Diamond No Ace: Life As Sawamura Eijun

Chapter 271: Preparations on Both Sides

In the semifinal against Yamamori Academy, Coach Nitta ultimately chose to let Hongou close the game.

His impressive fastballs, though not as fast as Furuya's, exceeded 150 km/h, carrying an overwhelming sense of intimidation.

Without a doubt, Hongou's current skill level surpassed Furuya's.

Control, mastery of breaking balls, velocity management, and pacing—Hongou excelled in all areas where Furuya fell short.

These fundamentals made Hongou's fastball truly formidable.

Eijun felt confident that he could hit Furuya's fastball under certain conditions, but against Hongou's, it was a different story.

Watching the game footage, with Yamamori's batters struggling helplessly against Hongou, even Eijun couldn't help but shake his head.

The variance in velocity and the devastating splitter made him uncertain about his chances if they were to face each other.

When the time came, Eijun thought, he would simply take it one pitch at a time.

"Whoosh!"

"Thud!"

"Strike! Batter out. Game over."

As Eijun finished visualizing potential matchups against Komadai Fujimaki, the game footage reached its final scene: Hongou's splitter striking out Yamamori's second batter, followed by Komadai Fujimaki celebrating their victory at the pitcher's mound. Hongou's stoic, almost icy expression stood out sharply against the jubilant faces of his teammates.

Notably, in the original storyline, Komadai Fujimaki's primary catcher was a first-year player named Renji Enjou, who was as talented and cunning as Miyuki.

However, in this iteration, Renji was not the team's starting catcher.

This made sense since the catcher position is fundamentally different from pitching.

No matter how talented or promising Renji was, it would be unlikely for him to start in such a high-stakes tournament.

The team's main catcher was a third-year player named Kanemoto Tano, a massive individual even more physically imposing than Inashiro's captain, Masatoshi Harada. Kanemoto also served as the team's fifth batter, while their captain and cleanup hitter was another third-year, Akito Seijou.

After watching the footage in its entirety, Eijun gained a deeper understanding of Komadai Fujimaki's strengths.

Their batting lineup wasn't particularly powerful—at best, it was comparable to Seihou's.

Their cleanup hitter likely wasn't even as strong as Seihou's Shuuzou Sano.

In the original series, Komadai Fujimaki required 14 innings to defeat Narumiya Mei, who wasn't even in top form due to fatigue from continuous pitching.

This highlighted Narumiya's extraordinary skill but also hinted at Komadai Fujimaki's batting lineup's limitations.

While they had no glaring weaknesses, they also lacked significant standout strengths.

This was Eijun's most direct evaluation of their offense.

"Chris-senpai, I'd like to test some pitches. Could you catch for me?" Eijun asked after the recording ended, as Chris was putting away the tapes.

Despite being in the middle of the tournament and with the finals just two days away, Eijun chose Chris instead of Miyuki for this practice session.

For one, he wasn't experimenting with new pitches but rather verifying some techniques.

For another, Miyuki was likely still catching for Furuya, who was also an essential part of the team's strategy.

There was no need to disrupt Miyuki for something that wasn't urgent, especially with a full day left for preparation.

Lastly, Chris's presence always made Eijun feel at ease. There was something uniquely enjoyable about working with him—different from the dynamic with Miyuki.

"Sure," Chris replied with a gentle smile, nodding without hesitation.

"Thank you, Chris-senpai," Eijun said, his lips curling into a slight smile.

"Um, Eijun-kun, could I come watch?" Haruichi hesitated before speaking, his face tinged with unease as though fearing rejection. His shy demeanor brought a soft chuckle from Sawamura's heart.

This guy is still as bashful as ever, Eijun thought with amusement.

One thing was certain: Haruichi would never become the way he was depicted in the second part of the original series.

Haruichi was Haruichi—there was no need for him to change. He should stay just as he was: the team's adorable, unofficial mascot.

"No problem at all. In fact, Haruichi, I was just thinking of having you stand in the batter's box and take a look at my pitches," Eijun said with a wide grin, revealing his pearly white teeth.

"Okay!" Haruichi responded with a determined nod.

"Let's go then," Chris said with a warm smile.

"Yes!"

With that, the three of them left the meeting room and headed toward the open field outside the hotel.

This was their final preparation before the big showdown.

Whether it was Seidou as a team or Eijun himself, this summer's grand finale was a moment they were determined to make unforgettable—a fireworks display more brilliant than ever before.

While every member of Seidou High School focused on their individual preparations for the finals, Komadai Fujimaki High School wasn't idle either.

Coach Kozo Nitta held a pre-finals strategy meeting immediately after their semifinal victory earlier that day.

The meeting covered a detailed analysis of Seidou High School's key players, batting lineup tendencies, and pitching strength.

Corresponding tactical adjustments were also finalized, including their starting lineup for the championship game.

To be honest, it seemed as though these preparations had been in motion for days.

The composed demeanor of their coach boosted the players' confidence even further.

Truth be told, they had absolute trust in Coach Nitta, the man who had guided them step by step to the finals stage.

Now, it was their turn to repay their coach.

Their collective ambition was to ensure that Coach Nitta became the number one man in Japan.

For the players of Komadai Fujimaki, victory was the ultimate way to end the summer.

The team's starting pitcher would remain their ace, Gakuto Iguchi, a third-year.

The batting lineup saw minimal changes, with Iguchi's position shifting from sixth to third.

Another adjustment was the inclusion of Nishi Hideo, who served as Komadai Fujimaki's captain in the original storyline during the spring tournament.

Hideo was set to start in the leadoff spot for this decisive match.

These targeted adjustments by Coach Nitta highlighted his meticulous planning for the final showdown on the grand stage.

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