Diamond Ace: Another Story of Sawamura

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"He'll swing at the first pitch..." Chris noticed the batter's eagerness to swing and slightly changed his pitch and the signal to the defense.

"It's a bad ball that's high on the inside corner. It doesn't matter if you throw it to him! Leave it to the defense!"

As Chris expected, the batter swung at the first pitch.

"The catch between first and second base..."

Ryosuke easily caught the ball that flew straight at him...

"Batter is out! Attack and defense switch!"

"Kawakami! Good shot!"

"..." Futian looked at the catcher who ran down the home plate in shock. He seemed to have just heard the catcher whisper, "The catch between first and second base..."

Although it is possible, "The catcher not only made a bad pitch, but also predicted where the ball would land..."

"Pharmacist has one more round of attack left..." This development is not favorable to Pharmacist no matter how you look at it. "Not being able to catch up with the score this round is a heavy blow to them!"

"Yeah... This blow is a heavy one for Yakushi..." Mine Fuji looked at the heavy atmosphere in the Yakushi rest area, 'Facing Seidou's pitcher rotation tactics, they didn't get the lead once...'

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Ryosuke took a bunt stance from the start, aimed at the direction of Lei Shi, who was not yet proficient in defense, and hit it, thus successfully reaching base.

Isashiki came out to the game with even more momentum...but unfortunately he hit a high fly ball to left field and was caught out.

After Yuki broke through the shortstop's defense, Masuko followed up with a timely hit to right field, and Chris took advantage of the opportunity to hit an infield hit, reaching first base and sending Ryosuke back to home plate.

Seidou scored another point, and Sanada, who had been keeping Seidou's batting line at one point until now, had been defeated by Seidou at this point in the game.

The pharmacist's situation suddenly turned into a crisis situation with one out and the bases loaded.

This is an opportunity but also a problem for Qingdao, as it is difficult to defend and attack.

"Substitute!"

At this time, Kataoka announced that a pinch hitter was coming, and the batter walked out of the dugout under everyone's gaze.

Replacing Kawakami was Haruichi Kominato.

"It looks like his shooting power has dropped a lot compared to before. He should be able to score two or three more points..." Seeing that Sanada-senpai could no longer hide his fatigue, Eijun put on his cap and squatted in the waiting area, "Koharu! Hit it out!"

"Yeah!" Chun Shi nodded and walked to the batter's box.

"A wooden bat... It seems he is very confident in his hitting..." Watanabe glanced at Haruichi who was preparing to hit.

"Junping, come on!"

"Let them fight it out!"

"There is still one round of attack opportunities left."

Sanada looked at Leichi at third base and smiled between breaths, "As soon as it's that guy's turn to bat..."

'It must be Lei Shi's turn!'

Even though the score gap widened, the cheers were still loud and they had not given up the game yet.

"Huh..." Haruichi adjusted his breathing, looked at senior Sanada on the pitcher's mound, aimed at the ball, and swung the bat!

"Qiang!"

"Hit and run!"

Amid the exclamations, Haruichi dropped the bat and ran to first base as fast as he could, watching the ball fall. "He looks so tired, but he can still throw such a sharp ball..."

Yuki, who had already started running, hit the ball through the infield and successfully returned to home base.

"Pass to second base!"

The center fielder who was guarding not far away intercepted the ball and, under the command of the pitcher, passed it back to second base to end the inning.

"Double kill!"

"great!"

"Nice throw, Sanada-senpai!"

The players who switched between offense and defense returned to their respective rest areas, but the pharmacist who had completed a brilliant defense was obviously more motivated.

"The score difference is four points, and there is only one inning left." After welcoming the returning players, Yuki handed a glass of water to Chris, "But there is still a chance to play again, so we can't let down our guard in the outfield..."

"Ah..." Chris took the water and said seriously, "The trend of the game may change at any time, so we should try to avoid any risks."

"It all depends on what kind of offensive the pharmacist's line will display." Speaking of this, Miyuki turned around and helped senior Chris put on his equipment.

"Hmm..." Chris looked at the three first-year students while putting on protective gear, and then glanced at several pitchers.

Now, the only pitchers who can still take the mound are Eijun in left field and Tamba who has not yet played. The last inning will be played by...

"Tamba-senpai's pitching is not very stable in terms of ball control, but the ball is very powerful." More importantly, Miyuki thought that Chris-senpai also knew that it could only be confirmed on the pitcher's mound.

"Four runs behind?" Lei Zang became more serious now. "We can make up for this deficit with just one big hit with the bases loaded! I think the audience will be happy too. Anyway, get on base first, and then it will be Lei Shi's turn..."

“……”Everyone knows this. They know better than anyone that Lei City will find a way to save the situation.

At this time, Lei Shi was practicing swinging the bat inside the rest area. He knew that this was the time when the team most needed him to save the situation.

"I never thought for a second that I was going to lose this game."

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"In the ninth inning, Seidou High School is changing players. Tamba-kun is replacing Kawakami-kun, the pitcher is Tamba-kun!"

"In the last inning, ace Danbo was sent to the mound for the first time this summer."

"Tamba! Come on!!"

"Tamba! Let's fight it out!"

"Damba!"

"Finally, the ace is sent into action!"

"I don't know the reason, but this is the first time the opponent's ace has appeared this summer." While Tanba was practicing shooting, Sanada took the opportunity to catch his breath and chat with coach Hong.

"And it's the last inning..." Raizo leaned back in his chair, and it was obvious what the other team was thinking. The first time the ace played was a stimulus for the entire team. "However, no pitcher would not be nervous in this situation."

"Give it a try, it won't go wrong..." Sanada said with a smile as he clenched the bat.

“If you want to know your form, the first pitch will of course be a straight ball, so aim for that one.”

"Finally... we can stand on the court with this lineup!" It felt like a long time had passed, so long that Ryosuke couldn't help but exclaim.

"Can I touch your head? It looks so nice!" Then the picture turned around and Ryosuke took off Tamba's hat.

"Uh!" While others were being moved, Danbo was speechless for a moment, "I said you..."

"Hahaha...can I touch it?" As Kuramochi said this, he and Yuki touched it together.

"Stop...Zhe..."

Watching them playing, Chris also came over to touch it, and then said at the right time, "Tanbo, be careful with the first ball! The pharmacist will shoot the first ball!"

"Yeah..." Danbo nodded cautiously... "Can you please stop touching me..."

"Even if you are in good shape in the bullpen, it's hard to say when you are in the stadium. "The worst thing is to be hit by a batter without knowing how you are doing. Chris looked at Sanada and waited for Tamba to catch his breath. "Your pitching determines the outcome of the team."

After working together for so long, Chris could tell Danbo's current state at a glance. He was full of energy, "If you're going to shoot, shoot without regrets! Danbo!"

'The first ball, a straight ball from the inside corner, needs to be powerful. '

"call..."

"The glove is clearly visible, and the batter's expression is also clearly visible, so it's okay..." Compared to those teammates who were ruthless in actual practice...

Moreover, this was the long-awaited match with Chris as a partner in the official competition. Danbo curled his lips, raised his legs, clenched his teeth, and swung his arms under the gaze of everyone.

"Straight ball!" Sanada aimed at the ball and swung hard.

The ball bounced behind home plate after being hit by the bat, hit the block hard, and then bounced back.

"Tsk..." Although he caught the ball, he failed to hit it well, which made Sanada feel very sorry. 'It was more powerful than I thought...'

"It's just like what Miyuki said. Although I didn't throw it accurately to the glove, the ball was very powerful..." In this case, let's make use of this unstable ball control.

In the second pitch, Chris boldly hit the same pitch again, causing Sanada to hit a foul ball again, forcing the batter to chase him. Then came the signature Tamba, the accuracy of the curveball...

"..." Chris was unsure whether Danbo could make a good pitch. 'This summer, it was the first time he stepped on the pitcher's mound...'

"This appearance is very important for Danbo. He needs a result that can strengthen his confidence and a performance that can inspire people..." Thinking of this, Chris adjusted his squatting posture to facilitate smooth handling of various situations, and then played the signal for the next ball.

"The other party is being chased! Danbo!"

"Let's finish him off with the next ball!"

"Swing with all your might, Junpei!"

“Don’t worry about the results!”

Both teams were cheering for the players on the field, and the protagonists who received the support clenched their weapons at the same time.

Watching the pitcher's series of pitching movements carefully, when Sanada stepped forward and was about to hit the bat, the ball suddenly turned to the outside corner in a huge curve. No matter what, no one could possibly shoot at such an obviously bad ball.

The amplitude was larger than expected. Chris, who was prepared, moved out in time to block the ball before it hit the ground. The bouncing ball hit the protective gear on his chest directly, bounced out again, and was blocked by a glove in the next step.

"The ball was blocked!" Knowing Tamba's condition, Miyuki was prepared for special situations in advance. He thought he should be able to handle such a situation, but he probably didn't think so carefully... "Amazing..."

"Danbo, the ball is very powerful, just relax and shoot it!" Chris passed the ball back to Danbo and squatted down again.

"It's obvious that his fingers didn't move properly. It would be difficult to throw a curveball if he threw a ground ball like that..." Sanada weighed the bat and got back into position, "Sure enough, this guy is also very nervous!"

'Hitters should think you can't throw a curveball, right?'

"..." Seeing Chris's secret signal of inquiry, Danbo nodded firmly.

He couldn't accept his own state. Danbo knew better than anyone why he was standing on the pitcher's mound. 'It doesn't matter... don't rush to pitch... I have everyone behind me... today...'

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