Diamond No Ace: Echoes Of The Ace

Chapter 28: Eijun's Fastball

"Tanba Koichiro, Masuko Tooru, and Furuya Satoru, the three of you are promoted to the first string. Tojou Hideaki, Sawamura Eijun, Kanemaru Shinji, Kominato Haruichi, and Takatsu Hiroomi, the five of you are promoted to the second string."

The day after the practice game, Coach Kataoka announced the promotion list.

Upon hearing that he hadn't made it to the first string, Eijun felt a bit dejected. However, it only confirmed that he still had room to improve.

"We already knew this would happen, but why does he get to join the first string after just throwing one pitch?"

"I know, right? What can you tell from just one pitch?"

"It's probably about potential. Coach Kataoka sees things from a broader perspective than us players. Furuya's already throwing around 150 km/h as a first-year. How many high school pitchers can do that? And it's not just about his speed, right, Kariba?"

"Yeah, exactly. His pitches are insanely fast, heavy, and honestly terrifying. It's hard to describe the feeling."

"...Still, I don't get it. Why didn't you make it, Sawamura? You're obviously really strong."

As someone who had trained with Eijun, his teammate knew how skilled he was.

Whether it was pitching or fielding, Eijun's talent was undeniable.

Even though his batting was weaker, his speed allowed him to get on base with bunts.

Compared to the unfamiliar Furuya, they had far more faith in Eijun, whose abilities they had directly experienced.

"Haha, I guess I just wasn't good enough. It's frustrating, but it is what it is. That said, if I perform well in the upcoming training sessions and practice games, I might still make it to the first string."

Although the promotion list caused some commotion among the first-years, Eijun's positive attitude helped calm everyone down, refocusing them on their training.

If there was a silver lining to being on the second string, it was being paired with Chris as his catcher.

Once Eijun found out that Chris would be working with him, he was over the moon, practically glowing with excitement.

After conducting some tests, Chris determined that Eijun should focus on pitching and batting while supplementing with stamina training.

Physically, Eijun was the strongest among the rookies and on par with the seniors.

His natural flexibility gave him exceptional endurance and resilience.

However, the tests also showed that Eijun was heavily fatigued, likely from overtraining.

Chris made sure to ask the teammates who often trained with Eijun to keep an eye on him.

"Senpai, do you have time to hit my pitches later?"

The seniors, including Nakata, were surprised when Eijun suddenly appeared.

"Sure, but aren't you usually with the first-years?"

"Chris-senpai said I could reduce my stamina training a bit and focus more on pitching and batting. The others are still working on their endurance, and I want to face more batters to improve my pitching."

"No problem, but if you don't give us good pitches to hit, we won't let you off easy," said Daizen with a sinister grin.

He hadn't forgotten how Eijun had tricked him in the practice game by pretending to go for a big hit, only to lay down a bunt instead.

Faced with the mischievous grin of his senior, Eijun momentarily thought about fleeing but quickly dismissed the idea.

---No way they're worse than Kuramochi-senpai when he's hitting, or that delinquent glasses guy.

"Okay, I'll go get my gear. Wait for me for a bit!"

Eijun dashed off, leaving the seniors to set up the netting in preparation.

"In the practice game, aside from Chris and Masuko, no one else managed to hit Sawamura's pitches. This time, we'll see what makes him so special."

"Yeah, they say his pitch has a weird break, but every ball I hit was a fastball. I didn't see any movement."

"Same here."

Eijun soon returned, fully geared up and ready to go.

"Senpai, I'm back. Let's get started."

Eijun adjusted his helmet and protective gear, rolling his shoulders a bit to loosen up.

"Senpai, I'll be throwing all inside fastballs for this round."

"Alright, bring it on."

The other seniors standing nearby with their bats also paid attention to what was happening.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

"Damn it, why can't I hit it?!" Daizen muttered in frustration, tapping the bat against his head.

"Move aside, Daizen. It's my turn now."

Bang!

Whiff!

Bang!

Nakata stared at his hands in disbelief after swinging and missing twice.

What am I doing wrong?

After Eijun struck out three more seniors, they stood stunned, watching as he prepared for yet another round.

By the end of three rounds, the seniors felt like it wasn't Eijun's pitching being tested but rather their batting skills.

"Hey, Sawamura," Daizen finally blurted out. "What's up with your pitching? I've never had such a hard time with an inside fastball before."

Daizen, known for his proficiency in hitting inside pitches, couldn't believe he had only managed to make solid contact once in three rounds, and even that hit would have been an easy out against a solid defense.

"Hmm, well, my inside fastball isn't just one type, you know."

"What?" The seniors exchanged confused glances. Not just one type?

"He probably means it's not just one kind, right?"

"When did you get here?!" Daizen jumped as Ryousuke suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"We've been here for a while," Ryousuke replied with a grin. "Sawamura's inside fastball comes in three variations, doesn't it?"

Although phrased as a question, Ryousuke's tone was confident. Eijun couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for the senior who had uncovered his secret after just three rounds.

"That's right. There are three kinds," Eijun admitted. "To make it harder for you to notice, I deliberately minimized the differences in their movement, so you couldn't hit them past the infield."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope! There's the regular fastball, which decelerates slightly. Then there's the power fastball, which maintains its speed from release to the glove. Finally, there's the slow fastball, which loses speed as it approaches the plate and has a slight downward break."

"The changes are subtle enough to throw off your timing and perception. I only use two similar types against one batter, so it's harder for you to notice the variation. Plus, it messes with the information you pass to the next batter. Hehe."

Eijun grinned mischievously, but his casual explanation left the seniors with expressions of disbelief.

Fastballs can be played with like this?

"That's amazing, Sawamura. Can I give it a try?"

"You want to hit, Onii-chan? Sure! The more batters I face, the better I can refine my pitching."

"Then I'll go after you!" another senior chimed in.

"Wait your turn, Kuramochi!" Isashiki snapped. "I'm next after Kominato!"

Daizen and the others could only watch in despair as their spot in the batter's box was hijacked by eager seniors.

After all, they had already faced three rounds of Eijun's pitches without even realizing he had three types of fastballs.

When Ryousuke finally stepped into the batter's box, he realized it wasn't as simple as he thought.

He had assumed there would be some visible tells or adjustments in Eijun's delivery, but there were none.

The differences were subtle—slight changes near the plate—but the invisible release point, fine adjustments, and quick pitching rhythm gave batters no time to adapt.

By the time he realized something was off, the next pitch was already on its way.

Three pitches later, Ryousuke left the box no closer to figuring out Eijun's secret.

For technical batters like him, Eijun's fastballs were tricky and often led to weakly hit balls that were easily caught.

However, against a power hitter like Isashiki, who could turn any pitch into a strong hit, Eijun's subtle variations posed less of a threat.

That said, with the right catcher calling pitches, even a power hitter could be fooled. Against batters like Masuko, who had both raw power and dynamic vision, Eijun's fastballs would likely end up in the outfield.

Still, Eijun's pitching left the seniors thoroughly impressed.

These were just his fastballs, and even they could be weaponized as breaking balls if he unleashed their full potential.

His solid control, ability to alternate between inside and outside corners, and deceptive subtleties would undoubtedly fool many batters.

Combined with Chris or Miyuki as his catcher, there were only a handful of teams in the country capable of standing up to him.

"These rookies are terrifying."

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