97. Friendly Match (IV)

All the three batters got ready as the first one made his way towards the batter's box. Suzaku was ready to pitch better than the previous inning. The first batter was CP(LF). He went into the left side and looked at Suzaku, completely focused.

The first pitch came inside and the batter had a late swing, unable to touch the ball. Suzuki threw the ball back and sat down again, asking for the next pitch. This time it was a low pitch which the batter was able to connect but for a foul.

With 2 strikes, the batter became desperate and swung his bat at a complete ball, making it a swinging strikeout. Rei shook his head at the level of batting that disappointed him. Next was another club member who played the right fielder in the game. He remembered him because of the mistake he made, which gave Tanaka a chance to get a double in the first inning.

This one was also no better than the previous batter. He went for a straight in the middle pitch and got jammed for a catch to Tanaka. Next was Izumi, and Rei hoped that he would do better than the previous ones.

But it disintegrated his hopes to dust when Izumi couldn't touch a single pitch when all of them were right down the middle. It was a swinging strikeout. Rei was dumbfounded at this display. In comparison, the other two did way better than Izumi as they were at least able to connect the bat to the ball.

He looked at Izumi, who was cursing his luck as he sat on the bench beside him, taking off his helmet and keeping his bat down. Izumi turned towards Rei and noticed the shocked expression on his face and nudged him a little, making Rei wake up.

"What happened? It is time to pitch, let's go." and went out.

Rei simply followed him, trying to remove the scene of his horrible batting, and decided to give at least some tips to him after the match. He slowly sat in his position as the first and the most dangerous batter of the opposite team, Sora, came into the batter's box.

Rei and Izumi both knew the importance of this inning. If they could hold Sora here, they could ease up on the next batters. But if by any chance they would give up a big hit to him, the morale would continue throughout the game.

Taking a deep breath, Rei asked the first pitch to the utmost corner from Sora. He decided to frame the pitch if needed. Izumi took a deep breath and pitched the ball accordingly. Sora left the ball untouched, hoping for a ball. But the pitch was within the zone and called for a strike.

Sora simply got back to his stance and waited on for the next pitch. Rei asked the next pitch higher than normal within the zone, hoping he would get jammed when he swings. Izumi nodded and threw the pitch where Rei wanted.

As Rei expected, Sora swung his bat and also got jammed. But the sheer power behind his swing was able to make the ball fall in front of the right fielder. Sora surprised Rei once again. His strength was something he did not consider. Sora was able to gain an easy single, and the next batter came up.

Rei looked at the next batter and cursed his luck. It was Suzaku. Suzaku could hit long too and was a very good batter. He looked at Izumi to see how he was doing and after seeing his still ever looking confident expression; he managed to cool down.

He slowly asked for the next pitch to be a bit inside, near the chest. Izumi nodded and slowly pitched the ball at the same speed, and Suzaku swung his bat. This time it was fouled back instead.

Giving the ball back to Izumi, Rei decided to take the risk and ask for an outside low. Izumi nodded and pitched perfectly for an outside low and Suzaku bent over and hit the ball to the left and Sora started running to the 2nd base.

Rei looked at the ball flying over the left fielder and dropping. By the time the fielder took the ball and turned back to throw it, Suzaku was safe at 2nd and Sora at 3rd. This is where a bit of pressure built up for Rei.

He noticed a bit of frown on Izumi's face and was about to call a time-out but stopped when Izumi lifted his hand denying it. He simply got back into his position. The next batter was Takeo, and Rei took a bold step.

He just simply kept his mitt right in the middle of the zone and asked for a full-force pitch. Izumi smiled and nodded. He took a deep breath and pitched with his fastest speed right into the mitt, creating a sound Rei never heard of. He felt like the ball was still trying to force its way out of the pitch.

Rei grinned as he asked for two more pitches to the middle, and Izumi delivered them with full speed. Takeo could not touch the ball even when he found out the pathway of the pitch. After a swinging strikeout, the next batters came up and Rei continued on with the same pitch again.

The first batter was lucky to get a hit on the last ball, but it was a pop fly right to Izumi for a comfortable catch. The next batter couldn't hold against the speed and got a strikeout. Rei stood up as the umpire called to change sides and bumped his fist with Izumi as he made his way back and said, "Nice Pitching."

Izumi just grinned at the compliment and said, "Like always."

Making his way back, Rei took out his gear as he might go on this inning and looked at the scoreboard, noticing both the sides did not take a single point yet.