His eyes locked onto the 3rd base coach who was clearly taken aback by the steal attempt. It didn't take long for him to survey the scene and hurriedly turn back to Ken, signaling him to slide.
With his long frame, Ken leaped forwards and slid along the ground, placing his right hand firmly on the base.
"Safe."
The tag had come a fraction later, causing him to let out a sigh of relief.
"Nice steal Ken!"
"That's our Ace."
"ORYAAAAH"
Ken heard the rabble from the crowd and dugout, specifically Makoto who seemed to always be the loudest one on the bench. He turned only to see Ai smiling back at him with a happy look on her face.
Ken almost let out a sigh of relief after seeing the beautiful girl in the dugout. After having experienced the weird advances of the opposing short stop, he couldn't help but appreciate Ai even more.
In the next moment he looked at the coach, nodding and touching the tip of his hat slightly. He then turned to Yusuke and was about to try get his attention.
However, the next ball came flying like a thunderbolt straight into the glove.
PAH
"Strike."
Ken's expression darkened. He was hoping to call for a squeeze play in order to get an additional run on the board, yet with the count at 0-2, it was too risky.
Eventually, Yusuke looked his way after getting into the batters box. Ken gave the sign to hit big so they could go for a pop fly. As long as they could convert the run, it would put them in a commanding lead.
Yusuke nodded, his expression mirroring his determination.
Once he was ready, Kei began his wind up and let it rip. The ball curved towards Yusuke who had already loaded up his swing.
DONG!
The ball sailed high in the air, filling the stadium with cheers.
The left outfielder had plenty of time to position himself under the high ball, waiting for its impending descent. Ken noticed that despite the height, the hit had lacked the distance.
Yet Ken still backed himself.
He kept his right foot on the bag and prepared himself to takeoff before sending a quick glance to the 3rd base coach next to him.
With his eyes staring down at home plate, Ken waited at full attention, biding his time until it was the correct moment.
The time seemed to stretch out, yet he still held on, placing his full trust in the 3rd base coach. After all, this was one of his jobs.
Finally, the ball landed into the glove of the outfielder.
"GO GO GO!"
The moment he received the signal, he kicked off the bag and ran like his life depended on it. His acceleration was second to none as he pumped his long legs in order to reach his maximum speed in the shortest amount of time.
He came bounding towards the catcher who seemed to be looking at something behind him intently. It was obvious that his eyes were on the ball, yet Ken had already committed to making it to home plate.
As the distance between him and home plate shortened, his eyes were focused solely on the goal in front of him. Which was probably why he couldn't react in time to the next series of events.
BOOOM
Ken felt his body take a huge impact from something hard, threatening to knock him flying. If it wasn't for his tough physique and strong core, he would have been torn apart by the blockade.
Instead, he toppled over the obstruction and tripped over that large body which he had flattened. Ken felt his body ache from the impact, yet he did his best to get back onto his feet, only to be stopped by a voice.
"Time! Obstruction. Take your base."
"W-What!? Sir I was trying to field the ball." Kenta protested, his face filled with utter shock.
However, the umpire was having none of his shenanigans, motioning for him to drop the matter. Ken dusted himself off slightly before limping slightly to home plate, ensuring he made contact with the base.
By the time Ken made it back to the dugout, the pain he was feeling subsided by a large margin thanks to both his strong muscles and Fatigue Management skill.
The crows seemed to be a little conflicted on the call, with half thinking that it was a good call from the umpires, and the other half opposed to it.
At least that was the case until the replay was shown upon the Jumbo screen.
The replay showed Kenta slide his body in front of Ken's path before receiving the ball. It was only after he had been bowled over that the ball flew in front of home plate.
Suddenly, the side that had sympathy for Kenta suddenly turned in the opposite direction.
"That was dirty!"
"Where is your honor?"
Ken heard the crowd and couldn't help but laugh. Japan was crazy about baseball and most of them hated underhanded plays like the one they'd just witnessed.
Thankfully the umpire was observant enough to make the right call.
Once the replay had played, Kenta stopped his pouting. He obviously knew what he was doing, yet he probably hadn't expected to get cleaned up in such a fashion from the seemingly tall and lanky teen.
He had thought for sure that he'd be able to inflict some pain on the Ace and possibly open up the game for his team. Yet instead of buckling the Ace, he felt as if he'd just been run over by a freight train.
"A-Are you okay Ken?"
Ai was the first to come up to him and check on his bodies condition. Since he'd been running at close to full speed, it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility that he'd be hurt.
"Heh, nothing but a few bruises." Ken said after a moment.
However inwardly he was grinning, 'Player of the Tournament is gonna be mine…'