If Ken were to hazard a guess of his pitching grade in his previous life, he would probably say it was around the B+ to A- range. This just showed what kind of abilities that Daichi had to get him this far.
Only now did he realize how much talent his little brother had. Even then, catching wasn't his most frightening ability… It was his batting.
"Batting first, First Base, Takashi."
Ken turned his attention back to the game where he saw the Sakushin players now on the field. There was a large teen on the mound who had a slight pot belly, yet no one underestimated this guy.
This was the Ace who took his school's team to their first Nationals win in over 50 years. Since he was now in his 3rd year of high school, this was his last chance to chase that glory again before being forced to retire.
Wataru Shimizu stood upon the mound and began to throw some pitches to the catcher, getting his shoulder warmed up. After around 10 pitches he nodded to the umpire, insisting that he was ready to go.
"That guy was the Ace for their championship run right?" Hiroki who was sitting next to Ken asked aloud.
"Yeah, he also won player of the tournament." Ken stated.
"Mmm, it looks like Osaka might be in for a tough time."
Ken couldn't help but let out a chuckle at his friends words. He had no doubt that his brother would succeed in this match, it was only a matter of when.
DONG
Right on cue, the first batter Takashi slammed the ball just over 2nd bases head for an easy single, cruising his way onto first base after only 1 pitch.
"Batting second, Right Outfield, Tsutomu."
A lanky teen walked up to the batters box and squared up towards the mound, his face full of confidence despite facing the winners of the previous year.
Unfortunately for him, despite hitting on the first pitch, the ball was snatched out of the air by a diving catch in the infield, getting the first out on the board for Sakushin.
"It looks like it's not just Wataru that stands out." Yusuke said with a wry smile.
"It's nationals what did you expect?" Yuta added seriously.
While there were star players in each teams, they wouldn't have made it this far if the rest of the team weren't solid players as well.
There were over 3000 High Schools between the 47 prefectures of Japan who were all vying for a spot at Koshien. Only 49 teams who had a solid line up would be able to make it this far.
"Batting third, Pitcher, Yatsuo."
Ken's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected that Yatsuo the Osaka Toin pitcher would also be the 3-hole. Generally, a pitcher would focus solely on pitching and therefore their batting skills would suffer as a result.
This only became more prevalent when one reached the professional leagues since Designated Hitters became available. Of course Ken wasn't naive enough to believe he was the only 2-way player in High School, but his circumstances were a little different.
'Wait, if Yatsuo can bat as well does that mean I can pitch against him too?'
[Yes, this information will also be captured]
Ken let out a satisfied smile as he heard Mika's monotonous voice. It looked like this was one of the main reasons why the cost had been so high to copy Yatsuo's information, or at least he hoped.
Yatsuo wasted no time, also going for the first pitch. There was a distinct confidence in his movements, swinging with no hesitation in his form.
DONG
The ball sailed into the right outfield, bouncing right in front of the outfielder. Despite collecting the ball in his stride and firing it to the infield, the runner made it to 3rd base safely while Yatsuo stood on the bag at first.
BA BUMP
"Batting fourth, Catcher, Daichi"
BA BUMP
Ken felt his heart beat loudly as his eyes focused on the next person who stepped up to the batters box. Seeing him in the white jersey with black pinstripes felt a little odd, but he thought it suited him.
Inwardly he was slightly nervous, but it was overshadowed by the blind faith he had in his brothers talent and work ethic.
'Show me how much you've improved lil bro.'
The runners on base turned their attention to the batters box, their faces filled with confidence. Oddly, Yatsuo didn't even take a lead towards second base, as if he was expecting something.
Unaware of the weird behavior of the runners on base, Wataru fixed his posture and nodded towards the catcher. He saw the baby face of the batter and could instantly tell he was a first year.
Yet his expression didn't change as he entered his wind up.
Due to his body shape, he had trouble lifting his knee above a certain height. Of course this didn't diminish his throwing ability too much since the torque he could generate was still immense.
WHOOSH
Ken's eyes never left Daichi.
He watched as his brother planted his left foot and twisted his body, swinging the bat through with grace. This was the form his father had taught them both yet Daichi's swing seemed to carry a dreadful aura which threatened to annihilate anything in its path.
DOOOOOOONG
The sound of his bat smashing the ball echoed through the stadium like a thunderclap, startling those who had not been paying attention.
Ken felt his body tremble in that moment, feeling as if the sound was reverberating in his chest. His eyes followed the ball which rocketed towards the outfield, with no signs of slowing down.
Daichi threw his bat to the ground and began his jog around the bases. His eyes were moving around the crowd as if he was trying to locate someone in particular.
When he rounded the third base he finally spotted who he was looking for.
The two brothers locked gazes somehow through the crowd. There were no words that needed to be spoken for them to understand each other.
'I won't lose.'