Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, the characters go with their respective creators of diamond no ace and I do not claim ownership of the characters or the world.
Chapter 27
Yabe was walking back towards Inashiro's dugout and as he passed by Jinguuji who was moving up next to the batter box, he immediately whispered "be careful with the timing..."
"Timing? Huh what do you mean?" Jinguuji asked seriously confused with Yabe's remark.
"If I know how to explain it, I would not be strike out…" Yabe informs annoyingly as he walk back towards their own dugout.
Jinguuji wrinkled his forehead in regards to Yabe's remark, but instead of asking any further questions, he just decided to see for himself what Seido's ace is about. They had made sure to study his pitching sequence and his different pitches during his Sankou performance, so he doubt that there would be any sudden changes. Plus they all knew that Sawamura had pitched the whole Sankou game as well thus there sure to be some issue with stamina. As he stood inside the batter's box moving closer to the outer region of the batting plate obviously targeting Sawamura's moving fastball before it even move in the plate at the same time he also raised his bat high getting ready to target any fastball. So let us see what is all the fuzz about… he thought as he seriously look at Sawamura who seems to be quite relax on top of the mound.
Eijun was holding the white rosin bag in his pitching hand as he waited for the 8th batter to step in the batter box. What is all with this Inashiro batters, do they intend to keep targeting my fastballs, have they totally forgot I have breaking balls or what… he thought carefully as he slightly made a quick glimpse in Inashiro's dugout and noticing the 7th batter talking with the other players making him smile. Ahhhh… now that is expected… hmmmm…. How do I handle this one then… as he turn his gaze back towards the center line. As he looked at Miyuki closely waiting for the first sign, he noticed that his captain seems to be looking at the position of the batter's feet and then turn to look back at him seriously. Owh… is it about time we gonna do this cap? He grin inwardly as he saw Miyuki give a sign for his number 2 a bit in the out low position. He nod in agreement as he released the rosin bag he was holding dropping directly near his feet. Eijun took a deep breath in as he position himself for his windup, totally focusing towards the mitt of his catcher. He slowly did his pitching windup as he threw his number 2 directly towards the mitt, at the same time he could notice that Inashiro's 8th batter swing way to early totally missing the ball and landing towards the lower part of the plate.
"Strike!" as the umpire yelled, Miyuki wrinkled his forehead. The course was still way off from what he wanted however it was not that far, plus they are getting strike out either way and the batter was unable to time the pitch properly which was weird. The other thing that bothered him as well is that for some reason Sawamura's pitches were lighter or more like it was different when he was catching for him in his Sankou games. As he turn towards the scoreboard where the pitcher ball speed could be read he notice that Sawamura speed was only around 133 km/h which was not the regular speed of his pitches. Are his hands still hurting and he is just not telling us anything… or is he doing this purposely. He turn his gaze back towards Sawamura on top of the mound, and he could not notice anything wrong with his pitcher instead he was gazing back at him all serious, making him doubt what kind of pitches he was receiving. Do I need to take a timeout and just double check, however I don't want him to loose his focus… Miyuki took in a deep breath as he turn his gaze back towards the batter position, that is when he notice that Inashiro's 8th batter took a step back in the batter box unlike his first position moving towards the outer part of the pitcher box. Owh… this is interesting… even though his pitches are not the same compared to his performance in Sankou, Inashiro is having problem in hitting them. Miyuki grinned as he knew it was time to finally unleash Sawamura's well famed moving fastballs. He seriously look at Sawamura and gave a sign for his inhigh fastball as he closely position his mitt.
Eijun notice the serious look that Miyuki gave him and honestly he was expecting that his captain would be asking for a timeout, yet he did not and was giving him another sign instead, and this time it was his fastball. Eijun smiled on the thought, I guess he is guessing if I am doing this intentionally or not… hehehehe… this is getting so much fun… as he nod in agreement to his captain sign and position for his pitch. He took a deep breath in as he did his pitching windup at the same time releasing his fastball directly towards Miyuki's mitt. As the ball sailed through, Inashiro's 8th batter made a swing for the fastball, but totally miss the pitched ball since the bat was a bit low and instead it landed directly in Miyuki's mitt. "Strike!" the umpire yelled again, gaining more cheers in the stadium.
"Nice pitch Sawamura! The course is good!" Miyuki yelled out as he threw the ball back towards there ace.
Eijun did not answer, but instead just did a quick nod. He knew that was far from the truth since he saw the ball direction move a bit out of the pitcher's plate. If the batter did not made a swing, that would have been called a ball. He sigh as he flex the fingers of his pitching hand. He could sense a bit of sensation returning, however it is still not the same compare to before. I guess it is a good thing we are going with the bottom lineup, I need to make sure none of the batters touch my pitch, he thought grimly as he knew his rhythm would severely depend on it. He took a deep breath in and out as he watch Miyuki position for a inlow pitch, making him nod in a quick agreement. Eijun took a step back then did his windup and threw his inlow fastball and this time it directly sailed towards Miyuki's mitt with no space to spare, letting Inashiro's 8th batter unable to swing. "Strike! Batter out!" the umpire yelled. "Yes…yes… yes…!" Eijun yelled out as he raises his pitching hand showing a two sign out.
"Two outs Sawamura! Go for it!" Kuramochi yelled, however he was still closely observing Sawamura.
"Nice one Eijun!" Haruichi informs.
"Just one more Sawamura! Two outs!" Maezono called out earning a response of two outs within the field.
"Damn it! What is wrong with his pitches today… something is off the moment you are in the batter box!" Jinguuji complained the moment he step in Inashiro's dugout.
"What do you mean by something is off?" Shirakawa asked curiously as he also heard the same complain a while back from Yabe.
"I mean you know it is his fastball but it is like slower than normal at first, then in the next pitch it was suddenly fast…" Jinguuji tries to explain earning a confused look from the other players in dugout.
"Maybe it is not a fastball that he threw…" Mei chimed in casually.
"That is not it… it is not his changeup… nor his usual moving fastball pitches either… it kind of feels different…" Yabe informs at the same time they heard a "Strike!" remark on the field where all players of the Inashiro team return there gaze back towards the field. Ezaki was turn to bat after Jinguuji and it seems like the first pitch was counted as a strike again.
"Hmmp… that guy is nothing more than just a loud mouth… his pitch courses are still a bit off from what Kazuya wanted." Mei complained.
"Yet… none of our batters are able to hit it…" Carlos informs seriously as he watch Sawamura closely. His instincts are telling him something was off about Seido's ace the moment he was sent in as a pinch hitter. If his memory serves him right, Seido has a lot more powerful and better batter's yet they have sent in Sawamura in the 4th inning and now they are letting him handle the 6th inning considering Furuya was still in good condition. "I think Yabe and Jinguuji is right… something is probably weird about his pitches…" Carlos added.
Itsuki sigh as he closely listen to his teammates. He was about to comment when he heard his coach serious remark. "It is not his pitches, it is his form" Coach Kunimoto informs seriously as his gaze did not move away from Seid's ace, at the same time another 'Strike' call was made by the umpire.
"Huh… his form? Wait? What?" Narumiya asked confused at the same time Shirakawa watched Sawamura movement when he received the ball back from Miyuki.
"It could not be noticed at first, however his form is more solid compared to his last year pitching form, and the form he used in his Sankou performance." Coach Kunimoto notify. So you did started him on the basics Yukime, he thought gravely as he remembered the time she first showed up in Inashiro informing about Tadano involvement in a promotional game. "Why are you only interested in Tadano? I have a powerful pitcher I wanted you to meet" Coach Kunimoto informs Yukime as they were walking slowly back towards the latter vehicle. "Ahhh… I am already aware of Narumiya Mei, he is quite famous in the scout's book if it makes you happy" Yukime smiled as he could notice Coach Kunimoto's change of demeanor. "Plus I am not that interested in Tadano in a scouting way. It is my pitcher who wants him, though he is a good catcher, there are more catcher's out there that can outperform him if he slack off." "Then wouldn't it be good to let my pitcher join your training, he and Tadano are already battery partners. He can be a bit hard to handle however with your guidance I am sure he would learn a lot of things especially in your environment."Kunimoto tries to persuade Yukime seriously as he stop walking looking at her. Yukime also stopped walking beside coach Kunimoto at the same time took a deep breath in. It was already late at night and the cold air was slowly breezing in Inashiro's high parking lot. She slowly turn to look at her mentor and friend smiling brightly, "I am not bothered with your pitchers attitude issues especially with his kind of talent. As you could recall my team is full of players that have more serious attitude problems, however I am more interested in Sawamura's moving fastball compared to your pitcher, Hiroshige. Narumiya Mei is a far talented pitcher and more experienced compared to my Eijun, however I can help Eijun more in utilizing his natural gifts and solidify the basics in every aspect of his pitches. Narumiya already has a full cup of talent, and if I try to add more to his already existing knowledge at the same time make adjustments to his already good pitching style, it might ruin him instead of helping him. Eijun on another hand is still young, inexperienced and has not been focus trained yet. Thus it gives me the opportunity to make the certain adjustment to mold him into a strong and unique pitcher. After all… you were the one who taught me, everything should start with the basics… and I am sure as you have watched him in his first year, that unique pitching form of his is only the tip of the iceberg, he could be better. Actually he would most likely surpass your pitcher" As Yukime gave her brightest smile making it seem more like an evil grin upon her last remark. "Plus I highly doubt your pitcher would lose any scouting invites, I am not the only trainer in the league you know." She added making Coach Kunimot sigh. "I am well aware Narumiya already has a lot of invites as of now… however I wanted him to be under your care… after all you are a unique trainer plus I know you…" as Coach Kunimoto look at Yukime closely yet she only shook her head as a disagreement. "Look at it this way Hiroshige… you have trained Narumiya to be the best pitcher and most likely he wants to be the best in Japan, while I train Eijun to be the best pitcher he can be. You can think of it as a bit of rivalry since your pitcher does not have anyone he can compete with and my Eijun may not be at par at the moment, but there will come a time where you will see my Eijun beat your pitcher in every angle possible. You can count on it." Coach Kunimoto sigh deeply as his mind was sent back to the present after the third strike call of the umpire. 9 pitches to three batters… not bad… he had totally improve his lower muscle and core thus making him have stronger leg and thigh support when he is doing his windup at the same time he can now officially control his strength.
"I still don't get it!" Narumiya complained as he stood up obviously annoyed. It was already the end of the 6th inning and Inashiro has failed to get any runs at all plus all three batters where strike out by Seido's ace.
Itsuki sigh deeply as he could see their coach has gone quiet as if he was thinking something deeply. During their meeting, they all have decided to target Sawamura's moving fastball thus the strategy of stepping in closer to the outer region of the batting plate, however with Eijun's performance and strategy targeting his moving fastballs would be difficult. "I think what coach is trying to say Mei san is that Eijun is now effectively transferring his lower body strength up to his pitching arm. Plus solidifying his form means that his pitching arm is most likely hidden behind his body more effectively thus making it hard for our batters to make the correct timing when to swing the bat." He explains slowly and carefully as he could, as he slowly took his catching mask.
"Hmmmm… if that is the case, it would be a bit harder of us to time his pitches huh…. Not just his fastball but also his breaking ball" Yamaoka remarked seriously as he was also preparing to go back to the field for the start of the 7th inning.
"Yes… most likely" said Itsuki as he his gaze move towards Seido's dugout, more specifically towards Eijun who was smiling like an idiot. So I guess this is what you mean by not holding back… you do realize I am no longer the old Tadano Itsuki… Eijun, I wont hold back either…
"Meh… As if that guy is all good… if his form is the only thing that change, then I guess this is a done deal. I trust you guys can get a run out of him… that would not change… As I will make sure Seido would not reach home plate" Narumiya informs seriously as he step up the field smiling brightly towards his team. "So let us go!"
"Hahahahaha… as the king orders" Carlos laugh to release a bit of tension as he followed Narumiya out the field. As the other followed Narumiya, Itsuki notice Shirakawa has gone quiet and has not responded to Narumiya's remark like he usually does and usually with a siding remark. This time it was more like his demeanor is calm before a storm.