Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter Has Arrived

Chapter 428: Snowball Effect

The players of the Ushimaru Agricultural High School Baseball Team probably never dreamed that the Seido High School Baseball Team would be so cooperative.

Having been hit repeatedly, Hase thought he had to get the first out as quickly as possible, no matter what.

Only by getting an out could they possibly salvage the situation on the field. Most importantly, Hase was also wary of the Seido High School Baseball Team's reputation as the strongest hitting lineup in the nation.

Last year, the Seido High School Baseball Team's two most famous games were against Osaka Kiryuu and Inashiro Industrial.

Although Seido lost both games in the end, no one looked down on them for it.

In those two games, although Seido lost, they did not make it easy for their opponents.

They scored heavily against both teams, and even after the fact, no other team had managed to put up that many runs against either of those two National Champions.

This was the origin of Seido's strongest hitting lineup.

Once the players of the Seido High School Baseball Team went wild with their hitting, no one could predict how strong their offensive power would be.

Hase had considered this, which is why he wanted to interrupt Seido's offensive rhythm and stop them from continuing like this.

Hase was willing to pay some price for it.

As long as they could get an out, giving up one or two runs was acceptable.

But he did not expect the Seido High School Baseball Team to be so cooperative. They readily accepted what Ushimaru Agricultural had set up for them.

The next batter, the First Batter, laid down a bunt.

"Ping!"

Yuuki Tetsuya, who had already reached Third Base, ran home without stopping.

Although the batter was thrown out, Seido scored.

The total score became 2-0, with the Seido High School Baseball Team leading by two runs.

The situation also became one out, no one on base.

Hase let out a long sigh.

Although the score difference had widened, their crisis was resolved. As long as they could get the other two outs, the trade would not be a loss.

With no one on base, Aikawa's performance gradually returned to its previous level. His pitching was sharp, but to be honest, he hadn't been a pitcher for very long. At most, it had been a little over a year.

In most cases, he still played practice games, and his experience in official games as a pitcher was very limited.

Once there was someone on base, he would inevitably panic.

Although Aikawa hid it well, his pitching couldn't deceive people. Once someone reached Second Base, or even Third Base, Aikawa himself might come undone.

Trading one run for an out and clearing the runner from Third Base was a good deal for Ushimaru Agricultural High School.

Hase commanded the team's subsequent defense with satisfaction. Not only did the pitcher breathe a sigh of relief, but the other Ushimaru players also seemed to shed some kind of weight.

Everyone at Ushimaru believed that Hase's call had been correct.

Although they gave up a run, overall they had gained the advantage.

In the subsequent confrontation, Aikawa successfully dealt with Seido's Seventh and Eighth Batters.

He seemed to have found his rhythm, and his momentum was no worse than when the game first started. It might even have improved slightly.

As the saying goes, those involved are confused while bystanders see clearly.

The players of the Ushimaru Agricultural High School Baseball Team believed they had performed well. But in the stands, some felt that Ushimaru had completely fallen into Kataoka's trap.

The Seido High School Baseball Team's failure to advance in the Autumn Tournament had clearly had a significant impact, and not just on the players' improvement. Even their coach, Kataoka Tesshin, had become more composed in these past few months.

He had developed a new understanding of how baseball games were played.

In the bottom of the second inning, Ushimaru Agricultural was on offense.

Their players were enthusiastic. They believed they had performed well in the previous inning's defense, and at this moment, morale was high.

It was just a pity that they encountered Tanba in excellent form.

Judging from his performance in the first inning, Tanba's condition today was simply impressive.

Even when the score was tied, he had firmly suppressed Ushimaru Agricultural. And now that Seido was leading by two runs, Tanba had even more confidence.

Once the team took the lead, Tanba seemed to enter an invincible mode.

This time, even Ushimaru Agricultural's cleanup hitter didn't have time to make any moves before being cleanly dealt with.

"Pop!"

"Out!"

"Out!!"

"Strikeout!!!"

Two innings, six up, six down.

Among them were three strikeouts.

Ushimaru Agricultural's newly ignited ambition was suppressed by Tanba.

The other teammates of the Seido High School Baseball Team were very happy. They gathered around Tanba, praising him continuously.

Although Zhang Han's pitching was more anticipated, he hadn't pitched for several months, and no one could say whether he could regain his form.

In this situation, Tanba's strong performance was of great significance to the Seido High School Baseball Team.

The rest of the game played out like a pre-written script.

Seido's Ninth Batter was out, and the First Batter, Kuramochi, successfully reached First Base using his speed.

Then he immediately stole Second Base.

His speed was so fast that even opponents from powerhouse schools found it difficult to defend against. Ushimaru Agricultural, whose fundamentals were far inferior, had no way to deal with Kuramochi and even had to worry about the consequences of a pickoff error.

One out, runner on Second Base.

Hase had to face a choice again, and in the end he chose to compromise.

He believed the choice was reasonable.

First, with Kuramochi's terrifying speed, he didn't think his teammates could stop him.

Second, and very importantly, once someone was on base, Aikawa's inexperience as a pitcher might be exposed.

Once Seido knew that, there was no telling how they would exploit it.

It would be better to give up the run and end the inning first.

The two teams seemed to have reached an unspoken agreement. Kominato Ryosuke laid down a bunt to advance Kuramochi.

Facing Seido's scoring, Ushimaru Agricultural did not resist much.

"Safe!"

The Seido High School Baseball Team scored their third run.

The strangest part was not Ushimaru Agricultural's behavior, but Seido's.

They were compliant and undemanding, accepting whatever the other team arranged, and in doing so gave up many opportunities to score further.

As a result, Seido scored only two runs in the second inning.

In the third inning, they scored only one.

By the fourth inning, with both Zhang Han and Yuuki on the field, they still managed just one run.

The Seido High School Baseball Team's offense seemed to have suddenly lost its usual flair, becoming almost casual. There was no momentum, as if any outcome was acceptable.

Coach Kataoka was very calm about this.

It seemed that a steady back-and-forth game against Ushimaru Agricultural was enough to satisfy him.

The Seido players, on the other hand, were all frustrated. They felt they hadn't even unleashed 70% of their strength.

What was going on?

Without realizing it, four innings had already been played.

In the early stages, Zhang Han's home run had the crowd buzzing. But from the third inning to the fourth, Seido's subdued performance left everyone puzzled.

Some fans had even lost interest and started to yawn.

This had never happened at a Seido game before.

And so the game came to the fifth inning.

Kataoka finally spoke, no longer restrained: "Everyone can swing freely. Show the results of your daily practice."

Hearing this, the teammates eagerly rubbed their hands together.

Meanwhile, in the stands, a middle-aged reporter was breaking out in a cold sweat.

Too terrifying.

The Seido High School Baseball Team's ability to grind down an opponent was simply astonishing.

Seido had used its absolute strength to score one run at a time, never being greedy.

Judging from their previous performance, Ushimaru Agricultural's strength was not weak. Even if the Seido High School Baseball Team went all out, defeating this opponent quickly would have been no easy task.

But now the score had reached 4-0.

With that score, the Seido High School Baseball Team had basically secured the victory.

And without anyone noticing, Ushimaru Agricultural, a team that could contend with Seido, had already lost its will to win.

Since when?

How had the game turned out this way?

The middle-aged reporter kept pondering.

Was it Ushimaru Agricultural's first compromise? Their second? Their third?

Each time they compromised, the Seido High School Baseball Team would immediately ease off, taking only a small step forward and never pressing the advantage further.

And the result ended up like this.

The Seido High School Baseball Team's morale was soaring, and they held an overwhelming advantage on the field.

Ushimaru, a team that was by no means weak, had somehow been played to a standstill.

Looking at the Ushimaru Agricultural players now, there was no sign of their desire for victory.

What kind of tactics had Kataoka Tesshin used?

Ichidai Third High School. Inashiro Industrial.

Although both teams had excellent performances at Koshien, the middle-aged reporter was worried about them.

Encountering a Seido High School like this, they might be in for a rude awakening.

As a bystander, the middle-aged reporter was shaken enough to break out in a cold sweat.

But the players of the Seido High School Baseball Team felt none of it.

They even had a hidden frustration in their hearts.

They clearly had opportunities to score more runs, but Coach Kataoka had insisted on caution, allowing them to score only in the safest way possible.

This was completely at odds with their title of the strongest hitting lineup.

Now that Coach Kataoka had finally relented, how could they hold back?

Ushimaru Agricultural, get ready.

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