Chương 96: 96. Friendly Match (III)

The first pitch came in and was to the outside corner. Feeling doubtful about the pitch, Akira did not bring his bat down. The umpire called it a strike but was barely one. Suzuki exhaled in relief and threw the ball back. Feeling a bit more confident after the pitch, Suzaku got ready for the next one.

Suzuki asked the next pitch a bit more inside to go safely on this one. Not taking a risk once again, Akira bought his bat down and the ball went high in the air. Daichi and Rei started running towards home and 3rd base respectively as Akira made his way to the 1st base.

But unfortunately for the three of them, the person below the ball was Sora, and after safely catching it, he threw the ball right to the catcher like a bullet. This shocked Daichi who thought he was already safe but got tagged out by Suzuki who was also flabbergasted by the throw from centerfield.

Getting two outs, the umpire ordered for a change of sides and all of them made their way to their benches to change. Sora's throw from the centerfield to home without breaking a sweat also surprised Rei. He felt the game becoming more interesting and grinned to himself.

Rei slowly changed into his gear as Akira was giving a pep talk to the players. He felt a tap on his shoulder as he kept his helmet on. He turned back to notice Izuki having a smile.

"Sora was very good just now, right?"

"Yes, I didn't know how much he improved as of late, and seeing this was really a surprise from him." nodding his head.

"Yeah! He is fixated on winning the cup home this year and practices like crazy every day."

Rei simply nodded as he understood Sora's feelings. This was his last year in the club and the only remaining chance he got to win it. After this, he has to go to high school where it is a completely different level compared to the league he plays in.

He got up as the umpire signaled them to and made his way with Izumi and others. He got into his place and slowly got into position. He noticed Izumi doing a few stretches and when he was ready, Rei asked the first pitch straight down the middle.

Izumi's style of pitching was very similar to Suzaku's only with more speed. His control was also not up to the mark but was enough for Rei to be confident. Rei wanted to use his speed to overwhelm the batters in the match.

The first batter came in and Rei noticed it was a player from Izumi's club and decided to start with a bang. He asked a pitch to the inside to scare the batter a bit and shake him a bit. Izumi nodded and threw the pitch right down the middle with his full speed.

Surprisingly, the batter brought his bat down and fouled the pitch behind the fence. Rei slowly got up and bought the ball and threw it back. He sat down and decided to ask the next pitch a bit away from him.

Izumi once again simply nodded and pitched the ball to the place Rei asked for. Rei went a bit to the right to make the batter leave the pitch for a ball. Once again as the ball came closer, the batter bought his bag down and this time it connected. But much to his terrible luck, the ball went right to Akira at shortstop for an out.

He slowly jogged back to their bench, and it was Tanaka's turn this time. Getting into his stance, Tanaka slowly watched Izumi. Rei asked for a low pitch this time. Tanaka simply let the pitch pass by and try to assess him.

Noticing him leave the ball, Rei simply threw the ball back and was thinking of a way to get an out. He knew Tanaka's batting was above average and a very good precise hitter. Tanaka wouldn't hit a pitch he wasn't confident in.

Rei simply asked for a pitch a bit more to the right this time, trying to make it fly to a fielder inside. Izumi simply nodded and threw the ball where it was asked for. Noticing this, Tanaka caught the bait and brought the bat down and connected the ball.

Rei grinned as he noticed this but was surprised as the ball went towards the right fielder. The fielder ran towards the ball trying to watch it but came short when he jumped for it. Tanaka noticed this and ran to the 2nd base while the fielder quickly took the ball and threw it.

Tanaka dived for the 2nd base and made it in time before the baseman could tag him out. Dusting off his dress, he simply stood there. Rei exhaled and got to the position. Rei looked at the next batter, who was Suzuki.

Rei asked for the first pitch to the outside, trying to earn some easy strikes. The Izumi pitched to the place and Suzuki swung his bat, fouling the pitch. Getting back to his position, Suzuki continued to focus on Izumi.

Rei asked the next pitch a bit more inside to confuse Suzuki and get an out. As he thought, Suzuki swung his bat once more and this time the ball went straight to Akira with one bounce, who threw it to the 2nd baseman who tagged a hesitant Tanaka and threw it to Daichi who tagged Suzuki out.

This was a beautiful play from Akira, the 2nd baseman, and Daichi getting 2 outs and ending the inning. Tanaka could have stayed at his place, but because of the extra lead he took, he was easy to tag out. This was a simple 6-4-3 play, making Rei pleased.

They got back to their base as Rei did not get out of his gear and simply continued watching the players getting ready.