Yuta let out a whistle of appreciation as he saw the ball sail into the right outfield and out of the grounds for a home run. His amicable face was now turned up in a smile, feeling a touch of excitement.
"Looks like we got a monster first year." He murmured, turning his gaze to the person in question leisurely making his way around the bases.
"Nice hit Kouhai." Makoto on third base commented, holding out his hand for a hi-5 as Ken went past.
"Thanks Captain."
Ken slapped his hand on the way past and headed towards home plate with a grin. He could tell that with one swing of his bat that he had gained the attention of the first team players.
He didn't bother looking at Akira who was probably seething on the mound right now. As long as he did well enough pitching, he should be able to secure the Ace pitching position right away since Akira was a terrible hitter and sat at 9th in the batting order.
The most excited out of the bunch was Coach Hanada, who suddenly saw his chances of reaching nationals skyrocket.
'Thank you Senpai for sending a monstrous batter to me.'
The coach praised Ken's father inwardly, counting his lucky stars that a player like Ken would decide to come to a public school instead of one of the prestigious baseball schools.
Ken made his way back to the dug out, only to be met with the sparkling smiles and looks of admiration from his teammates. Coach Hanada had managed to wear his poker face once again, giving nothing away.
Of course that would only be true for those who did not know him well. Ken's eyes were drawn to his right hand which held the clipboard shakily.
Whenever the Coach was excited, his hand would subconsciously shake.
A small smile formed on Ken's face as he went and sat down on the bench. It wasn't long before Shiro was talking in his ear excitedly, reenacting the play dramatically.
"Go get your gear ready." Ken said simply, expecting the next batter to get out quickly.
Ken too went and grabbed his hat and glove, rotating his shoulder to loosen it up.
"3 outs. Changeover."
The umpire yelled from the field, prompting the starters in the second team to stand up. They had all been assigned their positions before the game started, likely based on the last 2 days of evaluations by the coaches.
It didn't matter too much to Ken since he never planned on letting them play.
'I'm not giving up a run in these 3 innings.'
He needed to put on a stellar performance and cement his position in the starting line up, dethroning Akira as the Ace and taking his rightful spot.
Ken walked onto the field and adjusted his cap, making his way towards the mound. He turned around and looked at home plate, feeling a wave of nostalgia threaten to overcome him.
This was the same place where he had pitched many times, yet this was different, he was different. Not only was he no longer injured, he was also a much better player than before thanks to the system.
As the handsome figure of Tatsuya Aoyama, one of the lady-killer twins walked over to the batters box, Ken felt a serene sense of calm wash over him.
"Ken, are we going to warm up your arm?" Shiro asked, donned in his catchers gear.
Meanwhile in the first team dugout, Akira was currently in a terrible mood. He glared at the first year who had embarrassed him, sending his first pitch flying like it was nothing.
"Pah, who would have thought that Aki would get blown out of the field on the very first pitch against a first year?"
"Hahaha he's got spirit!" Makoto replied, laughing heartily.
"I wonder how good his pitches are?" Yuta mused, rubbing his chin in curiosity.
After getting some warm up throws in, Ken nodded. It was time to show everyone his skills.
Tatsuya stepped up to the plate and gripped his bat tightly. Him and his brother were the lead off hitters for Yokohama thanks to their blistering speed and ability to make contact with the ball.
Shiro squatted down, feeling a little nervous. During their warm ups before the game, He had only caught 3 of Ken's pitches, all of which were wildly different.
However, seeing the calm and determined expression on Ken's face, he managed to calm down a little after a while.
'Let's aim for a ball first. I need to try and get used to his pitches.'
Shiro placed his glove on the outside of the strike zone, receiving a nod from Ken.
Ken began his signature wind up, planting his foot and bringing his knee towards his chest. In the next moment his left foot extended and touched the ground, followed by his arm flying out like a whip.
WHOOSH
DING
The ball was struck, heading past Ken on the mound and over to 2nd base where Yusuke was standing. With practiced ease, Yusuke bent down leisurely and threw the ball to first base in one motion.
"Huh?"
To his surprise, Tatsuya had managed to make it to first base safely, overrunning the base by almost 10 meters, showing how quick his acceleration was.
A play that he had made hundreds of times caused Yusuke to be lax. He underestimated the speed of the lead off hitter, not retrieving the ball with a sense of urgency.
"S-Sorry Ken." Yusuke called out, feeling a little flustered. It was such an easy play, yet he had messed it up, putting more pressure on Ken.
Ken waved his hand, dismissing the apology. Of course it would have been good if they had gotten Tatsuya out at first base, but that was not the problem.
While he was aiming for Shiro's glove, the ball actually ended up a few inches to the right.
However, Ken didn't show any worry on his face. An Ace must be calm and composed no matter the situation, there was no need for him to be depressed at such a time.