Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

V6_Chapter 12: Mirage

“Just 9-square-grid? This is easy, Senpai!”

About six months ago, when Mukai Taiyou said this, Kengo Inui felt as if his brain had been struck by lightning.

At that moment, his entire worldview was turned upside down.

The boy named Mukai Taiyou was entirely different from the world he had known.

“The strike zone has a depth, it is not a wall!”

“Hee hee~”

At that time, Taiyou had playfully stuck out his tongue, but his words were quite frightening.

Kengo Inui quickly grasped what Mukai was trying to convey.

‘Yes, there is more than one strike zone.’

Because of the different perspectives—of the batter, the umpire, the catcher, and the pitcher—the strike zones do not perfectly overlap!

This is why sometimes an umpire’s call of “Strike” or “Ball” can leave a batter puzzled.

‘Some borderline pitches are difficult to judge accurately.’

Because the perspectives differ, the standards also vary. With differing standards, how can one rely on subjective guesses to determine Balls and Strikes?

The realization that Taiyou, a freshman in high school, could control his pitching to this extent was like a lightning bolt to Inui.

He originally thought this was the essence of ‘three-dimensional’ pitching.

But Taiyou’s perspective showed that what meant with 3D pitching was more than that.

“If you want to use this pitching style against average opponents, there’s no problem. But if I want to catch up to Narumiya-senpai and Sawamura-kun, relying solely on this kind of three-dimensional pitching might not be enough!”

Rivals compete with and push each other forward.

Due to the rivalry between Sawamura and Narumiya, many players of their generation have displayed extraordinary talent.

This is a chain reaction triggered by Sawamura Eijun’s influence.

For instance, Mukai has taken three-dimensional pitching to another level.

“If the strike zone perceived by the batter, umpire, catcher, and pitcher is different, can we use this to deceive the batter’s vision?”

When Mukai proposed this idea, Inui was tempted to take him to a mental hospital.

“It’s difficult!”

In the end, he could only politely advise against it.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s difficult, as long as it’s not impossible.”

Now, he had finally touched the threshold of this breakthrough.

‘During the summer games, there were noticeable flaws in the pitching, but now those flaws had diminished.’

‘Players with higher batting accuracy are more likely to be challenged by such pitches!’

‘Come on, 3D pitching, Mirage Ball!’

Whoosh!

The small white ball slashed through the air like a laser beam.

Shiratsu, standing in the strike zone, tightened his lips and waited until the ball was close before swinging his bat.

Ping!

The ball soared high after being hit.

Damn!

Shiratsu was frustrated.

He had been confident about his swing this time but didn’t expect this outcome.

‘Was the swing too low?’

Without much thought, he saw the white ball land in the mitt of the Teito outfielder.

Snap!

“OUT!”

But it’s not over yet!

‘The ball landed almost 55 meters from home plate.’(60 yards)

In high school powerhouse teams, this distance is not typically enough for a direct steal of home plate.

The distance was too short, and the throw was completed in just over a second. At this range, the probability of error is low.

A reckless steal would merely give the opponent a free extra Out.

But now, it was different. Although the raindrops falling from the sky were small,

‘It was still raining!!’

The players’ hands were somewhat damp, and the rain and reduced visibility made a significant impact!

‘There’s a chance!’

With two Outs, if they don’t seize this opportunity, they’ll have to wait for Toujou to face the opponent.

In that case, the probability of scoring would be lower.

After weighing the pros and cons, Miyuki dashed forward.

“BACK HOME PLATE!!!”

Teito High School’s players were clearly prepared.

From over 55 meters away, and in the rain.

The white ball still flew like a beam of light, crossing the distance and landing in the catcher’s mitt.

At this point, Miyuki was already approaching the home plate.

Seeing Kengo catch the ball, Miyuki had a bad premonition.

He was running at full speed and had no time to return to third base!

He could only grit his teeth and keep going.

The Teito High School catcher responded quickly.

Seeing Miyuki sliding into the base, he directly tagged Miyuki’s body with his Mitt.

Snap!

At that moment, the rain seemed to intensify, obscuring everyone’s view of the field.

When everything settled, Miyuki’s hand was firmly on the plate.

On his back was Kengo’s Mitt.

“OUT!”

The umpire, after consulting with the other two umpires, made the final call.

Home plate touch: Out!

This inning, Seidou High School’s offense was sharp and dangerous.

But ultimately, they failed to break through Teito High School’s ironclad defense and had to accept the result.

Three Outs, offense and defense exchanged!

Such an intense confrontation left the spectators dazzled.

The game quickly moved into the third inning.

In the top half of the third inning, Teito High School attacked.

After two innings of probing each other’s strengths, the teams had a clearer understanding of their opponents.

Sawamura began to consciously manage his physical effort.

To be honest, the persistent rain was quite irritating.

Even with anti-slip powder on his hands, it wasn’t entirely effective.

In frustration, Eijun decided to minimize his pitch count.

He began using more Moving balls, relying on the defense to secure Outs.

“OUT!”

Ping!

“OUT!”

Teito High School’s eighth batter was straightforward. Seeing Sawamura’s pitch position, he swung at the first pitch.

The ninth batter, Mukai, was more cunning, waiting until Sawamura’s second pitch to swing.

But the result was the same: one batter hit a high fly, the other an infield rebound, and both were Out.

The third batter in this inning was the first in the lineup, Kajiyama, who had hit against Sawamura in the first inning.

Although his previous hit had been somewhat fortunate, it was still a hit, and he had managed to hit Sawamura’s pitch before.

“Now I’ll take care of you!”

“STRIKE!”

“STRIKE!!”

“STRIKE BATTER OUT!!!”

Sawamura threw two breaking balls in a row, then used a Straight Fastball to Strike Out the batter.

Three Outs, offense and defense exchange.

“You are being too petty, idiot!”

This was Miyuki’s comment on the situation.

Too petty to be upset about a previous hit.

“On the field, I always settle scores.”

Sawamura was unfazed.

He would face the second baseman the same way.

What is lost on the field is regained on the field.

…