<49> Rebirth – Practice Match (1)

Chapter 49: Rebirth – Practice Match (1)

The next day, a group of eleven boys and girls walked into Seiwa Middle School.

"You all must be from Akagi Junior High School's baseball team, right? I'm Takei, the coach at Seiwa!" As they approached the field, they saw about ten Seiwa players in uniform, along with a man who looked to be around thirty, who came over to greet them.

"Hi! We're looking forward to today. I'm Sendo Akira, Seiwa's coach."

"So, you're Sendo-kun! No need to be formal. Coach Nakani already informed me. Here's our roster, and you can choose whether to bat or field first. Once you've decided, we can start warming up."

"This is our lineup. Then, if you don't mind, I'll choose to bat first, Coach."

"Sendo-kun, are you sure about this lineup? You're not playing? And you're choosing to bat first?"

"Yes! I'm not one of the players on our team. Besides, I'd like to see how our defense performs."

"I see. Understood. We'll meet on the field soon, then!"

"Yes, Coach!"

...

"So, what do you think, Sen-chan?"

"I chose to bat first. I want a good look at your offensive skills. How far we get in the autumn tournament will depend on it. Understood? Let's start with some warm-up offensive drills!" Sendo said, setting the roster aside without even looking at it.

"You're not going to check it?" Fumino asked.

"No need. We don't have any information about their players, so what good will it do?"

...

"They even have girls on their roster! I thought the two girls were just managers, but they're actually players! And so cute! So cute! Ugh!" On the other side, Seiwa's players, just finishing their warm-ups, started talking excitedly as they looked over at Akagi's bench.

"Such focus in their eyes!"

"How nice! We only have guys. Look! The one sitting on the bench is even cuter, so beautiful! I think I've lost my soul!"

"Really, pure and adorable, but… her chest is almost nonexistent! Such a shame."

"Emptiness, truly empty!"

"Let's fight for this emptiness!" one of them said, raising his right hand high.

"Yeah!" Their spirits were fired up.

"What are you all muttering about? Focus up!" Coach Takei, overhearing the players' chatter from the bench, reminded them sharply.

"Yes, Coach!" they shouted in unison, loud enough for Akagi to hear across the field.

"Looks like they're really taking this practice game seriously," Sendo remarked.

"Yeah! This won't be an easy match for us," Fumino replied, oblivious to the real reason for Seiwa's motivation. If she heard what they were actually saying about her, she'd probably lose her temper.

A substitute player from Seiwa was acting as the umpire. As Ohno stepped into the batter's box and Aoki entered the on-deck circle, the game officially began.

"Yosh!" Ohno pumped himself up.

"Stay calm, Ohno!" Sawamura called out.

"My job is to watch the ball closely," Ohno thought to himself.

First pitch—

Thud!

"Ball!"

A ball outside.

"They're playing it safe, too. Facing an unfamiliar batter, they won't try to settle it too quickly! But Ohno won't let a good pitch go by! He's the best on the team at picking his pitches," Sendo thought.

"He didn't move on that one, just observing? Alright, then how about this?"

Second pitch—

Thud!

"Ball!"

Another pitch outside.

"Why? If he's just watching the pitch, one would be enough, right? But we're falling behind in the count!"

Third pitch—

Crack!

Seeing another outside pitch, Ohno swung decisively. Though it wasn't a perfect hit, it caught Seiwa off guard, allowing him to reach first base with ease. All those months of agility training paid off.

"Nice!" Sendo clenched his fist. Getting the leadoff batter on base in the first inning was crucial, especially since Aoki's primary role was to advance Ohno.

"Why? He didn't swing at any of those outside pitches. Doesn't that mean he's not good with them? What's going on in his mind?" Seiwa's catcher seemed to be overthinking, a consequence of both teams' unfamiliarity with each other.

"Not bad, huh? Looks like that leadoff guy wasn't ignoring the outside pitches because he couldn't handle them. He was clearly picking out balls and strikes. I see, they're going for small-ball tactics. That's really annoying!" Coach Takei thought to himself.

During the break, Seiwa's pitcher wasn't practicing pitches but instead applying chalk to his hands, watching Aoki as he stepped into the left batter's box.

After noticing Aoki's improvement in bunting and technique, Sendo had suggested that he switch to batting left-handed.

The catcher signaled, and Aoki glanced over at the bench.

"It's fine, Aoki. Use a bunt stance to throw them off and draw a few balls. Ohno, stay a bit off the base and put some pressure on while you watch," Sendo signaled to the field. Since baseball's signs can be complicated, Sendo kept it simple, focusing primarily on attack strategies.

"I'll take this chance to observe the pitcher," Sendo thought as he finished signaling and watched the field.

"Lead! Lead! Lead! Lead! Lead!"

"Lead! Lead! Lead! Lead! Lead!" Ohno chanted as he moved further off the base, distracting the pitcher.

"Aoki's going for a bunt stance!"

"Going for a sacrifice? Definitely seems like typical small-ball tactics," Coach Takei thought, though he didn't issue any commands. With no data on the opponent and facing a basic strategy, there wasn't much need for direction—everyone knew how to counter a bunt.

"Well then, let's just go for an out here. But…"

First pitch—

Thud!

"Ball!"

Aoki spotted the ball going wide and pulled the bat back quickly, while the catcher swiftly grabbed the ball and saw Ohno hadn't attempted to steal.

"Lead! Lead! Lead! Lead! Lead!"

"Lead! Lead! Lead! Lead! Lead!" Ohno's persistent calls echoed again, adding to the distraction.

"What an annoying voice! Are they trying to throw us off? It won't stop the runner on first, though, and another ball will only put us at a disadvantage. If they want to bunt, fine, but I won't make it easy for them," the catcher thought as he signaled again.

While his approach was fundamental, he didn't realize there was a sharp observer and strategist among the kids on the other team—Sendo, who excelled at reading people and analyzing their moves.

The pitcher then threw a couple of pick-off attempts toward first to keep Ohno close.

"A pick-off? Here's our chance! Here's our chance," Sendo quickly flashed two signals.

After the first pitch, when the catcher prepared for the pick-off, Sendo noticed the throw was relatively slow and realized Seiwa was likely a school that didn't prioritize high-ranking performance.

Even if the coach had good intentions, he probably hadn't had enough time with the team, which meant limited guidance for the catcher.

"Lead! Lead! Lead! Lead! Lead!"

"Lead! Lead! Lead! Lead! Lead!"

Second pitch—

Whoosh!

As the pitch was released, Ohno sprang toward second base, and Aoki lifted his bat.

"Steal!" the first baseman shouted quickly.

"Hit and run?"

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