'I think being in the outfield is pointless. I may be extremely fast but I can't be everywhere at once, but Kaminari is pitching and I don't know how he pitches so I couldn't say anything about being a shortstop. Though if I get on the mound I'll fix it, and replace Austin as the catcher.' Rei thought to himself as he set his position in the center field as Kaminari started his windup to start the game.
He was a right-handed pitcher.
'I wonder what his pitching arsenal is.'
Kaminari threw a fastball on the top left corner barely missing the strike zone 1-0. Another fastball bottom right for a called strike 1-1.
'The batter isn't swinging yet; he might wait until the 2nd strike to scope it out.' Rei thought seeing the batter not blinking an eye to Kaminari's pitches.
Another fastball on the top of the zone for another strike 1-2 as the batter finally came to life.
'It's 1-2 he has 2 pitches to waste but I wouldn't do that, instead, I would go for the strikeout.'
Kaminari started his motion once more.
Changeup to the bottom left of the zone making the batter swing early, missing the pitch.
1 out.
'Nice pitch wasn't expecting that.' Rei thought as the batter walked back to the dugout and the 2nd batter came up to the righties batters box.
Fastball to the inside which the batter hit for a foul ball 0-1.
A slider that broke quite considerably like a frisbee for a strike at the outside middle of the strike zone freezing the batter for an 0-2 count. Fastball was thrown at the bottom of the strike zone hit for a single straight down the middle coming Rei's way as he ran toward the ball and picked it up with his bare hand quickly threw it to Kyle who was the cutoff man making the batter stop at first base.
'One strikeout with a runner on first.' Rei thought as the 3rd batter walked into the lefty's batters box.
Cutter towards the top left that broke cleanly for a strike 0-1.
Fastball at the top of the zone just above it for a called ball 1-1.
Kaminari started his windup again ignoring the runner on first, as soon as his legs crossed the runner on first took off, as Kaminari threw a changeup towards the batter's feet in the zone that the batter left alone, while Austin caught the ball and popped up to throw to second just to see the runner from first slide into second base safely, with a batter count of 1-2.
Another fastball was thrown toward the batter's chest, called for a ball just outside of zone 2-2.
Kaminari again ignored the runner on second as he threw a slider towards the bottom of the zone just inside the zone which would've been a strike if the batter didn't connect with it, as the ball flew towards left field going above Kyle's head as Rei quickly reacted and sprinted towards it as fast as he could going at about a 50-degree angle from his starting point.
"I can catch it," Rei mumbled.
Rei felt the sun beating down on him as he was sprinting for the ball, the grass beneath his cleats as he ran. He could feel the wind in his hair and the sweat dripping down his face as he focused on the ball, his eyes never leaving it as it flew through the air.
He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he got closer and closer to the ball, his arms outstretched as he prepared to make the catch. Rei felt the ball hit his glove as he slid feet first, the impact sending a shockwave through his body.
He quickly popped back up and threw the ball towards third base, the ball spinning through the air as it flew towards its destination where Kyle caught the ball.
He heard Starling hollering from second base and the scattered claps of the crowd as he dusted himself off. Though of course, he spotted Yuxin clapping like an animal and yelling to which Rei responded with a smile and a wave as he made his way back to center field.
They all got back to their normal positions as the 3rd batter stepped into the righties box.
Kyle was positioned between 2nd and 3rd meaning he would have to run towards third base in case the runner stole towards third which did happen on the second pitch of the 3rd at-bat which was a changeup again, an ideal pitch to steal a base.
Right, when Kaminari crossed his leg the runner sprinted towards 3rd as the changeup went towards the bottom right of the zone. This time the batter swung thinking if he could connect with it he could bring in the runner which would result in a hit and run but it failed as the batter just missed the pitch going just above it resulting in a strike as Austin caught the ball and jumped up from his knees, and was about to throw the ball before he stopped his motion when he saw Kyle was late to respond to the steal, trailing behind the runner.
The runner didn't need to slide as he saw Austin stop his motion meaning he was in the clear. Austin just threw it back to Kaminari who didn't look too pleased with what happened and started to tense up a little bit.
The 4th batter up going into the righties batter box as he connected with the first pitch which was a slider just outside of the zone going into right field, though it wasn't hit strongly just a blooper as Starling ran for it and tried to dive for it, just for the ball to go right above his glove as the runner on third touched home base and the batter was halfway to first.
Starling didn't just let the ball go, he got right back up and picked up the ball that wasn't far away from him and threw it towards Kyle at second, stopping the batter on first for an RBI single.
Rei screamed to Kaminari telling him not to mind as the 5th batter stepped into the righties box.
First, pitch a slider towards the bottom of the zone as the batter swung early clearly missing the pitch resulting in a called strike for an 0-1 count.
Second pitch: a cutter towards the outside just inside the zone for a called strike 0-2.
As Kaminari started his windup again, the runner on first base sprinted towards second base.
"Runner!" Starling yelled for all of them to hear, as they started making preparations, Kyle ran toward second base, and Rei ran forward heading between 2nd and 3rd base. This time the hit and run were successful as a fastball went between the middle and bottom of the zone and got connected by the batter, the ball heading towards 2nd and 3rd base, thankfully Rei started his run early as he caught up to the ball as the runner just stepped on second base and stopped his motion towards 3rd figuring that when it comes to a foot race Rei wasn't going to lose.
After the play, Rei just walked up to the mound with the ball in his hand.
"Are you doing okay?" Rei asked Kaminari once he reached the mound.
"Not really I can't get the last batter out for some reason, and they keep stealing," Kaminari responded as Rei could see he was starting to get a little distressed.
'SLAP'
A slap resounded throughout the field as Rei slapped Kaminaris back.
"AHHH-son of a bitch." Kaminari squealed as Rei started laughing so hard tears started to trickle out of his eyes.
"Dude what the hell!?" Kaminari exclaimed as he tried rubbing his back trying to soothe it while Rei stopped laughing after a bit.
"So what are you thinking about now?" Rei asked him, trying not to laugh again.
"How much that shit fucking hurt man," he responded with a slight whimper.
"See now you're not thinking about the last out no more," he replied with a smile on his face.
"Oh, true but damn man that shit still hurts," Kaminari said, still trying to rub his back.
"Don't worry about it I'm right behind you if you think you need to stop," Rei said as he started heading back towards the center field.
Once he got back to the center field they resumed playing with 2 runners on first and second base, with 2 outs in their pocket as they started with the top of the batting order again.
He could see Kaminari calming down a bit but just because he calmed down didn't mean he got better, after 7 pitches later the count was 3-2, as the 8th pitch was a cutter at the top of the zone as the batter connected with it as the ball stayed in the air for a bit before it started descending towards the 3rd baseline.
'Shit I'm not going to make that, no matter how fast I am' Rei thought as he started sprinting towards the ball.
Thankfully it wasn't going towards the corner but a couple of feet away from the 3rd baseline in about the middle of the line so Rei just had to go at a 90-degree angle in a straight line. Once the ball landed on the grass he wasn't far from it so he put some hustle into it. As he touched the ball he saw the runner about to round 3rd base so he picked up the ball and just sent it towards home plate.
The runner was almost halfway between 3rd base and home plate hearing his team telling him to stop, so he did, as soon as he stopped dead in his tracks he felt something pass by his head and the next thing he saw was the baseball in Austin's mitt.
Dead silence enveloped the field for a bit before Starling, Kaminari, some players, and of course, the lovely Sun Yuxin erupted into cheers and hollering.
Somewhere outside field C, two people were watching what just transpired on the field.
"So what do you think?" a man asked the student next to him with a smile on his face. This person was wearing a coach uniform and had a bald head, he was quite handsome for a bald 30-year-old, this, of course, was Coach Smith the JV head coach/pitching coach.
The student next to him stood at 5'8. He had purple hair and blue eyes. He also had an athletic build. He was quite handsome, turning a few heads anywhere he went.
"He has a great arm, the fastest guy I ever met, a strong personality, a high baseball IQ, and so far a good leader on the field, off the field not so much, but I want to see him pitch." the student responded with a pondering expression on his face.
"Don't worry you will and you won't be disappointed." Coach Smith said with a smile on his face as the pitcher on the mound called for a timeout and waved Rei in.