Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter Has Arrived

Chapter 429: Aikawa's Resilience

After the fourth inning, the players of the Ushimaru Agricultural High School Baseball Team were completely deflated.

Today's game, by their own measure, had gone quite well.

They had even managed to go back and forth with the Seido High School Baseball Team, known for having the strongest offense in the country.

Well, saying that might be giving themselves too much credit.

In fact, their offense had been completely neutralized by Koichiro Tanba, the Ace Pitcher of the Seido High School Baseball Team. Even when they occasionally made contact, the iron-wall defense of the Seido High School Baseball Team prevented those hits from turning into base hits or runs.

By the end of the fourth inning, the Ushimaru Agricultural High School Baseball Team hadn't gotten a single hit, let alone any runs.

In four innings, all nine players had been up to bat, and even the First Three Batters had gone up twice.

Not one of them had reached base.

On the contrary, the Seido High School Baseball Team, although they hadn't displayed their explosive hitting power, had steadily expanded their lead, relying on their superb skill.

At the beginning, the players of Ushimaru Agricultural High School Baseball Team hadn't taken it too seriously. In their eyes, it was natural to give ground and allow Seido to score when the game was going against them.

Their opponent was the Seido High School Baseball Team, after all, with the strongest offense in the country.

What about Osaka Kiryu, known as the Cosmic Team?

Last summer, when they played against the Seido High School Baseball Team, Seido still stabbed them eleven times, leaving eleven transparent holes.

Even the Osaka Kiryu High School Baseball Team, hailed as the Cosmic Team, couldn't gain any advantage against the Seido High School Baseball Team.

Let alone Ushimaru Agricultural.

And before that, there was the Spring Koshien that had just ended.

The team that won the championship there, Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team, had also played against the Seido High School Baseball Team last fall.

What about Inashiro?

They also failed to gain much of an advantage against the Seido High School Baseball Team.

The two sides were evenly matched, and had Seido been a little luckier, the game might even have been reversed.

What did this show? It showed that the Seido High School Baseball Team was definitely one of the strongest teams in the country.

Playing against such a team and only losing by one or two runs was not a disgrace. It could even be considered an honor.

In the first few innings, the players of the Ushimaru Agricultural High School Baseball Team thought exactly that.

So even though they were temporarily behind on the scoreboard, their performance was active and their spirits were high. They looked as if they were ready to fight to the death with the Seido High School Baseball Team.

It was like a duel between ancient samurai, where one samurai was slightly stronger and continuously pressed his advantage.

Ushimaru Agricultural was like that other samurai. In the first four innings, they were cut open by the Seido High School Baseball Team several times.

But at first, they didn't mind. They even thought it was only natural.

How can there be a duel without getting hurt?

These minor injuries didn't affect their performance. As long as they could find an opportunity, they wanted to deliver a fatal blow to their opponent.

Ushimaru Agricultural fought the Seido High School Baseball Team for four innings with that determination.

By the fifth inning, they suddenly realized something was wrong.

Those small cuts, one or two at a time, weren't a big deal on their own. But as the number of small cuts increased, the blood loss was no less than from a serious injury.

Now, Ushimaru Agricultural felt as if three or four tenths of their blood had already drained away. Because of the excessive blood loss, their reactions had become sluggish and stiff.

"It's over!"

No matter how unwilling they were, the players of Ushimaru Agricultural had to admit that their endurance might have reached its limit.

Next, the Seido High School Baseball Team's offense would become increasingly powerful, and every weakness Ushimaru had exposed would be furiously exploited.

Hase was unwilling, but the eyes of his teammates around him had already lost their light.

The world before them had turned from colorful to gray.

In this situation, no matter how unwilling Hase was, he was powerless.

"Is this the end?"

Hase muttered softly.

The air in their dugout was so heavy that even though Hase spoke quietly, everyone heard him.

After hearing their vice-captain's words, not one of them had the thought to argue. They all just hung their heads.

They seemed to have completely given up on the game.

"What's wrong, everyone? The game is only halfway through. We still have five innings to catch up on the score."

Just then, a man stood up and shouted at his teammates.

It was Aikawa Kazuo, the pitcher of the Ushimaru Agricultural High School Baseball Team and their best-performing player.

Aikawa stared at his teammates with burning eyes.

He was unwilling to give up.

Fighting spirit still burned within him.

The team's outfielder shook his head.

"There's no hope. The gap between us and the Seido High School Baseball Team is too big. Catching up from a four-run deficit, or even taking the lead, is basically a pipe dream."

The game wasn't just about their offense. The Seido High School Baseball Team's offense hadn't been stopped either.

Except for the first inning, Seido had scored in almost every inning, though the runs weren't many. Only one or two at a time.

But little by little, it added up.

Seido's score would keep climbing, and the gap between the two sides would only widen.

"What if I can stop them from scoring anymore?"

Hase said.

In the fifth inning, facing Seido's batters starting from the Ninth Batter, they didn't have much confidence in Aikawa.

But if he could hold this inning and prevent Seido from adding to their lead, then Ushimaru Agricultural's chance of a reversal would still be slim, but not completely gone.

They would have a chance, even if that chance required many things to go right.

But having a chance was better than having none.

The Ushimaru players, who had been ready to give up, gritted their teeth, changed their gear, and returned to the field.

No matter what they felt inside, their Ace had asked it of them. They would cooperate.

The game moved to the fifth inning.

Aikawa was not flustered by the unfavorable situation, nor was his condition affected by it.

He threw the baseball with everything he had.

"Ping!"

Asou, who was at the plate, felt like his hands holding the bat were about to be shaken off.

What power!

After the white ball was hit, it landed directly in front of the pitcher.

"Pop!"

"Out."

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