Chapter 49: Summer Tournament (1)

Time seemed to fly as the temperature steadily rose around the country, and people began to see the early signs of summer appear. Ken and Daichi continued with their schedules, even increasing their morning training loads to keep pushing their growing bodies. Over two months, Daichi had grown a few centimeters, probably thanks to now receiving the proper nutrition for a growing child. The two were still as close as ever, spurred by their desire to become professional baseball athletes in the future. Daichi had taken to his catcher training much faster than expected, greatly surprising Coach Yoshida, who had merely thought he had some potential at the position. Ken, on the other hand, had been making the most of his Image training, batting against his high school self every night that he could. Midterms had already been and gone, with Ken making the most of his newly transformed mental grade and scoring well on the tests. English was still by far his best subject, but he had managed to improve dramatically on all of the other tests. If he continued to post such scores, he would be able to pass the entrance exams for much better high schools than he had in his previous life. However, the goal was to make it into Toin, which was situated in Osaka. Ken had always wanted to get into the prestigious school, which would give him the best opportunity to make it into the professional scene. Like most schools, they offered scholarships to students who they wanted to recruit into their baseball program while also organizing tryouts for those with less exposure. Therefore, Daichi and Ken agreed that they would do their best to win the Kanto Tournament and compete on the largest stage in order to get the attention of the high school scouts. The Seiko baseball team had just finished their 10-lap warm-up on their home field and were now waiting on instructions from their Coach. Unlike how they had been in the past 2 months, there was anticipation in the air. The Coach cleared his throat and addressed his players with his usual expressionless face. "You have all done well to continue your training while we were out of action. Since we have not had to worry about the spring tournament, I feel as if we have had an advantage that other schools have not." "That being said, we are now about to start our Summer Tournament campaign, where we will be able to see how much we have improved. In my hands right now are the fixtures for the Kanagawa prefecture." His words elicited an excited response, making it clear that this was what the team had been waiting for all these weeks. Ken and Daichi shared a look filled with anticipation. This was what they had been striving towards all this time, working tirelessly day in and day out. "We're up against Yokosuka middle school in the first bracket." The Coach said, handing the fixtures to Kenta, the team captain. "Yes! An easy team to start." The rest of the team crowded around Kenta to get a good look at the fixtures. Ken looked over the captain's shoulder and nodded his head. Thanks to his mental upgrade, he could tell with one look that the fixture was essentially the same as in his previous life. They would need to win 3 games total to qualify for the Kanto prefecture tournament, followed by another 4 games to win the whole thing. If he had been pitching, Ken might have confidence in getting through these two fixtures, but he would have to rely on Kouichi to take the reins. As long as they could limit their opponents' runs, Daichi would do the rest. "Okay, the first game is on later this week. I'll be releasing the starting line-up tomorrow, so this is your last chance to impress me." The Coach spoke up, getting the attention of his players. "Yes, Coach!" Daichi and Ken separated, but not before bumping fists. The two had rarely trained together at club practice now that Daichi had been moved to the catcher position. However, Ken was not worried. It was for the benefit of the team if Daichi, a future professional player, was moved to his prime position sooner rather than later. With the game coming up this week, the Coach targeted some game-specific scenarios rather than just honing everyone's skills. For this, Ken was on first base while the Coach hit balls everywhere around the field. Due to his sticky glove skill and his long arms, Ken was perfectly able to catch the throws sent his way from anywhere on the field. After around 10 minutes of this, the coach switched to a 1 runner on base scenario. The goal was to go for a double play by tagging the advancing runner at 2nd before throwing it back to Ken on 1st base. This continued before more scenarios were added into the mix. The fielding team was sharp, possibly because a fire had been lit beneath them with the approach of the summer tournament. Coach Yoshida seemed satisfied with the training and only put an end to the training after about an hour. Despite not moving from his base, Ken was drenched in sweat thanks to the summer sun, which bore down on him. The following day, the Coach brought everyone into one of the club classrooms. Today was the day that the starting lineup would be revealed. There were a few nervous faces, apart from the likes of Kouichi and Kenta, who had no real competition for their roles. Hikaru seemed to be sweating bullets. Ever since Daichi had been practicing to be a catcher, he had not been able to catch a breather. The prodigy seemed to be made for the position with his killer right arm and consistent leading. Ken, too, was feeling nervous, casting his gaze over to Jin on the other side of the room. Jin had long recovered from his ankle sprain and had been performing well at training throughout the last couple of months.