Diamond Ace: Monster Slayer

Chapter 217: Strikeout in the Final

"Qingdao! Qingdao! Qingdao!"

"We must win! We must win! We must win!"

The atmosphere at the scene has reached its highest point due to the cheers of Seidou High School fans.

This is also normal.

Because the only thing left for the end of this game and for Seidou High School to advance to the Koshien finals is this one elimination.

And just now Sawamura got a strikeout, and their momentum reached its highest point.

One more out and we'll advance to the finals.

Be it Sawamura or everyone in Seidou High School, they all attached great importance to this last half inning of the game.

We are just one step away from entering the finals.

"Hurry up and adjust the camera for me. We must record this historic moment."

"Qingdao High School is going to regain its glory. Everyone, get ready."

"Moreover, the current lineup of Qingdao High School was cultivated by Coach Kataoka, and has nothing to do with Coach Sakaki."

The reporters from newspapers were all very busy.

Everyone opened their cameras and pointed the lenses at the venue.

They are right. If Seidou High School enters Koshien this time, it will break a lot of their history.

The five-year history of not reaching the Koshien finals will be broken at this moment.

The five-year history of not winning the Koshien championship will also be broken.

After a full ten years, the history of not becoming the Koshien champion will be broken!

There is also a historical record that is not only important to them, but also the most important to Director Kataoka.

That is the honor of Coach Kataoka achieving entry into Koshien with the team he formed!
This will be another new record!
Although Coach Kataoka had led a team into Koshien before, 20 of the 15 players on that team were third years.

Moreover, among the nine starting players, there was not a single one from other grades.

The third grade class that year was truly excellent.

They were all trained by Supervisor Sakaki, so their strength is definitely not a problem.

That Qingdao High School team was invincible all the way, and when they won the West Tokyo championship, they even trampled on the city's third high school.

This can be considered a good opportunity for Director Kataoka.

But since the retirement of the third graders, the Seidou High School baseball team has fallen into a period of decline.

The era of inaction by the ace pitcher also began.

At this time, discordant voices came from the outside world.

Something like Coach Kataoka can only pick up missed players and can't train his own players.

So this time they can enter the finals and help coach Kataoka wash away his bad reputation.

Having said that, there are still people who will stick to their own opinion.

The reason why they are so obsessed with this issue is very simple: it’s about Zhou Hui.

If it is said that Sawamura and Furuya Akatsuki were trained by Coach Kataoka and the Qingdao High School supervisory team, there would definitely not be any problems.

Even if it is included in the Spring Market, it would be acceptable.

But the problem lies with Zhou Hui.

After Zhou Hui joined Qingdao High School, the advice given to him by Coach Kataoka was even worse than that given to him by Christo.

Since Chris asked Zhou Hui to change his swing method, his batting average has increased significantly.

But what about Director Kataoka?

If you ask Zhou Hui what Director Kataoka taught him, he probably won't be able to say anything at all.

This is because Zhou Hui was already an outstanding player before he entered Qingdao High School.

It doesn't have much to do with Seidou High School and Coach Kataoka.

If we really have to say, perhaps Coach Matsuoka of the Hokkaido Hawks has made greater contributions than Coach Kataoka.

That's the point they grasped.

If there was no Zhou Hui, the probability of Qingdao High School entering Koshien this year would not be zero, but it would definitely not be high.

It is this point of his that will become the basis for others to criticize Director Kataoka.

But none of this matters anymore. Qingdao High School only has victory in their eyes right now, and everything else is just a passing cloud.

Sawamura was warming up on the pitcher's mound, and the second batter from the opposing team had already come up.

This is their Shanshou Academy’s last chance!
Everyone from Seidou High School was ready to rush out the moment Sawamura got out.

As for this, even though Supervisor Kataoka saw the intentions of these disciples, he did not stop them.

Why are you stopping me? Why are you stopping me?
This is the players' trust in their own pitcher.

If it weren't for his serious image being displayed here, Director Kataoka would probably have rushed forward at that time.

This is the honor of Qingdao High School and also their honor.

“We’re going to the finals soon.”

Itai clenched his fists.

Along the way till now, he is fully aware of how difficult it has been for him.

He was originally a starter, but was moved to the substitute position.

It’s all because of Zhou Hui!

But he didn't blame Zhou Hui at all.

If it weren't for Zhou Hui, he might never have been able to enter Koshien in his life, let alone the Koshien finals.

He didn't have time to thank Zhou Hui yet.

It’s just that his exposure is not enough, which will be a bit of an obstacle for him when choosing a university in the future.

After graduation, Itai will definitely go to the college league. His strength is not enough for him to directly participate in the professional baseball draft.

If Seidou High School wins the final championship, the only honor they can boast is the Koshien championship, which they won when they were a substitute.

What about the first release?

Sorry, it's just the West Tokyo final at best.

"It's the last out. I know you're excited. Now calm down and take your time. Let's start with a high, outside straight ball."

This ball was the first one that Miyuki played in this game.

Facing such an opponent, we must do something different.

The brains of the Yamamori Academy are very good.

Generally speaking, as long as they see the ball thrown by the pitcher once, they will have a way to play it in their minds.

This time too.

They have corresponding solutions for all of Sawamura's balls.

Therefore, unfamiliar balls are still quite necessary.

"Whoosh!"

The little white ball whizzed out, and the batter was stunned when he saw the position of the baseball.

“Is this a position he’s never pitched before?”

The batter couldn't believe his eyes.

Is this also the position that Sawamura is good at?
The position that Sawamura is good at is the "four squares". Although his ball control is not that good, he can still shoot in the most basic positions.

This is what a normal pitcher should have.

Xiao Fōgiya: I suspect you are scolding me, but I have no evidence.

"Snapped!"

The baseball was hit into Miyuki's glove, making a deafening sound.

"Bad ball."

But for this one pitch, the baseball didn't give the ball the chance to enter the strike zone.

Now it's a bad ball.

Sawamura's quirky ball has both advantages and disadvantages.

The advantage is that if the opponent hits the ball, the baseball will be moving around and the unclear release point will make it impossible for the batter to hit the ball to the right position after hitting it.

But the bad thing is that the ball will move around.

It was originally in a good position, but the moment it scurried into the glove, it was different.

But that's still a good thing.

At least it proves that Sawamura has his own characteristics.

Miyuki has always been in a state of approval of Sawamura's quirk ball.

He also often uses this characteristic of Sawamura to help Sawamura become better step by step.

Now, Sawamura's Quirk Ball is already among the top in West Tokyo.

Even if it's a hard level, he's probably in the top 5 of all the pitchers in West Tokyo, but he should be in the top 10. Most importantly, this guy has a promising future.

Just first grade.

This is younger than Cheng Gongming's age.

After autumn, Narimiya Mei will not have much time left to stay in high school to play baseball. As for Sawamura, after this year's transition, he can be said to have entered his true peak period.

Both his mentality and pitching have begun to mature, and it is possible that his achievements will surpass Cheng Gongming by then.

For a high school baseball player, his peak is usually in the sophomore year.

By the third grade, his style had been finalized and the fluctuations were not too big.

To put it bluntly, it was a microcosm of his second grade.

Therefore, whether a player is strong in his second year can really prove whether he will be strong in the future.

Sawamura's starting point is so high, will the road ahead be difficult?

At least in his opinion, in the opinion of Director Kataoka, that is not the case.

Although Director Kataoka did not hide his dislike for Sawamura at the beginning, after seeing his strength, he really had to say that Sawamura is awesome.

No supervisor will give up on a strong player.

The same is true for Director Kataoka.

"That's a good shot. Next time, I'll use a low inside corner straight ball."

Every pitch was so weird that Sawamura wasn't sure if he could make a good shot.

"Whoosh!"

The small white ball was thrown and Yukichi slid towards the low inside corner.

At the same time, his glove followed, blocking the baseball's path.

He lowered his whole body to hold the ball.

The batter still didn't swing.

It is impossible to understand where his ball is released, which keeps the batters in a daze.

Just asking, how do you swing the bat in this situation?

"Bad ball."

But it was still a bad shot.

Facing a type of pitch that was unfamiliar to him, Sawamura was unable to throw the ball into the strike zone.

Two bad balls in a row.

"How can I make a good pitch?"

Sawamura held the baseball with his five fingers.

He hadn't thought about this question for a long time.

The last time I thought about it was when I was in junior high school.

A baseball novice stage.

"The ball could be a little higher."

It's pretty good overall, but the baseball is a little lacking because of the weird ball.

"High angle straight ball. Remember to use our new method."

Miyuki gave a secret signal.

Finally, a position that Sawamura is good at.

It’s just that this new method is used for the first time in a competition!

Sawamura's pitching speed can be said to be at the bottom among high school students.

Although most pitchers can throw up to 130km, few can throw below 130km.

Unless it's a very special pitcher.

A pitcher who mainly plays with poor speed is a special pitcher.

Therefore, a ball speed of 130km is already at the lowest end of the food chain for high school students.

Obviously, Sawamura is such a person.

But he didn't believe it, and he was determined to defy fate and change his destiny.

He wants to take his pitching speed to the next level.

After all, it was Akira Fōtani who relied on his pitching speed to become a pitcher trusted by coach Kataoka.

Although Sawamura is the same, if a pitcher does not pursue the ultimate pitching speed, how can he be called a pitcher?

Every ace pitcher wants a pitch speed of over 150km.

Sawamura is working towards this goal, and he naturally hopes that his pitching speed can reach that level.

Aiming at Miyuki's gloves, Sawamura placed the gloves in front of himself.

"Right now, let them see that Nize Village is different now!"

Sawamura raised his leg high and his knee almost touched his face, but this pitching posture is very normal and people are used to it.

If this is the first time you see it, you might feel a little surprised.

But now Sawamura has already played in several games in various competitions, and people have seen his posture many times.

People are used to it.

The same goes for the fact that he can't see where the ball will go.

People have seen it many times and are used to it, but there is no solution.

What can be done?

Sawamura swung his arms into a circle and leaned forward, putting all his strength into his fingers.

Combined with the high-leg action just now, it can ensure that Sawamura can release all his strength.

For such a straight ball, the ball speed will soar directly.

It's just that it's easy to get exhausted by doing this.

But this was the last inning of the game and the last batter.

What does physical strength have to do with it?

"Whoosh!"

The moment he threw the ball, Sawamura's eyes were shining.

And the speed of the ball increased just as Miyuki expected.

"This is?"

Before the latter could react, the baseball had already gone into the glove.

"Snapped!"

"nice shot!"

Sawamura immediately turned around and looked at the speedometer.

It really shows a ball speed of 140km.

So fast!

Sawamura touched his face. He didn't expect it to be so fast.

In his opinion, he was just a quirk ball pitcher with soft limbs, and he never thought that he could improve his pitching speed to this level.

With the bonus of pitching speed, I believe Sawamura will have a smoother future.

It’s just that this ball speed requires a special method.

This means that Sawamura will most likely not be able to become a starting pitcher because of this.

But none of this matters anymore!

More importantly, his pitch speed has improved.

He is one of the favorable candidates to become the future ace pitcher of Seidou High School!
Compared with the ace pitchers, what Sawamura lacks is pitch speed.

But he has already achieved this, so there is nothing to fear!
"nice shot!"

On the next pitch, Sawamura threw freely again, and the batter swung and missed!
"Yeah!"

Minister Ota was also celebrating in the lounge with his arms and legs raised.

We are about to enter the finals!
For the last ball, Miyuki chose a high straight ball to the inside corner.

"Whoosh!"

"Snapped!"

It is not easy for a baseball to make a weird turn at high speed.

It was also because of this little turn that Sawamura struck out the batter from Yamamori Academy!
Sawamura struck out the batter that decided the outcome of the game!
"Strike! Batter out! Game over!"

……

(End of this chapter)