章節 84: 84. First Match (II)

Hearing the coach's encouragement, Rei nodded with a resolute expression. He forgot the major thing, and that is to enjoy it. He slowly wore his helmet and took his bath out. Suzaku's practice pitches were over and the umpire called up Chino. Tanaka sat in the deck circle.

Chino took a huge breath trying to relax his nerves. The Umpire noticed everything was ready, shouted, "PLAY BALL" and Suzaku slowly got into form.

He released the ball, and it was right down the middle. Chino did not swing at the ball and let it pass by. He checked the speed Suzaku was pitching and got to form again. The pitcher threw the ball back and got back to position.

The next pitch came and this time Chino could not let it pass by and swung his bat as hard as he could and started running towards the first base. Suzaku lifted his cap and got a better look at the ball which fell before the right fielder.

Chino was able to reach the first base, and he took out his guards to give it to the first base coach. Tanaka got into the box and took a few swings before he nodded, showing he was ready.

Rei got into the deck circle and started taking some practice swings to ease his remaining tension. He saw Chino's hit and thought he could have hit it more early. He stopped swinging his bat as he saw Suzaku getting ready for the pitch.

Suzaku pitched it to the side within the zone, and Tanaka swung the bat, seeing this. But unexpectedly the ball lost its control and in favor of Suzaku, Tanaka got jammed right to Akhira by the shortstop after one bounce.

Tanaka and Chino started sprinting towards the next base, but Akhira was faster. He caught the ball and immediately threw it to the 2nd baseman who tagged Chino out and threw it to the 1st baseman who tagged Tanaka out.

It was a wonderful 6-4-3. Iwata nodded with appreciation, seeing Akhira's fast plays together with the respective fielders. Suzaku exhaled in relief, seeing the uncontrolled pitch fall in his luck.

Rei shook his head at Tanaka's terrible luck and got into the right batter box. He took some swings and exhaled at relief while looking at the entire field in front of him with fierce eyes. Suzaku got a bit tensed seeing Rei's eyes but shook it off.

The catcher could see Suzaku being tense and asked the ball right down the middle to test Rei's waters. Suzaku accordingly pitched it straight to the mitt, and Rei let it pass by. He observed the speed lower than usual and gripped his bat tighter.

He was confident seeing the pitch that the catcher is not capable enough to catch faster pitches for Suzaku and planned to take complete advantage of this. Rei wanted to treat the game as a practice for his position hitting. He wants to hit where he wants the ball to go.

Suzaku relaxed a bit, seeing Rei leave the ball. He took a deep breath and pitched it again to the same spot. Seeing this Rei smirked and swung his bat correctly so it will go to the place he wants it and that is the left field.

The bat made a solid impact and because of a bit of delay in his swing; the ball went directly to the left-field and over the fielder. Seeing this, Rei started running towards the first base and looked towards the ball. He noticed it falling behind the fielder and did not stop at the first base. He turned around without decreasing his speed and dashed off to the second base.

The fielder picked up the fallen ball and noticed Rei running towards the 2nd base. He immediately threw the ball to the second base. Seeing the fielder throw, Rei picked up his speed and dived into the base before the 2nd baseman could catch it.

Rei sighed in relief when the umpire called it safe. He got up and dusted off the dirt on him. He felt relieved that he practiced hard on the baserunning drills. He knew he was still not up to the average level, but still felt accomplished at what he did. He then slowly took some lead when he saw Shiro up for a bat.

Iwata felt satisfied with Rei's performance but would be shocked if he knew Rei hit on the spot specifically. Shiro looked satisfied seeing Rei at 2nd base and felt he had to at least push him further.

Suzaku got a bit shook seeing Rei's batting, but calmed down. He then saw the catcher asking him for a pitch in the corner and calmed down. He took a deep breath and murmured within himself. 'You can do this. You practiced for it.'

He slowly got to form and threw it directly at the corner into the mitt. Shiro felt surprised and left the corner pitch. He did not know Suzaku improved this much. Rei felt satisfied seeing this.

The catcher threw the ball back and asked the next ball low in the middle. Suzaku, as asked, pitched it directly at that place, but this time Shiro swung his bat and the ball went directly to the centerfielder.

Feeling a bit frustrated, he made his way back to the dugout, while Suzaku celebrated it. Rei made his way back and quickly started changing into his gear with Tanaka's help. He felt upset noticing the chance he created failed, but cheered up as he knew things like this happen in a game.

The team made their way out and got into their roles. Rei sat behind the plate and looked at Shindou. He then placed the mitt right in the middle. Shindou nodded and threw the pitch with a sidearm directly into the mitt. Rei caught it and noticed how the ball was slower and how it went down a bit.

He threw the ball back and started asking balls at various places in the zone. He noticed as he caught that Shindou had better accuracy than Suzaku, but way less speed compared to him. He felt it was easy catching for him.

The umpire asked the first batsman to come into the box. Rei placed the ball directly at the center, asking for a fastball. Shindou nodded and pitched it directly there. The batter did not flinch at this and let it pass.

Rei threw the ball back and sat back down. He then asked for an out-high right at the chest. Shidou took a deep breath, noticing the mitt. He slowly pitched the ball, and the batter swung his bat. But to his bad luck, it popped upright at the same place, giving an easy catch for Rei.

"ONE OUT! ONE OUT!" said Rei as he threw the ball back.

Rei sat back down and noticed the next batter was left-handed. Rei simply asked for a ball in the corner to the outside-low, making it the farthest to the batter. Shindou accepted it and threw it there.

The batter left it expecting it to be a ball, but the Umpire called it a strike. Rei threw the ball back and asked for the next pitch inside. Shindou threw the ball inside, and the batter swung at it but missed.

Rei felt satisfied but knew if the batter was a bit more early he could have made contact and the key reason is the speed. Shindou's pitches were a bit slow for comfort. Rei then threw the ball back and asked for the next one right in the middle.

Shidou threw it but this time the batter was able to make perfect contact with it making it fly to the center outfield. He dropped his bat and ran towards the first base, but bad luck for him the ball fell right inside the fielder's mitt. Rei relaxed when he saw it was an out and got back to position.

"TWO OUTS! TWO OUTS!" shouted the players as they got back to their position.

The next batter came into the right box. Rei then asked for a pitch to the inside. Suzaku nodded and pitched it to the inside. The batter swung at the first pitch, making contact towards the shortstop, Tanaka.

Tanaka simply caught the ball and threw it at the first baseman for their 3rd out of the inning. Rei relaxed as he noticed they gave no runs this inning as he jogged back into the dugout.

"Good Pitch calling for your first game, Rei." complemented Iwata as Rei made his way in.

Rei nodded and took a seat. He did not take his gear out as he noticed it was still a long way for his chance. He noticed the players getting ready and noticed Shindou coming towards him.

"Can I take the seat, Senpai," asked Shindou, pointing at the seat next to Rei.

Rei nodded as he felt he also needed to talk with him.

創作者的想法
Project_Zero

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