After a few more hours, the group returned to the residence in good spirits. Everyone was feeling relaxed after enjoying such a nice day in a new environment.
Upon arriving, they were ushered into the room to talk about their next game against Urawa Gakuin from the Saitama prefecture.
The coach went over some things to look out for during the game, stressing that the batters would be the biggest problem for this match.
"Ken, just because you pitched a perfect game doesn't mean you can let your guard down against these guys." Coach Hanada said with a serious expression.
Of course Ken would never do something so stupid as to underestimate an opponent, so he nodded in response. He would never forgive himself if he dropped the ball in the most important tournament of the year.
"The line up will remain the same. I'm expecting a high scoring game tomorrow, so we need to make sure we aim to convert runs while we're up to bat. That means bunts, sacrifice flies and some sleek base running."
The coach continued his lecture, ensuring that his players were familiar with the game plan. It was evident how fired up the coach was based on how long his speech had been going for.
*GRRrrgRR*
A loud rumble broke through the atmosphere, interrupting the coach mid-speech.
20 sets of eyes moved to the source of the sound, only to see Makoto with a serious expression on his face. He looked to be paying the most attention out of everyone, not even acknowledging the loud protests of his stomach.
"Captain, are you ok?" Seiji asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Perfectly fine thanks coach."
"Hmm, okay then. As I was saying, we need to be caref—"
This time, the sound was even louder.
Coach Hanada let out a sigh before deciding to wrap things up.
"Let's go have some dinner. We'll have a quick meeting before the match starts tomorrow afternoon."
With that, everyone headed over to the dining room and sat into the usual groups. Ken's usual seating partners had increased to include those who had accompanied him today.
Thankfully the place they were staying weren't concerned about moving furniture around as long as it was placed back where they found it.
After a pleasant dinner, everyone completed their nightly routine before heading to bed. Curfew had been moved to 9pm tonight since they had an important game tomorrow.
***
The next day, the Yokohama team arrived at the stadium around 10am which was just as the first game of the day had finished. Ken just so happened to catch the team as they were leaving the arena.
Judging by the tear stains and overall gloominess of their mood, he could guess that they had just lost their 2nd round match.
The scene wasn't uncommon, yet it reminded him about the stakes of the tournament. 1 loss would mean they were out for good.
"Ken are you okay?"
Ai's soft voice called out to him, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Yep I'm all good." He said, shaking out the thoughts of failure. As long as he pitched to the best of his capability, there shouldn't be any problems.
The team dropped their bags off at the designated area before heading into the stands. Daichi's team would be playing against Meitoku in the match before theirs, which meant he would only be able to watch the first hour or so.
However, Ken wasn't worried. They had made a promise to meet in the semi-finals after all.
The game got underway rather quickly, showing just how seasoned the staff members were at holding multiple games back to back.
Just as the siren sounded for the match to begin, Ken felt his phone buzz.
"Hey kiddo, good luck today. I'll be watching from the stands."
Ken smiled, seeing the words of his father on the screen. He had caught up with his dad on two occasions briefly so he felt a little bad, but he was happy that he'd be watching live.
He turned his attention back to the game, keen to see how Osaka would perform against another strong team. Yet around 30 minutes later, his mouth was agape.
Osaka Toin: 14
Meitoku: 1
One word came to Ken's mind as he witnessed what was happening on the field.
'Stifling.'
Osaka were like a python, slowly choking the life out of Meitoku bit by bit. Apart from one lucky hit given up by the Ace, the opposition had shown no signs of scoring for the entire 4 innings.
"We need to go get ready."
Coach Hanada's voice sounded out from behind everyone, grabbing their attention.
Ken nodded. Since the game looked as if it would be called via the mercy rule, their game would be moved forward.
He stood up and took a glance at his brother on the field, letting out a smile.
"I'll see you soon lil bro."
With that, he followed his teammates to the designated area so they could get changed.
Around 20 minutes later, he heard the voice announcer call an end to the game. Luckily the coach had gotten them earlier, otherwise they'd be in a mad rush to get ready.
After another 30 minutes, Ken and the squad were standing upon the field after performing the ceremonial bow.
Makoto won the toss and decided to field first per the coach's orders. His intention was to have Ken strike some fear into their lineup.
"Number 1, Pitcher, Ken."
As the announcer called his name, Ken heard the crowd begin to cheer louder than usual. It seemed that his perfect game had already made the rounds, bringing a wave of hype and excitement within the crowd.
In response to this, the Urawa batters seemed discontent.
"He just got lucky with the last team."
"Shinjuku only had weak batters, nothing like our team."
They scoffed and belittled his achievement. Teenagers often did things like this when they were jealous of the attention. After all, what kid wouldn't want a whole stadium cheering for them.