rapidly until the fifth inning.

The score remained 2:0.

During this time, Kawakami allowed two hits but did not give up a single run.

He managed to maintain Seidou High's unbreakable record.

His performance made the teammates in Seidou High's rest area extremely excited.

"This is how you do it!"

"Well done!"

"Nice pitching!"

"He's already got the presence of an Ace pitcher."

"Let's get rid of Furuya's rotation substitute."

"It's time to show the fighting spirit of a third-year Ace."

In the rest area, all kinds of comments were made, with most of the criticisms directed at Furuya.

No one suggested that Kawakami replace Sawamura at this moment.

There can be goals, but let's not dream.

Coach Kataoka was also quite pleased with his proud student's performance, nodding affirmatively at him.

"Pitch one more inning, and after the sixth inning, you'll come off the mound."

He didn't plan to let Kawakami finish this game; he was preparing to give the remaining three innings to the newcomers.

Originally, he intended for Nishiyama to pitch yesterday.

However, due to the lineup connecting nicely, the game ended early before reaching the ninth inning.

So, Nishiyama naturally missed his opportunity on the mound.

Today's opportunity was good; Nishiyama could definitely pitch.

Kawakami had already significantly suppressed the opponent, and after dealing with the top batters, he would hand the mound over to Nishiyama.

"It should go smoothly!"

Quietly reassuring himself, Coach Kataoka decided to step back from the situation.

The remaining game could be decided by the players themselves; he just needed to patiently await the victory.

In this match, he originally wanted the substitutes to feel the gap in strength before immediately substituting the main players.

But now it seemed unnecessary.

Even relying on the substitutes, should be enough to defeat Kasugaichi.

This could take down their anxiety for a bit and make the team more complete.

…