Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter Has Arrived

Chapter 441 441: Pitchers Appear

A three-run Homerun.

Not only was the score overturned, but the entire shape of the game changed in an instant.

The composure of the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team had completely vanished.

They started to grow anxious.

Everyone wondered whether Coach Kunimoto would send Narumiya Mei onto the field now.

Kunimoto himself remained steady.

He made no substitutions, gave no signals, and issued no instructions.

Even toward his team's relief pitcher, Coach Kunimoto showed an extremely high degree of trust.

The pitcher felt it. Encouraged, he quickly steadied himself after giving up the Homerun and did not allow any further runs.

Three outs, side retired.

Narumiya Mei clamored to play, but Coach Kunimoto didn't even glance his way.

It seemed Coach Kunimoto believed that even without Narumiya Mei on the field, they could still win this game.

Defense was indeed Inashiro's strong suit.

But this did not mean their offense was lacking. Especially the third-year players led by Harada. Coach Kunimoto had witnessed their recent progress firsthand.

He believed his players would turn the tide.

Harada did not disappoint. He hit a clean drive to Second Base.

This sent a warning signal through the hearts of the Seido High School Baseball Team players.

Harada Masatoshi was Harada Masatoshi.

He was genuinely on par with Captain Yuuki and Senior Omae. He had matured a little later than some, but he had completed his task beautifully.

Two at-bats, two hits.

A perfect batting average so far.

This was something he couldn't have managed before. Now it came naturally.

He had truly arrived as a complete player.

If the Seido High School Baseball Team were to face Inashiro next, they would have to be extremely vigilant. Compared to the growth of Inashiro Industrial's batting lineup, their own pitching and overall defense were far too lacking.

Although the three first-year freshmen from Yakushi High School Baseball Team had been impressive and had overturned the score, no one at the scene believed Yakushi would ultimately win.

For one, Yakushi's offense had caught Inashiro off guard. Once Inashiro adjusted, would that offense remain effective? That was an open question.

Furthermore, Inashiro Industrial still had several key players, including their Ace, sitting in the dugout.

The Inashiro currently on the field was not their full lineup.

In that context, Yakushi's slight advantage didn't yet amount to much.

At the start of the fourth inning, Harada got another hit.

It looked as though Inashiro was about to tie the score, or even take the lead.

Just then, the Yakushi High School Baseball Team dugout stirred.

They called for a substitution.

Out came the second-year pitcher, Sanada Shunpei, the one professional scouts had reportedly been watching.

The middle-aged coach rubbed his hands together, a broad smile on his face.

"With this, all our cards are on the table."

If they still couldn't make waves after this, they would simply have to accept the result.

The Inashiro batters did not take the newly introduced second-year pitcher lightly. They understood that whoever was sent to the mound at this moment with such expectation had to be Yakushi's trump card.

But they still severely underestimated him.

Sanada's pitching was sharp from the first pitch. He continuously targeted the inside corner, forcing Inashiro Industrial's batters into direct confrontations.

Strangely, every ball the Inashiro batters made contact with seemed to find a fielder.

For two consecutive innings, Inashiro Industrial's batting lineup had nothing to show against Sanada.

The game had reached the sixth inning.

The score remained 3-2.

Although Inashiro's relief pitcher had worked hard in the subsequent innings, holding firm and not giving up any more runs, that alone wasn't enough.

If they couldn't tie the score and retake the lead, Inashiro Industrial was finished.

The Seido High School Baseball Team players were all stunned at this point.

Before coming to watch, they never could have imagined seeing this.

The Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team, who had just become National Champions at the Spring Koshien, was at a disadvantage.

And not just for an inning or two. For more than half the game, they had been trailing.

Firmly suppressed.

Although those three first-year freshmen had been remarkable, and had flipped the score, the biggest contributor to this scene was not them.

It was the man standing on the pitcher's mound.

Sanada Shunpei.

Ever since he had entered the game, he had firmly held Inashiro Industrial's batting lineup in check.

Two hits allowed, zero runs.

Even accounting for the fact that the Inashiro lineup on the field was not their full roster, this was already deeply impressive.

When Inashiro batted in the sixth inning, Coach Kunimoto finally began gradually substituting in the players he had been holding back.

But what happened next surprised everyone.

Everyone had assumed that once Inashiro's main players returned, a comeback was only a matter of time.

No one expected that even as those players came in one by one, nothing changed.

Sanada seemed to be in a zone, retiring batter after batter and giving Inashiro no opening to counterattack.

At the end of the top of the sixth inning, the score was still 3-2.

Yakushi High School led by one run.

Only then did the atmosphere on the field completely shift.

The Yakushi High School Baseball Team players were riding high.

When they had been told they would challenge the National Champions fresh from Koshien, they had been apprehensive.

How were they supposed to compete in a game like that?

They were realistic enough to know winning wasn't likely.

But once the game started, the momentum was entirely different from what they had imagined.

First, the three first-years who had just joined the team came up and got hits one after another, eventually scoring.

Then came a pitcher whose name Inashiro Industrial had never heard before.

Not famous, but first-rate in skill.

Even the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team had no good answer for Sanada.

And so it had come to this.

The game was deadlocked. No matter how many adjustments Inashiro made, the outcome didn't change.

When the game reached the bottom of the sixth inning, the problem fully came to a head.

The batting rotation came back around to the three first-years.

Akiba, up first, swung without hesitation.

The ball was hit and flew out.

The entire sequence unfolded as if it had been rehearsed.

All the Inashiro Industrial players were shaken.

It seemed everything they had assumed before was wrong.

Those three first-years hadn't gotten hits by luck or by catching Inashiro off guard.

They had genuine skill.

Akiba. Mishima. Raichi Todoroki.

All three of them, despite being first-years, possessed hitting ability that was probably on par with the core batters of powerhouse schools.

Kunimoto, who had remained expressionless throughout, finally showed a shift in his face.

He stood up and signaled for a substitution.

Bottom of the sixth inning, no outs, runner on First Base.

The First Batter was Mishima Yuuta.

Kunimoto, who had just led his team to dominate the nation at the Spring Koshien, finally could not sit still.

He sent their previously held Ace, Narumiya Mei, onto the mound.

Inashiro Industrial makes a substitution.

Narumiya Mei takes the mound.

The game had entered its decisive stage.

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