Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

V6_Chapter 63: The Prepared

“Who is he?”

Coach Kunitomo frowned and asked the club president next to him.

Unlike Ota, the president of Seidou’s baseball team, the head of Inajitsu’s baseball team was heavily involved in gathering intelligence.

The president scratched his head and hesitated, saying, “Seki Naomichi! He has no official game experience. According to the practice game data we collected, his defensive skills are good; he’s a very capable outfielder. However, in terms of batting power, he is somewhat weaker compared to his teammate Asou, who used to be the team’s cleanup hitter in middle school. So, Asou is the main left fielder, and Seki is the backup.”

If Seidou had heard this, they would have been impressed by Inajitsu’s thorough research—even their substitutes were searched.

No wonder they were being so heavily targeted in this game.

However, Coach Kunitomo was not satisfied with this answer.

“I remember I requested information on every player in Seidou’s first string.”

The president of Inajitsu’s baseball club looked embarrassed.

Seki Naomichi was so obscure that he never imagined he would see him play in the game against Seidou.

“My mistake!”

“Now is not the time for blaming. Think carefully about the information collected. What is this batter’s hitting style?” Coach Kunitomo asked calmly.

The Inajitsu president closed his eyes and searched his memory for the data he had reviewed.

Although he didn’t have a photographic memory, seeing Seki helped him recall some details from the materials he had reviewed before.

“I remember he uses a lot of bunts and has decent speed. When he’s hitting normally, there’s no distinct style.”

After a long pause, the president of the Inajitsu baseball club finally opened his eyes and spoke.

Coach Kunitomo nodded and focused on Seidou High School’s dugout across the field.

His gaze was locked on Kataoka, who was wearing sunglasses.

“Is this your secret weapon against us?”

With the information he needed at hand, Coach Kunitomo confidently signaled his players on the field.

‘Advance in defense, pressure the batter, and force him to confront the pitcher head-on!’

Although judging a player’s style based on simple and brief information might seem immature, Coach Kunitomo had no other choice when facing an almost unknown player.

Narumiya’s pitching was fierce, reaching speeds of 150 km/h with heavy impact.

Even Seidou High School’s main players struggled to hit Narumiya Mei’s pitches—let alone the substitutes on the bench.

Inajitsu’s decision to have the team confront Seki Naomichi was also based on other information.

‘They aimed to employ a forced scoring tactic!’

‘Shiratsu was a highly skilled player, excelling in tactical execution, defense, and base-stealing speed.’

‘It wasn’t surprising that Seidou High would use forced scoring tactics when Shiratsu was on third base.’

‘Seki Naomichi was likely chosen because of his exceptional bunting skills.’

Coach Kunitomo guessed correctly!

At Seidou High School, many players could effectively use bunts.

In fact, every player who could make it onto the field at Seidou High School had practiced bunting. While not everyone excelled, no one would consider it a weakness.

However, only a few players truly stood out in bunting skills.

Among the main players, Sawamura Eijun was not just skilled but a master, he has not failed almost any bunt in his training, and he even took bunting to another level entirely.

Shiratsu was also good at bunting. There is a reason that the young man was trusted to do any attacking job on the field, he was that comprehensive.

Toujou and Kominato were also very good at safety hits, while Kuramochi was improving rapidly lately. Others also had a passable skill at bunting, and even Kanemaru, known for his bad bunting, could bunt normally in training.

Seki Naomichi is the third-best in bunting skills currently at Seidou High School.

Without this skill, it would have been challenging for him to become a key player.

Excellent fielding skills, quick base-stealing speed, and superb bunting skills.

This is why Coach Kataoka considered Seki Naomichi a valuable asset.

At this moment, Kataoka’s choice to use him was an attempt at a surprising strategy.

The surprise was there, but the likelihood of success was slightly diminishing.

Coach Kunitomo, relying on limited information from his baseball club president, deduced Seki Naomichi’s job and confirmed Kataoka’s strategy.

Once the strategy was exposed, countermeasures were to be implemented.

Seeing Inajitsu’s actions, Coach Kataoka’s face fell in Seidou High School’s dugout.

‘We have been thoroughly researched.’

He hadn’t expected the opponent to see through his plan like this.

‘They were prepared to this extent.’

He had intended to try it, not expecting guaranteed success.

With a situation like this, Coach Kataoka wasn’t too discouraged. He decided to trust his players.

‘Don’t hold back and use the fake bunt. Don’t worry about it failing, just make sure to make a contact.’

Seki Naomichi nodded obediently.

At this moment, his own coach was likely quite frustrated.

He asking Seki to hit or make contact with Narumiya’s pitching is too risky, as compared to Asou, Seki's batting skills were even less.

And Asou couldn’t hit the ball in his two at-bats, asking Seki to do it is arbitrary. But there is nothing else he can do.

With Seki’s task assigned, Coach Kataoka also signaled Shiratsu on third base.

‘Prepare for a steal and run as fast as you can! Get the biggest lead you can. Don’t worry about the number of Outs—trust in your teammates.’

With Coach Kataoka’s assurance, Shiratsu started moving towards home plate.

He was on third base, completely facing away from Narumiya, who was a left-hander.

This allowed him to be positioned further from the base. Thus, he was closer to home plate.

From his current stance, if the ball was hit and landed, he would have just over three seconds to reach home plate.

‘There was still a chance.’

Shiratsu’s lead annoyed Inashiro’s players, but they could only look at him as the Coach ordered them to face the batter.

As long as Seki Naomichi could make contact with Narumiya’s pitch.

The moment Narumiya started pitching, Shiratsu started running.

“Steal!” the shortstop shouted.

‘As expected, huh? But let’s see if this batter can even hit the ball!’

Without giving Seki Naomichi a moment to think, the white ball flew towards him.

‘Fast!’

‘So fast!!’

Completely different from the 150 km/h ball from the pitching machine, this white ball immediately overshadowed everything around it.

Seki Naomichi, standing in the Batter’s Box, turned pale.

He only swung his bat out of desperation

‘Please hit! Please hit! Please hit! Please hit! Please hit!’

SNAP!

“STRIKE!”

It didn’t hit. The ball flew past his bat like a missile.

“STRIKE!!”

“STRIKE, BATTER OUT!!!”

Seki Naomichi, unable to even touch the ball, was neatly Struck Out.

Though it is said that ‘Fortune Favors The Bold’, it is actually not accurate. It should be ‘Fortune Favors The Prepared’ which was Inashiro in this case.

Inajitsu High School had resolved the crisis in a nearly brutal manner. As if it was natural for them.

Two Outs, a runner on third base.

…