Daichi’s mind suddenly went back to spring of last year when Ken had taken him to the batting cage. A small smile formed on his face as he remembered the god-awful form in which he used to bat with.
Yet surprisingly he was still able to hit all of the balls. Of course they were only 100km/h, but that didn’t matter.
Life seemed to have a funny way of going full circle.
WHOOOSH
Daichi’s eyes narrowed as he saw the pitch fast approaching. His body seemed to shift into another gear as his instinct swiftly took over, clearing any obstacles in his way.
DOOOONG
He felt the ball hit the middle of the barrel before skyrocketing into the air through center field. No one needed to follow the ball to know that it was clearly a home run.
DONG
DONG
DONG
It was as if he was casually hitting some balls at the batting cages with how effortlessly he sent the pitches flying. Starting from the center, he alternated between all of the outfields.
Center, right, left.
Center, right, left.
Center, right, left.
While not all of them were home runs, they were all hit with that intent. Each time the bat connected with the ball, a resounding noise swept over the field, filling the spectators with awe.
Soon enough, the 30th ball was bunted towards first base, stopping just short of halfway.
Apart from the players who wore their emotions on their faces, the coaching staff were still stoic. Coach Takashi watched on like a bored spectator, though if one looked hard enough, they could see his eyes sparkling.
“Alright, you’re next.” He said, pointing to Ken nearby.
Ken smiled after hearing his name called. He was in a great mood after seeing Daichi stomp the drill, firing him up to elevate his game.
After grabbing his helmet, Ken placed his gloves on and headed into the batters box.
For some reason, Ken’s mind also traveled to the time he spent with Daichi at the batting cages. He still remembered that he couldn’t even hit a single ball at 100km/h almost 2 years ago.
Yet here he was, trying out for the National Team in front of his father and arguably the best coach in Japanese history.
‘Time to show how much I’ve improved.’ He thought inwardly.
WHOOSH
Ken’s mind quickly analyzed the pitch speed and trajectory as it flew towards him. With his new mental capacity, it increased not only his vision, but also his coordination.
‘Inside low…’
DOOOONG
Ken swung perfectly, lining up the ball with the center of the bat and sending it flying along the foul line towards the left foul pole.
DING
A few seconds later, the confirmation of the home run rang out over the field like a bell which had been struck at an old church. A small grin crept onto Ken’s features as he waited for the next ball.
DOOONG
DOONG
DONG
Although he couldn’t control where he hit the ball as well as Daichi, Ken still found it simple to make contact. Out of the 20 hits into the outfield, he’d sent 8 to left, 7 to center and 5 to right.
Out of those 20 pitches, 11 were hit for a home run. This brought his home run tally to the 2nd highest on the team, beating Hiroki by a single home run and losing to Daichi by 2.
When it came time for the bunts, he completely out shined every one of the players.
Even Coach Takashi who had been doing a great job of wearing a neutral expression for the entire drill had faltered after witnessing them.
Each one of Ken’s bunts were sent along the foul line towards either first or third base. All of them slowly fell into position around the half way mark, showing just how much control over his strength he had.
“Alright that’s enough.” Coach Takashi said, masking his expression once more.
Ken was the last person to complete the drill, which could have been a blessing or a curse. Either way, he was happy with his performance which fully showcased his ability with the bat.
After the players who were in the outfield gathered, the coach addressed everyone.
“I’ll be bringing the tryouts to a close now. I want you all to go through your cooling down exercises.”
“Once you’re done, head back to your dorms and take a shower. There will be lunch provided for you all while we deliberate your results.” Coach Takashi’s deep voice rolled over everyone present.
“You all performed well today, you should be proud of yourselves.” Chris spoke up from beside the head coach after seeing the expression of some of the kids.
He felt a little empathetic since they were all just teens at the end of the day.
Coach Takashi nodded and he ran his fingers around his goatee.
“Alright, you’re all adjourned.”
“Um coach, when will we find out the results?” The average looking pitcher with the ponytail raised his hand and asked.
Chris took the lead on the question, “We’ll let you know the results after lunch.”
With that, the coaching staff made their way off the field while some of the other staff members stayed around to clean up and maintain the field.
“Ahhh, that was a bit tougher than previous years.” Riku said aloud, falling onto his back on the ground.
“Yeah, it’s probably because they added Coach Takashi as the Head Coach.” Masayuki quipped as he began his stretches.
Some of the players were a little annoyed that these two were so nonchalant about everything However, it was just them projecting their own uncertainty onto others.
Ken let out a small sigh of relief, only to feel his stomach protest loudly. Those who were giving rough looks to the former two quickly turned their gazes to Ken and glared.
“Ahem… Let’s quickly cool down so we can go eat” Ken said to both Daichi and Hiroki.
“Dude, your stomach needs to learn how to read the room…” Daichi replied, shaking his head in exasperation.