Ken basked in his newfound freedom, feeling unfettered like a bird soaring in the sky. He wrapped his arm around Daichi like he had done many times before, yet this time it felt different.
He no longer saw Daichi as the one in his previous life, although he would forever be grateful to him. The Daichi in front of him was different, he was his brother.
'No matter what, we'll both go pro.' He vowed inwardly.
When he returned to the dugout, Coach Yoshida who was usually reserved, placed his hand on Ken's shoulder.
"You did well."
The words were simple, yet the tone in which they were said spoke volumes. This paired with his expression showed that the Coach understood he had wronged Ken and despite not saying this aloud, Ken understood his intentions.
Sometimes men didn't need an apology and it seemed that this was one of those times.
Ken was in a great mood so he merely took the compliment and turned his attention back to the game. Despite getting a home run, they had only gotten 1 run on the board as of now.
Up to bat was Kenta, the expressive captain who Ken believed would suck at poker for obvious reasons. After fouling a few times, he was eventually struck out by the pitcher with a slow curve which caught him off guard.
Wearing his emotions clearly on his face, Kenta frowned as he returned to the dugout.
"Let's go Daichi!" Ken yelled out words of encouragement as Daichi went up to bat. They currently had 2 outs so it would be a changeover if he got out here.
Daichi let the first couple of pitches go to the catcher, getting a feel for the speed and timing he would need to utilize. When the 3rd pitch came it was the slow curve which curved away from Daichi.
Feeling a little off guard, he tried to adjust his form and somehow managed to make contact with the ball, sending it between 1st and 2nd base. He was a little disappointed that he had been baited into going after a bad ball, but he still managed to safely get onto 1st base.
Tatsuya was up next, yet he was led by the nose and ended up striking out in only 3 pitches.
"3 outs, change!"
Ken grabbed his hat and glove before making his way onto the field again. They had managed to get one run on the board in the first innings, yet he was in no way satisfied with such a small lead.
Kouichi stood on the mound once more, ready to take on the clean-up batters of Itakura. The best batters were usually at the top of the order, with the heavy hitters generally being placed at 3rd, 4th and 5th.
This was because home runs were worth more when there were runners on base. A lead-off hitter like Ken and Keisuke were tasked with getting on base no matter what, setting up opportunities for the clean-up hitters to send them home.
Therefore, Kouichi had to be careful of the next 3 batters and attempt to keep their 1 run lead.
The first pitch came flying towards the open glove of Daichi, a sharp four-seam fastball on the inside.
DONG
The ball was sent straight to the captain at 3rd base who collected the ball and sent a throw to first.
"Ah damn" Kenta called out as soon as the ball left his hand.
Ken watched the ball come his way. He could see the Itakura player running towards him with great speed. In this situation, his job was to remain calm and simply catch the ball while his foot was planted on 1st base.
Yet as he saw the ball approaching, he could instantly tell that it was too high and was going to sail over his head. His mind worked quickly as he decided to prioritize collecting the ball and preventing the runner advancing any further, even if it meant that he was safe.
Ken jumped up high with all of his might, stretching out his long left arm and snatching the ball out of the air. He only managed to hold onto it thanks to the Sticky glove skill which he had earned from the Silver lottery.
Yet in the time that he was airborne, the runner was close enough to the base that it did not matter.
"Safe!"
"S-Sorry Ken!" Kenta yelled out from the other side of the field.
"It's fine." Ken waved his hand to say that it was okay. As long as they got the next couple of guys out it wouldn't matter.
However, surprisingly enough, the next two batters also managed to hit a single, finding gaps in their defenses and loading the bases. Before they knew it, it was already no outs with 3 runners on base.
Ken frowned, what had happened to the confident and amazing Kouichi from the 1st innings?
He looked at Daichi with a raised eyebrow as if directing that question at him. Daichi decided to take a brief time out before the next batter came up to the plate.
"You all good man?" He approached the mound and spoke into his glove so no one could overhear what he was saying.
"Yeah I'm fine." Kouichi replied, looking a little frustrated.
"Your pitches are sharp, just make sure you follow my lead and pitch directly into my glove okay?"
"Okay no worries."
After a brief chat, Daichi returned into position and the game was restarted.
Daichi had plenty of experience now in the catcher position. With the Coach and his father mentoring him, he had quickly acclimatized to the new position.
While his leading was still a little immature, he was brilliant in picking up the quirks and habits of his pitcher. He had noticed that Kouichi tended to throw too hard sometimes, especially when he was tense.
While the pitches would generate more speed, the control would always suffer. Therefore he had told Kouichi to focus on throwing it into his glove, in hopes that he wouldn't try and throw so hard.