Dreams are meant to be had, but for them, now was not the time.
Most players who had already secured special recruitment slots in little league couldn't hit Narumiya Mei's pitches, let alone those who were only here for the tryouts to reduce their admission scores.
"Strike, batter out!"
"Strike, batter out!"
"Strike, batter out!"
Three consecutive batters had no answer for Narumiya Mei, who was only throwing Fastballs. Each of them, after swinging wildly in an eagerness to impress, returned to the dugout looking regretful, still boasting that they were just an inch away from hitting the ball.
Kiriyama Ren just smiled and offered no comment. Anyone with eyes could tell that their swings weren't just an inch off; they were completely played by the specially recruited catcher. After seeing their impatience in the previous few swings, of course, they would swing directly at a high-angle Fastball thrown as the decisive pitch. The result, of course, was a strikeout.
He couldn't help but smile bitterly. He didn't know what Manager Kunimoto's standards were for their tryout group, but he knew it would be difficult to win. First, they needed to avoid being as impatient in defense as they were in offense. Right now, only the shortstop, Fukui, and the pitcher, Hirano, were listening to him, but baseball is a nine-person game. No matter how strong one person is, his defensive range cannot cover the entire field.
Putting on his gear, he walked back to the catcher's position and squatted down. Yamaoka's huge figure blocked most of his view; it looked like he was aiming for the outside corner.
"Then it seems you have no choice but to pitch inside," Kiriyama Ren said with another bitter smile, but his glove was held firmly in the inside corner.
Hirano swallowed, wiped the sweat from his hands on his clothes, and reapplied some rosin. The glove's position was almost at Yamaoka's knee. A poorly thrown pitch in that spot could result in a hit by pitch.
He wanted to shake his head, but then he remembered that their ability to get three outs in a row earlier was definitely thanks to this catcher. Although everyone else was boastfully talking about wanting to win, only he was truly showing his desire to win with his actions.
If he backed down now, wouldn't he be just like those players in the dugout who only spoke empty words?
His eyes became firm. He raised his arm and threw a Fastball into the inside corner.
"Strike!"
After catching the ball, Kiriyama Ren threw it back to Hirano with a knowing smile. That last pitch was the best he had thrown today. His Fastball speed and power were worlds apart from Narumiya Mei's, but once his control settled, he was on par with Narumiya Mei.
The second pitch was also inside.
"Strike!"
Again, it was precisely placed where Kiriyama Ren wanted it. This time, Yamaoka still didn't swing. Kiriyama Ren adjusted his catching stance slightly, raising his body a bit, and placed the ball high and inside.
"This time, you must not be able to resist swinging, right? I'll learn from your team's pitching strategy."
"Ball!"
He actually didn't fall for it. He had thought two consecutive inside pitches would trick Yamaoka, but he didn't expect him to remain so calm despite the slower Fastball.
Then it was time for a Changeup.
Since Yamaoka's batting stance hadn't changed, he would continue to attack the inside corner, but this time, he would use a Changeup to entice him to swing.
Bang!
Yamaoka couldn't hold back this time. Facing a Changeup that would fall into the strike zone, he had no choice but to swing. The moment the bat connected with the white ball, a crisp sound rang out. It sounded like he hit the ball quite well. Because of the aluminum bat's characteristics, even though he swung with his arms tucked in, he hit the ball very far, flying towards Right Fielder.
Standing up and taking off his mask, Kiriyama Ren watched the ball fly towards Right Fielder. It looked like it would land in front of Right Fielder. As long as he didn't make a mistake, giving up a single was acceptable.
"Oh no…"
The only thing he hadn't anticipated was the level of coordination among his teammates. He saw the Right Fielder, whose name he didn't yet know, slowly leaning forward, and he mentally cursed. He knew exactly what he was about to do, but this distance was not a ball that could be caught with a diving catch. The obvious result of failure would be Yamaoka easily advancing to second base, escalating the crisis for the tryout team to its maximum.
"Don't dive, just block it…" He quickly shouted, hoping to stop him, but his voice hadn't even reached him. The information from his eyes was faster: he had dived, missed the ball, and it had dropped onto the grass next to him, slowly rolling towards the Home plate wall.
Thankfully, the center fielder understood how to back up, otherwise, Yamaoka might have reached third base.
So frustrating…
Kiriyama Ren felt that at this moment, rather than the shameless Right Fielder who was saying, "I was just a little bit away from catching it," he should comfort Hirano. After that last pitch was hit, his face was very pale, as if he thought it was his fault.
"That wasn't your fault. It was entirely due to their error. Next, you need to be careful of Narumiya Mei's batting. Although he is a pitcher, his batting ability is not weak."
"Hmm…" Hirano's reply was also a bit distracted.
As expected, pitchers have hearts made of glass. Returning to the catcher's position, Kiriyama Ren could only think about pitching to the outside corner for the next at-bat. Hirano, in this state, probably couldn't handle inside pitches.
Bang!
Narumiya Mei chose to swing on the first pitch, but he actively chose to bunt. It was a short bunt towards third base, landing in front of Third Baseman, and he ran desperately towards Ichirui.
Third Baseman's reaction was clearly a beat slow. The landing spot of the ball was closer to third base. If Kiriyama Ren had tried to handle it, it would have been too late. Third Baseman hurriedly took a step forward, and after seeing Narumiya Mei's speed, he didn't even bother to adjust his footing. He just threw the ball directly towards Ichirui.
The result was a crooked and weak throw.
First Baseman had to leave the base with his right foot, moving one step to the side to prevent the ball from flying out of bounds. But he didn't have time to return to the base and tag out Narumiya Mei. He could only glance at Yamaoka, who had no intention of continuing to Home plate, and then gave up.
Two consecutive errors from his teammates already left Kiriyama Ren speechless. He stood up and shouted at his teammates to concentrate. However, from their reactions, they still thought highly of themselves, believing that Kiriyama Ren, who only played soft baseball in middle school, was not qualified to command them. They also thought that the previous errors were just coincidental and that they would do better next time.
Given this, he didn't know how the game would proceed. With no outs, they faced a crisis with runners on first and third base, and most of his teammates didn't believe they were in a crisis. The reason for this, they thought, was simply that their pitcher was too weak to be hit like that.