"Wild pitch?" The teammates on the bench found the term hard to imagine. "Kōshū actually threw a wild pitch?" But on second thought, while wild pitches were not an everyday occurrence for a pitcher, they would happen a few times over a season. Never throwing one would be stranger.
"Yes."
"Hiss—" Lang Zhi, who had been listening intently, covered his face with a towel. Mom, it obviously wasn't his fault, so why did he feel this embarrassed?!
Coach Ninomiya lowered his eyelids. "Can you keep pitching?"
"Yes!"
They made way at the entrance to the dugout and brushed past each other.
"Don't carry the team's victory on your shoulders."
Kōshū turned back, but all he saw was the back of Coach Ninomiya's head.
Coach Fujii, acting as the scorekeeper, slowly swept his gaze over the children. After silently counting to three, he broke the silence. "Eighth batter, get up there!"
As the eighth batter left the dugout, everyone's attention shifted back to the field, and the atmosphere in the dugout finally eased.
Lang Zhi, Hayakawa, Shibasaki, Sato, and the others hurriedly pulled Kōshū into the preparation room.
"So, you think we're going to lose after all, right?" Lang Zhi considered himself to know Kōshū well. His brother looked unshakable on the surface, but when he had first taken the mound as the ace, his nerves had been plain to see. They were probably starting up again now.
"Who said we're going to lose?" Sato was the first to object. "Didn't we get through that inning without giving up any runs? And Kōshū-senpai is in way better shape than their pitcher."
"You're the key here, brother!" Lang Zhi suddenly said solemnly. "There are lots of first times in life. As a pitcher, there'll always be your first appearance, your first loss,