Ken felt a rush after seeing the look of approval, feeding even more into his confidence.
The next ball he sent was a two-seam which aimed to break towards a right handed batter.
Once again the coach caught it perfectly, feeling his blood heat up.
'He's fast…'
He threw the ball back, already caught up in the moment.
After another 8 balls, each as fast as the last one, Coach Takashi frowned a little. This time he actually made a sign, yet since they had not spoken beforehand about signs, Ken had no idea what it meant.
He could only make the assumption that the coach wanted to see a breaking ball this time, so he nodded in response.
Ken performed his usual wind up and sent a forkball flying towards the strike zone.
PAH
'Good good. But I really want to see that curveball.' The coach thought inwardly.
"Let's see your curveball." Coach Takashi said aloud, throwing the ball back to Ken.
"Yes sir."
Ken grinned. He was inwardly thankful that he'd taken the time to improve the proficiency of his curveball.
In the two days before they came to the tryouts, Ken had enlisted the help of Daichi and his Image Training in order to bring it to 100%.
He looked down at his hand holding the ball and ensured that his grip was correct before entering his wind up. This time, the ball left his fingertips at a higher angle than usual and flew towards the coach.
It was around 125km/h, much slower than his fastest pitch. Yet the ball's trajectory was perfect, almost landing directly on top of the plate.
Pah
Coach Takashi couldn't help but grin, feeling satisfied with what he had seen so far. With those 3 pitches, he could already understand Ken's value.
"Alright, let's rotate." He announced, dictating the pitchers to change places.
The drill went for another 30 minutes with a couple small breaks in between.
While the coach was catching for the 5th pitcher, there were other staff members who were taking notes and inspecting the pitchers.
"Alright that's enough. Let's head over to the field for the next drill." The coach said, taking off his mask.
His old body seemed to have had enough after squatting for over half an hour. If anything, Ken was impressed he was able to do so much considering his age.
Ken caught up with Daichi on their walk over and got closer.
"How was it?"
Since this exercise was mainly for the pitchers, Ken really wanted to know how he stacked up against the other competition.
Daichi considered his words for a little before replying. "You're definitely the fastest pitcher here, but the rest are definitely good… Especially that thick eyebrow guy."
His words sounded a little ominous. It seemed that even his own brother wasn't certain that he'd be one of the 3 picked for the national team.
Ken was deep in thought the rest of the way, his mind a little uncertain.
Another problem was that designated hitters could be used in international competitions, which means that despite how good he was at batting, it wouldn't work too much in his favor.
It would be a different story if he could play multiple positions, yet he'd only played 1st base for around 6 months total in middle school.
Ken shook his head, there was no point in thinking about these points right now. They still had more drills that they needed to complete.
Coach Takashi arrived at the diamond and waited for everyone to pay attention to him.
"We'll be testing the catchers next with some in game scenarios."
"We'll have someone stand in the batters box and will call out which base is being stolen. You'll need to avoid the batter and throw the ball to either 2nd or 3rd as if a runner is stealing."
The coach looked around, ensuring that everyone understood him.
"We'll be testing your footwork and your response time, as well as your throwing arm. Pitchers, I need 3 of you on base and one on the mound, the last will be in the batters box."
In the next moment, nearly all of the pitchers sprinted onto the field, their goal being the mound. Only Ken was left near home plate with a mystified expression on his face.
He seemed to have missed the memo about the race to the mound.
Kei ended up winning the impromptu race and stood victorious upon the pitching mound, forcing the others to split up and head to one of the 3 bases.
Coach Takashi seemed amused as he turned to Ken.
"Looks like you've volunteered to be our batter." He said with a grin.
Ken could only let out a wry smile, rolling his eyes inwardly. Who would willingly volunteer to step into the batters box when they knew they couldn't swing.
Yet there was nothing he could do but grab a helmet and bat before stepping up to the plate and facing Kei.
It felt kind of funny, since only a few weeks ago they had faced off against each other at Koshien. However, this time he wouldn't get the chance to swing for the fences.
Ken let out a small sigh as he waited for the drill to begin.
'I really want to hit it…' he thought inwardly.
"Keiichi, you're up first."
Coach Takashi pointed at a wide shouldered teen who was among the 4 catchers present. Even when his name was called, Keiichi seemed a little timid.
However, Ken would be shocked if he found out that this guy was also one of the mainstays in the National team like Masayuki and Riku.
Once everyone was in place, the coach's voice spoke up, "When the pitch is being thrown, I'll yell out if there's a base being stolen. You'll have to throw it quickly and accurately."
"Begin!"
Kei started his sweeping wind up and sent a pitch towards the strike zone. Ken's fingers twitched as he fought back the urge to swing at the ball going right down the middle.
PAH
Coach Takashi frowned in response.