Seeing Makoto's intent to hit the ball, Daichi made a bold call.
'Hmm?'
Yatsuo stared down at Daichi with a look of concern, however it soon morphed into determination as he nodded.
He had been avoiding throwing the curveball since his fingers still felt a bit numb. There was also the fact that Daichi's brother had hit him for a home run the last time he threw it.
But he also trusted his catcher.
'Here goes nothing.' He said inwardly, positioning his grip properly.
He massaged his wrist briefly, trying to bring back some feeling into his fingers. Since it was covered by the glove, no one noticed what he was doing since they would think he was adjusting them.
In one swift motion, Yatsuo completed his throwing action and floated the ball towards the plate.
'ARGH'
It was then that he felt it, like a bolt of electricity directly striking his wrist, it caused his fingers to seize up. Thankfully this had occurred after the ball had already left his hands, so the pitch was still on target.
Seeing the slower ball, Makoto's eyes lit up.
WHOOOOSH
Pah
"Ah…"
"Strikeout!"
The crowd cheered loudly at the sudden curveball and strikeout that they'd just witnessed. Yatsuo who was upon the mound wore a poker face, yet there was cold sweat pouring down his back.
Lot's of things were going through his mind at that moment, yet the thing screaming the loudest was his will to fight.
'I can't give up now!' He shouted inwardly.
Perhaps it was selfish, but he had already come so far. He wanted to lead his team to victory, paving the way for the finals.
He only needed to get two more people out and then they could counterattack.
'I don't care if I don't play in the finals… I just want to win this game, with my team. For the last time.'
Yatsuo felt as if he would only be living with regret if he gave up now. Since he was in his 3rd year, he would be forced to retire after this tournament and focus on entrance exams for University.
'Just a few more pitches…' He stared down at his glove which hid his wrist, saying a silent prayer for it to hold out.
Daichi saw the odd reaction from Yatsuo after his pitch and felt a sense of foreboding. He could tell there was something wrong, but at the same time he was torn.
His gaze moved to Kouichi who was already warmed up in the bullpen, waiting for the directive from the coach.
'If Kouichi comes in the game, I'm not sure we can hold off their clean-up batters…'
Thus Daichi began to have a mental battle. He wanted to win the match, but he didn't want to put Yatsuo at risk.
"Batting 4th, 1st base, Hiroki"
The time was drawing near when he had to make a decision. Would he prioritize his chance of winning over the health of his pitcher?
Suddenly, his thoughts turned to Ken.
'What would I do if it was Ken on the mound instead?'
As soon as the thought entered his brain, he already knew what he had to do.
Just as he was about to call out to the umpire, he heard another slightly panicked voice call out from the mound.
"T-Timeout."
Yatsuo called out to the umpire who allowed it.
He then gestured for Daichi to come over.
The two talked upon the mound for a little bit, the contents of their discussion not known by anyone. Daichi's face turned concerned after a while, yet the pleading of Yatsuo seemed to convince him in the end.
Not long later, Daichi returned to his position behind home plate, having come up with a solution.
[I will give you a chance. One more off ball and I'll get coach to sub Kouichi in.]
Remembering his words to Yatsuo just before, Daichi let out a small sigh. He still felt a little unsure of his decision, but they were his Captain's wishes overall.
Thankfully, the guy didn't make excuses at all. He even said that he would go to the doctors after this match and even pull out of the finals if that was what was required.
'I hope I'm making the right decision.' Daichi thought inwardly.
Still feeling a little anxious, he made the call for a four-seam fastball down low.
WHOOOSH
PAH
"Strike"
'Good good.' Daichi nodded, returning the ball back to his pitcher.
He had opted for a rather easy pitch since he was worried that something might happen. However, seeing how accurate Yatsuo was now, he felt a lot of his unease die down.
'Let's keep it up.'
WHOOOSH
DING
"Foul"
Yatsuo received the ball back once more. Thankfully he hadn't experienced any pain besides some numbness in his fingers for the last two pitches.
'As long as I'm pitching fastballs it should be fine.' He thought inwardly.
It seemed like it was tougher to hold on properly when he had a different grip on the ball. So he decided to only throw fastballs and would decline if Daichi asked for any other type of pitch.
However, Daichi didn't ask for another pitch. This time he wanted a two-seam fastball above the strike zone.
Yatsuo nodded, putting all of his focus into his next pitch.
"Hup!"
He stepped forward, his whole body like a spring that had been set free. He whipped the ball out the side, sending the ball right where Daichi asked for it.
DING
Pah
Hiroki had clipped the bottom of the ball, clearly not expecting the pitch to be so high. His face morphed into one of disappointment as he knew what would happen next.
The field fell silent for a few moments after Daichi caught the ball. He turned his attention to the umpire and showed him the ball in his glove before…
"Strikeout!"
"YES!"
Yatsuo pumped his fist in triumph after getting Hiroki out at the plate. All of the stress he'd felt before seemed to wash away as he basked in the accomplishment.
The crowd seemed energized as one of the big hitters of Yokohama were taken out.
However, that was only the 2nd out of the innings, there was still 1 more person they needed to get through.
Daichi turned his attention to the tall figure who made his way up to the batters box with a small grin tugging at the edge of his lips.
"Batting 5th, Pitcher, Ken"