Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

V6_Chapter 32: Depth

“Only one last push remains before defeating the opponent.”

In the Seidou High School dugout, Sawamura, wearing a large mask, had complex emotions flashing in his eyes.

He was naturally pleased to see his team in a strong position to win. However, not playing left him feeling a bit regretful.

Originally, he was looking forward to playing against Ugumori, a team that, before Sawamura’s regression, had been a troubling opponent.

But now, it seemed that although Ugumori had some strength, with players like Umemiya Seiichi, Kondou Daiki, and Inubushi Kotaro, who were even as good as Seidou's main players, they didn't seem as formidable as Sawamura had imagined.

Perhaps it should be said that Miyuki, Haruichi, Shiratsu, and Kuramochi, who had experienced Koshien, were no longer at their previous level. Even those who hadn’t been to Koshien had trained harder.

Including Furuya, everyone was stronger than during that time before his regression. This created the huge contrast seen today.

Of course, this smooth progress was also thanks to Nabe-san's accurate scouting and Superintendent Kataoka’s effective strategy.

This comprehensive gap has resulted in the current situation.

‘Umemiya Seiichi, it’s a shame I won’t be able to face you in this game.’

The next opportunity would be in the Tokyo Spring Tournament next year. Sawamura believed that Umemiya and his team would definitely make a comeback.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Seidou's offense was still ongoing.

With one Out and a runner on second base, Asou advanced silently to third base. Kuramochi, eager to contribute, set up for a bunt.

Umemiya faced a significant crisis on the mound.

“These guys!”

As he watched the batter and runner, Umemiya felt like a cornered animal.

‘Seidou High School!’

‘The top elite school in the country, having just won the National Championship.’

‘It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they were the best team in high school.’

‘Playing against such an opponent was truly exhilarating!’

Umemiya’s face showed a wild smile.

‘If you have the skill, then hit!’

Whoosh!

A small white ball flew towards him.

Umemiya threw a straight ball!

At the same time, Ugumori’s infielders rushed forward, clearly wary of Kuramochi’s bunt and concerned about his speed.

On the strike zone, Kuramochi wore a fox-like smile.

‘I’m not just going to bunt!’

He retracted his bat and then swung again, using a fake bunt.

Ping!

The baseball struck cleanly, sailed past the advancing third baseman, and seemed headed for the outfield.

At that moment, Ugumori High School’s shortstop moved to cover the position.

‘I can’t..!’

Given his skills, catching such a sharp hit with his mitt was a challenge.

‘Then…!

Seeing he couldn’t stop the ball, he threw his whole body onto it, trapping it beneath him.

Though he couldn’t completely prevent Kuramochi and Asou from advancing, he managed to maintain Ugumori’s last line of defense and avoid further Runs.

With the ball secured by the shortstop, Asou hesitated to run home.

One Out and runners on first and third base, it was a prime opportunity for Seidou to completely defeat Ugumori.

For Ugumori, it was an unprecedented crisis.

In the words of Fujio in the stands:

“At this point, if Ugumori loses more runs unless Seidou suddenly collapses, Ugumori will likely have no chance.”

“Second batter, second baseman, Kominato-kun.”

Now, it was Haruichi Kominato’s turn to bat. His hitting skills were among the best at Seidou High School, making him one of their toughest batters.

“Haruichi, it’s up to you!”

“Go, Devil Brother!”

“Brother’s got this!”

Cheering voices filled the stands and the dugout, everyone eager to see Seidou High School deliver the final blow.

Immense pressure loomed over the pitcher’s mound, pressing on Umemiya.

‘I can’t afford to lose any more runs!’

Umemiya knew well that the gap between them and Seidou High School was vast. They could manage one or two surprise plays, but no more.

If the gap was within three points, a few surprise plays could overturn the result.

But if it exceeded three points, even with a couple of chances, it might not be effective.

To win, he couldn’t afford to lose another run.

He glanced with intense eyes at Ugumori’s dugout.

Seidou High School had thoroughly studied his pitching. Relying solely on fighting spirit was insufficient against their monstrous batters.

To Seidou’s players, he probably seemed like a third-rate pitcher. In this situation, they could easily use their strengths, and even the lower-order batters could easily hit his pitches…

‘I need stronger weapons now.’

Initially, they planned to use this new weapon to face Sawamura Eijun after he appeared.

Sawamura’s appearance would bring significant momentum to Seidou, and that’s when his new breaking ball would shine.

‘But now, it seemed I couldn’t wait for that time.’

Looking towards his own dugout, he sought Matsubara Nao’s opinion.

“We have no way out!”

In his wheelchair, Matsubara Nao nodded firmly.

At this point, they had no choice but to reveal all their remaining cards.

If people knew that Ugumori High School was playing against Seidou High School and that Umemiya was still holding back his strength against these national-level batters, they would be utterly astonished.

They'd point at Umemiya’s head and say: “Are you out of your mind?”

“Who do you think your opponents are? How dare you play with fire like that?”

However, in baseball, one advantage of dark horse teams is that they can hold back their best cards and then surprise their opponents.

Just like Ugumori High School, when they realized that Seidou would likely save Sawamura’s strength for the next game, they devised a very detailed strategy. Keeping Umemiya’s unutilized breaking balls was part of this plan.

A trump card must be used at the most critical moment to achieve the greatest effect.

Earlier, when facing Miyuki Kazuya, Umemiya hesitated whether to use it at that time. The game had just begun, and they were barely one-third through, with a score of 3-2 in their favor. After some hesitation, Umemiya decided to save it.

Given the current pace of the game, he would need to face Seidou’s batters at least four or even five more times. Using his trump card too early was risky. He planned to hold it back for at least one more round, ideally until the third lineup round, or until Seidou managed to take the lead and Sawamura Eijun came to bat. That way, he could throw his card at once.

Umemiya never doubted that they would eventually overtake the lead in this game. But now, with the situation at this critical point, he had been pushed into a corner. Reluctantly, he had no choice but to use all his trump cards early.

If he didn’t use them now, he might not have the chance later. The gap would only widen.

‘Feel honored, you little brat. This is a special pitch prepared by your Uncle Umemiya-sama just for Sawamura Eijun.’

Umemiya took his stance and pitched.

Whoosh!

The white ball whizzed through the air.

The speed difference between Umemiya’s Straight ball and Curveball was substantial.

Kominato Haruichi could clearly distinguish between them.

When he saw the pitch, Kominato Haruichi was jolted.

‘A Straight ball!’

‘Then let’s finish this!’

He made this judgment because the speed of the ball was clearly not the slow curveball he had faced before.

Kominato stepped forward confidently, swinging his bat as if his bat were an extension of his arm, aiming to hit the incoming ball.

He was sure he could make contact and had even imagined this scenario in his mind.

Paak!

‘What?’

When the baseball was hit, an expression of astonishment appeared on Haruichi’s face.

What he had thought was a 100% Straight ball had actually Curved!

Caught off guard by the sudden change, Kominato could only watch as the ball flew weakly forward and finally dropped.

Snap!

The baseball bounced and landed precisely in Umemiya’s glove. He laughed and quickly passed the ball to second base.

There, the shortstop of Ugumori High School was ready and threw the ball to first base.

“OUT!”

“OUT!!”

One Out and the huge crisis with runners on first and third base was smoothly averted by Ugumori High School.

A sigh of disappointment went through the audience.

Although Kominato’s failure to hit was surprising, baseball is full of unexpected outcomes—everyone makes mistakes.

No batter is perfect, and no player is mistake-free on the field.

Fans were disappointed that Kominato couldn’t continue scoring, but they didn’t specifically blame him.

Seidou High School’s players, however, couldn’t ignore it.

Kominato’s failure to hit was shocking for Seidou High School’s players.

“What’s going on?” Miyuki asked, frowning.

He didn’t think it was just a mistake. If not, it was a more serious issue.

Since he couldn’t see everything from a distance, he sought the opinion of Kominato Haruichi, who had seen the pitch up close.

“It was probably a breaking ball. I couldn’t see the exact path, but the ball that was supposed to be outside moved to the center, so it was likely a Slider or something similar.”

Miyuki wasn’t completely satisfied with this answer but recognized that Kominato’s ability to detect so much from a single pitch was impressive.

“I didn’t expect the opponent to still have such a strong breaking ball!” Kuramochi was thoughtful.

“High school baseball is like this. There’s no turning back. Everyone is fighting silently, seeking a breakthrough opportunity. From the moment we won the national title, we became the target for every team.”

“There’s no need to be overly worried about the opponent. After all, we’re leading by three runs. With five innings left, as long as we maintain this lead, we will win.” Sawamura, wearing a big mask, said in a muffled voice.

Fortunately, they were ahead by three runs. As long as they don’t fall behind by three or more runs, they won’t lose.

Seidou’s task now was to maintain their lead and gradually study Umemiya’s newly used breaking ball.

For Ugumori’s players, showing this breaking ball in advance would be very challenging.

Even if they miraculously defeated Seidou, they would struggle against Inajitsu’s relentless offense with all their cards exposed.

Ugumori High School’s current strength is as it stands.

They have a chance to disrupt one or two giants.

But for a team to advance to the end, they still lack the needed depth.

…

T/N: Seidou is trying to say that they are not a pushover!

But, is Ugumori a pushover?

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