Diamond Ace: Monster Slayer

Chapter 195: The Return of the Ace

Chapter 195: The Return of the Ace
One day later, Hanshin Tigers Koshien Stadium.

The first focus match of Koshien is about to begin, and the two sides are Yamamori Academy and Seidou High School.

Now that the competition has reached the semi-finals, every game is a highlight.

These are all eye-catching, irresistible and must-watch games.

As long as we win this game, we will secure the runner-up spot in Koshien.

The value of the Koshien runner-up is also quite high.

A terrible team like Kiryu High School is only a runner-up level team in Koshien.

But in this Koshien, they were eliminated first, becoming a big upset.

Instead, it was Seidou High School and Giant Troll Daifujimaki, two teams that rarely appeared in Koshien, that made it to the semifinals.

Moreover, this is the first time that the Giant Giant Tengjuan has entered Koshien.

The underdog's victory over the stronger one frequently appeared in this year's Koshien.

The most common ones appeared in the two teams of Qingdao High School and Troll Daifujijuan.

Inside the player tunnel of Qingdao High School, no one was laughing, everyone had a serious face.

This is also true for the funny guys like Sawamura, Miyuki, and Kuramochi.

The further the game progresses, the stronger their team becomes and the closer they are to their goal.

They are determined to win the Koshien championship this time!
Walking at the front of the team is the bald ace of Qingdao High School, Koichiro Tamba!
His tall stature will surely cause cheers when he enters the venue.

It is worth mentioning that this time Danbo will be the starting pitcher of this game.

In the previous Koshien games, Tamba did not have this treatment.

As the team's ace pitcher, he didn't even get to the plate a few times.

The outside world also began to wonder how weak this ace pitcher of Qingdao High School was.

Maybe Coach Kataoka also heard the voices from outside, or maybe it was also to deal with the batting line of Yamamori Gakuin. In short, today Tamba became the starting pitcher of Seidou High School.

"I don't want to say more. We are getting closer and closer to the Koshien championship. Although your record today is the best since I coached Seidou High School. But I am still not satisfied, and I think you are the same, so we will continue to play with the championship as our goal! We want to win the championship!"

Director Kataoka's face looked very scary because of the reflection in his sunglasses, but the words he spoke were powerful.

"Yes!"

The students of Qingdao High School were also very confident and answered "yes" three times.

"Very good, you already have the temperament of a king and a lion. Next, please make sure to win the final championship."

"As ordered!"

“We must become champions!”

"Defeat the Yamamori Academy first!"

Qingdao High School entered the stadium with great momentum, and the word "murderous intent" seemed to be written on everyone's face.

Facing the aggressive Qingdao High School, the opposing player channel also had bad intentions.

There was also discord on the faces of the people at Yamamori Gakuin as they also walked towards the venue step by step.

It's only the semi-finals and the atmosphere is already so tense. It's hard to imagine what the final of this Koshien will be like.

"In the Koshien semifinals, Seidou High School will play against Yamamori Academy. The game is about to begin. Please take your seats, and please invite Seidou High School to warm up."

The commentator began to give orders.

The game is about to begin.

Because of Ryosuke's injury, Qingdao High School's starting lineup this time still put Haruichi in the starting position.

With the experience of the previous game, Coach Kataoka can be said to have 100% trust in Haruichi.

His position was also moved up to second baseman, and Zhou Hui continued to defend left field.

Although Zhou Hui's performance at second base is not bad, coach Kataoka still feels that it is unreliable for him to suddenly move to a position he has rarely played before.

Even Zhou Hui is the same.

To be on the safe side, this position is still held by Chun Shi, who has experience as a second baseman.

As for other positions, there is no change.

The catcher is still Yuki.

Chris' injury has lasted from the summer tournament to now.

But the good news is that the medical team responsible for Chris has made it clear that if Qingdao High School can make it to the finals, he will definitely have a chance to play.

Compared to Miyuki, Seidou High School trusts Chris more.

No matter how strong Miyuki is, he has never won a head-on confrontation with Chris.

"Yayuki, you need to adjust Danbo's condition at the beginning. He hasn't played in the game for so many days, no one knows what his condition is like. We still need you to help him adjust."

"No problem, leave it to me."

Yukichi nodded.

Miyuki is the best friend of the pitcher of Seidou High School, and he has always had experience in adjusting the pitcher's condition.

There are few pitchers that he cannot coach.

He also has his own unique experience in dealing with slow-warming pitchers like Danbo.

"That's all I have to say. Although the batters of Yamamori Academy are small, we must not be careless. Most of their batters are skilled hitters. Their fourth batter only hit one home run in the regional tournament. Their playing style is completely opposite to ours, so we must not underestimate them."

"That's right. Don't underestimate any skilled fighter."

Ryosuke reminded with a smile.

The students of Qingdao High School then realized that they also had a skilled hitter in their own family.

When the students of Qingdao High School thought of Ryosuke's playing style and his narrowed eyes, they couldn't help but get goosebumps.

If all the batters at Yamamori Academy were smart hitters like Ryosuke, would that be tolerable?

Just think about it.

After telling the students some specific information about Yamamori Academy, the students from Qingdao High School rushed to the venue and the game was about to begin!
"Is their ace pitcher back?"

The supervisor of Yamamori Academy said.

He never thought that the starting pitcher for Seidou High School today would be Tamba.

Judging from the recent state of Seidou High School, he would think that their starting pitcher would be either Furuya Akira or Sawamura.

These two pitchers have performed well in recent games.

But in his eyes, Danbo was just ordinary.

I never thought he would become a starting pitcher.

This misjudgment of his is probably the "gap" in age between him and Director Kataoka.

The director of Yamamori Academy is called Suda Koichi, an old director who is nearly seventy years old.

There is a saying that people become more charming as they get older, but this is not true when applied to Director Suda.

Although he often used some unusual tactics to catch his opponents off guard during games at Yamamori Academy due to his age and experience, the fact was that his outdated tactics were often useless.

It was common for his outdated tactics to be discovered, and he often felt inferior for not keeping up with the trend of baseball reform.

So he did not expect that Tamba would be the starting pitcher for Seidou High School this time.

There is still a huge age gap between him and Director Kataoka.

If it weren’t for the arrival of a pair of strong twins at Yamamori Academy this year, they might not even have made it to the semifinals in the Yamanashi region.

This year's twin combination of Yamamori Academy, Yuto Kamashiri and Kazuto Kamashiri, has become the key to their entry into Koshien this year.

They can be said to have saved Yamamori Academy.

The pitching staff of Yamamori Academy is also very poor, as can be seen from Kamisaki Yuto.

Kamisaki Yuto is the younger twin brother, while Kamisaki Kazuto is the older brother.

Both of them are freshmen who joined Yamamori Academy this year.

Normally, if the strength of the freshmen and juniors is similar, the junior will definitely become the ace pitcher.

This can be confirmed in Qingdao High School.

To be honest, Akatsuki Fōgaya's strength is almost the same as Tamba's.

Moreover, the monstrous physique displayed by Akatsuki Fōgiya is much stronger than that of Tamba.

Perhaps the only one who has a pitching speed of 150km/h but has not become the team's ace pitcher is Seidou High School.

However, Akira Fōgani's ball control and ball change have always been his weak points, which is something that Tamba possesses.

The two are equally matched and each has his own advantages.

So in the final number awarding ceremony, it was still Tamba who became the ace pitcher and got the number 1.

This is the buff from the senior student.

But the ace pitcher of Yamamori Academy is Yuto Kamisaki.

What is this concept?
If we use the same logic as Seidou High School in selecting an ace pitcher, it proves that there is no one on their team who can be compared with Kamisama Yuto.

Coach Suda may not want this freshman to become the team's ace pitcher right from the start. Even though he has outstanding talent, Coach Suda believes that he still needs to gain experience on the bench for some time.

But the problem is that there is no other pitcher in the team who can take shots except him.

Rather than saying that Kamisama Yuto's strength surpassed that of other seniors, it would be more accurate to say that Yamamori Academy was forced into a corner.

"Top of the first inning, Yamamori Academy is on offense, first batter, shortstop, Kitayama-san."

The game officially begins, and Danbo on the pitcher's mound is eager to try!

After so many days, he finally stood on the pitcher's mound again as a starting pitcher.

It was an exciting moment for him.

Although Tamba is the ace pitcher of Seidou High School this year and was an important rotation pitcher of Seidou High School last year, he has always been suppressed by other pitchers.

Last year, I was suppressed by the senior students, and this year, I am suppressed by the freshman students.

Coupled with the trouble of injuries, he has had few opportunities to play in the past two years.

The more important the game, the more resentful Tamba becomes when he takes the mound, and the more he wants to hit a good ball!
The wind and snow oppressed me for two or three years, but I laughed at the wind and snow as light as cotton!
Now, the time has come to prove him!
Standing on the pitcher's mound, Tamba stared at Kitayama with a fierce look, and Miyuki also gave a secret signal.

The two of them have been working together for two years and know each other quite well.

A secret signal can reveal your partner's thoughts and playing style.

Danba held the baseball with his fingers, aimed at Miyuki's glove, raised his long legs, and threw it towards the glove at the far end.

"Whoosh!"

After three years of training at Seidou High School, Tamba's pitching speed has stabilized at around 140km/h.

For a third grader, it is not difficult but not easy either.

But there are already many pitchers in Koshien who can do this.

In terms of straight balls, Tamba is not outstanding, and in Koshien, where talent is almost overflowing, he is even more mediocre.

Perhaps the only thing that can keep him standing is his signature move, the curve ball.

It's just the beginning, and it's more about finding the form rather than bluffing.

If you use a curveball before you find your form, it will be a big question whether the baseball can get into the strike zone.

"Snapped!"

Most of the first balls were good, but Kitayama let this one go and let Miyuki catch it.

"nice shot!"

A good ball.

Beishan's expression didn't change at all, and it seemed that this goal was not enough to make him dumbfounded.

In Koshien, this is just average.

"Next ball, try another one from the inside corner."

Miyuki thinks the same way as most catchers.

When facing smaller hitters, use the inside corner ball.

And Kitayama happens to be the epitome of that kind of small hitter.

Not only him, but other hitters at Yamamori Academy are also of the same build as him.

"Whoosh!"

The long arms were raised, the brim of the hat covered Danbo's eyes, and the baseball flew out of his hands.

"Qiang!"

Continuous identical ball paths rarely appear in Koshien.

The batters in Koshien will not miss any such opportunity.

But Kitayama didn't expect that Danbo's ball would be so difficult to deal with. Even if he hit it, the pain in his hand was real.

"Good weight!"

Although the baseball was picked up, Zhou Hui in the left outfield easily found its landing spot.

"Snapped!"

"Out!"

The first out was easily won.

The self-confidence of Seidou High School also rose, and Tamba even found the confidence of an ace pitcher.

Before the game started, because he had not played for a long time, Danbo almost forgot that he was the team's ace pitcher, not to mention his confidence, which had been completely lost long ago.

But on the semi-final stage, Danbo felt satisfied again after defeating his opponent's first runner so quickly.

"Good shot, that's the momentum!"

"I know."

Danbo shouted loudly.

He is different now!

After getting this number of eliminations, Danbo's condition improved exceptionally quickly.

Normally it takes at least one game to get to this state, but today I got it after just one game.

Sometimes, confidence can really save a pitcher.

"nice shot!"

"Good ball! Batter out!"

"nice shot!"

"Strike! Batter is out! Three outs! Attack and defense switch!"