Hikaru found himself standing in the dugout getting ready for the game. Hikaru could hear the band playing the school’s anthem…and for once Hikaru was overwhelmed.
‘This is insane!’Hikaru thought
About that time Yuki walked up and shouted:
“LET’S GO!”
“YEAH!”the others replied
Seidou ran out to the field along with Maimon’s team. Hikaru was excited for the game, but truthfully it was too hot. Seido had gotten lucky and gotten to bat first… Kuramochi was getting ready to bat, and Hikaru was watching Maimon’s pitcher closely. Hikaru was surprised when Masuko, Yuki, and Jun came to stand by him. Hikaru was bewildered to see who the pitcher was for Maimon. Kuramochi was to, since he said:
“Dude…..Number 10? Where is the southpaw ace? Not to mention he’s a submarine pitcher.”
Hikaru heard Chris’ notebook pages being turned. So Hikaru turned his attention to him.
“Number 10, Mamoru Minamidaria, Third-year. He played as a pitcher as a first-year. However, he hasn’t been a pitcher in an official game since then. It’s almost unthinkable, but he must have spent two years practicing his submarine pitch just for this summer.”Chris said
Hikaru turned his attention back to the game at hand.
“If that’s true then this game just got a little bit harder.”Hikaru replied
“Why do you say that?”Jun asked
“If someone practiced a pitching technique for that long….”Hikaru started
“Then there is no way there are no fruits from his training.”Chris said getting into the conversation.
Hikaru nodded then looked over at Mainmon’s coach. His smile annoyed Hikaru.
‘Just because you changed pitchers doesn’t mean anything…Gosh, is all the coaches in this bracket this smug?’Hikaru wondered
“PLAY BALL!”The umpire shouted
Hikaru glanced at Kuramochi at bat…
‘Now what are you going to do Yoichi.’ Hikaru thought
Hikaru watched as Kuramochi got ready to bat. Hikaru watched as the Maimon’s pitcher threw his first pitch. Hikaru felt anticipation growing while the pitcher went through his stants….but when he released the ball Hikaru felt all the excitement fade.
‘That can’t be it…that ball sucked!’Hikaru thought ‘but, his pitching style is lower than Kawakami-Senpai…’
Hikaru watched as Kuramochi got out…Jun and Yuki were getting ready to go out.
“The catcher was very calm in getting that ball.”Yuki said
“Yeah.”Jun replied
Jun gazed angry at the Maimon pitcher. Hikaru then sat down and closed his eyes. Yuki and Ryosuke looked at him confused.
“What are you doing?”Yuki asked
“I’m going to go over the pitch in my mind….I can slow the pitch down in my mind….but I won’t know if what I think is true until I get up to bat.”Hikaru replied
“Do you think you can get a piece of that ball?”Ryosuke asked
“Hm. It’s a challenge that I accept with thrill.”Hikaru said with an emotional face.
“ONE OUT!!”The catcher shouted
“However, something else is bothering me.”Hikaru replied
“What is it Hikaru?”Yuki asked
“The battery between the pitcher and catcher of Maimon….it’s strong….it’s something that wasn’t made over night…or recently…”Hikaru replied
Hikaru and the others watched as Ryosuke and Kuramochi met. Miyuki took Furuya to go play catch….Hikaru watched as Ryosuke hit a ball straight to third….
“Ah, he waited too long.”Hikaru said
Kuramochi laughed at Hikaru’s comment.
Hikaru watched as Jun went up to bat…as soon as he missed the first ball Hikaru stood up and grabbed his mitt. Masuko walked over to Hikaru getting his batting helmet ready.
“From the right box, his pitch to the outside….probably feels really far away. “Kuramochi said from his spot behind Hikaru.
Masuko muttered in agreement. The pitcher for Maimon got his next pitch ready and threw it. Jun hit and the ball went flying to the outfield. Hikaru and the others watched in anticipation, but all that vanished when the right fielder caught the ball easily. Hikaru glanced at Miyuki and Furuya, then Hikaru clicked his tongue.
‘I know what Miyuki is thinking….A run would have probably helped Furuya stay calm in this situation: However, we can’t have him depending on us batters all the time….on a team every member has to carry his own weight..’Hikaru thought
Hikaru was walking to his place when he heard his brother.
‘Ah man, why is he starting being so annoying? It’s too hot for his annoying attitude.’ Hikaru thought
With everyone from Seidou in position, Miyuki threw the ball to Furuya, but he couldn’t catch it. Everyone in the crowd started to giggle. Hikaru and the others crouched ready to jump at the ball if it headed their way. Furuya started his whinnied up and threw the ball. As he threw the ball the batter of Maimon was shocked….as the rest of the stadium. Seidou smirked, there freshmen had done it.
“S-S-STRIKE!”The ump yelled
Furuya threw another pitch and the ump yelled
“STIRKE!”
As Furuya kept throwing his pitches the Maimon pitchers kept swing at them, even though they were balls. It wasn’t long before Seidou was back in the dugout getting ready to bat.
“Nice pitching Furuya.”Yuki said as he ran past the freshman
“Nice pitch.”Ryosuke said
“Nice pitching Furuya.”Kuramochi said
Then Hikaru, who was running beside him, replied:
“Though they were mostly balls!”
Furuya shot Hikaru a look, but Hikaru laughed it off.
“Did I hit a nerve?”Hikaru asked
Furuya just turned his head, which made Kuramochi laugh. Seidou glanced back at Maimon. Next to bat was none other than the Master Batsmen Yuki. The rest of Seidou watched as the Catcher made sighs and the team started to move.
“The shortstop is right by the second base.”Hikaru said casually
“What an extreme right-side shift!”Jun replied “Are they only going to throw to the outside for the righties?”
“If possible they might just walk him.”Hikaru said
Coach Kataoka heard the group talking and said:
“Boys, take a good look at Yuki’s batting.”
Everyone now focused on their captain. Everyone watched as Maimon threw his first pitch to Yuki…
“BALL!”the umpire shouted….
However Yuki didn’t move…The second pitch the Maimon pitcher threw Hikaru could tell from Maimon’s pitcher’s face that he didn’t like it. That was all it took. Yuki hit it and it went straight to the outfield. Yuki waited no time moving to second base. Hikaru smirked….Tetsuya Yuki was someone Hikaru couldn’t help but respect.
“We don’t need a long fly. Hit low and strong and obliterate their defense.”Coach Kataoka said
With that Masuko went to bat…Masuko like Yuki hit it low and strong. Two of Maimon’s fielders’ dived for the ball, but they missed it. Masuko safely got on first, while Yuki made it to third. Miyuki walked to bat next and Hikaru fixed his helmet in the warm up circle. Everyone was cheering for Miyuki, so Hikaru smirked then shouted:
“Kazuya!”
Miyuki turned back and looked at Hikaru.
“What is it Hikaru?”Miyuki asked placing his bat on his shoulder.
“Runner on first and third, don’t be our first out because you can’t hit unless someone is on second.”Hikaru replied
Miyuki didn’t know how to reply. He just turned and walked to the batter’s box. Miyuki could hear Jun and Kuramochi laughing.
‘I’ll Show you Hikaru!’Miyuki thought while getting ready to bat
Hikaru whistled in shock to see that Miyuki actually hit the ball well.
‘I guess I’ll have to give him props.’ Hikaru thought
Hikaru smiled as Yuki ran into home and Masuko ran to third…
‘Ah, he really needs to work on his running.’ Hikaru thought as he watched Masuko huffing it…
Hikaru walked to the batter’s box to hear Seidou cheering. Hikaru looked out over the field to see Miyuki on second and Masuko on third. Hikaru turned to coach and saw him doing sings.
‘Ah, I hate squeeze plays…oh well…guess we can’t let to many cats out of the bag.’Hikaru thought
Hikaru made eye contact with both Miyuki and Masuko. They both understood what Hikaru wanted to say. Maimon’s pitcher whinnied up a ball and threw it to Hikaru. Right as the ball was almost to Hikaru’s bat Masuko started to run. Hikaru tapped the ball with his bat and took off. Hikaru made it to first right before the first baseman caught the ball. Miyuki made it safely to third while Masuko made it home. Shirasu was next. He hit the ball and it flew to right field. The outfielder caught it, but Miyuki took this time to run in home. This now made the score Maimon 0 to Seidou’s 3. Hikaru walked in the dugout after coming home to see Eijun walking with Haruichi to the bullpen. Hikaru walked over to Kawakami and said:
“Did I miss where coach said he is pitching?”Hikaru asked
Kawakami sighed and said:
“No, he’s still not pitching...”
“However, let him go…we all need some peace and quiet.”Chris said
Kuramochi started to laugh and Hikaru smiled. A little while later Seidou was back in the outfield. The score was now Seidou 4 to Maimon 0. Furuya was still throwing like a monster, and well Seidou was still defending and batting like monsters also. Pitch after pitch that Furuya threw whether if it was high or not the Maimon batter’s swung for it. While Seidou’s batting patterns became more calculated and hungry. It wasn’t long before everyone had a turn at Maimon’s pitcher…and it was time for Kuramochi to redeem himself. Luckily the second year did, along with Ryosuke and Jun. It was the bottom of the fourth and Seidou had 14 runs all together while Maimon had none. As Hikaru looked at the Maimon side, Hikaru couldn’t help but feel their pain…It wasn’t long ago that Hikaru was on the other side of the fence. Hikaru and Miyuki sighed at Eijun’s annoying habits.
“Mom must have dropped him on his head.”Hikaru said to Miyuki
Miyuki laughed. Hikaru was waiting on Miyuki to get through batting when coach turned to him.
“Hikaru call your brother.”Coach said
‘Oh lord.’Hikaru thought
“BROTHER COACH WANTS YOU!”Hikaru shouted
Eijun marched over to the coach angrily, but then the coach said:
“Sawamura, You’re going in the next inning.”
“SERIOUSLY?!”Jun asked
Hikaru was even shocked by this. Hikaru glanced at Furuya who looked shocked. Hikaru then glanced at the score board.
‘I think I understand where you are coming from coach. Brother and I don’t have a lot of experience in high level games….we normally lost the first game of our season…So while were this far ahead give brother a little time to see if he can handle it.’ Hikaru thought
“You are ready aren’t you?”Coach asked
“Y-Y-YES SIR!!”Eijun said
Hikaru ,who still had his back to his brother, smiled then looked at the pitcher’s mound.
‘It’s coming true….’Hikaru thought walking to the batter’s box. ‘Brother standing on the mound as an ace.’
Hikaru smirked when he saw Miyuki on second. The pitcher from Maimon threw Hikaru a ball, and Hikaru swung for it.