Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

"IT IS OUT OF THE PAAAAARRRRK!!!!!!"

The commentator at Gunma Prefecture Stadium was hoarse.

It's hard to tell if it was due to his excitement or because of the shock.

In any case, he could no longer maintain the calm demeanor he had earlier. His eyes were filled with madness-like excitement.

But even though he shouted himself hoarse, his words had no effect on the entire stadium.

At this point, they no longer cared about maintaining any sense of decorum. They cheered, shouting, and celebrated their victory without restraint.

After seven innings of fierce battle, this moment finally brought a perfect conclusion.

Though the game wasn't over yet, the end felt inevitable.

With the home run hit by Sawamura Eijun, Kuramochi Youichi, Kominato Haruichi, and Sawamura Eijun himself all crossed home plate one after another.

Seidou High School scored three runs in one go, making the score 6:2.

With just two more innings to go, such a large gap in points meant that no school, not even Hakuryu High School, had a chance of turning things around against Seidou High School.

The reason was simple: The pitcher for Seidou High School was none other than the Demon King, Sawamura Eijun.

Because against Sawamura, a third run never happened.

So when Seidou High School had already scored six points, they were effectively guaranteed the victory.

Such a score gap made even the players of Hakuryu High School feel despair.

Sasaki, the Coach, stood in his place like a statue, looking lifeless.

Though they had known their situation was dire, his eyes were vacant now.

After so much careful preparation, facing Seidou High School's relentless offensive barrage, they still had no means to fight back.

'Could it be that in this era, Seidou is truly the protagonist?'

Sasaki turned back to seriously consider the question.

And he actually began to grasp its truth.

'It seemed that way.'

Seidou High School could no longer just be called strong; they were like a gigantic overlord in the current high school baseball world.

With Miyuki Kazuya, the top catcher in the nation, and the unstoppable Demon King, Sawamura Eijun, as the core of their team, Seidou's defensive system was built entirely around them.

And these two weren't the types of special geniuses who only cared about their own position.

Their abilities were well-rounded, especially when it came to batting.

Not only were they top-tier players in Seidou High School, but even across the country, they were among the very best.

These two were all-around stars, excelling both offensively and defensively.

It would be difficult to find many players like them in the entire country.

And since they were on the same team, if this team wasn't strong, what team could be?

Therefore, Seidou High School's dominance was only natural.

'At least until Miyuki Kazuya, who was in his third year, graduated, this reality was unlikely to change.'

Thinking about this, Sasaki's shoulder slumped down weakly.

He was completely convinced.

In today's game, even if he racked his brain, it would be hard to achieve a final victory.

Of course, even though it was almost impossible to win, the players of Hakuryu High School wouldn't simply surrender the victory to Seidou High School.

After losing three runs from the home run, the players of Hakuryu High School were deeply pained.

They gathered themselves again and actively faced the next Seidou High School batters.

And it actually worked.

With a runner on base, Hakuryu High School relied on their quick defense to grab a double play, completely disrupting Seidou High School's great offensive threat with no more lost runs.

The final score was set at 6:2.

Miyuki, returning to the dugout, was indignant.

"With me on base, isn't Seidou High School's victory already certain? How could there be any problems along the way?"

He was puzzled.

But no matter how much he thought about it, no one could provide Miyuki with an answer.

The game continued, and the confrontation between the two sides was far from over.

In the top of the eighth inning, Hakuryu High School attacked.

Although Hakuryu High School had scored two points by now, their actual number of effective hits was pitifully low.

The Demon King was still terrifying—he had allowed only three hits throughout the game.

Had Hakuryu High School not seized the one and only chance they had to get on base, Sawamura Eijun could have kept a clean sheet.

It's just that, for this game, luck didn't seem to be on Sawamura's side.

This led to the seemingly plausible outcome.

Fortunately, this result had only just taken shape.

There was still hope for redemption.

Sawamura himself wanted to make up for it.

The game continued, and in the top of the eighth inning, it was Hakuryu High School's lower batters.

As one of the top schools in the nation, even Hakuryu's lower batters had some strength.

These players had remarkable abilities in other areas.

However, when matched up against Seidou High School, especially Sawamura, their strength was clearly insufficient.

In no time at all, Sawamura easily dealt with them.

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"

With full firepower, Sawamura was not something that the lower batters of Hakuryu High School could handle.

And with the later stages of the game, Sawamura's pitching abilities had begun to take full effect.

Sawamura had a very important pitching characteristic: the later the game went, the better his condition tended to be.

This feature was rare, and not many pitchers in the country had it.

Originally, Hakuryu High School's lower batters struggled against Sawamura. But now that Sawamura's pitches were getting fiercer, it became even harder for them to handle.

Some even couldn't keep up with his velocity.

He hadn't even used his sharp breaking balls—he almost exclusively threw fastballs.

Sawamura struck out the three batters.

With that, Seidou High School was just three Outs away from victory.

Of course, those three outs were the hardest to get.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, both teams swapped offense and defense, and it was Seidou High School's turn to bat.

Seidou High School's offense started from the bottom of their lineup.

But that didn't mean both teams were on the same starting line.

From the stands, Fujio, a senior reporter for Baseball Kingdom Magazine, observed this more clearly than anyone.

"So far, Hakuryu High School has only recorded three hits. As for Seidou High School, they've already racked up over a dozen hits! While the two teams seemed evenly matched during the game, the gap in strength between them is clear as day."

There was nothing wrong with this observation.

On the surface, both teams, the top giants in the country, seemed almost equal.

But when comparing their stats, the gap became very clear.

One was a top-tier national power, while the other was the national champion.

On the surface, they looked similar, but at their core, they were entirely different.

At this point, Sasaki, the coach of Hakuryu High School, stood in the dugout as his eyes gained more life, muttering to himself.

"The gap shouldn't be this big!"

At least in his mind, the difference in strength between Hakuryu High School and Seidou High School should not be so large, so obvious.

However, Hakuryu High School's foundation and the resolve of their players remained strong.

In the final stages of the game, they launched a frantic counterattack against Seidou High School.

They were absolutely unwilling to accept defeat—there was no doubt about that.

For example, in the bottom of the eighth inning, Seidou High School's sharp offense.

In the end, Hakuryu High School won with their tenacity.

They succeeded in suppressing Seidou High School's offensive.

Throughout the game, Seidou High School's lower batters also launched multiple attacks.

But Hakuryu High School suppressed them each time.

With their actions, the players of Hakuryu High School showed Seidou High School's lower batters where the real difference lay between them and the higher-ranking batters.

Seidou High School's lower batters had always been high-leveled themselves.

They had never had a fair opportunity to compare themselves to the top batters of Seidou High School.

It was a harsh comparison, but it was a good one.

The first four batters and the last five!

The two segments of Seidou High School's lineup were like two completely different teams.

The impact of this comparison was enormous.

For Seidou High School's lower batters, especially those just promoted to the starting lineup, the influence was profound.

Without realizing it, the game had reached the top of the ninth inning.

It was once again Hakuryu High School's turn to attack.

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"

"GAME! SET!!!"

There was almost no suspense as Sawamura, with his overwhelming pitching power, cleanly and efficiently made the final three Outs.

The game, which lasted 1 hour and 35 minutes, was concluded with the most perfect of endings.

"The game is over! The Kanto Tournament champion is Seidou High School from West Tokyo!!!"

At this moment, the entire stadium erupted into cheers!!!

…

T/N: This Volume will be completed Tomorrow!

As always, Thank you all for reading!!

See you Tomorrow!

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