Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter Has Arrived

Chapter 425: Fourth Batter

The game began with the Seido High School Baseball Team on offense.

Before taking the field, Coach Kataoka, as was his usual custom, gathered all the players.

"The opposing pitcher habitually uses powerful fastballs. We couldn't get much useful information from the video, but his ball speed should only be approaching 140 km/h, not exceeding it. Don't worry about breaking balls; aim for the fastball."

A ball speed of 140 kilometers per hour.

Even in high school, this speed is very good. It definitely qualifies as a fastball.

The reason Ushimaru Agricultural High School was able to easily suppress their opponents and win the first game was largely due to the pitching of their Ace, Aikawa.

Their opponents simply couldn't hit such a fast ball, and even if they managed to make contact, it was difficult to get a hit.

This way, Ushimaru Agricultural High School didn't have to worry about their defense and could focus on offense.

Kataoka guessed that Ushimaru Agricultural High School probably wanted to use the same strategy against Seido.

But that strategy might have worked against Ushimaru Agricultural's previous opponents. Trying to use it against the Seido High School Baseball Team was probably wishful thinking.

It's just a mere 140 km/h fastball.

If it has no other special features, just that ball speed alone is not enough to deal with the hitters of the Seido High School Baseball Team.

Even if Seido High School Baseball Team's performance wasn't great in the past two years, they still have the reputation of a prestigious school, and the players they recruit are excellent prospects from their junior high days.

Plus, with the training of the Seido High School Baseball Team, let alone the players already promoted to the First String, even the second team players would not be stumped by a normal 140 km/h fastball.

Why wasn't Zhang Han's pitching highly regarded before?

It was because his ball speed was difficult to improve. He had gone almost a year without significant progress.

Given that Zhang Han's pitching had no other special features, the Seido High School Baseball Team's coaching staff concluded that he had no development potential.

Coach Kataoka is so strict with Seido's own pitchers. With opponents, he is even less lenient.

Kataoka believed in the strength of his players. He believed they could blast a 140 km/h ball out of the park.

Now it was time to witness that.

The First Batter to step up to the plate was Kuramochi.

Although he is not a player known for his hitting, his most outstanding quality is his speed.

But this doesn't mean his hitting is bad.

At least against a pitcher with Aikawa's ball speed, Kuramochi felt quite confident.

Approaching 140 km/h means it's not quite there yet.

Such a ball speed, while a bit tricky, was not beyond his capabilities.

Kuramochi looked at Aikawa eagerly, waiting to hit the ball.

That said, the opponent was indeed from an agricultural school. His physique was truly imposing.

He stood at 186 centimeters tall, and his weight was reportedly a terrifying 90 kilograms. A perfect example of someone built for power.

Looking at it that way, it didn't seem so hard to accept that Aikawa could only pitch at 140 km/h.

It even seemed a bit slow.

Just as Kuramochi was lost in thought, the white ball whistled past.

The speed was not extremely fast, but the momentum was intimidating.

Kuramochi saw the trajectory of the baseball very clearly.

The location was also excellent. Although not dead center, it was less than five centimeters off.

Letting such a ball go seemed unreasonable.

Spotting the incoming baseball, Kuramochi decisively swung his bat.

"Ping!"

The moment the bat connected, Kuramochi's expression changed completely. The base of his thumbs on both hands felt as if they were about to split open.

How could it be so powerful?

Kuramochi was in disbelief, but there was no time to think. The ball he had hit had already bounced away.

That ball, like an old ox urinating, floated aimlessly, completely lacking power.

It flew only about 20 meters before falling.

Even with Kuramochi's astonishing speed, he couldn't make it to First Base on such a short hit.

"Thwack!"

"Out!!"

The First Batter, the offensive engine of the Seido High School Baseball Team, was retired so easily.

His teammates looked as if they had been struck on the head, completely stunned.

Who could tell them what had just happened?

One out, no runners on base.

Although Kuramochi had warned him, Kominato Ryosuke also had no good way to deal with this type of pure power pitching.

Using his special moves felt a bit inappropriate here.

The opponent was just a grassroots team. If Seido had to pull out all the stops against such an opponent, it wouldn't look good.

When two teams play and there's a huge disparity in skill, giving it your all is the greatest respect for the opponent, but you can't win by a hundred to zero.

Just like in table tennis, even if you completely dominate your opponent, a score of eleven to zero usually doesn't happen. You'd always concede one or two points.

Baseball is the same. Seido High School, playing against a grassroots team, carries the burden of being a prestigious school. Unless pushed to the brink, they must compete honorably.

As a result, Kominato Ryosuke hit an infield grounder.

The ball was fielded by Ushimaru's shortstop, who quickly threw it to First Base.

"Out!"

The First Batter and Second Batter of the Seido High School Baseball Team had both been thrown out.

The atmosphere in the Seido dugout became very unsettled.

They hadn't played a formal game in six months. Although they had been practicing and playing practice games to stay in shape, something felt off about playing a formal game again.

If a team like Ushimaru Agricultural High School were to play a practice game against Seido, the First String wouldn't even play.

Ushimaru would be considered practice opponents for the second team.

And even Seido's second team possessed the strength of roughly a top-16 team in Tokyo.

If Seido's second team were to enter the Tokyo Tournament as a separate team, as long as they didn't encounter particularly tough opponents, they were confident of making the top 16. With good luck, they might even touch the threshold of the top eight.

Yet an opponent who theoretically couldn't even beat the second team was now making fools of them.

Two outs, no runners on base.

The next batter to step up was Isashiki Jun.

Before going up to bat, Isashiki Jun sternly criticized the First Batter and Second Batter, believing they had been too careless and had underestimated the opponent.

"This is an important first game. No matter what our past records were, we must go all out and secure the victory first."

Isashiki Jun spoke with conviction. As Seido's most unpredictable player, he had previously faced many formidable pitchers and performed exceptionally well.

Everyone had high expectations for his at-bat.

But the result.

Initially, Isashiki Jun was indeed fierce, hitting two consecutive foul balls.

The balls flew very far. Had they landed in fair territory, they would have almost certainly been extra-base hits.

However, in the dugout, his teammates were not optimistic.

Miyuki frowned, muttering softly.

"Two strikes."

It turned out that, without anyone noticing, Isashiki Jun had already been pushed to the brink.

Then a suddenly dropping ball caused him to swing and miss.

"Thwack!"

"Strike!"

"Strikeout!"

At the start of the game, Ushimaru Agricultural High School, which no one had favored, caused a huge surprise.

Facing the Seido High School Baseball Team, known for their formidable batting lineup, they retired the first three batters in order.

In the stands, even though fewer people were cheering for them, their spirit was in no way inferior to Seido's.

Amidst a wave of cheers, the game moved into the second inning.

The first to step up to the plate was Zhang Han, the Fourth Batter for the Seido High School Baseball Team.

Before he went up, he saw Tanba changing his equipment and said with a smile:

"I won't let senior's pitching go to waste."

Just moments ago, Tanba had recorded two consecutive strikeouts. Only the Third Batter of Ushimaru Agricultural High School had managed to make contact, but the ball wasn't hit cleanly and was quickly fielded and thrown to First Base.

Thanks to Tanba's excellent performance, although Seido hadn't scored at the start of the game, they hadn't lost momentum either.

Now it was time to see the results of their offense.

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