"Aj, starting tomorrow, you will also join the first-string training!" Coach Kataoka's words spread coldly across the field, and Aj froze, as if he had experienced an auditory hallucination.
Huh? Join the first-string training? Is this a joke? This news was nothing short of an 8.0 magnitude earthquake for Aj.
Not only was Aj, the person involved, stunned, but everyone else present was also shocked. If Furuya's selection caused them a slight surprise, Aj's selection was a shock, after all, Furuya's ball speed was there. Although there was no speed gun, the momentum looked like it was close to 150 kilometers per hour.
Even if joining the first-string was a bit early, in Seido, where Pitchers were scarce and there was no decisive Ace, Coach Kataoka doing so was not without reason. But as for Aj, those present were a bit confused. Indeed, among these first-years, Aj's performance was eye-catching, showing the good qualities a Baseball player should have!
But this doesn't seem to qualify him for the first-string right now, does it?
Those people did not know what Coach Kataoka was thinking. No one could guess Coach Kataoka's thoughts from that calm, indifferent face like a cold monarch. Those first-year students all looked at Aj with incredulous expressions.
In a corner, a certain pink-haired young man looked at Furuya and Aj with an envious expression.
He softly murmured, "First-string, that's so good..."
Furuya Satoru also raised his eyebrows slightly, glanced at Aj, who was in the same year as him and had also been selected for the first-string. His expression changed noticeably, but he didn't say much.
"This kid, I knew it, the Coach certainly wouldn't..." Miyuki looked at the changes on the field, stretched, and said with a smile.
Aj frowned slightly, but in the shocked gazes of those people, he uttered words that made them even more surprised!
"Coach, the game isn't over yet! I don't want to leave the field!" Aj seemed to have recovered from Coach Kataoka's previous words. Selected for the first-string? Indeed, Aj didn't deny it, for him, this was simply an enormous surprise!
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a pie falling from the sky! But for Aj, there was still one thing he was unwilling to accept: he hadn't hit a single hit yet! This game wasn't over!
Aj bit his lip and looked at Kataoka, saying with a stubborn expression.
"Wh...!?"
Aj's words seemed to make everyone present re-evaluate him. In a game that first-years considered hell and second and third-years considered an easy rout, did someone actually so firmly believe it was a real game?
Indeed, the second and third-years were also very serious and solemnly treated the Red and White Battle as a formal game, but that was just their good player quality. To put it bluntly, they paid attention to these first-year players tactically, but strategically, these arrogant second and third-year Senpai did not put these rookies in their eyes at all.
"The game isn't over yet! Coach! All games only end at the moment the loser is decided! I don't want to leave the field!" In fact, what Aj wanted to say more was "I won't leave the field," but he knew too well the nature of this game and understood what kind of existence the Coach standing in front of him was.
The words that reached his lips then turned into "I don't want to leave the field."
Kataoka Tesshin stared blankly at the stubborn young man from Philippines in front of him. On him, Coach Kataoka seemed to see something familiar, a desire to win, a stubbornness that refused to admit defeat!
"Good! I promise you, you can stay on the field." Coach Kataoka was silent for a while. When everyone thought Coach Kataoka might get angry and scold this audacious Filipino young man who dared to contradict the Coach, Coach Kataoka actually said something that surprised everyone.
Furuya, who had already walked off the field, paused his steps, looking at Aj's back with an unreadable expression. In his mind, he seemed to recall the scene of himself playing alone, his teammates all saying they couldn't catch his ball and leaving one by one.
Aj's words made those first-years who were originally dispirited suddenly perk up, as if remembering something. Their originally hunched bodies slowly straightened up a bit.
Yes, the game isn't over, is it? Why should I give up like this? Isn't it normal to be suppressed and crushed by the second and third-year Senpai?
After all, they are Senpai who have experienced the baptism of high school Baseball. Being suppressed and beaten is normal. If I could be on equal footing with the Senpai right after joining the club, that would be abnormal.
Thinking this way, the first-year students' mindset actually became quite good. Even if they didn't have that momentum, it was much better than their miserable state at the beginning.
Aj didn't expect that he would unintentionally steal the scene that originally belonged to Sawamura, successfully igniting the first-years' dedication to the game!
The method was slightly different, that's all.
Perhaps it was due to Furuya's lingering aura combined with Aj's encouragement, but in the bottom of the fourth inning, with the collective effort of the first-years, and what seemed to be a slight delay in the hitting of the second and third-year Senpai, they managed to get three outs while only allowing one run.
The offense and defense switched, which made the first-year students cheer a bit.
Only Aj remained deeply frowning.
Because, although he had said those words, and the bottom of the fourth inning seemed barely adequate, the hitting results hadn't changed at all. In the top of the fourth inning, the batting order returned to the first batter, but the result was...
The first to Third Batters were perfectly out, showing no hope at all. In the fifth inning, it was also a clean three outs. What was even more terrifying was that the Pitcher on the pitcher's mound was no longer the Ace Pitcher, but a second-year relief Pitcher. If it was the Ace's suppression, those first-years might still have a hint of self-comfort, but when it was replaced by a relief Pitcher (well, in reality, Kawakami wasn't bad, at least Kominato Haruichi thought so)
It was still such a clean three outs, which immediately made the first-year students feel very disheartened.
This formed a stark contrast with the previous momentum, and the first-years' morale suddenly became a bit awkward.
Oh, it's worth mentioning that when the Pitcher was changed, Coach Kataoka also changed the batting order. Now, that silly and sweet guy in Right field is the Seventh Batter, which means, if all goes well, ahem, well, in the sixth inning, we can see that adorable guy come out.
So when the sixth batter was out, Sawamura happily swung his bat in the warm-up area, shouting, "It's not over yet! The game is just starting! Watch me hit a big one!"
Just as Sawamura was about to go up to the plate with his bat, Aj closed his eyes in exasperation. The next moment, he knew exactly what the scene would be like.
"Idiot! The offense and defense have already switched! Hurry up and get down!"
"How can this guy be so stupid?"
Almost the moment Aj closed his eyes, he heard such voices. Opening his eyes, he saw Sawamura's embarrassed expression as he walked down from the batter's box.
Aj shook his head helplessly. Well, this is Sawamura Eijun, that silly and sweet future Ace Pitcher, that eternally joyful little angel!