Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter

Chapter 206: Maimon West Battle Strategy and Opening Moves

Afterward, Chris briefly introduced the Maimon West team, highlighting their frequent use of bunting and their solid defense with few errors. This gave the impression of a team focused on defense.

Other seniors also provided additional information, such as the fact that their cleanup hitter often hits fly balls and the left fielder has a strong arm. These details were crucial.

Then, Coach Kataoka gave a short speech to boost everyone's morale, easing the pressure on Kawakami, who had been feeling it lately.

"Tomorrow's batting order will follow the Kiryuu match!" "Understood!" everyone responded, but only Sendo looked confused.

Wasn't it just about winning one game?

"Kicking you to the fifth spot is to acknowledge your ability. You should've guessed that, right? We need to conceal your information. However, even though it's an important first match, there's no problem with giving it your all. But others won't think that way. Got it?"

"Yeah!" Sendo understood. He was now the fifth batter for Seidou, but he would try to keep his strengths under wraps.

Since Maimon West was a fairly average team, even if he was the fifth batter, no one would think much of it.

"However, if they discover your full strength..." Coach Kataoka didn't finish the sentence, but Sendo felt a shiver down his spine.

Then, the meeting ended. Apart from Sawamura and a few others, the rest were free to do as they wished.

Sawamura, since he wasn't starting, eagerly approached the coach to express that he'd be prepared, only to receive a faint response that left him frustrated.

But when Chris called him away, he eagerly followed.

Sawamura's face was quite expressive.

...

On the day of the first match, Seidou displayed the spirit and formation of a prestigious team.

The marching band, cheerleaders, and about 70-80 non-starting players were all present, which put significant pressure on the non-prestigious teams. Being part of such a famous school also filled Seidou's players with a sense of pride and honor.

"Who are we?!" "Seidou, the champions!!!"

"Who's sweated the most?!" "Seidou!!!" "Who's shed the most tears?!" "Seidou!!!" "Are we ready for battle?!" "Ahhh!!!" "With our school's honor in our hearts, we have only one goal – to dominate the nation! Let's go!!!" "Yeah!!!"

...

After putting down their gear, Seidou formed a circle and, in front of the entire audience, did their routine. The atmosphere reached its peak.

"We go!" "Yeah!"

With Yuuki's command, the Seidou players entered the field.

The match began.

"Now, the second round of the West Tokyo Tournament begins! Seidou High vs. Maimon West High!"

Seidou was up to bat first.

"The fifth batter for Seidou is a first-year!" The audience noticed the lineup.

"Really?!" It was clear that these two spectators hadn't watched the Spring Tournament.

Since the Spring Tournament and Kanto Tournament were less popular, many didn't recognize Sendo.

Even during the Tournament, Autumn qualifiers, and Spring Koshien, there were baseball fans who didn't watch much.

"That's Sendo! He started as a first-year in the Spring Tournament. Who would've thought he'd be a starting player in such an important match?" A baseball fan who had watched the Spring Tournament explained to them.

Poor Sawamura, however, was hardly recognized. Unless someone had watched him play, few knew him. Plus, these fans probably didn't attend the games.

"Seriously? Seidou is letting a first-year start in such an important match for the first time?"

"That's true! Not just Seidou, but this is probably the first time for any major Tokyo school!"

"Is it okay? Letting a first-year start in such an important match!"

It wasn't surprising that the audience was worried.

The first match was crucial. Don't assume it's safe just because it's against a weaker team.

High school players' emotions can be volatile, and the first match can easily go awry due to some unexpected event.

It wouldn't be uncommon for a prestigious school to lose to a less skilled team in such a scenario.

On the other hand, winning decisively would give the players the psychological boost they needed.

"It's fine! Sendo is already a qualified starter. He left me speechless in the Spring Tournament! Did you see his jersey number? Number 8! Even Isashiki gave up his spot for him!"

By the time the game started, there was already a lot of chatter about Sendo.

However, Seidou was facing a challenge: the starting pitcher wasn't their ace, but rather the backup pitcher with jersey number 10, Mamoru, a third-year player.

"Number 10! Mamoru, third-year! He pitched in his first year, but after that, he never appeared as a pitcher in an official match. We didn't know this beforehand, but the only reason I can think of is that he's been practicing sidearm pitching for the past two years in preparation for this summer." Despite Seidou's detailed intel, Chris's notes only offered this much.

"Scary..."

"Hm?" Sendo's sudden remark caught everyone's attention.

"They're third-years, fighting for their final summer. That means they've spent two years preparing their new pitching style for us." Sendo said with a slight smile.

"No matter what tricks they have, we just need to trust our baseball." Coach Kataoka, hearing the conversation, spoke up to rally the team.

"Yeah!"

Facing an opponent with no information, the first batter has the toughest job: to test the opponent's capabilities, even at the risk of not being able to focus on hitting.

But it won't be easy against such an unfamiliar pitcher.

They couldn't just swing at pitches they didn't know, or they'd end up getting out easily, and that would ruin Seidou's reputation.

"Play ball!" With the umpire's call, the game officially began. The air was thick with tension.

"Kuramochi, hit it!"

"Use your speed to throw off the opponent's rhythm!" Kuramochi's stats weren't a secret, and even the seniors shouted out the advice.

"Wham!"

"Strike!"

"That's slow!" Not just Kuramochi, but everyone else thought the same thing in their minds.

With one good pitch, the pitcher's speed became clear. It wasn't a gain or a loss; just like what Sendo said, the game is still long.

That pitch also revealed that this pitcher's release point and delivery were lower than Kawakami's.

It was a ball that starts high and drops, which can only be achieved with a slow pitch.

Because the ball's speed is slow, the movement is larger and more troublesome to handle.

Even Sendo, with his usual composure, was focused, knowing that without information on the opponent, it's risky to make any careless moves.

Thinking back, Sendo remembered that he had several batters in front of him helping to probe the pitcher's rhythm.

It gave him some reassurance.

The second pitch started low and entered the strike zone with a slight inward movement.

Kuramochi, who was ready to swing, held back just in time, resulting in a ball count of 2-0.

It was the correct decision, because such a slow, sweeping curveball could easily be crushed if swung at without preparation.

"Hey, hey! This isn't like you, Kuramochi! Get it together!"

"Be more aggressive with your swings!"

The OB (Old Boys) were getting anxious, but they didn't know that Seidou had no prior information on this pitcher. It wasn't that they didn't understand the game.

"Hey! Where are you going, Sendo?"

When Sendou saw the pitch's movement, he couldn't stay calm and walked off the bench. Sawamura noticed and asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to check out the bullpen."

"Don't get it...?"

"Quiet, Sawamura!"

"Oh, Chris-senpai!"

"Sendo's trying to find a better angle to observe the pitcher's ball. Looks like he's really serious about this opening game!"

"I got it!"

Just as Sendo found a good angle, Kuramochi struck out on the third pitch!

Even Sendo couldn't tell what kind of pitch it was, but the movement was significant, and the pitch was low.

Even though the catcher couldn't catch it cleanly, they still managed to tag the runner at first, recording a strikeout.

(A strikeout is still counted even if the catcher doesn't catch the ball, as long as the batter is tagged out.)

Sendo's eyes lit up. His "fishing" technique was perfect for handling low pitches.

He thought to himself, should he aim for that type of pitch?

Unaware of the situation, the OB members believed that Kuramochi was simply being uncharacteristically passive in his approach.

"The bounce ball was well handled!" Masuko and Jun-san discussed their judgments.

"Ah, I see! These two aren't just randomly paired, huh?"

Before Ryousuke stepped into the batter's box, he had a brief conversation with Kuramochi.

Sendo, too far to hear, saw that the coach had given the signal to aim for the easy-to-hit pitch.

Noticing Sendo's gaze repeatedly, Ryousuke looked over at him, but then quickly turned his attention back to the field, seemingly ignoring him...

Miyuki also felt something wasn't right with the first inning and called for Furuya to warm up early, hoping to adjust his mindset and check on his condition.

Furuya's poker face made it hard to tell if he was nervous.

The Maimon catcher was trying to get Ryousuke to swing at low, questionable balls.

However, regardless of whether the coach gave the signal or not, Ryousuke's ability to read pitches was the best on the team.

They had underestimated the power of Seidou's players.

Aside from Sendo, who sometimes has a hard time distinguishing good from bad, and Jun-san, who swings at anything that seems appealing, the rest of the team is seasoned and will not easily swing.

However, on the second pitch, while the pitcher tried to stay cautious with a low outside pitch, he made a mistake.

Fortunately for them, Ryousuke managed to hit the ball into the third baseman's glove.

The third batter, Jun-san, was shaken up by a comment from the OB in the stands and missed the first pitch.

"From the right-handed batter's box, that outside pitch feels way off the plate!"

As Sendo came back, preparing to take his turn, he heard Kuramochi relay what he saw in the batter's box to Chris.

At that moment, Jun hit a high fly ball to right field.

The opposing right fielder, aware of Jun-san's strong arm, had already moved back.

Seeing the ball fly out, Sendo put his bat back in its place.

Jun-san, having only taken two steps, stopped.

"Clunk!"

"Out!"

The ball was caught for the third out.

Three up, three down.

The audience was mixed—some disappointed, some surprised, and others concerned.

But Sendo knew that thanks to the effort of the top three batters, the pitcher's secrets were already exposed.

Against a pitcher with this kind of speed, it's tough to hit without knowing the pitch type.

But once you know the pitch type, even if it's a hard-to-hit changeup, you can avoid swinging.

Besides, the pitcher's movement is more vertical and low, which isn't as tough to deal with as a horizontal breaking ball that slides down.

They've always been using low outside pitches to win, and with a vertical changeup, it's almost a perfect match for Sendo's American-style swing, which focuses on line drives and avoiding fly balls.

This is good news for Sendo, but for Seidou, it's not so clear-cut.

While they've figured out the pitcher's style, Furuya is still starting for the first time, and starting with a tie or a scoreless inning can bring pressure on a pitcher that's not easy to manage, especially for Furuya, who's a bit of an airhead.

Furuya's first start made Maimon's coach feel Seidou was underestimating him.

"Hey, Furuya! Even if you get hit, I'll be ready to take over right away. You're not fit to keep going with that stamina!" Well, that's what Sawamura really thought in his heart.

Furuya ignored him!

"You can't ignore me like that, Furuya! Look at me, you jerk!"

But when Sawamura caused a fuss, everyone understood that Furuya was fine.

"Quiet down!" Sendo walked up from behind and casually knocked Sawamura's cap off, blocking his view.

"What are you doing, Sendo? You scared me!"

"Be a bit quieter!"

"Ah, Chris-senpai!"

"Chris-senpai's words are so useful!" Sendo sighed inwardly as he walked toward the field.

On the way, he heard Miyuki urging Furuya not to drag the game to the ninth inning and aiming for a strikeout for every batter.

But Furuya replied, "That was my plan from the start," leaving Miyuki dumbfounded.

Sendo couldn't help but feel speechless.

The crowd, who had never seen Furuya in action at the Kanto Tournament, started getting nervous.

As Furuya fumbled even with basic catch-and-throw drills, some of the audience laughed, while others grew even more worried.

But Seidou's players, who knew Furuya well, weren't fazed by it.

They just worried about his mental state.

Maimon's side, however, was celebrating, even feeling a little lucky, thinking Furuya might self-destruct.

As the players stretched and relaxed in their positions, the bottom of the first inning was about to start.

And from that day onward, Furuya's name was destined to be remembered by everyone. Just like how they would remember Sendo Akira from that spring.

Unknowingly, Sendo, also a first-year, had started to feel like a reliable veteran in the eyes of the OBs.

Even though he's just a first-year, he doesn't feel like one anymore.

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