Diamond Ace: Another Story of Sawamura

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Second day of the quarterfinals...

Today is still an extraordinarily warm day. Both the audience and the sun are full of fiery passion.

The first game was between Zhibian Wakayama and Shimonoseki International. There was no doubt that Wakayama defeated Shimonoseki International and won the fifth spot with a score of 6:3.

Today's second match is the much-anticipated match between Qingdao High School and Xibang High School...

On the first base side is Seidou High School, which is attacking first.

On the third base side is Xibang High School, which is the last to attack.

"I wonder if that first-year fastball pitcher from Seidou will play."

"Ah, the match between Qingdao and Teito is really exciting!"

"The heat from the match between Kiryu and Saiho is still lingering!"

"Sano's swing is no joke."

"Where's Sawamura? Will Sawamura play?"

At this time, the first batter to step into the batter's box.

"First batter, shortstop, Kuramochi."

The pitcher standing on the mound for Nishibon was the sophomore pitcher with number 10, Niwa Matashiro.

"Although he is not an ace, his strength is also first-rate. He is a pitcher famous for the difference in pitch speed..." Chris also spoke highly of this pitcher.

"Kuramochi, swing aggressively!"

"First goal!"

"..." After Kuramochi got ready, he raised his bat and looked at the pitcher's mound. 'A pitcher famous for his speed difference...'

The first ball was a high straight ball from the inside corner that hit the vital point, which scared Kuramochi who was originally planning to make a surprise attack with a short hit.

"Snapped!"

"nice shot!"

"..." Kuramochi couldn't help but look at the speed barrier on the scoreboard, '147km/h...'

When watching the video, it didn't seem to have much special features, and the speed and sound of the ball were not as exaggerated as those of Furuya, but it made people feel very dangerous.

"Snapped!"

"nice shot!"

"Snapped!"

"Batters out!"

After two fast balls, a slow ball was suddenly thrown, and Kuramochi was out before he could show his characteristics.

"The second baseman, Ryo Kominato."

"How's his ball?"

"..." Facing Senior Ryosuke's smiling face, Kuramochi was speechless for a moment, and said awkwardly: "The straight ball was very sharp, and it was thrown to a difficult place. The gap is really big..."

"Yeah." Ryosuke responded and strode towards the batter's box.

'The ball speed suddenly dropped from 147km/h to 130km/h. It's hard to judge if the swinging posture didn't change, but...'

"Snapped!"

"nice shot!"

Ryosuke avoided the first ball. Although he still looked smiling on the surface, he was still shocked.

The first ball was a fastball with a high inside angle, and it was thrown specifically to the place where the batting posture was difficult to hit.

"Qiang!"

"Foul ball!"

It was only the second pitch that Ryosuke caught up. For a pitcher like him, the simplest batting technique is to wait until the ball reaches home plate before swinging the bat.

"Qiang!"

"It's right between second and third base!"

"Ryosuke, well done!"

The fourth pitch was a low straight ball to the outside corner, and Ryosuke swept the ball to the second and third base. Although it was not a good hit, he successfully reached first base.

"..." Ryosuke looked towards the rest area with a smile, 'In terms of pitching speed, they are not as good as our two little pitchers...'

At this time in the Qingdao rest area, Coach Kataoka received Ryosuke's hint and responded.

'Decide which ball you want to play and attack aggressively...'

"Third batter, center fielder, Isashiki."

"Asshole! I'll beat you to death!"

Isashiki walked into the batter's box with a ferocious look on his face, and then once again did a U-turn in front of the referee.

"Please give me some advice!"

"So polite!" The referee was shocked by the sudden change in his tone.

After a polite greeting, Isashiki stepped into the batter's box and raised his bat toward the pitcher's mound.

"Come on, bastard!"

"..." Compared to the referee's changeable reactions, the catcher Zi Juncao squatting behind home plate was quite calm.

'This batter likes to hit the first ball, no matter it's a good ball or a bad ball...' He had expected this situation, 'It doesn't matter if it's a bad ball, let him hit it! '

"..." Niwa nodded to the code, looking at the position of the gloves and getting ready.

First pitch, a slow ball low to the inside corner.

"..." Isashiki's face darkened almost instantly, waiting for the slow ball to reach home plate, "Asshole! Who are you looking down on?"

"Qiang!"

"Left field!"

“The first ball went really far!”

The ball flew high with greater speed and momentum, and hit the blocking net representing a home run in front of everyone's gaze.

"Ahhh~"

"Pity!"

But then there was a sound of regret in the stadium. It was a home run foul ball that landed in the left field.

"Tsk..." Isashiki clicked his tongue in displeasure, picked up the bat and returned to the batting box.

The batter's expression seemed to be saying, "Lucky for you, it won't happen again next time."

"..." Zi patted her gloves to attract Niwa's attention, 'It was indeed good luck, but since the ball didn't fall into the boundary, we won.'

The second ball is a slow ball low to the outside corner.

"Qiang!"

"Foul ball!"

"Very good, Matasaburo!"

"Chasing the batter!"

"The batter can't catch the ball!"

"Throw a ball that the batter can't hit!" Zi moved his position and forcefully put his glove in the position where the ball was.

The third pitch is a fastball high on the inside corner close to the hitter's chest.

"Huh..." Niwa took a deep breath and nodded.

"Your pitching won't go far in Koshien..."

'Throw every ball as hard as you can!'

'Don't give the hitters an easy catch.'

"I know..." He held his breath, stepped forward with his left foot, swung with his right hand, and threw the ball to home plate with all his strength, "I know!"

"Snapped!"

"Good ball! Batter out!"

"Niwa! Good shot!"

"Two out!"

"..." Seeing how the batter entered the strike zone, and now how he left the strike zone, Zi signaled to the pitcher, 'Don't be too happy too soon.'

"Fourth batter, first baseman Yuki."

"Azhe!"

"Captain, fight back!"

"Yuuki-senpai!"

As the broadcast sounded, enthusiastic cheers rang out from the stands, and the band's cheering song also sounded passionate and high-pitched.

Facing this batter, Xibang's pitching and fishing partner became cautious.

At this time, Xisi Xiang, the general supervisor of the rest area of ​​Xibang High School, also carefully gave the secret signal.

"It would be more intuitive to think of Seidou's fourth batter as a hitter who is no less powerful than Sano!"

They all knew that throwing a normal slow pitch at Yuuki was dangerous and extremely stupid.

After the first pitch was a bad ball to the inside corner, the batter didn't swing at two consecutive ambiguous balls to the corner.

"The pitcher can't make the shot!"

“Good choice!”

"There were no strikes or balls, but the pitchers and catchers showed aggressive offensive momentum."

"As expected, he doesn't shoot at bad balls at all..." That posture is really just like that of Xibang-senpai. Just standing there gives off a sense of oppression.

Niwa wiped the sweat from his forehead and saw Zi's secret code.

"Throw it there..." Niwa determined the path of the ball and nodded firmly, then raised his legs and swung his arms to throw the baseball in his hand with all his strength.

'Inside corner...' Seeing the path of the incoming ball, Yuki's expression changed slightly, but he didn't rush to swing the bat.

There is plenty of time to swing before the ball reaches home plate.

"Qiang!"

A black shadow flashed past his eyes, followed by a deafening bombing sound, as if even the air was sucked out of him.

"right..."

"Snapped!"

Before the defense could even make a sound, the baseball flashed across the field and hit the ground with a dull thud, allowing people to find out where it was.

"Foul ball!"

Niwa felt his heart rise to his throat, but fortunately the ball fell out of bounds.

"Just a little bit!"

"This swing is really not inferior to Sano's!"

"Great!"

Yuki's shot caused a lot of discussion in the audience, and the noisy sound suddenly covered the stadium.

"..." Zi fell into deep thought, and after a moment gave the signal for the next ball, 'Continue attacking!'

"Huh..." Niwa let out a heavy breath. To be honest, he was a little afraid to throw, but he had no choice.

"call out!"

"Qiang!"

"Foul ball!"

"It's out of bounds again!"

"The number of balls has become two strikes and three balls!"

"Snapped!"

"Bad ball!"

"Four balls, walk!"

The announcement of a walk shocked the entire audience.

There is always some risk in competing against the fourth batter, but if you can defeat the fourth batter, it will boost morale and allow you to take the lead.

It is not shameful to continue attacking and walk the ball, but they chose to walk Jingyuan on the last ball.

"Are you avoiding the match?" Baseball Kingdom reporter Akiko Yamato exclaimed, "You're in great shape!"

"Hmm..." Fujio Mine frowned seriously.

Deciding to face five batters with runners on first and second base, there are just too many possibilities unless they have some strategy.

"Fifth batter, third baseman Masuko."

"..." Zi looked up at the fifth batter beside him who had a strong presence, a typical power hitter, "Use a changeup! Control the path of the ball well."

"Hmm..." Niwa nodded in understanding, looked at the runners on first and second base, then stepped on his foot and swung his arm to throw the ball.

"Qiang!"

When the baseball was approaching home plate, Zengzi hit the ball without hesitation, but the ball did not seem to be hit well.

"Foul ball!"

"..."Although the ball felt a little strange, it was just an ordinary fastball. Zengzi adjusted his bat grip and started again.

All he had to do was do his job, keep his guard up to advance the bases, and keep the batting order going.

"Qiang!"

"Foul ball!"

"Two strikes and no balls..." Zi raised his eyes and glanced at Zengzi, then looked at the runner's position and micro movements, and then gave the signal for the next ball.

“……” When Niwa saw the secret signal, his eyes darkened and he gripped the baseball tightly.

'Angle, rotation...' He simulated the ball path in his mind, changed his grip and raised his glove, followed by a series of pitching postures.

'Slow ball!'

"Steal a base!"

The moment the batter threw the ball, Ryosuke and Yuki on first and second base were also affected, and Masuko also resisted the urge to swing the bat.

Until the ball reaches home plate...

"Qiang!"

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