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Diamond no Ace: Coach, I Want to Be a Batter, Not a Pitcher!

Chapter 97 97: Playing with the Opponent · Nov 12, 2026

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Chapter List (248)

Page number / 5

51 Chapter 51 51: Seido’s Tradition 2026-11-12
52 Chapter 52 52: Intensive Training — Begins!!! 2026-11-12
53 Chapter 53 53: The Sweat of Youth and Passion 2026-11-12
54 Chapter 54 54: The Determination of the Starting Lineup 2026-11-12
55 Chapter 55 55: That’s It? Getting Old? 2026-11-12
56 Chapter 56 56: Silver Sinker 2026-11-12
57 Chapter 57 57: Seido vs Kiryu 2026-11-12
58 Chapter 58 58: Miyuki’s Sin 2026-11-12
59 Chapter 59 59: Osaka Kiryu’s Shock ( 100 Power Stone) 2026-11-12
60 Chapter 60 60: Who Doesn’t Have a Hidden Skill? 2026-11-12
61 Chapter 61 61: Seido’s Fourth Batter 2026-11-12
62 Chapter 62 62: Seido’s Ace and Fifth Batter 2026-11-12
63 Chapter 63 63: The Cunning Miyuki 2026-11-12
64 Chapter 64 64: An Unfathomable Pitch! A Powerful and Fearless Throw 2026-11-12
65 Chapter 65 65: The Cutter’s Surprise for Kiryu 2026-11-12
66 Chapter 66 66: A Surprisingly Low Pitch Count 2026-11-12
67 Chapter 67 67: The Sinker’s Despair for Kiryu 2026-11-12
68 Chapter 68 68: The Power of the Sinker 2026-11-12
69 Chapter 69 69: Inashiro Ace, King Narumiya Mei 2026-11-12
70 Chapter 70 70: Narumiya Mei’s Tricks 2026-11-12
71 Chapter 71 71: Narumiya Mei’s Provocation 2026-11-12
72 Chapter 72 72: A Head-on Clash! A Strong Response to the Provocation 2026-11-12
73 Chapter 73 73: Who Said These Are All My Trump Cards? 2026-11-12
74 Chapter 74 74: Shootball 2026-11-12
75 Chapter 75 75: The Summer Preliminaries Begin 2026-11-12
76 Chapter 76 76: Blind Cannon — Masashi 2026-11-12
77 Chapter 77 77: Masashi — Dangerous and Addictive 2026-11-12
78 Chapter 78 78: Preliminary Round 1 — Chris Starts 2026-11-12
79 Chapter 79 79: Good Swing. Don’t Swing Like That Next Time. 2026-11-12
80 Chapter 80 80: Chris Is Excited 2026-11-12
81 Chapter 81 81: The Trust of the Senior Students 2026-11-12
82 Chapter 82 82: The Arrogant Outfield Trio (100 Power Stones) 2026-11-12
83 Chapter 83 83: Addicted, Chris 2026-11-12
84 Chapter 84 84: An Inside-the-Park Home Run 2026-11-12
85 Chapter 85 85: The Speechless Trio 2026-11-12
86 Chapter 86 86: A Howl! The Outfield Interception! 2026-11-12
87 Chapter 87 87: The Shootball That Excited Chris 2026-11-12
88 Chapter 88 88: Your Goals as First Years 2026-11-12
89 Chapter 89 89: Untitled 2026-11-12
90 Chapter 90 90: The Evolutionary Direction of the Shootball 2026-11-12
91 Chapter 91 91: Two People Came to Ask for Advice 2026-11-12
92 Chapter 92 92: Silver Home Run 2026-11-12
93 Chapter 93 93: Signing In for 100 Days 2026-11-12
94 Chapter 94 94: Chris’s Rice Crackers Are Mine ( Bonus Chapter) 2026-11-12
95 Chapter 95 95: Pitch Pairing Strategy 2026-11-12
96 Chapter 96 96: A Powerful Offense 2026-11-12
97 Chapter 97 97: Playing with the Opponent 2026-11-12
98 Chapter 98 98: The Precise Machine — You Shunshin 2026-11-12
99 Chapter 99 99: If You’re So Good, Then You Do It! 2026-11-12
100 Chapter 100 100: A Powerful Response! 2026-11-12

The batters in the dugout were stunned when they saw the result.

”What? Another high inside pitch?”

Startled, Hashimoto hurriedly swung his bat.

But the ball’s trajectory was completely different from what he had predicted. His swing came too quickly—and because he rushed, his form collapsed.

”Bang!”

The bat cut through empty air.

The baseball slammed into Miyuki Kazuya’s glove.

On the mound, Ushijima Wakatoshi stood calmly, expression unchanged.

”Strikeout!”

The umpire waved his hand, signaling the out.

Hashimoto clicked his tongue as he walked back toward the dugout.

”Damn it… the third pitch was still a high inside four-seam.”

”I thought the third pitch would be the usual 150 km/h four-seam with unstable control.”

”Instead, he threw another high inside fastball at around 145 km/h… but with perfect control.”

”I was completely fooled.”

He shook his head in frustration.

Inside Akikawa’s dugout, the players felt the pressure rising.

It was obvious now.

Today’s pitching strategy was completely different from what they had studied.

You Shunshin and the others stayed silent, carefully observing the field.

”Wow! Two strikeouts right from the start!”

”Yeah, that’s incredible! Against Akikawa’s first and second batters too!”

In the stands, the female reporter from Baseball Kingdom Monthly watched the game excitedly.

Beside her, her senior colleague Fujio nodded.

”Yes. His control is excellent, and his inside pitches are extremely sharp.”

”Ushijima Wakatoshi not only has many pitch types…”

”But his command is also exceptional.”

The stadium erupted with cheers from Seido’s supporters.

Compared to them, Akikawa’s fan section was much quieter.

”Well done, Ushijima! Two strikeouts already!”

”Finish it! Strike out the third batter too!”

In the stands, Seido’s second-string players shouted enthusiastically.

Everyone on the field could feel the growing momentum.

”Third batter, shortstop—Onishi!”

The announcer’s voice echoed across the stadium.

Onishi stepped into the batter’s box.

Ushijima watched him calmly from the mound.

So this is Akikawa’s core batting lineup…

He glanced toward Miyuki.

The two exchanged a brief look and quickly confirmed the sign.

Everything was ready.

”Whoosh!”

The first pitch exploded toward home plate.

Onishi’s eyes lit up.

”The trajectory… that’s a moving two-seam!”

He swung confidently.

”Smack!”

But the bat missed completely.

The ball snapped straight into Miyuki’s glove.

Onishi froze.

”What?!”

”That was a four-seam fastball?!”

Akikawa’s dugout erupted in shock.

Until now, whenever Ushijima threw toward the center of the strike zone, it had always been a two-seam fastball.

A two-seam looked almost identical to a four-seam, but it moved slightly before reaching the plate.

In previous tournaments, Ushijima used that trick often.

He would throw four-seam fastballs on the inside and outside corners—

Then throw a two-seam down the middle.

Batters would assume it was another four-seam and swing accordingly.

But at the last moment, the two-seam’s movement would jam the bat and produce weak contact.

However—

Today’s pitch was a true four-seam fastball.

No movement.

Just pure speed.

And because Onishi expected movement—

He completely missed.

Behind the plate, Miyuki grinned slightly.

”Hehe…”

Onishi tightened his grip on the bat.

Next pitch… the cutter should come now.

The second pitch arrived quickly.

The ball rose slightly higher than expected.

”Damn it!”

Instinctively, Onishi swung.

”Clang!”

The ball shot foul near third base.

”Foul!”

Onishi clicked his tongue.

”A high outside pitch…”

”This pitching pattern is completely different from before.”

He glared at the mound.

Is he seriously planning to challenge all three batters with just four-seam fastballs?

That’s unbelievably arrogant.

The third pitch came without hesitation.

The baseball tore through the air.

With two strikes already against him, Onishi had no choice but to swing.

Ushijima’s control was excellent.

But his pitch speed was overwhelming.

Onishi’s bat lagged behind by half a beat.

”Smack!”

Another swing and miss.

”Strikeout! Batter out!”

”Change sides!”

”Wooooah! Three up, three down!”

”That’s incredible!”

”Three strikeouts with nothing but four-seam fastballs!”

The crowd burst into cheers.

Even Akikawa’s supporters were stunned.

No one expected Seido’s ace to dominate the inning like this.

Ushijima had completely manipulated Akikawa’s expectations.

Ushijima jogged back to the dugout with his teammates.

”Nice pitching!”

”The strategy changed completely today!”

”In the past, you’d strike batters out using three different pitch types.”

”But today you struck out three batters using only the four-seam.”

In the stands, Fujio wiped sweat from his temple as he spoke.

”Yes… previously he mixed inside and outside pitches with different breaking balls.”

”Sometimes he opened with a 150 km/h fastball with unstable control.”

”But today… everything is different.”

Owada Akiko nodded, her eyes fixed on the mound.

”A pitcher like that is extremely difficult to predict.”

”A pitcher who thinks while pitching is far more dangerous.”

”Most pitchers get carried away trying to overpower the batter.”

”That’s why they rely heavily on the catcher’s guidance.”

”But if the pitcher himself is calm and calculating…”

”That’s truly terrifying.”

Back in Akikawa’s dugout, the players stared toward Seido’s bench.

”So far… he’s only used fastballs.”

”And yet our entire lineup was fooled.”

Onishi slammed his glove in frustration.

”We focused too much on his other pitch types.”

You Shunshin finally spoke.

”Yes…”

”He realized we were wary of his breaking balls.”

”So he used nothing but fastballs to destroy us.”

You Shunshin exhaled slowly.

”This opponent…”

”…is far more dangerous than we thought.”

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