"Ken will no longer be the Ace for Seiko. Kouichi, you will be our starting pitcher henceforth. Is that understood?"
All of the players gasped in shock, turning their heads between Ken and the Coach, not believing their ears. However, seeing Ken standing their calmly after the announcement, they could tell that he was already aware of the news.
Kouichi Yamada was a third year who had always pitched relief throughout his middle school career. He was a solid right armed pitcher who had decent control for his age and great consistency.
Ken nodded in approval. The Coach had made the correct decision.
Kouichi was also mystified at the decision, however he felt Coach Yoshida's gaze burning into him so he quickly bowed and confirmed that he understood.
"Good. Now, we have a friendly match against Kanagawa this weekend before the spring tournament begins. Apart from training this week, this will be your only chance to state your case if you wish to be a starter. Do your best!"
"Ah, Coach… I'm not sure if you noticed but we have someone new to the team." Ken walked up, only talking once the Coach was done with his speech.
"Oh. Step forward and introduce yourself and what position you play." The Coach said, trying to find the unfamiliar face within the crowd of boys.
Daichi shyly stepped forward, only for the Coaches eyes to widen.
'Is that really a middle schooler!?' he exclaimed inwardly, looking at the wide shoulders and powerful chest of the boy in shock.
"I-I'm Daichi Suzuki, a 3rd-year transfer student. I've never played baseball before but I've been training with Ken and his father for a while now. I'll be in your care." He finished before bowing.
The baseball players sized up their new teammate, their gazes weird after hearing that he had never played the game before. Most of them had started in elementary school, or even in youth teams.
"Okay that's enough, I want everyone to run 10 laps around the field for a warm up." Coach Yoshida said, clapping his hands loudly.
The direction was met with a colloquial groan from the players, yet they all quickly got into formation and began their laps. Ken and Daichi both settled into the middle of the pack and jogged lightly.
The field was only about 400m in circumference, so 10 laps was only 4km in distance. Having run over 10km every morning for the past 4 weeks had made the run easy enough.
Coach Yoshida watched as the whole team ran the around the field, holding a clipboard in his hands. As he said before, the spring tournament was going to begin shortly so he needed to select the starting line up.
The loss of Ken as a starting pitcher was a real kick in the guts. It wouldn't be wrong to say that he had carried the team on his back to the Kanto Tournament last year with his arm alone.
Therefore he had been testing out the pitchers for the past 4 weeks before finally making his decision today. The other positions however, were a little tougher.
With the 3rd years retiring at the end of last year, it had left some significant gaps in the lineup. While they would be able to get by while fielding, their batting lineup was currently in shambles.
Basically, the 2nd through to the 6th batters had all been 3rd years and now needed replacing. They had played 2 friendlies in the past two weeks and they never managed to score more than 2 runs in the full 9 innings.
With their defense they secured a clean sheet in the first game and conceded 3 runs in the second and lost. There was no way that the team would be able to make it to the Kanto Tournament against the best teams in Tokyo with this glaring defect.
He took a cursory glance at the newcomer who had a large upper body, his hopes rekindling.
'I really hope that kid can hit a baseball…' he thought inwardly.
His gaze then moved to Ken who was running alongside the newbie and he frowned.
'I don't have much hope for Ken as a batter, but maybe he could surprise me.'
The team finally finished their 10 laps around the field and walked over to where the coach was standing. Most of the kids collapsed onto the ground or were hunched over and breathing heavily.
There was only 3 people who did not seem that effected. Ken, Daichi and Keisuke were looking fine and dandy, even having enough energy to chat with each other while they waited for his next instructions.
Coach Yoshida raised an eyebrow, before turning his gaze to the clipboard and making some notes with the pen. He had not expected the lazy Ken to have changed so much in a month.
"Okay gather up. Pitchers go warm up your shoulders with the catchers, the rest of you will be working on grounders while they get ready."
"Yes sir!" Everyone said in unison as they followed instructions.
The fielding lined up while the Coach grabbed a baseball bat and some balls and began smacking them towards the closest player. The ball bounced along the ground quickly while the player had to try and catch it in rhythm and throw to first base.
Daichi seemed a little nervous in the lineup next to Ken as he saw the ball being whacked towards the player. But as it was approaching his turn, the nerves turned into determination as he hardened his resolve.
'I'm going to catch the ball no matter what and make the baseball team with Ken.' He chanted inwardly, dredging up his fighting spirit.
Soon enough, he stepped out of the line and squared up against the coach. He was able to mirror the other players form, bending his knees and keeping his head up, waiting for the ball to be hit his way.
DING
"Ah crap." Coach Yoshida said aloud, feeling the crisp sound of the ball hitting off center.
The ball shot off the ground quickly and headed way off target to Daichi's left. Just when the Coach was about to reach down and grab another ball, he saw the newbie shift his body weight almost instantly.
He took a few quick steps and lunged out with his left hand before skidding along the dirt for almost a meter. The clear sound of the ball entering the mitt rang out over the field, causing everyone to let out audible sounds of amazement.
Coach Yoshida too was stunned by the desperate play. He couldn't help but feel a smile creeping onto his face at the sight.
"Good! Do another."