Meanwhile, on the field Daichi called a time out and walked up to the mound to where Kouichi was standing before waving Ken over.
Ken was still depressed after he made such a bad play and allowed a free run. They were now in the same situation with loaded bases and only 1 out, putting significant pressure on the team.
He expected to receive a grilling from Daichi, however it was the opposite.
“Kouichi, why didn’t you cover first base?”
‘Huh?’ Ken who was busy looking at the ground suddenly raised his gaze and looked at Daichi oddly.
“A-Ah sorry. Everything happened so fast that I didn’t react in time.” Kouichi replied, also a little perplexed that he was the one being scolded.
Daichi looked over his shoulder at the opposition coach who was currently chatting with the next two batters. His intuition was telling him that they would likely try the same thing after seeing Ken’s throwing issue.
He let out a small sigh and turned back to the two. “It’s okay. The next batter will hit it to Ken again. This time I need you to preemptively run to first base and receive the underarm throw from ken. Once you stand on the base, send it straight back to home.”
“As long as we can get this right, we’ll get out of this mess while we’re still on top.” Daichi held out his fist, prompting the other two to bump it.
Neither Ken nor Kouichi said a word of complaint, returning back to their positions. Ken especially trusted Daichi’s feel for the game, considering he knew how much of a prodigy his little brother really was when it came to baseball.
The next batter came into the batters box with a smug look on his face. He had just finished talking to the Coach and couldn’t help but look at Ken a few times.
Kouichi also noticed this and couldn’t help but be amazed at Daichi’s ability to predict what the other team was going to do.
Daichi requested a fastball to the outside to which Kouichi nodded in response. He sent the ball directly to the spot, only for the batter to make contact and send a grounder towards first base.
As soon as he threw the ball, Kouichi already sprinted towards first base, giving him the head start over the batter who still had to hit and run. This paired with the fact that the mound was closer to first base than home plate, made it so he arrived way ahead of time.
Ken pounced on the ball and quickly threw it underarm to Kouichi who was standing on the base already. Thankfully his throw was on point, allowing Kouichi to send a lightning fast throw back to home.
“Out!”
“Out!”
“Changeover.”
“Nice throw!” Ken sent a thumbs up to Kouichi before turning to Daichi with a smile. Things went exactly how his brother had predicted, allowing them to escape a pinch just before the clean up batters arrived.
The batter who had been run out at first seemed to be shocked. He slowly made his way back to the dugout with a sour expression, not having expected this outcome.
Chris who was in the stands finally felt as if he could let out his pent up breath. Now that Seiko had gotten out of the pinch, he could finally search for his wife in the stands.
He looked around for a little while, only to hear his name called out from somewhere.
“Hey Chris, is that you?”
He turned to the sound of the voice and instantly recognized one of the men sitting in the middle of the group.
“Naoki? Hey what are you doing here?” Chris replied, making his way over.
Naoki Hachimura stood up and held out his hand, giving a firm handshake. “I’m here on business, scouting middle schoolers for Osaka Toin.” He responded, giving a small smile.
“How about you? Don’t tell me that the Yokohama Warriors are so starved for talent that they need to come watch a middle school game?” At these words the other two men couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.
Chris also thought it was funny, but he corrected them. “My sons are playing so I’m here to watch them.”
“Sons?” Naoki was a little caught off guard.
“Yeah, Ken and Daichi. The catcher and 1st baseman.”
The three mens eyes widened at these words. It just so happened that the best players on the Seiko team were this man’s sons.
“It looks like you’ve been training them well then.” Naoki complimented.
He had been a scout for Yokohama in the past, which was how he knew Chris. It had been many years since he left the position, hence why he was surprised that Chris’s sons were already 15 years old.
Chris smiled widely. There was nothing that would make a father happier than hearing his sons be complimented in such a way. His mood had improved so much that he had even forgotten he missed the first half of the game.
One of the men next to Naoki suddenly spoke up, “Your son on 1st base, can you tell me a little more about him? Particularly in regards to his right arm.”
Chris frowned a little, since Ken had never told him there was an issue, he did not have much information. “I don’t know much unfortunately. You know how teenagers are with their secrecy and all. But I can say that he used to be the best middle school pitcher in the country.”
His eyes were resolute, implying that he was telling the truth. Naoki also knew that when it came to baseball, Chris was always serious.
“Ah what a shame. It looks like he’s probably injured his shoulder from pitching.” The man said, shaking his head.
Chris’s expression flickered for a moment, however he managed to keep his composure.
“It’s nice seeing you Naoki, gentleman. I’m off to find my wife so we can enjoy the game, best of luck.” He said, turning his body and heading in the other direction. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
“You can expect a letter from us about your other son Daichi.” Naoki called out, wanting to at least give his old colleague some good news.
Chris stopped in place for a moment, before waving and heading off.