Diamond Ace: Another Story of Sawamura

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"Chris! Miyuki!"

After the meeting, Danbo stopped the two starting catchers and asked them, "We are going to have a meeting later, can you come with us?"

"Tamba-senpai took the initiative..." Miyuki was a little surprised by this, after all, Tamba-senpai rarely took the initiative like this.

"Okay..." Chris was also happy to hear that, but then he said something heartbreaking, "After all, the two pitchers missed three points today, and we were just planning to hold a self-reflection meeting..."

"..." Danbo was silent. He seemed to have imagined that he would hear even more heartbreaking words later...

"Yes!" Kawakami, who was still naive, didn't think too much and responded excitedly.

"Eijun and Furuya, come on, too!"

After being called out, Furuya immediately turned on the gas stove and expressed his dissatisfaction, "I didn't pitch today..."

"Yes..." Eijun hesitated and responded, his mind was similar to that of Furuya, 'Why should I also participate in the reflection meeting...'

"Oh! Are there more paper cranes?" Isashiki saw the large string of colorful paper cranes brought by the manager and came over in surprise.

“This is from the band.”

Fujiwara Takako smiled and explained the origin of these paper cranes. After all, for the contestants, this was a token of their expectations.

"Then we should go take a rest as well."

"Ah! Managers!" When the four managers were about to leave, Isashiki called them, "There are only two days left, please! We will also fight hard!"

"Isashiki-kun..." The four managers were moved after hearing this, especially Takako Fujiwara, who witnessed the growth and hard work of this third-year class, and was even more moved.

"A-Chun, how come there are only two days left?" Yuki on the side was very confused after hearing this, and didn't understand what Isashiki meant at all, "We still have to..."

"Stop talking nonsense! I mean the current situation!" Isashiki couldn't help but interrupt Zhe in anger. He really didn't know whether to say that this captain was natural or dull.

"Actually, you should be the one saying this! But you don't like to talk, so I'm saying it for you!"

Yuuki was silent for a moment after hearing what he said, "...I'm sorry."

But in fact, he was quite used to letting the deputy captain do the socializing.

"Hehehe..." After seeing this, the managers were all amused by the worried vice-captain and the natural captain.

In the cafeteria where only a few people were left, Kuramochi was still clenching his fists in excitement because of the captain's words, and was full of energy to prepare for a big fight, "Hehe... I must show off!"

"Ah... Senior Liang, wait a minute..."

Noticing Ryosuke was about to leave, Kuramochi wanted to ask him to stay and practice defense together, but when he saw Ryosuke walking with the help of the table, he was stunned.

Today, Sawamura gave his lollipop to Ryo-senpai for the first time. Is there a reason for this?

"That shouldn't be possible..."

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That same night, while Qingdao was researching Inami, Inami was also gathering in the dormitory meeting room because they were doing the same thing.

"Hoo~ I'm so sleepy... Can I go to bed now?"

As early as eight o'clock, Cheng Gong was already so sleepy that he was yawning. He crossed his legs and folded his arms, and he was about to fall asleep.

"If you have memorized the characteristics of Qingdao batters, you can go to sleep." Harada was used to Ming's lazy look, but he still frowned when facing such a guy.

"In these three games, they averaged 7.7 runs. Their hitters are already at a national level, which is different from their previous opponents."

"...Humph!" Ming changed his arms from being crossed to holding his head with both hands, and said proudly: "It's most appropriate to treat this game as a preparation for Koshien!"

"Your lax attitude..."

"The first batter, Kuramochi, has very fast feet, so we must be careful of him. As long as we don't let him get on base, there's nothing to be afraid of. The scary thing is the second batter, Kominato-senpai, who can handle any kind of bat."

When Harada was about to explode, Ming interrupted his anger and pointed out the characteristics of Qingdao batters one by one.

"The third batter, Isashiki-senpai, often hits the first pitch, even if it's not a very bad pitch... The fifth batter, Masuko-senpai, is good at hitting straight balls, so Kazuya has to be careful when he hits when he has a chance to score..."

"But the one we need to be most wary of is... the captain of the fourth batter, Senior Zhe..." Ming's expression became serious when he mentioned Zhe, "He got a perfect hit from me last year. As long as we can completely suppress him, our momentum will be stronger..."

"Is there anything else you need to know?"

"..." Looking at Ming who was smiling smugly in front of him, Harada finally gave in reluctantly, "Forget it... I think I'll go get a massage before going to bed."

"understood."

"..." After watching Ming until the door closed, several intelligence officers in the room exclaimed in surprise: "When did Ming start observing Qingdao's hitters? He has completely mastered the characteristics."

"He is only interested in the batters he wants to deal with..." Hearing what his teammates said, Harada lowered his head and looked through the information, "So he thinks everything else is my job."

"You've worked so hard..."

"I'm used to it!" Being pitied like this made Harada even angrier, 'But he was willing to find a way to understand my pitching... He wouldn't have done that last year...'

Over in Supervisor Inami's office, Supervisor Kunitomo and baseball club captain Hayashida Masayoshi were also preparing for the final.

Looking at the Ace of Seidou who was pitching in good form on the screen, Director Hayashida guessed: "Will Tamba be the starting pitcher the day after tomorrow..."

"I don't know..." Coach Kunitomo sat on the sofa, unable to give a definite answer to the speculation of Minister Hayashida behind him, "Sometimes he throws a straight ball that's easy to hit. What would Coach Kataoka think of this kind of ball control ability?"

But after that hit ball, he was still able to perform like this...

Moreover, in the match against Xianquan, the relays of the two senior pitchers were remarkable, which shows that their mentality has improved a lot compared to before.

And...the first-year pitcher is also of concern...

"I think they will adopt a pitching rotation..." At least this is how Seidou has played several games so far. Minister Hayashida believes that there is a high possibility that Seidou will use this tactic.

"To put it nicely, we have enough available pitchers..." Coach Kunitomo disagreed. Having enough pitchers does not mean you have an advantage. "To put it bluntly, we lack pitchers who can control the game at critical moments!"

“We have to beat the opposing pitcher first.”

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April 7

The day before the final, Fujio Mine and Yamato from the baseball kingdom arrived early at the Inashiro Industrial Baseball Stadium in Hachioji, Tokyo.

"Wow..." Yamato didn't expect that there would be so many people just because he was a little late. "Because the finals are coming soon, there are many spectators and reporters... It's worthy of being a traditional and prestigious school."

While being amazed, Yamato didn't hear any response. He turned around and found that Fujio Mine was acting strangely, and couldn't help wondering, "What's wrong?"

"..." After a moment of silence, Fujio Mine motioned for Yamato to look at the batting cage, "Look at the free-hitting pitcher."

"Huh?" Yamato looked over as Fujio said, but he only saw ordinary pitching and hitting practice and didn't make out anything.

"They asked the fastball pitcher to stand one meter forward and throw the ball..." Fujio helplessly pointed out the problem he mentioned to Yamatoda, "The one next to him is a right-handed pitcher who throws sideways, and there is also a left-handed pitcher with a weird pitching posture, and the pitching machine is set to throw a curveball with a big drop."

"!" Yamato reacted after hearing this and was very surprised, "Aren't these the four pitchers from Qingdao?"

"This is an exercise that only Inami, who has many players, can do, but it can be assumed that they have already thought of a countermeasure for when these four pitchers from Seidou use a switching strategy."

"And this year, the players of Inami are all masters with unique personalities..." Fujio said while looking at the players who were practicing hitting.

Center fielder Carlos, the leadoff hitter who disrupts opponents with his cunning hitting and base running...

The second batter who can do well in both hit-and-run tactics and bunt, shortstop Shirakawa...

The third batter who can create opportunities with his sharp swing, third baseman Yoshizawa...

The fourth and fifth batters were Inami's golden duo of pitcher and catcher - captain Harada and ace pitcher Narimiya...

The sixth batter is Yamaoka who can hit long hits...

The seventh batter is Hirai, who has very skillful batting skills...

"Whether Seidou's pitchers can suppress such a strong batting line-up will probably be under a lot of pressure..." Yamato could also tell from the audience's enthusiasm that these people were really highly anticipated.

'No... the batter will also be under the same pressure...' Fujio's thoughts were different, 'If you can't score, you can't win the baseball game...'

Afterwards, between Narimiya who was surrounded by reporters and Director Kunitomo who was alone, Fujio chose to go to Director Kunitomo's side.

"Coach Kunitomo..." After a polite greeting, Fujio Mine got straight to the point and said the question that he had been concerned about for a long time, "Narimiya is now known as the No. 1 pitcher in Kanto..."

"But there was a period of time last fall when he didn't pitch because he was not in good condition, right?"

"Is it because of the defeat in Koshien?"

Last summer, the first-year pitcher began to become known nationwide after his excellent performance as a reliever in both the first and second rounds.

But in the third round, in the top of the eighth inning, with the score tied at 2-2 and one out on third base, knowing that the opponent would use a run-stealing tactic, he threw a big pitch...

As a result, that ball became the decisive point, and Dao Shi was eliminated in the third round.

I ended the summer of my seniors... It is said that after the game, Narimiya kept crying secretly...

"..." Coach Kunitomo was silent for a moment in response to Fujio's straightforward question. "After the Koshien competition, he did get into trouble because of his pitching posture, but Iguchi obviously grew during that time."

"Most importantly, that game also made the first-grade students who were becoming more and more proud...understand the horror of baseball."

"!" Fujio and Yamato were both shocked by Director Kunitomo's bland tone.

For him, the biggest gain from that game was letting Narimiya understand the horror of baseball.

"From this perspective, I think it was a very good experience." Coach Kunitomo gave his final summary and then fell silent.

"Experience..." Thinking of the previous interview with Director Kunitomo, Fujio was very impressed.

'There is no other stage that can help players grow better than that place... If possible, I hope to bring players to Koshien every year...'

During the ten years since he took office as head coach of Daocheng Industry, he entered Koshien a total of fourteen times in spring and summer.

The school hired a professional head coach to make the baseball club stronger... Kunitomo Hiroshige.

The players are led by a head coach with proven track records, and the head coach is more interested in the players' growth than anyone else...

When Fujio finished the interview and left with Yamato, he looked back at Inami's court.

'It's only natural that we play in Koshien.'

This high consciousness and glory is deeply rooted in the entire team.

For Seidou, who is trying to enter Koshien after six years, this year will definitely be another huge obstacle...

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