Around an hour later, both teams had finished their warm ups and lined up to bow before the beginning of the match. Shuei won the toss and elected to bat first, sending Yokohama High onto the field.
There had been no changes to the lineup announced by Coach Hanada, so Ken was relegated to the bench for this game.
Ken glanced at Akira who had taken his position on the mound with a serious expression framing his features.
'Don't get too comfortable up there.' He mused, in good spirits.
"Play ball!"
The umpire announced the start of the game, to which a round of cheering began from the Shuei crowd.
Shuei High School was an average school whose baseball club had limited success over the years. Until recently, they had attended Koshien only 3 times in the school's history, yet somehow their fate had changed seemingly overnight.
Kanagawa prefecture was difficult to advance in. The final spot was generally vied over by the big four teams.
