Chapter 491: Seiko Showdown – An Unstoppable Momentum
"A perfect pitching display! Ace pitcher Sawamura makes his entrance with overwhelming dominance, using just three pitches to retire the first batter. Calm and in complete control—that is the true presence of Seidou High's Diamond Of Ace, Sawamura Eijun."
"Seventh in the lineup, pitcher Ogawa-kun."
"Be careful, Tamamatsu," Nishijima said in a low voice as he turned to his teammate. "That guy's pitches are even tougher than Furuya's."
Ogawa Tsunematsu nodded firmly.
"Got it, Nishijima-senpai!"
Another first-year… another lefty…
This guy is totally overlapping with me.
Only one of us gets to be the strongest left-handed pitcher—and that's me.
Time to prove it.
And besides… I'm way better-looking than him!!
With a fierce expression, Tsunematsu strode confidently into the batter's box. This was his moment—to prove to everyone that he, Ogawa Tsunematsu, was the strongest pitcher of his generation. Not just Seikou's future ace… but the ace who would take them to Koshien.
"Nice eyes, fatso," Eijun muttered inwardly.
If you're ready for this, then let's end it with a final death match.
His piercing gaze collided with Tsunematsu's fiery spirit in the air.
But between fantasy and reality—there is always a brutal difference.
This time, unlike in the original story, Eijun had no plans to give this guy any extra chances.
"Whoosh!"
His arm swung powerfully—
The flash of light from his fingers announced his resolve.
A wave of pressure came crashing down like a mountain.
Tsunematsu barely had time to react.
"Ping!"
"Foul!"
Another pitch.
The next ball screamed in.
"Strike!"
What the hell? How is it this hard to follow his pitch!?
And this delivery—damn, I can't even see his release point!
Tsunematsu gritted his teeth.
The third pitch—a perfectly timed changeup.
"Strike three! Batter out!"
Tsunematsu had no chance. Eijun's pitch execution was clean, precise, and completely dominant.
Two outs.
From the mound, Eijun glanced coldly at Tsunematsu.
A glint of steel flashed in his eyes.
"Fatso... chances? Don't even think about it. You guys won't get a single one."
"Nice pitch, Sawamura-kun!"
"Haha! That's our ace! Did you see that?"
"Two outs! Two outs! Sawamura-kun, keep it going!"
"Let's go Seidou! Let's go!"
With absolute command and a suffocating presence, Eijun's performance left Seikou High feeling the weight of a mountain.
After Tsunematsu went down, the eighth batter, left fielder Ikuta, was even less of a threat.
On the very first pitch—a high inside fastball—
Still shaken from the last at-bat's changeup, Ikuta misjudged and popped it up.
A lazy fly ball to left field.
Asou tracked it easily and made the catch.
Three up, three down.
Eijun's impressive pitching effortlessly shut down Seikou High's bottom lineup, showcasing the dominating presence worthy of an ace.
"Tch tch, no surprise there—he's the Ace Of Diamond after all."
"Yeah, even if it was just the bottom of the order… one of those batters still hit a home run off Furuya earlier."
"But Sawamura dealt with him easily. Looks like even with just a one-run lead, Seidou still holds the upper hand."
"Still, the game's not over yet. The next inning, with Seikou's top lineup, will be the real test. Even Sawamura can't let his guard down."
"Exactly. If Seidou can score another run or two in their remaining at-bats, victory will be within reach."
"Won't be easy. That first-year pitcher from Seikou is doing great too."
"It's all about pitching now. Whoever's pitcher holds out better—will win."
"Yeah."
"Agreed."
With Eijun's dominant seventh-inning appearance, fans throughout the stands began discussing the tide of the game. While some still believed in Seikou's chances—given the one-run gap—most leaned toward Seidou.
After all, with Eijun on the mound, Seidou's defense was undoubtedly among the best in the high school league—top-tier, T1 level.
As long as there were no mistakes, fans believed victory was firmly within Seidou's grasp.
...
"Looking sharp, huh, Mr. Ace?"
Back in the dugout during the inning switch, Miyuki grinned and teased Eijun with a wink.
Eijun responded with a faint smile.
"Six outs to go. I'm not giving them a single chance."
A flicker of steel lit up in his eyes as he said it.
His seventh-inning performance had already dimmed the momentum Seikou had been building—and in contrast, Seidou's morale surged higher than ever.
That's the power of an ace. The reason for their existence.
Of course, Seikou wouldn't give up over a single setback.
After all, they were still only down by one run.
In the bottom of the seventh, Seidou came up to bat.
And once again, Ogawa proved he wasn't backing down either.
With three straight pitches, he struck out Kanemaru Shinji, who had been quiet all game.
Kuramochi hit a spiral ball that popped up high above shortstop and was caught—two outs.
Haruchi Kominato made things a bit harder for Tsunematsu, but he too couldn't make anything of it.
The lefty first-year's sharp performance shut Haruchi down as well.
Seidou's top order was suppressed again—four straight innings without a run.
With just one run allowed across seven innings, Ogawa began drawing the spotlight from the crowd and media alike.
Cameras from every news outlet kept zooming in on the young Seikou pitcher.
As fans noted, the second half of this game had turned into a pure pitching battle.
Whichever pitcher performed better—would determine the winner.
Both were slicing through their opponents' lineups like a hot knife through butter.
Tsunematsu's pitching had rekindled Seikou's morale.
And now, as the top of the eighth began…
Eijun was about to face Seikou's top lineup for the first time.
....
"Top of the 8th inning. Batting for Seikou High—9th batter, third baseman, Shirota-kun."
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