Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

For the lower-tier batters of the Cuban team, hitting a pitch from Sawamura is exponentially more difficult.

When the upper and middle-tier batters face Sawamura's pitching, although they often miss the ball because they can't see the release point, they can still react to the pitches.

Sometimes, they even struggle to swing the bat in time.

But overall, they are able to see Sawamura's pitches.

They can also respond to the pitches accordingly.

However, for the lower-tier batters, by the time they see the ball, it's already passed them.

Their bodies don't even have time to react; the battle is already over.

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"

As a result, there was no suspense. The three batters didn't even make contact with the ball and were immediately Out.

After dealing with three opponents in succession, Sawamura walked off the mound expressionlessly.

Throughout the process, he seemed like the coldest of killers.

He gave his opponents no time to react, crushing them in their cradle.

What's the use of employing some conspiracies or petty tricks?

As long as the Cuban players can't crack Sawamura's pitching,

The result will not change.

The Japanese team had already secured the win in today's game.

The spectators in the stands also noticed this, and there was a hint of regret among them.

The Cuban team's players had already reached this point, and if it were anyone else, they might have already gone up and started fighting.

But unexpectedly, the Japanese players remained calm.

Then, they delivered a verdict on the Cuban players in the most brutal way.

This game seemed to have little suspense left.

As for whether the Cuban team's ace pitcher would continue using dangerous pitches, the possibility was nonexistent.

The umpire had already issued a warning.

Although he was still unsure whether Katro's actions were intentional,

He couldn't just sit back and let this happen again.

If it happened again, the pitcher would definitely be ejected.

At that point, the Cuban team's hopes would be even slimmer.

It seemed that the Cuban team had exhausted all their tricks.

After seeing Sawamura's pitching, almost everyone reached the same conclusion.

Even so, the assistant Coach of the Japanese team repeatedly reminded his players to be cautious, extra cautious.

At this point, their vigilance toward the Cuban team had reached the highest level.

Those guys had no limits!

Who knows what they might do? Especially now, with the Cuban team having no chance of advancing, they might act even more recklessly.

Considering this, the assistant coach even gave advice to the players who were about to step onto the field.

Whether or not they managed to get a hit didn't matter. Protecting their safety was the number one priority!

Now, with a four-point lead and Sawamura on the mound, they didn't need to worry about the result. Winning should be a piece of cake.

In such a situation, scoring more runs seemed almost unnecessary.

"Safety is the number one priority. If you see a pitch coming at you, don't hesitate—just back away. The umpire has already noticed, and if the pitcher keeps throwing those dangerous pitches, he'll be ejected."

The assistant coach made what he thought was a very wise suggestion.

Sawamura frowned as he listened.

He had exerted a lot of effort to restrain the impulse to speak.

As the game continued, the opponent was tightly focused on inside pitches.

At this point, the umpire knew that Katro's pitches were all intentional.

Although hitting the batter might not have been his true intention, using these dangerous pitches to force the Japanese players back was definitely deliberate.

This guy had excellent control; how could he keep throwing so many dangerous bad pitches?

Even so, Katro's pitches were all landing in the strike zone now, and the umpire couldn't say anything.

He had to swallow his anger.

If given the chance, he would definitely make this guy pay.

The Japanese players suffered a big loss. They were genuinely afraid that the Cuban players might be cornered and desperate.

Especially after Sawamura showcased his unmatched pitching skills, the probability of the Cuban players acting recklessly increased.

Because of their concerns, when they saw inside pitches, they instinctively avoided them instead of swinging the bat.

In such a situation, they couldn't hit the ball. They could only watch helplessly as the ball passed through the strike zone time and time again.

Three Outs, and the sides were switched.

Even though the batters didn't perform well, the assistant coach still gave them high praise.

"Keep it up, speed up the game, and victory will surely be ours."

Listening to the assistant coach's pep talk, Sawamura frowned, preparing to say something, but he was stopped by Miyuki.

"Don't waste time. The most urgent task is to secure the win quickly to avoid any unnecessary complications."

Sawamura nodded.

At this point, with the Coach absent and no one truly able to take charge of the team,

The assistant coach had performed admirably as a second-in-command.

Even Sawamura couldn't find any faults with him.

But once he took the lead, things were completely different.

His level was far from sufficient.

Sawamura walked back onto the mound.

Although he had held back earlier, there was still a fire burning inside him.

Didn't the assistant coach understand what "the field is like a battlefield" means?

Depending on the situation, one can certainly make some tactical adjustments.

Tactical defense is fine.

But avoidance and retreat are absolutely unacceptable.

If the Japanese players had developed a fear of the Cuban players, how could they continue the game?

How could they put all their hopes on the pitcher's performance?

Even if the pitcher was Sawamura himself, he couldn't agree with this approach.

But Miyuki was right.

For the greater good, they didn't have time to waste on these trivial details.

The most important thing now, for the entire team, was to secure the victory.

Other problems could be dealt with later.

Bottom of the 4th inning, Cuba is on offense.

This time, their batting order cycled back to the upper-tier batters. After their first round of confrontation, they now had some understanding of Sawamura's pitching.

This understanding was completely different from the reconnaissance they did earlier. Although they had studied Sawamura's pitching before, it had only been through tapes and imagination.

They hadn't experienced Sawamura's pitching firsthand.

Now, it was different. They had personally felt the terror of facing the pitching of the "Demon King."

The outcome of the next confrontation would truly show whether the Cuban players had found a way to deal with Sawamura's pitches.

Fujio, a senior reporter from Baseball Kingdom Magazine, even made this prediction.

"If the Cuban players still can't make contact with Sawamura's pitches this time, then today's game will be over."

There would be no doubt that the Japanese team would win.

It would just feel a bit regrettable.

The Cuban team had undeniably used frustrating methods in this game.

Emotionally, whether it was Fujio or an ordinary fan, they sincerely hoped that the Japanese team's players could give the Cuban players a good lesson.

If they didn't teach them a lesson and just let them off so easily,

It would feel a bit regretful.

But there was nothing they could do; it was just like two people fighting.

The one with more to lose naturally has more concerns.

Those who have nothing to lose are the ones who have nothing to worry about.

The Cuban team's defeat was already sealed, and they had nothing left to care about.

In such a situation, you never know what they might do.

Steady and secure progress towards victory was undoubtedly the best option for the Japanese team.

Even if the game wasn't that exciting, even if there were some regrets in the process,

They could accept it.

On the mound.

Facing the Cuban team's upper-tier batters again, Sawamura could clearly feel their ambition.

They were eager to hit the ball, practically wanting to take down Sawamura immediately.

Their momentum was strong, their eyes fierce.

One could imagine that as soon as Sawamura threw the ball, these guys would swing hard.

For most pitchers, facing such a team that swings eagerly, especially one with decent hitting power,

It would be quite troublesome.

They would have many concerns during the pitch.

Because if they were careless and got hit by the bat,

The ball could easily fly far, even for a home run.

This would undoubtedly make them very uncomfortable.

However, for Sawamura and Miyuki, such an eager team was the easiest type to deal with.

Even though Sawamura mastered many sharp breaking balls, his primary strength wasn't that of a pure breaking-ball pitcher. His pitching was more focused on making batters miss the sweet spot, not on making them swing and miss.

In simple terms, he aimed to make them fail to hit the ball properly.

Now was the perfect time for Sawamura's Moving pitches to come into play.

Miyuki, the catcher, signaled to Sawamura.

To everyone's surprise, Sawamura immediately rejected it.

Since they needed to quickly end the game, he couldn't afford to use those kinds of pitches.

Otherwise, they could complicate things further.

The situation was already chaotic, and Sawamura didn't dare take risks easily.

Alright, these were just excuses.

The real reason was that Sawamura had fire in his heart. How could he vent that frustration if he just followed the usual pitching plan?

Pitchers really are a bunch of willful and selfish guys.

Although there were better, safer options, Sawamura chose to take the difficult road.

Miyuki couldn't understand this.

But whether he understood or not, since Sawamura had decided, Miyuki, as his partner, could only support him.

'Let's go!'

'Since this was your decision, go ahead and do it with confidence.'

After receiving Miyuki's signal, Sawamura nodded firmly.

Then he raised his right leg high, stepping out with force.

The Cuban batter in the box felt his blood boil.

It wasn't out of excitement, but out of nervousness.

After experiencing Sawamura's pitching, the Cuban players had privately discussed and figured out several clues.

For example, why couldn't they see the release point of Sawamura's pitches?

They had pretty much figured it out—it was because of his naturally flexible joints, allowing him to whip the ball like a whip.

And his unique pitching posture made it difficult for opponents to see his release point.

Because of this, his pitches appeared much faster than their actual speed when seen from the Batter's Box.

Understanding the principle was one thing, but actually hitting the ball was a different matter.

Even though they figured out Sawamura's characteristics, hitting his pitches was no easy task.

No one understood this better than the Cuban players themselves.

Though they had cheered loudly before their turn,

As teammates, they could hear just how uncertain their hearts were.

Almost everyone, when facing Sawamura, had no confidence.

They were all nervous, even scared.

Just thinking about facing Sawamura head-on made them anxious.

Was this really okay?

Could they really hit this mysterious and powerful opponent's pitches?

WHRROOSH!

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