He had breezed past the High School level of competition ever since coming to America, so this would be his first proper test since arriving.
'I hope they won't let me down…' Ken thought, his eyes roaming over the main squad players.
He couldn't help but notice that there was a firm determination behind their gazes. Tristan, Levi, Ayden, Kaden… These guys seemed fired up and ready to perform.
"I'll be the coach for the 2nd string, Coach Daniels will look after the main squad." Coach Brown said, heading towards the 3rd base side dugout.
Ken, Steve and the others followed, their excitement palpable. It was only once a year that the 2nd string was able to properly duke it out with the main squad, so it was clear that they didn't want to let this chance go easily.
Once everyone had arrived, Coach Brown looked over the players and spoke up. "Alright, as I said earlier, this is your opportunity to showcase your skills. Blake, you'll be starting pitcher, and Steve will catch for you."
'Eh!?' Ken's jaw almost dropped instantly at these words. He couldn't understand why he wouldn't be starting the game, wasn't he the top High School prospect just a month ago?
But before he could complain, the coach turned to him with a knowing look. "We'll start you in the outfield for the first few innings. Don't worry, you'll get your turn to pitch." He said, patting Ken on arm.
And just like that, he was banished to the outfield once more.
'I thought things would be different this time…' Ken lamented inwardly, grabbing his hat and glove with a lack of enthusiasm.
"Hey man, look alive." Steve whispered, nudging him. "You said it was a given that you'd be a starting pitcher right? Don't you think they're testing you in the outfield to see if you can play on the days you aren't pitching?"
Steve's words washed over Ken like a cold bucket of water. He looked up, only to see the coach looking at him intently, as if trying to gauge his attitude.
'Damn, that was close… Why am I always so close minded when it comes to pitching?' Ken chastised himself.
He turned to Steve who had suddenly said some wise words out of nowhere. There was almost a part of Ken that thought the guy wasn't actually as dumb as he let on.
"Thanks man, I got a little carried away." Ken replied, "Good luck at the plate."
"No problem man. I'll make sure they hit some out to you." Steve said with a grin.
"Please don't."
The two chuckled before heading out onto the field for some warm ups. Ken hadn't spoken much to the 2nd string players, so this was the time to get to know some of them.
"Yoroshiku."
"Eh? You speak Japanese?" Ken faltered, not expecting one of the freshman to know Japanese. The guy was a bit taller than average and seemed rather athletic. Ken didn't have much of an impression of him, besides the fact he looked shy.
"I—I wasn't sure if you were also Japanese so I didn't say anything." The guy replied back in Japanese.
Ken blinked a few times, assessing the guy in front of him. It was tough to tell, but he felt as if there was some Japanese features, like his eyes. "Are you half?"
While this might sound disrespectful in any other culture, to Japanese people it was not considered rude. Since the guy didn't seem offended, it was clear that he didn't mind.
"Mmm. My mom is from Japan and my father is from Italy, but we grew up in Brazil." He stated.
"Wow, that's interesting… I'm Ken by the way." He said, formally introducing himself.
"Ah, I'm Yu. Yu Guidolin. Nice to meet you." Yu responded, grabbing the stretched out hand.
"Oh, I play 2nd base, so we probably won't see much of each other." He added.
"That's alright, it was nice to meet you. It's also nice to hear Japanese once in a while since my parents are so far away." Ken said sincerely.
"Alright, main squad will bat first. Let's get this thing underway." Coach Brown yelled before blowing the whistle.
"See you around Yu." Ken said before jogging over to the right outfield.
With everyone in position, the game was ready to start. Blake, the 2nd string pitcher began his warm up throws while everyone watched on. Ken paid attention, wanting to know what kind of player would be relegated to the 2nd string.
The guy's form was quite smooth and it looked like he held some power. The crisp sound of even his warm up throws entering the glove was rather impressive.
Soon enough, he gave the signal to the makeshift umpire and the game began.
Ken saw Ayden's bright blond hair from under his helmet reflecting the sun, causing him to shield his eyes slightly. He remembered back at the World Cup, this guy was a decent player.
The first pitch was called and the pitcher wound up, sending a fastball to the top of the strike zone.
WHACK
The first ball was easily hit by Ayden, who sent it over the short stops head and into the left outfield. His small frame quickly arrived on first base, getting the first hit of the game.
Ken frowned a little. He was pretty certain that Steve wouldn't have called for such a ball to begin with, not without testing the waters against the opening batter.
'Is his control lacking?' Ken thought, his eyes narrowing on Blake's figure.
Next up to bat was Tristan. The guy looked a little weird with a helmet concealing his perfect hair, but he seemed poised and confident while in the batters box.
WHACK!
The first pitch was struck once again, this time heading towards Ken's side of the field. His eyes quickly assessed where the ball was going to end up before his body moved into action.
"Mine!"
Ken heard the shout from the center outfielder not far away, causing him to take his eyes off the ball.
"I've got it!" Ken called, realizing that he was much closer and would have the easier catch. He continued to pursue the ball, only to hear the frantic call of the center fielder once again.
"MINE!"
Ken slowed down his speed and evaluated the situation. He realized that if he didn't stop, they would likely collide big time, leading to more than just wounded pride.
Therefore, he backed off and watched as the center fielder threw himself forward for a diving catch. Unfortunately for him, the ball bounced a few inches away from his glove before rolling past him and into the hands of Ken.
'Idiot…'
Pissed off now, Ken threw the ball back to 2nd base with some serious heat. They had given up the catch all because the stupid guy wanted to make an exceptional play in front of the coaching staff.
Of course Ken didn't understand the pressure of being a 2nd string player and wanting to rise to the main squad, but even if he did, he wouldn't approve of reckless plays like the one he'd just witnessed.
Thankfully, Ken's quick throw had stopped Tristan on 1st base, but Ayden had managed to get to 3rd, meaning there were now runners on the corner bases.
Coach Brown frowned deeply before stepping onto the field and blowing his whistle.
"Zachary! You're out." He said, pointing to the dugout.