Daichi could feel the pressure that the newest batter exuded in front of him. It also felt a little strange to have a left handed batter in the box, but it wasn't something that he hadn't trained for.
'I need to make the most of our favorable match up.' He thought.
Crouching down, he made the sign for a two seam fastball. Since they were both left handed, the ball would slightly break to the inside.
Kei nodded. He just needed one more out in order to end the inning.
WHOOOSH
PAH
Daichi almost flinched as he felt the dangerous wind from the bat rush past his face. Thankfully he was able to keep his composure and catch the ball under such a circumstance.
"Strike."
"Nice pitch!" He said aloud, throwing the ball back to the mound.
'I can't give him any easy balls.' Daichi concluded. As long as that swing was on target, there was nothing to stop it from going into the stands for a home run.
The next ball he asked for was a curveball.
WHOOOSH
Pah
"Strike."
Once again, the bat barely missed the ball before landing in his glove, causing a cold drop of sweat to fall down Daichi's back. He could feel the pressure intensify, despite being up in the count.
Manuel however, seemed unaffected. His face was stoic as he set his gaze upon the mound. One could see his burning confidence, built through countless hours of swinging his bat with the goal of hitting big.
'Okay, we're up in the count. We can afford to waste some pitches and hope he swings.' Daichi thought before sending the ball back.
This time he called for an inside and low pitch, something that would be tough to hit even if the guy was expecting it.
Once again, Kei entered his wind up and sent the ball whipping out perfectly.
'Nice!'
Daichi saw the sharp pitch and knew that it was perfect. It was also super close to the strike zone which meant as long as he framed it properly, it should be a strike.
"Hmph!"
Manuel let out a harrumph before twisting his body and sending his bat thundering forwards. Daichi could only watch on in shock as the bat and ball entered a collision course.
DOOOONG
The ball was smacked with tremendous force, causing the sound to echo throughout the arena. Before anyone could register what happened, Ken was already running with all his might towards the back fence.
Yet as he got closer and closer to the fence, he could only resign himself to his fate.
"Nice hit Manuel!"
"Woohoo, first homer for the day."
The ball entered the third row of seats, far out of Ken's reach for a home run.
"Hehe." Manuel let out a small chuckle after seeing the despairing looks on the Japanese players faces. There was nothing more satisfying for him than seeing such expressions.
The Japanese team were forced to watch as he jogged around the bases, chuckling to himself.
Meanwhile, Daichi approached the mound to talk with Kei. He could tell that the guy was annoyed, but he wanted to reassure him.
"Don't worry about that hit, your pitches are sharp. In fact, that one was probably your best pitch so far." Daichi said earnestly.
"Hah, telling me that my pitch that got smacked was my best one is just too cruel." Kei said, slightly self-deprecatingly.
"You know what I mean."
"Yeah yeah, don't worry about me I'm fine." Kei said, giving a shooing motion.
Daichi let out a hollow chuckle and shook his head.
'Man, the soft ego's of these pitchers…' He lamented on his way back to the plate.
He wasn't wrong. Every game for a catcher would involve having to babysit their pitcher and make him feel good about himself. Not everyone could pull off such a thing.
"Batting 4th, 2nd base, Jorge."
Japan were not out of the woods yet. The 2nd twin, and arguably the better batter was up next to the plate.
Like his twin brother, Jorge had the same wide shoulders and dangerous aura about him. Yet he was wearing a large grin on his face.
"Yo, call for that same pitch." He said to Daichi in English.
"Huh?"
The only thing that Daichi understood was the word pitch since he couldn't speak English.
"The. Same. Pitch." Jorge reiterated, talking slowly as if that would help him understand what he was saying.
"Alright, no more chatting." The umpire said, warning Jorge. He didn't want to deal with any inflammatory remarks or trash talking at the plate.
"Tsk, damn Jap's." He muttered under his breath. Thankfully for him, it was out of the umpire's earshot.
If Ken was there to hear his words, he probably would have got right in the guy's face. Japanese players were often looked down upon for their lack of athleticism, particularly in baseball and other active sports.
Daichi couldn't tell what the guy was saying, yet he felt a wave of annoyance for some reason. He locked gazes with Kei and suddenly felt fired up.
'I won't let this guy touch the ball.' He thought.
Kei entered his wind up and kicked his leg out, sending his arm whipping out. The ball was sent flying towards the outside where Daichi's glove was waiting.
WHOOOOSH
PAH
"Strike."
"Nice pitch!"
Daichi felt some heat on the ball. This paired with the fiery expression on Kei's face told him all he needed to know.
'This guy is fired up. Let's keep this going.'
The next ball was a slider which broke down and inside.
DING
Jorge managed to get his bat on the ball, but it went foul, flying along the ground outside 1st base. Yet despite hitting it, Japan were once again ahead in the count at 0-2.
Daichi sent a side-along glance at Jorge whose grin had already worn off.
'Heh, not so smug now are you?' He thought inwardly.
Yet things changed after the next ball.