Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

V6_Chapter 34: Meticulous

In the top of the seventh inning, Ugumori began their attack.

The ninth batter from Ugumori was now up.

“STRIKE!”

“STRIKE!”

“STRIKE! BATTER OUT!”

Up to the seventh inning, Furuya’s pitching was still very powerful.

In fact, his pitch count had already exceeded 100. Despite not being hit successfully by Ugumori’s players after the first inning, they forced him to throw a lot of balls.

At this point, Furuya’s breathing was uneven.

In the dugout, Coach Kataoka had ordered Kawakami to prepare, indicating that Furuya would be replaced out after this inning.

Though Furuya had allowed three runs at the beginning, he had performed admirably since then. Ugumori’s offense, which is known for its unique style, had put significant pressure on Seidou’s defense.

Aside from the runs given up in the first inning, Furuya had kept Ugumori well in check.

What satisfied Coach Kataoka the most was that Ugumori’s players had made many base hits and stolen more bases...

Furuya had previously struggled with nerves when runners were on base, but today, he seemed to have overcome this weakness. Even with runners on base, Furuya performed well.

Originally, Coach Kataoka intended to replace Furuya after five or six innings, but his excellent performance made him reconsider. Kataoka decided to let him pitch through the seventh inning, believing Furuya could still deliver.

Everything seemed perfect, but then an unexpected twist occurred.

Kondou Daiki was up to bat.

He was Furuya’s biggest challenge in this game, having already scored one-third of the hits Furuya had allowed.

The current situation was one Out and no one on base.

Miyuki saw this as a chance for Furuya to exact revenge.

‘Let’s go! With just two Outs left, use your pitching to suppress the opponent.’

Miyuki, like a coach urging his player, pushed Furuya to give his best.

On the mound, Furuya struck out two batters, raised the ball high, and prepared for his pitch.

He gripped the ball between his middle and index fingers, ready to deliver a forkball.

Against Kondou Daiki, Furuya planned to use his forkball, confident he could secure three strikes before throwing four balls.

Ugumori’s strategy had not changed; they completely avoided swinging at low balls, so they would not hit the forkball.

With this in mind, Furuya pitched.

Roarr!

The white ball whizzed through the air.

Even after over 100 pitches, Furuya’s pitching still had considerable power.

At the plate, Kondou stared intently at the ball.

‘It was slow!’

Although the pitch’s momentum seemed undiminished, Furuya’s speed had indeed dropped. According to Matsubara Nao, if nothing changed, Furuya would be replaced after this inning. If they couldn’t defeat Furuya now, all their efforts would be in vain.

‘There was only one chance to make it count.’

Though he seemed unremarkable, Kondou had his own dream:

‘To lead Nao-chan to Koshien.’

He had to make it happen!

With intense focus, Kondou watched the incoming ball, and with a decisive swing, he hit it.

Ping!

The ball flew away after being struck.

A glimmer of triumph flashed in Kondou’s eyes.

‘I did it!’

Just as he had hoped, Furuya’s pitch power had declined.

After over 100 pitches, The Monster was finally tired, and his pitching was not as strong as it had been.

Kondou skillfully hit the ball past the first baseman, Maezono. Unlike previous struggles, this was a genuine, solid hit, and it was a long one.

Taking advantage of the hit, Kondou sprinted to second base.

One Out, runner on second base.

The sudden turn of events caught Seidou’s players off guard.

In Seidou’s dugout, Coach Kataoka’s expression darkened.

He had just instructed Furuya to finish this inning, but now it looked like he might have made a mistake.

With a foreboding feeling, Kataoka glanced at Sawamura, who was sitting in the dugout.

Sawamura, wearing a mask, had started warming up at some point.

Seeing Kataoka’s gaze, Sawamura nodded.

“I’m ready. I can go in anytime.”

Kataoka sighed with relief.

Although Sawamura was ready, Kataoka chose not to replace Furuya immediately, wanting to see what more Ugumori might have in store.

Now, Ugumori’s batter was up for their second turn.

‘Ignore the runners. Focus on the batter.’

To prevent Furuya from being distracted, Miyuki signaled him to concentrate solely on pitching.

With Kondou’s earlier steals, Miyuki was particularly attentive to Kondou’s movements this time.

If Kondou tried to steal now, Miyuki would make sure it didn’t succeed.

Observing Kondou closely, Miyuki noticed that Kondou was unusually far from the base.

‘This far?’

Miyuki frowned and signaled Furuya to throw a pick-off attempt.

The purpose of the pick-off wasn’t necessarily to catch Kondou but to prevent him from straying too far from the base.

‘Kondou’s distance from the base was dangerously far.’

‘This had to be stopped!’

Furuya’s pick-off attempt didn’t solve Kondou.

As he was ordered, Furuya threw the ball to second base.

His throw was incredibly fast; even the pick-off attempt was startlingly swift. The baseball zoomed to second base with almost no time for anyone to react.

As Kuramochi was about to receive the ball back, Kondou moved with the agility of an eel, making it seem like he could predict the play before it happened.

He leaped a step early and made a swift return to second base, giving Kuramochi no chance to tag him Out.

SNAP!

“SAFE!”

‘So fast!’

Miyuki frowned at Kondou's remarkable speed.

Miyuki wasn’t surprised that Kondou was safe. If Furuya had indeed managed to tag Kondou Out, Miyuki would have been more astonished. The result was perfectly normal.

‘However, the process seemed a bit off.’

Was Kondou’s return speed to second base really that fast?

‘How could he return so quickly from such a distance?’

‘The only reasonable explanation was that the opponent wasn’t aiming for third base at all but was focused on second base.’

In other words, Kondou Daiki's ability to move so far from the base and still return swiftly was because he had been focusing on second base from the start, never considering stealing third base.

‘I see now!’

Understanding the plan of Ugumori, Miyuki remained outwardly calm, waiting to see how things would unfold.

Even though Kondou was now farther from second base than before, Miyuki didn’t pay much attention. He had already concluded that Kondou wouldn’t attempt to steal bases, or rather, couldn’t steal bases.

‘With such a distance from the base, if Kondou hadn’t adjusted his body weight toward second base, he would have had a hard time avoiding an Out.’

The opponent's clear intention was to disrupt Seidou’s pitcher and force him into mistakes.

From Miyuki’s perspective, this was a natural conclusion based on the information and intelligence he had gathered.

So, before Furuya pitched again, Miyuki did not ask Furuya to attempt another pick-off.

As Furuya prepared to pitch, Kondou, having moved far from second base, suddenly sprinted toward third base.

Miyuki, at the catcher’s position, was taken aback.

‘What?’

How could Ugumori High School’s leadoff batter steal a base at this moment? Miyuki’s normally sharp mind momentarily short-circuited. He couldn’t understand how the plan had changed.

Of course, now was not the time for contemplation. Despite his brief shock, Miyuki acted quickly. No matter how the opponent was playing, their only task now was to stop them.

After catching the ball, Miyuki threw it to third base.

Throwing to third base, which is closer than second base, saved 0.3 seconds of time.

Given Kondou’s previous difficulty in stealing second base, stealing third base seemed even less feasible.

But the surprising part was that the few extra meters Kondou had run earlier perfectly compensated for this time gap.

Snap!

By the time Kanemaru caught the ball, Kondou Daiki had already reached third base. Kanemaru turned, and Kondou slid in, evading the Kanemaru’s mitt.

“SAFE!”

Kondou successfully stole third base.

The situation was now one Out with a runner on third base!

“Ugumori!”

“Oh!!!!”

“Great steal, Dai-chan!!!”

The seemingly reckless steal of third base greatly boosted Ugumori’s morale.

Their players were elated as if they had already won the game.

In Ugumori’s dugout, Matsubara Nao, sitting in a wheelchair, had a glint in his eyes.

The strategy they had set was finally showing results.

‘Now, it remained to be seen how this would impact Seidou.’

Back at the catcher’s position.

After Kondou reached third base, Miyuki pieced everything together.

‘The reason Kondou returned to second base so quickly the first time was that he had always been targeting second base.’

‘He knew that if he moved far from the base, a pick-off attempt was inevitable.’

‘So, targeting second base from the start made perfect sense.’

‘For the second attempt, he was targeting third base!’

‘In that case, if Furuya had thrown another pick-off attempt, Kondou might have been Out.’

Targeting third base, he couldn’t return to second base as quickly.

‘It was a trick!’

Miyuki was tricked because he was smart and confident.

He assumed that if Ugumori’s runner was not targeting second base from the start, moving so far away from the base would lead to different actions.

‘A player betting on luck would act differently from one trying to distract the pitcher.’

But Miyuki’s overconfidence led him to be caught off guard by Ugumori’s seemingly reckless actions.

‘In hindsight, Ugumori players were indeed capable of such plays.’

‘Hadn’t they stolen bases this way before?’

‘Very aggressive, almost reckless.’

Miyuki didn’t feel frustrated; he knew frustration wouldn’t solve any problems. Reflection could wait until after the game. The current issue was how to handle the immediate crisis.

‘There was a runner on third base!’

‘The pitcher’s stamina was nearly depleted.’

‘Was it time for a change?’

Miyuki considered and looked toward the dugout.

‘Changing to Sawamura, considering the upcoming match with Inajitsu, seemed less ideal.’

‘Switching to Kawakami, facing a crisis with a runner on third from the start, might also be problematic. If he couldn’t stop the opponent, his performance could collapse, giving Ugumori an opportunity.’

In the dugout, Coach Kataoka decisively signaled Miyuki.

‘Don’t retreat; focus on the batter.’

Even if the runner at third scored a point, the most important task was to secure three Outs as soon as possible.

‘Retreat to advance!’

It might seem weak, but it was actually a strong strategy.

Coach Kataoka used this move to convey a message to both teams.

As Miyuki received the ball, the fielders did not advance.

Ugumori’s next move began!

Ping!

Their second batter executed a bunt.

Kondou dashed toward home plate the moment Furuya pitched.

Ugumori employed a forced scoring tactic!

Even trailing by three runs, Ugumori remained very proactive.

Unlike their previous unplanned actions, their offense was now organized.

‘Use outs to score a point first.’

“SAFE!”

Kondou Daiki reached home plate, and the score changed to 6-4.

Seidou’s lead was now just two runs.

Yet their momentum remained strong, and the huge storm initially stirred by Ugumori had noticeably calmed.

…