Around an hour later, both teams had finished their warm ups and lined up to bow before the beginning of the match. Shuei won the toss and elected to bat first, sending Yokohama High onto the field.
There had been no changes to the lineup announced by Coach Hanada, so Ken was relegated to the bench for this game.
Ken glanced at Akira who had taken his position on the mound with a serious expression framing his features.
'Don't get too comfortable up there.' He mused, in good spirits.
"Play ball!"
The umpire announced the start of the game, to which a round of cheering began from the Shuei crowd.
Shuei High School was an average school whose baseball club had limited success over the years. Until recently, they had attended Koshien only 3 times in the school's history, yet somehow their fate had changed seemingly overnight.
Kanagawa prefecture was difficult to advance in. The final spot was generally vied over by the big four teams.
Shonan Senior, Zama High, Fujimi and lastly Yokohama High.
Yet with a few key additions to the squad, Shuei had taken Kanagawa by storm . Ken's eyes moved to a player in the opposition dugout who had curly black hair, brown skin and foreign features.
Carlos Toro who was also of mixed lineage was a well known clean-up batter who had propelled the unassuming Shuei High to Koshien two years prior as a first year.
There was word that he had already received offers from Universities to join their team in preparation for the draft into the NPB.
PAH
"Strike."
"Whoa that guys pretty fast."
"His pitches should be at least 135km/h."
A few students in the Shuei dugout commented on Akira's fastball, assessing its speed and effectiveness.
Carlos on the other hand had no reaction. He seemed disinterested, as if the pitches weren't worthy of his attention.
"I reckon Carlos could still easily hit that thing out of the park if he was playing."
A teen commented, seemingly sucking up to his stoic teammate.
"Bah, a pitch like that isn't even worth his time." Another chimed in.
"Come on man, you know Carlos never plays in friendlies. Not unless someone interests him."
The man in question sat quietly, watching the game disinterestedly.
Akira seemed to be in top form as he swiftly dispatched both the first and second batters. He was currently staring down at the 3rd batter with a full count, yet there was not a hint of complacency on his face.
A blitzing fastball on the outside was framed perfectly, giving the umpire no choice but to call the strike and put an end to the innings.
Coach Hanada stroked his chin, his usual poker face painted on.
'Akira really has come a long way in such a short time.' He commented inwardly.
Ken too noticed the changes, making him feel a little odd. In his previous life, while Akira did go through lengths to change, it was never this pronounced.
'Is it because I've changed so much that it's effected him?'
Since he would never be able to find the correct answer, he quickly put it to the back of his mind. It was now Yokohama's turn to bat.
Tatsuya made his way to the batters box, shifting his body around and getting limber.
"Kyaa! That guy is so hot"
"Wow is he a model?"
Hearing the words of the opposing teams spectators praising him, a sleek smile filled his features as he squared up.
"I'm fired up!"
DONG
The very first pitch was a fastball to the outside, which was quickly sent flying over the first baseman's head. By the time the ball was collected, Tatsuya had already slid towards the second base, securing a double.
"Nice work Tatsu!"
"Let's go! Nice double."
The more vocal players on their team called out words of praise, inflating Tatsuya's ego even more.
"Whoa! This guy is also hot, is he a twin?"
It was now Jun's turn to head to the batters box. However unlike his brother, he was shy, not necessarily enjoying the attention.
Despite this, he was just as talented as his twin.
DING
"B-Bunt!?"
Not expecting a bunt on the first pitch, the pitcher scrambled towards the ball which had been perfectly delivered on the line between first base and home plate.
Since there was a delay before the pitcher arrived at the ball, Jun's fast feet had already secured him the single.
Now Yokohama were already in a great scoring position with no outs and runners on 1st and 3rd bases.
"Let's go Makoto!"
"Send em' home captain!"
Makoto stepped up to the batters box with a determined expression. His large muscular frame made the pitcher feel intimidated even from a distance.
The pitcher looked at his coach, almost as if he didn't want to be there.
However, Coach Goto merely smiled at him, giving no clear directions.
"Why am I even starting in this game…"
He let out a sigh, mumbling complaints to himself. His usual position was a relief pitcher, and he wasn't even the second option. At first there was only excitement when he discovered his name as the starting pitcher.
Yet now he knew that he was in over his head.
Having only pitched 2 times, he was already in a tight position.
'Looks like I have no choice…'
After finally accepting his situation, he wound up and sent a pitch above the strike zone, hoping to jam the muscular batter and at least get one out.
Unfortunately for him…
DONG!
Makoto sent the ball flying with such power that it sailed over everyone's heads, notching an easy 3 runs for the visiting side.
"Woohoo! Nice hit Captain!"
The Yokohama bench came alive, hollering and cheering for the spectacular hit which sent them well into the lead despite it only being the first innings.
Ken nodded, not expecting anything less from the opening batters. This was especially the case since he knew that the pitcher on the mound was not their actual Ace.