Naoki didn't have much luck either, falling victim to the new and improved pitching from the talented 1st year pitcher.
Judging from Coach Goto's expression, it could be seen that he was also surprised and impressed with the changes in Kazuhiro. Originally he had faith that he would be able to keep the Yokohama batters at bay, however he was judging their skills from the friendly match.
The fact was, Yokohama had improved exponentially in the short span of 3 months. From an outsiders perspective it was mind boggling to see such improvement after even a year, yet these kids had outdone his wildest expectations.
Coach Goto thought it was particularly so for both Hiroki and Ken, who despite being the best players on the team last time, had the most growth.
His confidence was shaken when the two had produced home runs against Kazuhiro, making it look effortless.
But now it was different.
