Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

For the players of Seidou's first-string team, this Orientation game wasn't really that important. 

It's not that they weren't curious, of course. They were interested in seeing what kind of new freshmen had arrived and how the older players would perform. 

But life in the Seidou baseball team had dulled their usual sharp edges.

They knew well that only their own strength was truly valuable. Today's match was more about curiosity. Everyone only came to watch after completing their own practice.

Kanemaru, Toujou, Miyuki, Maezono, and Kuramochi had all arrived early. 

And Kominato Haruichi was the same—he came to watch the game after swinging 300 times.

"The gap is smaller than expected!" 

Looking up at the scoreboard, Haruichi smiled and said, 

"These freshmen are really impressive!"

Kanemaru's expression stiffened a little as he started to sweat. 

It might be his own illusion, but for some reason, he felt that in today's game, several players had strength that wasn't inferior to his. 

In other words, those players were fully qualified to join the first-string team and even compete for a spot in the main lineup.

For Kanemaru, who was still a core member of the rotation, these players were direct competitors. 

Under such circumstances, it was no wonder that Kanemaru couldn't smile.

Haruichi shook his head and didn't mind much. 

"Eijun-kun hasn't played yet!" 

He had known that Sawamura might play today, and the reason was simple: the two of them were going to train their swing together until Sawamura was called and he was 'entrusted' with the duty of the acting coach for the senpai team.

Kominato originally wanted to cheer for Sawamura. 

But now it seemed that it was unnecessary.

Although this year's freshmen were indeed excellent, compared to the older students, the gap was still significant. 

The score on the field spoke for itself.

Everyone had originally thought that today's game would proceed smoothly, with some of the freshmen showing off their strength, but not much changing overall. 

Until a player named Yuuki Masashi took action.

When the game reached the end of the fifth inning, Coach Kataoka was ready to adjust the players. 

At that moment, Yuuki Masashi suddenly raised his hand. 

"Coach Kataoka!"

Hearing his call, Kataoka turned his gaze to Yuuki. 

"Can we also play today? We are first-year players too, and we don't want to just sit here watching the game." 

His words were simple and direct.

Kataoka stared silently at Yuuki, wondering what he was thinking. 

'If Yuuki were really added to the game, it would be hard to say what the outcome would be.'

"Those guys!" 

On the pitcher's mound, Kawashima clenched his teeth. 

He understood what the freshmen meant—they had already regarded them as targets. 

Targets to showcase their own strength. 

Damn it!

"Coach, please accept their request!" 

Kawashima was the first to speak out. 

Meanwhile, key players from the second-string team, like Oka Kenichi, Mimura, and Kariba, all fixed their gaze on Kataoka. 

They were willing to accept the challenge.

On the other hand, Coach Kataoka's expression was more complex. 

"Are you sure?" 

"We want to see for ourselves how these first-year players, who are replacing us, would perform!" 

Kawashima's attitude was firm. 

The other players were the same.

Kawashima's heart was on fire. 

The thought of facing Yuuki Masashi head-on excited him beyond measure. 

"Then let's do it now! Yuuki, Nishiyama, Yui, Hirota, Ito…" 

Coach Kataoka didn't hesitate and immediately made all the changes. 

Due to the large number of newcomers being replaced all at once, the order of the game was completely disrupted, and everyone had to start over.

This couldn't be helped. Now, the game had reached the sixth inning. If Coach Kataoka hadn't reset the batting order to zero and started from scratch, it would be impossible to continue.

The freshmen, when forming their teams, would also adjust their lineup. Let the stronger batters play first, and then wait until the ninth inning to rotate back to them. With four innings left, they could at least have two full rotations.

Rather than letting them be clever with their strategies, it would be better to have the Senpai players stand on the same starting line as the freshmen.

The number of innings remained unchanged, but the batting order was readjusted.

So the game continued from the sixth inning, but the batting order was adjusted to begin from the first batter.

This not only met the freshmen's request but also gave Coach Kataoka more opportunities to observe these outstanding newcomers.

After the rules were announced, several freshmen immediately gathered to discuss their strategy.

Everyone was clever, and they all understood each other well. Soon, they had determined their positions and batting order...

Leading the way were Yui and Nishiyama.

The battery of the World Little Series Runner-up Team was formed again to face the senior team.

After the game resumed, it was still the veteran team that took the lead.

The first batter: Oka Kenichi!

Oka Kenichi has a very ordinary appearance, belonging to the type of typical "everyman" face—nothing distinctive about it.

On ordinary days, he was quiet and not expressive...

Although a bit introverted and unimpressive in appearance, Oka Kenichi's heart is certainly fiery.

This could be seen from the way he looked at Nishiyama. Unlike those ordinary players who worked hard behind the scenes, Nishiyama was truly a genius.

'He had only joined the team a few weeks ago, was quickly promoted to the first team, and earned the opportunity to play in the spring competition, contributing to the team's success.'

Compared to those who can only hide in the shadows, silently swinging their bats, it's like the difference between heaven and earth.

Facing such a newcomer, the veterans on the second team had nothing to say. The opponent's strength was definitely greater than theirs, and everyone could see that.

But precisely because of this, Kenichi was even more determined. Although he knew that the strength of his group might not be as good as the two freshmen who had been promoted, he still had his pride.

'Even if the newcomers wanted to take the main spot, they'd have to step over our corpses first. We wouldn't simply let them take the place in the first team without a fight.'

'It was absolutely impossible!'

His determination was like that of a warrior who was about to bite a piece of flesh from his enemy, even at the cost of his life.

Pitcher: Nishiyama Kibo.

Catcher: Yui Kaoru.

This was definitely the best battery and strongest lineup the freshmen could send out at this stage.

They represented the greatest strength of this freshman class.

Without much hesitation, the battery exchanged their signals.

There were four innings left. If in the first round, Nishiyama used his Gyro ball, then by the second round of the lineup, the older players might have already gotten used to the trajectory of the Gyro ball.

Though this possibility wasn't large, it was still important to prevent any chance of repetition.

The most important thing was that Nishiyama and Yui were confident that, even with ordinary pitching, they could handle the seniors in front of them.

While watching the game before, these two weren't idle. They were both thinking about how they would play if they were on the field themselves.

This is a habit of excellent players…

Just like Oka Kenichi in front of them, although his appearance showed no emotion, both of them knew that this senior was cold on the outside but passionate on the inside.

'Right now, the urge to swing the bat was likely uncontrollable.'

'Very good!'

Dealing with an opponent who actively wants to swing the bat is actually very simple.

Just pitch it so that he hits it.

'Oka-senpai's probability of swinging at the first ball is very high! Let's give him a surprise…'

Yui had been promoted to the second string and had been training with them for two weeks. During these two weeks, the first team players were in the spring competition, but the second team was not idle.

They had used this time to play several practice games. Yui Kaoru, as a teammate, had gotten to know these seniors quite well.

How could a main catcher who was the captain of the national team be a simple role? He had been calculating the tendencies of these Senpais for quite some time.

'Here, let's go it!'

Seeing the sign from Yui, Nishiyama didn't hesitate at all and threw the ball.

Whoosh!

The small ball was like a laser beam, traveling the 18 meters in an instant and appearing right in front of the batter.

Nishiyama, though only a first-year player, threw the ball with impressive velocity—almost 140 km/h.

This speed is considered a standard fastball at the high school level and could easily overpower more than half of the batters in high school.

But Oka Kenichi was not among them. Even though he couldn't make it to the first team in Seidou, if you placed him in any other team, he would be a cleanup batter.

His strength was undeniable.

Facing the flying ball, Kenichi took a decisive swing.

His quick action even surprised his own teammates.

His friend Takatsu subconsciously furrowed his brows.

'He was too anxious!'

Haste makes waste. Swinging the bat too eagerly like this could lead to a mistake.

Ping!

The small ball was hit and bounced high.

"Tsk."

The moment his bat made contact with the ball, Kenichi already knew he'd been fooled. The shock from his hand told him clearly that he hadn't hit the ball perfectly.

The small ball popped up slightly high, and it was likely to become a slow fly high ball to center field.

As expected, the ball flew to center field and fell in a huge arc.

"Center fielder!"

Yui Kaoru, the catcher, raised his hand, signaling the center fielder to catch the ball.

Pak!

However, before the center fielder could reach the spot where the ball would land, it had already bounced off the ground and rolled away.

Nishiyama and Yui were completely dumbfounded.

In their previous impressions, the defense in center field was very solid. So when they used the fishing ball, they subconsciously directed it toward second base or center field.

They had mentally simulated the play countless times when they were off the field. So, when it came time to play, they instinctively did the same thing.

But they had overlooked one very crucial issue:

The center fielder had been replaced.

It was no longer the reliable Kagami but a new freshman.

This made things worse.

A ball that was supposed to be an easy catch became an easy long hit?

The freshmen in the dugout also looked extremely awkward.

"Even an average center fielder should catch that ball!" Takuma laughing.

"In this situation, you can't analyze it like a normal situation," his friend Okumura responded calmly.

"There's also pressure on the field!"

The greater the skill of the players who previously occupied the position, the higher the pressure on the freshman who had just replaced them.

They not only had to compete against the Senpais but also had to worry about competition for their own position.

Who performed well and who didn't?

The competition among players for the same position was always intense, and if those competitors were the same age, the tension escalated even further.

For the freshmen in the same position, the better their peers performed, the greater the pressure they felt.

Of course, this wasn't entirely a bad thing.

Though pressure often leads to mistakes, it could also bring out players who thrive under it.

In fact, it could be said that if a player can't perform under such pressure, they don't belong in Seidou's first team.

…