DING
Dust was sent flying into the air as the ball bounced on the ground in front of him and roared towards the gap between 1st and 2nd base.
Tatsuya who only had a short lead from 1st was almost hit by the ball as he tried to advance to next base. With his great athleticism he was able to hurdle the ball, avoiding a disaster in the infield.
Just before touching 2nd base, he turned his head to see where the ball had gone, only to see the center outfielder in the motion of throwing to his location.
He quickly stepped onto the bag and didn't run any further.
"W-What the hell is he doing?" Words of frustration rang out from the Yokohama dugout.
The coach who had been watching the location of the ball the whole time was currently mystified. The right outfielder had yet to even collect the ball from the ground, yet Tatsuya had stopped on second base instead of trying to make it to 3rd.
From his vantage point, it was difficult to see the whole play.
"It's that Center outfielder." Yuta replied, his face turned up in a wry smile.
Out of every player on the Yokohama squad, he was the one with the highest game intelligence apart from the coach. Since he'd seen the play, he decided to say it aloud so everyone could hear.
"That guy made it look like he had the ball and was throwing it to 2nd base. Tatsuya saw it out of the corner of his eye and was forced to make a split second decision." He explained, feeling a bit annoyed.
"Ah, so that was it…" The coach said.
Perhaps the play wouldn't have worked if it wasn't already the 2nd out of the innings, however there was not much they could do about it now.
At the same time thought, they were now aware that the Shinjuku players were tricky opponents, capable of using all sorts of tactics.
Ken also saw the situation and couldn't help but shake his head. Yet he felt a bout of determination afterwards. He had the opportunity to get some runs on the board and put the team ahead.
'All I need is one run. I won't let them get a single one in return…'
It was then that a beautiful voice rang out over the stadium.
"Batting 5th, Pitcher, Ken."
Ken felt thousands of eyes stare at his figure as he made his way into the batters box. He tapped home plate with his bat before hitting the tips of both his cleats.
As he took up his batting form, he couldn't help but smile widely. Despite batting in this very arena during his Image Training for over a year, experiencing the real thing was like the difference between Heaven and Earth.
"Hit a big one Ken!"
"Bring the runners home!"
"Show them your GUTS!"
Somewhere in the stands, Daichi and Chris watched on as Ken took his batting stance. Daichi was already at the edge of his seat, watching intently with his fists clenched tightly.
It could be said that he was much more nervous than the guy who was up to bat.
Chris too felt a bout of anxiety, not knowing what to do with himself.
He looked up at the Jumbo screen, only to see a close up of Ken's face wearing a wide grin as he looked towards the tall pitcher on the mound.
Seeing this, Chris couldn't help but let out a small laugh, feeling his nervousness slip away. He gave his son a nudge with his elbow and pointed to the big screen.
"Daichi, look."
"Hmm?"
After witnessing Ken's expression, Daichi almost choked on his own saliva. What kind of weirdo made such a face in the most important match of their life?
"Haaaah, I guess I was worried for nothing." He commented before sitting back in his chair.
"Hahaha, he always used to have this expression in elementary school." Chris said with a chuckle, however he stopped in the next moment, as if remembering something.
"But this is the first time I've seen him look like this when he's up to bat."
Back on the field, Ken was facing Kei, not even realizing what expression he was wearing. His focus was on what ball would be coming his way.
As soon as the blond haired pitcher began his wind up, the noise of the entire stadium seemingly disappeared. Ken could feel time slow down around him, instantly recognizing that his Crunch Time skill had activated.
Yet Ken had no reaction as he watched the ball roll off the pitchers fingertips.
PAH
"Strike"
"Eh? Couldn't he have hit that one?" Yusuke commented from the dugout after seeing that Ken didn't move an inch.
"Maybe he's waiting for a certain pitch." Yuta said.
Coach Hanada nodded in response, "Even though the slider is a bit slower than his usual pitches, it's difficult to hit since it's a southpaw vs right handed batter."
Kenta felt a grin form on his face as he saw the batter leave the pitch. He quickly threw the ball back to Kei and squatted down, calling for the next pitch.
Shortly after, the next pitch came with the exact same course.
Ken frowned, feeling a little annoyed at the disrespect.
DONG
The ball flew into the foul zone, carrying all the way into the crowd adjacent to the foul post.
Kenta shuddered before letting out a breath of relief. It seemed he had underestimated the batter by trying to get some cheap strikes. Thankfully the ball had gone foul and they now had a count of 0-2.
'We'll finish him off with a fastball.' Kenta said inwardly, getting into position and calling for the pitch on the outside.
Kei nodded before adjusting his cap. He sent a look to Hiroki on first base, even glancing at Tatsuya on second as if to remind them not to move.
Since there was already two outs, Tatsuya wasn't game enough to try and steal a base while Ken was in the batters box.
Kei performed his sweeping pitching action once more, sending a blazing fastball towards the open glove of Kenta.
The moment the ball left his fingertips, Ken's eyes widened in anticipation.
WHOOOOSH