Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

V6_Chapter 51: Slider

With a clear goal, Miyuki raised his bat high and stared at Narumiya on the mound, waiting for him to pitch.

Without making Miyuki wait long, the ball came flying.

Roaar!

The pitch was very fast. By the time Miyuki reacted, the ball was already close.

‘Here it comes!’

‘It’s now!’

Miyuki calculated the timing of his swing in his mind.

He felt it was time and swung the bat with precision, aiming directly at the incoming baseball.

As the bat was about to make contact with the ball, the white ball suddenly dropped.

‘This is!’

Miyuki’s mind rang alarm bells.

He realized he had been deceived.

The pitch wasn’t a regular Straight ball but a Forkball.

‘The ball is too fast!’

It didn’t give Miyuki any time to react as it zipped into Tadano’s Mitt.

SNAP!

The loud sound of the ball entering the Mitt startled Miyuki momentarily.

For some reason, his mind wandered at this moment, essentially daydreaming.

‘Didn’t they mention before that there were many flaws in Tadano and Narumiya’s coordination?’

‘Why can’t I see them now!’

If Tadano can catch this kind of breaking ball, it’s hard for Miyuki to imagine any ball Tadano can’t catch.

On the mound, Narumiya wore a triumphant smile.

He believed everything was under his control.

Yet he didn’t know that the previous two pitches had already provided Miyuki with crucial information.

‘The pitch calling is led by Mei.’

‘Even if it’s not Mei’s own signal, the pitch is designed to leverage Mei’s strengths.’

‘The first pitch was a sharp inside corner ball, used efficiently without wasting balls on probing!’

The second pitch was a Forkball, a pitch aimed to secure Strikes.’

‘Now with two Strikes, what will they do next?’

‘If Tadano were leading the pitching, he would likely throw a Ball to deceive the batter into swinging.’

In a two-strike count, using a ball to trick the batter into swinging is a common strategy.

Even Miyuki, if his partner isn’t Sawamura, would have to do this.

‘Sawamura’s case is special. Too many Balls would disrupt his rhythm; he performs better against opponents in the strike zone.’

This applies to a Tadano-led strategy.

‘But if Mei is leading the pitching, the situation is quite different. He would disdain using a Ball now.’

‘If it’s Mei, he would surely use the batter’s eagerness to swing to throw a fishing pitch.’

‘The pitch would be on the low outside corner!’

‘After two inside corner pitches, a tempting outside corner pitch follows. How could the batter resist swinging?’

But the inside corner pitches should still linger in the batter’s mind.

‘The sudden appearance of an outside corner pitch is difficult to hit, especially with Mei likely throwing an…’

‘Outside Slider!!’

‘Caught off guard, the ball should turn into a grounder.’

‘Makes sense.’

Miyuki had envisioned everything.

And Narumiya didn’t disappoint, delivering an outside Slider.

‘Exactly as expected!’

A satisfied smile appeared on Miyuki’s face.

Although he hadn’t considered this before, if he and Narumiya really teamed up, they might get along well.

Ping!

The white ball was hit and flew forward.

Miyuki ran to first base without stopping.

“SAFE!”

The hit ball fell into the defense’s gap. Although Inajitsu’s players responded quickly, they couldn’t stop Miyuki.

No Outs, runner on first base!

Captain Miyuki Kazuya now showcased the power of his cleanup hitter.

“Miyuki!”

“Nice Batting!”

“Well done!!”

This moment greatly boosted the confidence of the Seidou High School players. They realized that Narumiya Mei was not invincible. Even without the protection of the third-year seniors, they still had Sawamura and Miyuki.

We can win!

We can do it!

Although there were some setbacks in this game, possibly more than in any previous one, they were confident they would win in the end.

At this moment, the Seidou High School players regained their previous confidence, believing that with hard work, they would surely find an opportunity to defeat Inashiro and Narumiya.

Although they couldn’t pinpoint exactly when this opportunity would come, it did not affect their confidence in the slightest.

Not only did the players feel this way, but the audience in the stands was also highly energized. Since Seidou High School had previously claimed the national title, it was a point of pride for the Tokyo supporters.

Even though the crowd supported both Inashiro and Seidou, most still hoped for Seidou to excel.

The audience didn’t hesitate to give their applause and cheers.

They stood up for Seidou High School and also for Miyuki.

“Miyuki!”

“Miyuki!!!”

In the cheers, the players of Inajitsu looked like villains instead.

“When did the players of Seidou become so popular?”

Shirakawa said in dissatisfaction.

“Only right now can I feel that we are facing a real behemoth!”

In the outfield position, Carlos’ eyes also glowed.

“Humph!”

Yamaoka, who was at the first base, hmphed loudly.

Represented by them, everyone in Inajitsu has not been greatly affected.

In those days before, they had gone through too much and experienced the lowest ebb.

At that time, no one on the team could catch Narumiya’s pitch!

What makes people most desperate is not when you are not as strong as your opponent and you are brutally abused by the opponent, but when you are not even qualified to compete.

At that time, Inashiro was in such a low state.

If before the start of the Fall Tournament, there is no catcher in the team who can stably catch Narumiya’s pitch, then Inashiro will definitely be disqualified. Even if they can participate, the final result must be a disastrous defeat.

This is the truth!

The Inajitsu players who have gone through that painful period especially cherish the opportunity that they can now participate in the competition. In the past two months, they have climbed back from hell.

At this moment, they will not be afraid of any challenge.

The following facts also proved this.

Seeing Miyuki’s outstanding performance and with no Outs and a player on base, Seidou seized the opportunity. Coach Kataoka personally directed the tactics.

He first instructed Maezono to let the first pitch go and then told Miyuki to stay put for the first pitch.

After falling behind by a strike, Coach Kataoka anticipated that Narumiya would try to increase the strike count. During the early part of the game, there was a high probability that Narumiya would use his Forkball to achieve this.

Coach Kataoka wanted Maezono to anticipate this type of pitch. The Forkball’s rapid sinking characteristic made it hard to hit well and often resulted in a grounder.

Even if Maezono were out, it would not be a significant loss. Coach Kataoka also had Miyuki ready to steal bases from the start of the second pitch, employing a standard hit-and-run tactic.

Although this tactic carried some risk, the potential rewards outweighed it. In the worst case, even if Maezono were out, Miyuki would likely advance to second base, and from there, he could easily score if given a chance.

Ideally, Maezono would hit the pitch accurately, allowing Miyuki, who had started early, to possibly make it to third base, and with a bit of luck, even score a run to tie the game.

The players on the field considered this tactic very effective. Miyuki did not see any issues and prepared to follow Coach Kataoka's plan.

As Narumiya wound up to pitch, Miyuki took off from first base, sprinting towards second base.

‘He stole the base!’

This scene startled Tadano, the catcher, who hurriedly tried to find a chance to tag out Miyuki.

Unfortunately for Tadano, the Seidou High School players did not intend to give him this opportunity.

Maezono looked at the incoming pitch and swung without hesitation. Originally, he aimed at a location just below the straight ball, but as he swung, an ominous premonition suddenly arose in his mind.

‘What if the pitch was a straight ball?’

This thought grew like an invasive weed, overwhelming Maezono’s mind. He knew he shouldn’t analyze it at this moment, but he couldn’t suppress the thought.

Just before the bat made contact, Maezono inevitably raised his swing.

Ping!

The ball struck the lower part of the bat and immediately bounced onto the mound.

From the catcher’s position, Tadano leaped up, excitedly shouting, “Throw to second base!”

At this moment, Shirakawa, who had positioned himself at second base, received the ball and quickly threw it to first base.

“OUT!”

“OUT!!!”

…