Daichi was the last catcher to come up to perform, feeling a little nervous. It wasn't as if he was afraid or anything, just that he didn't want miss out on this opportunity to show off his talents.
Ken's eyes narrowed as he saw Daichi step up.
'Come on bro, you can do it.' He said inwardly, gripping his fist.
"Second!"
As the ball left Kei's fingertips, the coach called out loudly.
Daichi sprang to his feet and shifted his body as soon as the ball entered his glove before firing a blazing throw directly to Ken upon second base.
Even though he'd been anticipating the throw, Ken's eyes widened at the quick reflexes and sheer speed of his brother. He made sure his feet were on the base before catching the ball around his knees and making the action of tagging the imaginary runner.
Ken breathed out a sigh of relief. The throw was quick and accurate, landing exactly in the best position to tag the runner if he was sliding.
Coach Takashi nodded in satisfaction. Apart from Keiichi, that throw was leagues quicker than all of the others, not to mention the swift footwork and body positioning that went into the action beforehand.
Daichi continued his good performance, leading to many strikes and run outs throughout the drill. It was clear that he was one of the front runners alongside Keiichi.
"Alright, I think that's enough. Grab a quick drink while I call over the others for our next drills."
With that he turned around and made his way over to the outfield at a slow pace, his hands held behind his back. If it wasn't for his National Team outfit, one might confuse him with a random old man going for a relaxing walk.
However, no one would say such a thing out loud, no matter how brave they were.
Ken was all smiles as he walked off the field. He caught up to Daichi and held out his fist, completing a fist bump with his brother.
"That was some nice work bro." Ken said, patting the teen's back.
"Haaaah, thanks. I was a little nervous to begin with." Daichi admitted after letting out a sigh of relief. It had been a tense moment for him, being last to go up.
The two chatted for a while longer, both happy with how they had performed. The only thing that they hadn't been assessed for just yet was their batting skills, yet both Ken and Daichi were confident in their ability.
Not long later, Coach Takashi returned with the other players. They were all dripping with sweat and breathing heavily, making the pitchers and catchers reaffirm their positional choices.
Ken looked around a little and couldn't see his father with the other group.
"Where's dad?" He whispered to Daichi.
"Hmm?"
Daichi looked around for a little while only to shrug in the next moment.
However, before they could look further, Chris appeared rolling a machine from the corner of the field.
The players also saw the machine and began to murmur among themselves, excitement evident in their features, particularly from the non-pitchers group.
"Looks like we'll be batting against a pitching machine for the final drills." Ken said with a smile.
Yokohama did not have a pitching machine. It was not that they couldn't afford it, just that Coach Hanada preferred to use live pitches and didn't see the point in using one.
However, in a trial setting like they were in right now, Ken could see the benefits. Not only would the pitches be rather uniform, they wouldn't tire anyone out by using them.
Daichi on the other hand, was quite used to pitching machines. With the budget and facilities of Osaka Toin, it was no surprise that he would have access to this kind of apparatus.
The players watched on as Chris slowly dragged the pitching machine onto the mound with care. Only when he'd finished placing it properly did he return to stand next to Coach Takashi.
"Alright you lot. This will be the last drill of the day before we pick the squad, so don't slack off now."
Coach Takashi stood with his chest out and hands behind his back as he surveyed the 23 remaining players in front of him. His expression was neutral, so much so that no one knew what he was thinking.
"Each player will get 30 balls in front of the pitching machine. I want to see at least 5 to left field, 5 to center and 5 to right field. You'll also need to successfully bunt at least 5 times."
Ken's eyes widened a little in surprise. Although the drill might sound simple, it was actually rather unforgiving.
Rather than just allow a player to swing for the fences, they needed to pick the right balls and hit them with the right timing to get the desired result. This put a lot of pressure on everyone from the start.
"We'll have 3 outfielders to field the balls. Once the batter has finished their 30, they'll rotate to the outfield. Any questions?"
Ken fought back the urge to say "No sir" settling with a head shake instead.
Seeing that there were no questions, Coach Takashi nodded.
"You, you and you, head to the outfield." He pointed to Ken, Daichi and another player.
Ken and the others quickly grabbed their gloves and headed to the outfield. Thankfully they were not the first ones to face the pitching machine and would be able to check how the other players performed.
"You're up first."
"Eh."
Ken and Daichi both saw that Hiroki was the first unfortunate soul to be chosen for the drill and would likely be the scapegoat for everyone else present.
"Ah, poor Hiroki…" Ken lamented aloud.
'He'll be fine right?'
Chris was fiddling with the pitching machine and told Hiroki to stand back. The first pitch skidded along the ground and went flying into the fence.
Hiroki felt a cold sweat pour down his back after seeing such a thing.
'Is this thing safe?'