Diamond Ace: Monster Slayer

Chapter 202: Prediction
"We defended another game safely."

Seeing that Seidou High School did not lose any points in this round, fans of Seidou High School breathed a sigh of relief.

After saying this, Akiko Yamatoda, who was standing on the stands, also let out a breath and wiped the sweat off her face with a tissue.

It is summer in the island country now, and the temperature in Hyogo Prefecture will not be too low.

Faced with such a scorching heat, she was already dying of heat just standing here, not to mention the players who were fighting hard on the court.

Hyogo Prefecture is different from Hokkaido, the weather here is not so monotonous.

Hokkaido is never hot throughout the year, and it is always a cold winter no matter what season it is.

This kind of weather has greatly boosted their morale.

There are good and bad.

They had not been exposed to high temperatures for a long time, so they were not at all used to playing basketball in Hyogo Prefecture.

It often doesn’t take long before you’re at risk of dehydration.

Therefore, the top-ranked teams in Hokkaido will play friendly matches against teams in the Kanto region before the start of the summer competition.

The first is to improve strength, and the second is to allow the players to adapt to the temperature.

Every year, Koshien is held in Hyogo Prefecture, with no other venue.

Only by adapting to the hot weather can they perform well in Koshien.

But the Troll Vine Scroll is an exception.

Most of their training each year is in Hokkaido, and if they play friendly matches, they only look for schools around Hokkaido.

Even if there were schools in the Kanto region that wanted to play games with them, they would be the ones who came instead of the giant tangle roll.

Even so, they made it to the Koshien semi-finals this year.

What is even more commendable is that they did not show any signs of acclimatization problems at all.

Many people did not expect this.

"Watch the next game carefully. It will be Zhou Hui's turn to attack Qingdao High School in this round."

Fujio reminded Owada Akiko.

"I know, but it's really hot today."

Yamato Akiko responded while wiping the sweat off her face with a tissue.

Looking at the sun hanging in the sky without any mercy, Yamato Akiko had already imagined what it would be like if she were a player on the baseball field.

I collapse just thinking about it.

"No...Tian Qiuzi, you..."

Fujio widened his eyes and pointed at Yamato Akiko, his expression as if he had seen a ghost.

"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"

Akiko Yamato had not yet realized the seriousness of the problem, so she asked Fujio for a mirror.

"But we agreed in advance that this is a game and you can't yell."

"Okay, okay, of course I know. This is the most basic thing for a reporter."

Owada Akiko took the mirror.

You don’t know until you take a photo. You’ll be shocked when you do.

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!"

Yamatoda Akiko still couldn't keep her composure and started screaming.

Fujio had a premonition and blocked his ears in advance, thus escaping the disaster.

It turned out that the sweat on Akiko Yamato's face had ruined her makeup.

This is a situation that will cause any woman to collapse.

"Professional ethics, professional ethics."

But at this time, Yamato Akiko didn't care about so many things. She just wanted to go downstairs to touch up her makeup.

When he thought about the interview mission he would have later, his mood suddenly became bad.

"Baizhou, don't rush up."

Shirasu swung the bat twice in front of the locker room and was about to step forward when he was stopped by coach Kataoka.

"what happened?"

Baizhou turned around and walked back to the lounge.

Shirasu always follows orders and is one of the few "honest people" in Qingdao High School.

This does not mean that all the players of Qingdao High School are thugs.

It’s just that the other players have more or less bad intentions, which is not difficult to tell from their appearance.

But Hakushu is different.

Shirasu has always been a taciturn person and has become a breath of fresh air in Qingdao High School.

Although he seems out of place, he has a good position in the batting line and defense of Qingdao High School.

At least he's in the starting lineup.

Shirasu's stability has always been the thing that Qingdao High School likes most about him.

For a person like this, no matter how many evil ideas Kuramochi has, it would be embarrassing to use them on him.

"Do you have any ideas or strategies for the next pitch from the God Foot Pitcher?"

Supervisor Kataoka asked.

This is a very important question.

It’s not over after you defend against your opponent. What’s more important is how to score points.

Tamba's physical strength is not as good as Kamisada Yuto's, so he will definitely be replaced soon.

No matter whether it is Sawamura, Kawakami or Furuya Akatsuki who comes on, as long as they are caught by Yamamori Gakuen, they can basically say goodbye to the subsequent games in Koshien.

Even a batter like Zhou Hui couldn't help them.

Of course, this is the worst possible outcome.

Naturally, Qingdao High School was unwilling to accept this result.

"To be honest, I had no idea. It felt very different the first time I pitched against him. He seemed like a pitcher even weirder than Sawamura."

Shirasu shared some of his direct experiences playing Shenzu Yutoku.

"He is far less weird than Sawamura. If we talk about a pitcher weirder than Sawamura, I think it would be hard to find the next one in the whole country."

Chris's calm voice came.

"Master Chris, what do you mean by this? Are you praising me?"

"If you think so, think so."

Chris didn't pay too much attention to Sawamura's sudden words.

Sawamura wants to have a say in anything that has anything to do with him.

"The ball thrown by the God-footed pitcher actually floats upward, but the range is very small. To be honest, it's normal that you didn't notice it."

Chris said.

"Floating up?"

Shirasu never noticed it when he was playing, and thought he didn't hit the center of the ball because he was in poor condition.

"Don't underestimate this little bit of upside. It's because of this little bit of upside that you didn't hit the ball far." Chris said, "But his power is indeed very troublesome. But I believe that with the amount of training we have at Qingdao High School, that little bit of power shouldn't be a problem."

Chris: This is not just self-promotion.

He has a basis for everything he says.

The training volume of Qingdao High School is just that exaggerated.

Qingdao High School’s training includes running while dragging tires and lifting dumbbells every day.

This allows them to develop big muscles, and the increase in strength is visible to the naked eye.

In their eyes, the might of the ball meant nothing.

"So the most important thing is that you need to swing the bat a little further up based on your original swing. That way you can hit his ball."

"A little more distance..."

Although this sentence sounds simple, it is difficult to do.

Hakushu and other hitters at Qingdao High School, whether they are in the first or second team, practice swinging the bat thousands of times every day.

Their bat swing training is not just about swinging the bat randomly, but about swinging the bat with a purpose.

They all play the action in their minds as they swing the bat.

For example, a high straight ball to the inside corner and a low straight ball to the outside corner.

They will all simulate it first and then swing at that position.

Therefore, the swing at each position has become muscle memory in them.

If you make this change, the mismatch in muscle memory is likely to cause the movement to be deformed, or the ball will still not be hit in the center.

This kind of thing can happen very easily.

But Chris didn't care.

The first is that he can't care about so many things. It is already a very difficult thing to formulate a game plan for Qingdao High School in a short period of time. The second is that he believes in the students of Qingdao High School.

He believes in his classmates at Qingdao High School, and also believes in these "comrades-in-arms" who have worked hard with him until now.

They can do it!
"I try my best."

Baizhou still lacks a little confidence.

What does "try your best" mean?
Be sure and affirmative!

"It's not try your best, it's definitely! Do you understand?"

Isajiki Jun patted Shirasu's shoulder and said carelessly.

"Hey, it hurts."

After feeling the pain, Baizhou walked towards the venue.

"Bottom of the third inning, Seidou High School is on offense, the second batter, right fielder, is Hakushu-san."

"It doesn't matter how many of them come. As long as it's not Zhou Hui's turn, Youdou is invincible. That one move alone is enough to deal with you."

Kamado and Toto said silently in their hearts.

He is very confident in Kamisama Yuto.

But if he said this, the students at Qingdao High School would probably think that this guy was a bit shameless.

Hold the bat and get ready to fight!
Baizhou’s face is full of fighting spirit!
"It should be fine if it's a little further up."

"What's this expression?"

Seeing Hakushu's expression, Kamado and Kazuto almost laughed.

"Come on, slider to the outside corner."

Although Hakushu did not pose any threat to Yamamori Academy, Kamisaki Kazuto still had a slider.

This sense of novelty is bound to stun Baizhou for a moment.

In the past, the first serve was a straight ball. Now that Qingdao High School has adapted to it, let's try a changeup ball.

"Whoosh!"

In a flash, the ball was thrown over by the divine foot Yuto without any hesitation.

Even as Hakushu was getting ready, baseball arrived.

"Outer corner?"

After seeing the position of the baseball, Hakushu followed Chris's advice and deliberately raised his arm while swinging it.

But who would have thought that the baseball did not float up at the outside corner, but instead turned a corner and went into the gloves of Shenzu Hedou.

"Snapped!"

"nice shot!"

Baizhou was careless.

He just aimed for the straight ball and didn't care about anything else.

"We, Yuto, are not only good at throwing straight balls."

"Excuse me, what will be the next ball? A changeup? Or a straight ball?"

Hakushu's brainstorming session also began.

The probability of a slider and a straight ball is 50% each.

It's definitely a gamble!

"Okay! Then let's bet that the next ball is a straight ball!"

Baizhou guessed in his heart.

"Whoosh!"

Kamisama Yuto raised his hand and threw the baseball.

The white ball turned into white light and penetrated into Shenzu and Dou's gloves.

This time, Baizhou made the right bet!
It was a straight ball indeed.

He raised his arm slightly upward and hit it with the bat.

"Qiang!"

This time, Baizhou was very confident and tried his best!

He could feel very clearly that the ball hit the center!

Just swing it like this and you're good to go.

Hakushu had already seen him get a hit.

The baseball was whipped out.

If the speed of the ball thrown by Shenzu Yuto is about 130km to 140km, the speed of this ball must be close to 180km.

It's that fast!
The speed meter on the scene gave the speed of Shenzu Youdou's ball.

141km!

This speed combined with his power is indeed reasonable.

Normal high school student's ball speed.

And many people really can't throw at this speed when they are in the first grade.

Shenzu Yuto is definitely an extraordinary existence.

The little white ball flew up, passed over the third baseman's head, and showed no sign of coming down, continuing to fly forward.

Director Kataoka opened his mouth wide in the lounge.

Shirasu was his disciple, and coach Kataoka was aware of his striking ability.

Although Hakushu could become a strong hitter for Seidou High School when he was in the second team, after coming to the first team he was at best just a technical hitter.

He didn't expect that he could hit the ball so far.

Land!

A hit behind left field!
Although it was still some distance away from a home run, it was hit by Hakushu after all, which is somewhat incredible.

"Pass back quickly!"

Kitayama stood at second base and waved desperately.

But it was too late.

Shirasu had already stepped over the first base and onto the second base.

"Safety on base!"

No one out, second base occupied.

As soon as Shirasu came on the pitch, he gave Qingdao High School a good start.

The next batters for Seidou High School were Yuki and Zhou Hui.

Both of them are "hitting machines" of Seidou High School.

With two consecutive hits, it was a foregone conclusion that the team would overtake the score.

What Yamamori Academy needs to consider now is how to minimize the losses.

If this is really the case, one of Yuki and Zhou Hui must be recommended.

Even recommending two students for admission is not considered a shameful thing.

As long as we can win the game, or not lose points in this round, anything is fine.

"Third batter, first baseman, Yuuki-san."

Captain Yuki stood in the batter's box, his sharp eyes fixed directly on Yuto Kamizaki on the pitcher's mound.

The look is full of oppression, maybe this is what people often call "killing eyes".

From top to bottom, there is a terrifying aura.

"Want to play skateball?"

After giving the secret signal, Kamisada Yuto was a little hesitant, not knowing whether it would work.

Kamado and Tou confirmed the code.

"Whoosh!"

When Yuki saw Kamado Yuto raising his leg, he took a step forward.

Now he has figured out how to kick the ball out.

In order to hit this breaking ball, Yuki has already prepared his posture.

That’s right, Yuki guessed it was slider!
The baseball ran towards home plate, and the moment it entered the strike zone, Yuki raised his hand and hit it out.

"Qiang!"

He came prepared, so he guessed it right.

This is prediction!
From now on, who can say that Qingdao High School is a team composed of a group of simple-minded and strong-limbed people!

The baseball slid across first base and rolled into right field!
No one is out, runners on first and third base!

……

(End of this chapter)