Diamond Ace: Another Story of Sawamura

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"Eh? What are you thinking about when you're at the plate? Just hitting the ball well...that's all..."

"Are you serious about hitting?" Thinking of the question he asked Haruichi about hitting before the game, Kataoka couldn't help but curl his lips slightly, "It's very difficult to do this in a game."

"That's three hits in three at-bats!" Although he took it for granted, Eijun was still very happy about it, "My batting average so far is still 100%!"

"Ah..." Hearing Rongchun's happy tone, Chris also laughed: "That guy might be the lucky boy of this competition!"

In the subsequent attack, because Maki stopped the loss in time, Shirasu, the ninth batter, failed to seize the opportunity.

The sixth inning marked the end of the first half of the attack. In the second half, Seidou changed pitchers and replaced the ace Tanba with...

"Kawakami, the score gap is widening now!"

“Vote as much as you want!”

Compared to the cheers from the audience, the Xianquan rest area was relatively quiet, with only the nagging of coach Ukai remaining.

"Really? Just now, we just needed to suppress it with a straight ball, or at least throw a bad ball. If we had been prepared for the long hit, the opponent would not have been able to score three points..."

"Hino, go warm up first and be ready to go on the field at any time. If anything goes wrong, immediately replace Maki on the field."

"Yes!"

Maki just listened to the coach's complaints in silence. The goal just now was indeed the result of his disobedience to arrangements. Even if he was substituted off the field, he could not complain.

"Don't mind it, Maki. The coach is always nagging. Just cover your ears." While the coach was talking, the third-year players came up to Maki and whispered.

"It's only three points. We will make it back. Leave it to us!"

"You are different today than usual. Even though we are on guard in the back, we can still feel your aura."

"..."Thanks to the comfort of the seniors, the breathless Maki finally raised his head from under the towel. The next moment he was stunned by the words of the seniors. Don’t they blame me?

"I heard everything." Coach Ukai touched his chin and reminded the players who thought they were very quiet, "It seems that you are planning to get back those three points..."

It is true that Maki was different today than usual, and coach Ukai couldn't have failed to notice this, so he felt that the previous goal was such a pity.

"Listen carefully. If you want to even the score, you must do it in this round. Turn the tide of the game."

"Yes!"

"I really need you guys..." At the end of the sentence, Coach Ukai muttered softly, "Hurry up and equalize the score, cover Maki..."

“……” Having said this, Maki no longer felt that the supervisor was blaming him.

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"Today, neither of the two first-year students will play!" In the first sentence, Miyuki made a point straight to the point.

Today, there is no pitcher behind Kawakami.

"Hey!" When Kuramochi heard this, he wanted to punch the guy with glasses. Why did he have to emphasize something that would make Kawakami nervous?

"..." Although he said that, Miyuki thought Kawakami was also aware that with Furuya's instability, it was unlikely that he would play, but Sawamura was different, "Besides, Sawamura didn't even warm up..."

"..." Kawakami heard it and looked towards the rest area. Sawamura was indeed sitting there quietly reading a book today and didn't even go out.

"If that guy knew what to say, given his personality, he would probably say it calmly like an old senior..." As he said this, Miyuki pretended to put on the expression he imagined Eijun would have.

Then, he patted Kawakami's chest and said with a positive tone, "Today's game is up to you. I believe you can do it!"

“……” Kawakami was wondering about Miyuki’s reaction to Sawamura, and his pupils suddenly dilated when he heard the last sentence.

Kawakami's eyes brightened visibly, allowing everyone to see the results of Miyuki's encouragement.

"Kawakami! Go ahead!"

"Let them call us!"

"Well, just rest assured about the defense!"

"This guy..." Kuramochi smacked his lips in dissatisfaction, but as long as it can calm Kawakami's emotions, it's fine...

"The next pitcher's mound is yours, throw as much as you want!"

"Yes!"

'First, get an out. For the first pitch, throw your best slider!'

"Hu..." Kawakami took a deep breath and nodded firmly, turning sideways to prepare for pitching, 'I must not let everyone down!'

"..." It was not the previously fixed relay Sawamura, but the second-year relay Kawakami who came on the field, which was beyond the expectations of coach Ukai.

However, he thought this would be an opportunity to take advantage of, 'Not every pitcher standing on the pitcher's mound is in great shape, and that's the scary thing about relief pitching.'

What's more, compared to the first-year pitcher, this pitcher has more information. "Listen carefully, even if the pitcher throws a tricky ball, he doesn't have the speed to hit the ball. He doesn't need to hit it long. Just attack the pitcher slowly."

"nice shot!"

For the first pitch, Kawakami threw a decent slider. Although it wasn't particularly good, it was good enough for the first pitch.

"Good throw, Kawakami!" Miyuki threw the ball back, squatted back on the pitcher's mound, and looked at the batter.

Taking advantage of Kawakami's good form, Miyuki quickly gave the signal for the next goal.

"The outside corner is low..." Kawakami nodded after confirming that the ball was a good one, and then he made a series of pitching postures smoothly.

What Qingdao didn't expect was that the batter suddenly lowered his body and assumed a batting stance the moment the ball left his hands.

After throwing the ball, Kawakami quickly ran down the pitcher's mound to defend, but the batter took the bat back and the baseball went into the glove.

"Bad ball!"

"He's using a disruptive tactic at this time..." Yuki frowned and looked at the old fox in the Xianquan rest area, "His goal is not just to score points, but to destroy the pitcher first..."

On the second pitch, the batter once again took a batting stance, but after seeing the path of the ball, he retracted the bat.

The number of balls suddenly became one good and two bad. Miyuki also became serious. The first out was very important to Kawakami, and it would directly affect his performance in the future. "We must not let this batter succeed. The pitch must be tricky..."

Next, Kawakami threw an extreme inside corner ball, which slipped past the batter's face at a tricky angle, making it impossible for the batter to hit the ball and getting two strikes.

"Kawakami! Great pitch!"

"Suppressed the hitter!"

'The opponent is about to make a move, use your best shot to defeat him!'

"A red ball!" The batter couldn't let go of such an easy pitch, so he swung the bat hard and hit the ball out. "It turned out to be a slider..."

"awesome!"

"Second baseman!"

The change in the ball made it impossible for the batter who was hitting the straight ball to hit the center of the ball. The high-flying ball now became the center of the court, and all eyes were focused on that ball.

'I will definitely be able to catch this ball...' Ryosuke was so confident as he rushed to catch the ball. However, when he used his ankle to accelerate, his brows furrowed, and the momentary pause allowed the ball to slip through his glove by a hair's breadth.

"Put it through!"

Seeing this, Kuramochi on second base also hurriedly chased after it, caught the ball in time before it rolled to the outfield, and turned around to pass it to first base.

"Safety on base!"

"Huh..." Coach Ukai in the rest area breathed a sigh of relief after being frightened. He was really scared when he hit the ball high. 'But now we have the initiative...'

"We actually let the first batter hit a hit. It couldn't be a worse start..." Miyuki wanted to call a timeout, but when he saw Kawakami's expression, he paused.

Maybe it was because of what I just said that it worked, maybe it was because I started warming up before the game and completely opened up my body, or maybe it was because I was in really good shape today.

Kawakami is in high spirits right now, and calling a timeout casually might disrupt his state.

Looking at the next second batter, Miyuki crouched back at home plate, "Anyway, get one out first, don't worry about the runner, and concentrate on the fight with the batter!"

The batter hit the first ball directly, and although the runner pushed him to the next base, Kawakami blocked the bunt in time and blocked the batter at first base.

"Kawakami! It's okay!"

"I can suppress it!"

"Hmm..." Kawakami calmly responded to the encouragement from his teammates and looked seriously at Miyuki at the home plate.

'The first ball, a high inside corner kick, the ball must be tricky.'

The runner who scored has entered the scoring circle, and the next to come is the center of the team. "Don't let your guard down!"

Kawakami secretly made up his mind, held his breath and threw the ball hard. The ball grazed the batter's face and slid past the inside corner, successfully forcing the batter to retreat and getting the first strike.

Then, Miyuki hit a low ball to the outside corner to lure the batter into hitting a bad ball, which went out of bounds, successfully creating a two-strike situation.

"As expected, there are no easy balls coming..." The third batter was already being chased, gritting his teeth in dismay, "We have the initiative in our hands now, how can we let it go so easily!"

'If I can get one more strike, I'll be able to take care of this batter...' This anxious thought took root in Kawakami's mind, and he subconsciously tightened his grip on the baseball.

"Bad ball!"

"Huh... I almost swung the bat..." The batter caught the ball in time and got a bad ball. He gripped the bat and got back into position, "Come on... It's an easy ball..."

Staring at the pitcher's pitch, the batter's eyes lit up and he swung the bat hard when the ball got close to home plate. With a loud bang, the baseball rushed straight to the pitcher's mound at a fast speed.

"!" Kawakami saw the baseball appear next to him in an instant, stretched out his gloves and jumped up to intercept it.

"Snapped!"

The sound of the ball hitting the glove was heard, but it was not the pleasant sound of the ball falling into the glove, but the sound of the ball hitting the edge of the glove.

“The ball hit the edge of the glove!”

Kuramochi and Ryosuke at the back were both shocked, quickened their pace, and rushed towards the ball eagerly.

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