Keisuke thought it was a little odd, but he changed gears quickly enough. “He’s been a little weird this morning. I swear I even saw him smiling not long ago.” He leaned in and whispered, afraid to be overheard.
It was then that the Coach finally noticed the two new arrivals and his face lit up, a smile forming on his lips. “Ah! Daichi you made it.”
The smile faded once his gaze fell to Ken and Keisuke, “Alright let’s go and warm up.” He said, turning around and heading towards the field.
“Man what’s with this preferential treatment…” Keisuke whined, turning his attention to Daichi.
Ken thought it was funny, despite him also being ignored. He nudged Keisuke in the ribs with his elbow and joked, “Maybe when you can also hit a home run off our Ace you’ll also get some attention.”
Keisuke laughed a little but he fired back, “Says you who can’t even hit the ball half of the time.”
“Hahaha.” Ken laughed aloud. Perhaps that comment would have offended him earlier in the week, but he was currently in a good mood even though he was a little depressed in the morning.
Maybe it was because his mind was actually 24 years old and he could handle criticism a lot better than most teenagers. There was also the fact that he knew the system would fully heal his arm in just under a years time.
Soon enough, the whole team arrived and the Coach started to go over some tactics for the game. Their main focus was on the Ace pitcher whom Kanagawa had acquired late last year.
They didn’t have too much data about him, but his tall height and flexible limbs gave the coach a bad feeling.
Once the tactics were done, the teams lined up and faced each other, bowing and wishing each other to have a good game. This was a common practice in Japanese baseball in all age groups, including professional play.
This was a way to show respect to your opponents and the game.
Kenta Shouichi, the Seiko captain was also a third year student who happened to play as a third baseman. He won the toss and chose to field first, something the coach had requested should they get a chance.
Ken could see that Daichi was nervous, so he placed his hand on his shoulder, feeling the boys body quiver in response.
“Hey man, don’t think about it too much. Remember what we practiced and go have some fun.” Ken said with a smile.
He could also remember his first game in elementary school where his father had done the same thing for him. As his thoughts moved to his father, he turned his attention over to the stands only to see them both waving.
“Look, we’ve got our own personal fans in the crowd.”
Daichi turned his attention and couldn’t help but smile at the two. He felt their support even though they were so far away, filling him with strength and confidence.
“Thanks Ken, I’ll do my best.” He replied before jogging onto the pitch and taking up his position on the second base.
“Show them what you’ve got.” Ken muttered before finding going and taking a seat on the dugout bench.
“Huh? Why isn’t Ken the starting pitcher?” Chris exclaimed, seeing his son sitting on the bench.
“That’s odd. Maybe they want to rest for a while because it’s a friendly?” Yuki said, tilting her head in confusion.
“But wouldn’t Ken have been complaining to us all week if that was the case?”
“Yeah, that’s true. Hopefully he’ll get some playing time.”
“Me too. I haven’t seen him pitch since the start of middle school, I wonder how fast he can throw now.” Chris stated, feeling his anticipation rise.
“Play ball!” The umpire shouted once everyone was in position.
Kouichi let out a pent up breath upon the mound as he looked up at the first batter in the opposing lineup. He was short yet looked light on his feet, he was probably a fast runner.
He saw the sign for a fastball on the outside and nodded his head. He began his wind up and sent the ball flying towards the catchers glove, however he instantly knew that it was off target.
Instead of flying towards the outside of the strike zone, it floated straight down the middle. Even if it was still fast, there was no way that any batter at their level would leave an easy pitch like that one unpunished.
DONG!
The sound of the bat hitting the ball with force reverberated through the field. Kouichi felt the ball whoosh past the right side of his face towards short stop and second base. He quickly turned around, hoping that it wouldn’t get past the two defenders.
Keisuke was frozen in place as he finally caught sight of the ball rocketing towards his left side, but it was too fast. He instantly knew that he wouldn’t have the time to adjust his body and reach out with his glove to stop it.
PAH
The sound of the ball hitting leather entered his ears, confounding him. He turned his head only to see Daichi with his outstretched arm, now laying down on the ground, covered in dirt.
He could only watch on in bewilderment as Daichi got to his feet and showed the umpired the ball that was wedged inside of his glove.
“Whoa! What a catch!” Kouichi was the first to come and congratulate Daichi’s amazing reflexes as he rubbed the top of his head with vigor.
“Out!”
Kanagawa’s first batter managed to reach first before being told he was out by the umpire on first base. He was about to argue when he finally noticed the commotion around the second base.
“He caught that!?” The boys face contorted in shock until he was shooed off the base.
“Damn, that kid has got some good reflexes… I wonder if I could use him as a catcher?” The Coach muttered, within earshot of Ken.
Ken’s face turned up into a smile, ‘Oh if only you knew Coach…’ he said inwardly.
