Akiba came up to bat next.
“AKIBA HIT IT”
“LET’S SCORE”
Cheered the players in Yakushi’s dugout.
Akiba nodded towards them and walked to the batter’s box.
Miyuki analyzed Akiba’s posture and signaled Rei for a low fastball to the outside corner.
Rei nodded and winded up his glove, took his pitching position, swung back his arm with force, and released the ball aiming toward the mitt.
Akiba swung his bat on the first pitch. He hit the ball past the 3rd baseman.
“IT WENT PAST!!”.
“RUN, RAICHI”
“DON’T MESS THAT UP TOO”.
Yelled the players from Yakushi’s dugout.
Raichi ran as soon as Akiba’s hit the ball. He ran to the 3rd base.
Masuko hurriedly ran to the ball to catch it and as he was about to touch the base to out Raichi.
“SAFE!!”, said the umpire.
“M-Made it”, said Raichi panting barely making it to the base.
Sanada came to bat next. The coach ordered him to bunt. He didn’t like that but since it was for the team he agreed.
Miyuki analyzed Sanada and since he knew Yakushi’s coach was giving orders separately to each batter.
Miyuki signaled for a High Fastball to the inside corner.
Rei nodded and winded up his glove, took his pitching position, swung back his arm with force, and released the ball aiming toward the mitt.
Sanada saw the fastball coming toward him and he knew it could hit him but instead of backing away, he tried making contact with the ball.
The risk he took was in his favor since he successfully bunted.
The bunt was crucial at this point in the game since Raichi was on the 3rd base.
“KEHAHAHA…no one can stop me from making this run now”, said Raichi as he ran to the home plate.
Akiba ran to the 3rd base and Sanada ran to the 1st base.
In Yakushi’s Dugout.
“RAICHI!”, cried Raizou seeing his son come back.
“What! Father”, said Raichi.
“Good job. I knew it you’re the only one I could count on to score”, said Raizou giving him a thumbs up.
Raichi blushed in response.
“We got our 1st run in the 5th inning. Things aren’t looking so good”, thought Raizou sighing.
Back in the field.
“I don’t like this”, said Rei expressionless.
“YOU THREW THE BALL TO HIGH!”, said Miyuki.
Rei ignored Miyuki and walked back to the mound.
“Oye…I was ignored again”, thought Miyuki.
Yamauchi came to bat next.
Miyuki signaled for a 2 seamer to the in. Since Miyuki knew Yamauchi was a hard hitter.
Rei nodded and winded up his glove, took his pitching position, swung back his arm with force, and released the ball aiming toward the mitt.
Yamauchi’s bat broke hitting the 2-seamer. The broken wooden bat pieces flew toward Rei, but he avoided them.
The ball was a fly to the right fielder.
“OUT!”, said the umpire.
“DAMN IT!”, said Sanada in frustration as he walked to Yakushi’s dugout.
“WOAH, SHIRASU SENPAI”, yelled Sawamura from the dugout.
In the field, Shirasu held guts pose.
“What is that guts pose!”, said Kuramochi approaching Shirasu.
Shirasu immediately stopped doing his guts pose.
“Don’t be shy”, said Kuramochi as he continued to tease Shirasu.
Fukuda came up to bat next. He had a hard swing as well. Now the clean-up batters were coming up which excited Rei even more.
After analyzing the batter Miyuki signaled Rei for a low Cutter to the inside.
Rei nodded and winded up his glove, took his pitching position, swung back his arm with force, and released the ball aiming toward the mitt.
“STRIKE!”, said the umpire as Fukuda swung and missed it.
Miyuki signaled for a 2-seamer to the outside corner for the 2nd pitch.
Rei nodded and winded up his glove, took his pitching position, swung back his arm with force, and released the ball aiming toward the mitt.
Fukuda successfully hit it but was a fly to the center fielder.
Mino came to bat next. He was ordered to bunt since their main goal was to get Mishima and Akiba home.
Miyuki analyzed the player and looking at the bases he knew of their situation. He called for a low cutter to the inside.
Mino gulped nervously seeing the ball come toward him so fast. He closed his eyes afraid and hit the ball lightly. He bunted successfully even though it was a lucky shot.
Sanada made it to the 2nd base safely and Akiba made it to the home plate.
In Yakushi’s Dugout.
“AHHHHHH…Akiba. Come here. Hug me”, said Oota in a celebration mood since they got another run.
“Move away from me, Homo”, said Kobayashi struggling to get out of Oota’s arms.
Akiba chuckled seeing this situation thanking the god he wasn’t there instead of Kobayashi.
As Akiba was about to rest on the bench, he felt a tug on his back. He looked back and saw Oota standing there waiting for a hug.
Unwillingly, Akiba hugged him thinking, “Hug freak”. Because Oota always hugged other people, he just needed a reason.
“We’re still in a pinch”, thought Raizou sitting on the bench.
Watanabe batted next and was struck out by Rei.
“2 OUTS!”, cheered the audience.
Kobayashi came to bat next and was struck out by Rei.
Rei was oozing out an eerie aura because it had been a while since he got these many hits in an inning.
“Oye, are you ok?”, thought Miyuki as they walked back to the dugout.
In Seido’s Dugout.
“Get ready to switch with Kawakami”, said Kataoka as soon as Rei came back to the dugout.
Rei froze on the spot when he heard this because he really wanted to pitch more. Plus, he wasn’t even that exhausted.
“SIR! Please allow me to pitch the rest innings”, said Rei.
“Ambitious”, thought Kataoka smiling
“Ok, only 2 more innings. But if you allow a run, I’m taking you off the mound. ”, said Kataoka.
Rei nodded aggressively.
Miyuki smiled seeing this.
[Score:
Yakushi: 0-0-0-0-2
Seido: 2-1-2-0-]
