Scrimmages

In the Field.

All the batters were swinging their bats practicing.

"We are on our 7th win", said Kanemaru.

"Just 3 more scrimmages until the fall tournament", said Tojo.

"Until then try your best to appeal to the coach", said Kanemaru.

"Yeah, let's", said Tojo.

"Why are you practicing your batting, did you decide to stop pitching", said Kanemaru.

"Yeah, I decided to be a batter instead of a pitcher", said Tojo.

"I thought you had a pretty good shoulder but do whatever you want", said Kanemaru as he continued his practice.

'This is my only choice if I want to stand out on this team', thought Tojo clenching his bat.

In the Dugout.

"The team practices like this every single day", asked Ochihai observing the practice.

"Yes, I believe they should go all out during their practice if not they might come to regret it during their matches. They are high school players after all", said Kataoka.

"I see. But they should know that High school-level baseball is not something easy. I had a question, would you mind if I make any changes to the team?", said Ochihai.

Kataoka frowned hearing the question.

"I'm just kidding. For now, I'll continue observing their practice", said Ochihai.

Kataoka nodded as he seemed fine with it.

Back in the field.

"The out-fielding positions are the only ones left", said Asou seriously.

"Na!", said Seki.

"Shut up!", said Asou. 'I'll be taking the center fielding position', he thought.

"THUD!", echoed the noise of the ball hitting the mitt.

This caught Asou and Seki's attention.

"How long has Sawamura been throwing in the bullpen", said Asou looking at the bullpen.

"Na", said Seki shrugging.

In the Bullpen.

"That's enough for today, Sawamura", said Miyuki. He was catching for Sawamura today.

"Why! I want to pitch more", said Sawamura.

"No, rest up since you will be pitching in our next scrimmage", said Miyuki.

"You're just saying that because you want to catch Rei's pitches", muttered Sawamura.

Rei who was sitting in the bullpen watching Sawamura throw chuckled.

"Who are you laughing at?", said Sawamura blushing.

"Miyuki-senpai, continue catching Sawamura's pitches. I don't mind", said Rei.

"OK", said Miyuki as he nodded.

Sawamura hmphed and started throwing again.

'Sawamura has improved but he still isn't comparable to when he became the ace. I think currently he's lacking in his control and techniques. Whenever I look at Sawamura, I feel like something is bugging me. I can't remember clearly.', thought Rei observing.

"WHAT!!", said Sawamura as he felt Rei's glares.

Miyuki just awkwardly laughed.

The Next Day. In Rei's Dorm.

'Now since Tanba is gone we are going to need an ace on the team. I should undoubtedly be the ace, but I shouldn't have that much overconfidence. It could be Furuya. To be honest, if It is Furuya then Kataoka coach doesn't have eyes. Sawamura needs more coaching though', thought Rei laying on his bed.

"Hmmm…Should I help him?", said Rei out loud.

"Help, who?", asked Kanemaru.

"Nothing…", said Rei.

"By the way, I hope our new roommate never comes", said Kanemaru. He loved only 2 people living in the dorm. If they were another person, the space available would be smaller.

"Ok…", said Rei as he walked into the bathroom to freshen up.

Kanemaru was shocked at Rei's response.

'Did he just agree with me…I bet something is wrong with him or he hasn't been paying attention to me', thought Kanemaru shrugging.

In the Meeting Room, After Breakfast.

"Today we have another scrimmage and Sawamura will be starting", said Kataoka.

"Haii!!", said Sawamura excitedly.

"I will be giving every player a chance before the fall tournament", said Kataoka.

"HAII!!", said all the players excited at this opportunity.

Especially all 2nd team players knew how precious this opportunity was.

"After today's scrimmage match, we will have 2 more matches until the fall tournament. Furuya will be starting for the scrimmage with Chigusa Metropolitan and Rei will be starting for Yakushi High", said Kataoka.

"YAKUSHI HIGH?", exclaimed Sawamura.

All the other players were shocked as well at the coach's decision.

"They called us and requested this match, and I agreed", said Kataoka.

"Is this, ok? Since we will be playing Yakushi High in the fall tournament", said Haruno. She was standing on the side of the room.

"It will be fine. It would be best if you trusted the Coach's decision plus I think he probably agreed because he wanted to motivate the players. I do agree with this decision as well. I know this will motivate the players.", said Yui.

Back in the Field, After a few hours later.

The neighboring school team had come for a scrimmage and Sawamura was starting.

Through 1-3 innings Sawamura didn't let a run through but in the 5th inning he allowed 2 runs through and during the 6th inning he was replaced with Kawakami.

At Night, In the Cafeteria.

"Why is he eating so fast? And what's with that creepy smile", said Sawamura sitting at the table.

"Who knows?", said Haruicchi shrugging.

Rei was eating exceptionally fast. Surprisingly, he didn't choke.

"Thank you for the food", said Rei as he went to his dorm.

"He seems in a hurry", commented Furuya.

'I can't wait for the shopping spree', thought Rei as he walked to his dorm. He had accumulated a lot of coins during the scrimmage matches and the Koshien match as well.