86. First Match (IV)

Rei quickly got out of his gear and took his helmet and bat. He went towards the batter's box and noticed something different. Some players changed. He noticed that 2 of the outfielders changed and even Daichi and Suzaku got replaced.

He looked at the new pitcher who he had no info on and decided to leave some pitches and foul others. He knew that he did not know the rest of the pitchers except Suzaku, and through this match, he got to know about Shindou.

Now, this is the final pitcher he needed to know about and decided to gain as much information as he could while batting on him. Rei started to do some practice outside the batter's box and got in when the Umpire asked him to.

Rei got ready for the first pitch and paid as much attention as he could. The pitch came faster than Shindou's but slower than Suzaku's. Rei simply let it right through, not swinging the bat.

The next pitch came and Rei fouled it to the right. The next pitch he fouled it to the left. He then gripped his bat tighter, deciding to hit this one to the right field for a good easy double. The next pitch came a bit higher, but Rei was able to make perfect contact and ran towards the base as he hit it.

He noticed the fielder going after it and turned around towards the 2nd base. He then saw the fielder fumbling with the ball and increased his speed, turning towards the third base. Seeing this, Akhira started shouting, asking for the ball. The 2nd baseman went as the cutoff man for third, but before he could throw it he noticed Rei easily making it.

Akhira could only shake his head for the fielder's poor performance, making a double hit a triple. The pitcher received the ball and saw Shiro stepping into the batter's box. He slowly got to his form but noticed Rei taking a big lead and tried for a pick-off.

But Rei who was completely noticing the pitcher's reaction to his lead was able to react immediately and dive back to the base. The baseman wasn't able to tag him out and threw it back. Rei again took a lead and observed the pitcher trying to shake him off.

But this time the pitcher did not pay much attention to him anymore and instead focused on Shiro, who was ready. The first pitch was a bit low, but Shiro was able to bring his bat down making a solid connection to it. The ball flew towards the right and with one bounce between the 1st and 2nd basemen towards the right fielder,

Rei immediately took off towards the home base as soon as Shiro made contact with the ball. He looked towards the fielder and saw him getting ready to throw it home. He stressed his muscles a bit more and reached home base before the catcher could tag him out.

Shiro was able to reach the base before the catcher could throw it back towards 1st base. The team cheered from the dugout, seeing their first run on the board. Rei got back and slapped everyone's hand as he came in. The coach gave an appreciating nod seeing his play and continued to look over the other players.

Rei sat down as he noticed the next batter getting ready. Shindou came over and handed him a bottle of water with a towel. Rei wiped his sweat off and drank some water. He continued to look at the game, speculating everyone who was playing.

The next 3 batters could only move Shiro up by one place, with one of them going for a sacrificial hit and the others were strikeouts. Not moving past the 2nd base, Shiro came back feeling a bit down about their teammate's performance.

Before everyone went back in the coach stopped everyone and said, "Ok! Now that 3 innings have passed I will make changes to the lineup." and substituted some people out. Shindou was not changed as he was the only pitcher in this team.

After the coach made the changes, all of them made their way out. With their order back up, Rei knew there would be changes in the way the opposite side would bat with more experience against Shindou.

He noticed the first batter was a new person. He felt relieved it was someone different and got ready. After the person was done with his practice, Rei started asking for pitches. Shindou followed him and pitched accordingly.

The batter went down with a strikeout after fouling 3 balls and leaving 2 balls which Rei could not frame. Rei understood, after this, that Shindou was slowly losing energy and accuracy.

Rei decided to not ask for many pitches to the corners and focus more on the inside. Rei continued to ask for pitches and framed some getting their second out. Rei looked at their third batter and noticed it was the same person as last time.

He decided to focus more and asked for the first pitch right down the middle. Shindou slowly took a deep breath and pitched it where he was asked. Expecting the pitch, the batter swung the bat. But the pitch slowly lost control as it neared the plate and the ball went for a foul.

Shindou received the ball, and Rei asked the ball a bit low this time. Shindou nodded and pitched it but the ball dropped and bounced off the plate into Rei's hand. The umpire called it a ball and Rei threw it back.

Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Shindou threw the next pitch for another ball. Rei shook his head, noticing his control worsening and asked a pitch right down the middle once again. Shindou nodded, and the batter swung his bat as hard as he could connect the ball.

The ball flew past the shortstop and in front of the Left fielder. The batter was able to safely get to first base. Rei noticed the next batter was Akhira and called a timeout. He slowly made his way towards Shindou, who was panting and wiping off his sweat.

"This is going to be tough Shindou."

"Yes, senpai."

"Try to pitch to contact and maintain a bit of your speed. If you lose even a bit of your control, the ball is going to fly far."

Shindou nodded, and Rei made his way back. As he sat down Akhira spoke, "He has potential."

"Yes, but he is far from becoming a talented pitcher."

Akhira only nodded and got ready for his first pitch. Rei asked the pitch a bit high to get a strikeout off Akhira. Shindou only nodded and threw the first ball. As the ball was coming towards the plate, it dropped.

Akhira was able to time the bat and swung with full force. The ball connected and flew into the center field. Akhira threw his bat down and ran to the bases while Rei stood up and looked at the ball.

The ball flew over the center fielder and into the stands. Akhira tightened his fist as he ran over all the bases. The first batter was able to reach the base, followed by Akhira. Rei could only exhale seeing their lead being lost.

The next batter came up and Rei sat back down. After the hard home run from Akhira, Shindou's pitching got worse, and he ended up walking the batter. Rei tried his best at framing the balls but could only frame one of the balls in the given situation.

The next batter came up and Shindou continued to pitch badly. After fouling many balls, the batter missed a ball gaining an out. Rei felt relieved as the runs on the board didn't increase and made his way back.

He sat down, removing his gear, as he saw no way of scoring their final inning. It was their poor luck that the lower order was up for bat, with Shindou being the first. After being cornered, Shindou could only force himself to hit a ball straight to the pitcher for an easy out.

The next 2 batters did not do any better, with one getting a strikeout and the other a catch to the right fielder. Rei stood up as the inning was over and the coach stopped the game. Rei felt sad about losing his first match but could do nothing now that it was over.

He felt that he did his best, but he still could not make his pitcher feel a bit more at ease during the tough time. All the players from both the teams formed a group near Iwata waiting for his next order.

"Ok! Now everybody, clean up and we will have a talk about this after that," said Iwata and walked away.

Rei cleaned up everything with the others and went into the locker room to change once they were done. Everyone formed a group around after changing, waiting for the coach to talk about the game.