Ignoring the eyes focused on him, Ken began his warm up throws. His arm felt light yet full of power, a good sign that he was in great form.
After around 12 throws, he gave the signal to the umpire who turned to the first batter and gestured for him to get into position.
"Batting 1st, Left Outfield, Isamu"
A dark haired teen with long legs stepped up to the plate, the pinstripe uniform making them look even longer than they perhaps were.
He wore a confident smile, almost as if he could already see victory upon the horizon.
Yet to Ken, it looked like a challenge.
'I'll wipe that smirk off your face real soon buddy.'
After getting the lead from Yuta, Ken's shoulders relaxed. Yet in the next moment his body leapt into action like a well oiled machine, sending the ball whipping out from the side.
WHOOOOSH
PAH
'Strike!"
The umpire put a large emphasis on the word, stoking the crowd into a frenzy.
"There it is! The 100mph ball!"
"Ah damn I missed it."
"Man I'm so hyped."
After seeing the numbers flash up on the jumbo screen, the arena was filled with shouts of awe and appreciation. Without knowing it, Ken had gained a lot of popularity this Nationals.
Isamu in the batters box suddenly felt a cold sweat drip down his back. His earlier confident smile was nowhere to be seen as he seemed to be evaluating his life choices.
'Even when I know it's coming… Will I be able to hit that?'
Uncertainty was apparent on his face, complete opposite to how he came into the match.
Ken placed his glove out and received the ball back from Yuta and couldn't help but smirk. He wasn't sure where the guy had got his confidence from, but it sure felt great to wipe the grin off his face.
'Another.'
WHOOOSH
PAH
"Strike."
PAH
"Strike."
The next two balls were in the high 150km/h range and were missed by miles. It wasn't just the fact that they were fast, there was also movement within the pitch, making the course harder to predict every time.
"Batting 2nd, 1st Base, Takashi"
Takashi came up to the plate feeling a little anxious. He'd seen Isamu fail miserably trying to chase down the fastball, something he didn't wish to replicate.
While he could try and go for the forkballs, there was no guarantee that Ken would throw them. The numbers seemed to back it up since he only threw it around 10% of the time.
However, he could only do his best to get onto base.
Ken wound up and stepped forward, planting his foot hard before whipping the ball out once more.
Takashi grit his teeth and held out his bat for a bunt. As long as he could get onto base, then he had faith that Daichi would clean up the bases.
The ball was going so fast that it took all of his focus to position the bat properly. As for directing where it would go, he did not have that luxury.
DING
His face fell as the ball hit the top of the barrel and lofted into the air towards the mound.
Ken who had already got into position to field the bunt, stopped in his tracks and held up his glove for an easy catch.
"Out!"
The crowd cheered at the out, yet there were some who were puzzled at the situation.
"Why did that guy bunt?"
"Maybe he didn't think that he could hit those fastballs?"
"Well he didn't hit that one properly either…"
Unaware of the commentary going on within the stands, Takashi's shoulders slumped as he made his way back to his dugout.
"It was a nice try Takashi, but that fastball is too quick to bunt." Coach Narukami placed his hand upon the youth's shoulder and consoled him briefly.
While there was discussion of trying to bunt during the team meeting, only now was it clear to them that it was a bad idea. It was extremely rare to face a 100mph pitch during High School, so they couldn't necessarily practice for it.
Takashi nodded and made his way back to the bench.
"Yatsuo, I don't think he'll throw any forkballs in this innings, so try to at least make contact with the ball.
"Yes coach." Yatsuo responded affirmatively and headed out onto the field.
"Batting 3rd, Pitcher, Yatsuo"
Ken's eyes focused on the large build of the teen coming into the batters box now. Based on his body structure, Ken wasn't surprised that Yatsuo was the 3-hole.
He had a similar build to those power lifters, with a strong base and wide shoulders.
Despite this, he was not intimidated in the slightest. As long as he continued to pitch his best, Ken didn't think that he would give up a run easily.
Yuta called for a two-seam fastball on the inside, wanting to try and jam the large frame of the batter. His eyes were laser focused, showing just how confident he was in not only his leads, but also Ken's pitching.
A small grin formed on Ken's face as he adjusted his grip of the ball. Generally the two-seam fastball was a little slower than his usual four seam, but it made up for it in the movement of the ball.
Once again Ken went through his pitching motion and whipped the ball out. The pitch was so fast that it only began to move when it was already past halfway to home plate.
Yatsuo's large frame began its swinging action, his eye's focused on the ball.
WHOOOSH
DING
'Damn it!'
Yatsuo cursed inwardly as the ball flung out straight to the short top. Naoki quickly pounced upon the ball before throwing it to first, landing squarely in Hiroki's outstretched glove.
"3 outs! Changeover."
"Nice fielding Naoki~"
"Solid pitching Ken."
The team were in good spirits as they walked back to the dugout, having easily dispatched the lead off batters from Osaka.
After only 5 pitches, Ken felt like he had only just warmed up. However, he knew that the real game would be starting soon.