Of course Masayuki completely ignored the guy, turning his attention to the pitcher who seemed a little shaken from the unexpected play.
'The same thing probably won't work again.' Masayuki thought, his eyes surveying the fielders. They looked alert, ready to pounce on anything that entered the infield.
"Batting 2nd, Center outfield, Masayuki."
Despite feeling the pressure, there was no change in his expression. He faced the pitcher with an almost cold indifference.
Antonio took up his position on the mound once again, doing his best to regain his composure. He had to admit that he'd underestimated the last batter, but that would change now.
He sent a nod to Guillermo behind the plate and began his wind up.
WHOOOSH
PAH
"Strike!"
Masayuki sucked in a cold breath of air after seeing the movement of the pitch.
Submariner pitchers, or sidearm pitchers as some called them, were limited in their pitching arsenal. Due to the action of throwing at such a low angle, most only threw a fastball and a sinker.
It was only the truly great sidearm pitchers that could successfully throw the ball he'd just experienced.
'Slider… This could be a problem.' Masayuki said in his heart, frowning for the first time in the batters box.
WHOOOSH
PAH
"Strike!"
PAH
"Strikeout!"
"Tch."
Masayuki was forced to leave the plate after only 3 pitches. He had only played against this kind of pitcher a couple of times, yet it was apparent that this guy was much better than those others.
He walked past Hiroki and said a few words.
"Be careful, the ball drops further than you'd think."
"Alright."
Hiroki could already tell that this at-bat would be tough. If even Masayuki struggled to make contact with the ball, he would likely struggle also.
Riku seemed to be a little disappointed after seeing his partner in crime get sent back, though he quickly changed gears.
'Looks like I might have to make some moves myself.' He thought, slowly increasing his lead from first base.
"Batting 3rd, 1st base, Hiroki."
Hiroki stepped into the batters box, coming off a home run in the first inning. Despite this, his confidence was slightly shaken, having to face a sidearm pitcher for the first time in his playing career.
'Let's just see what happens.'
Antonio saw the lead from his catcher and nodded after a few moments, his eyes imperceptibly flashing.
He entered his deep windup and sent the ball slashing towards the outside of the strike zone, it seemed off by a mile.
Hiroki was confused, at least until he saw Riku speeding towards second base in an attempt to make a steal.
'Crap!'
As if planned beforehand, Guillermo was already to his feet, appearing right where the ball was. In one fluid motion he shuffled his feet and sent a bullet to Jorge on 2nd base.
'Not good.'
Riku panicked after seeing the throw from the catcher. He cursed himself for being too hasty and underestimating the Cuban team.
Just because they were up by 3 runs in the 2nd inning, didn't mean that he could treat them as a bunch of pushovers. Unfortunately for Riku, he learned this too late.
By the time he slid towards the bag, Jorge was already bearing down on him with the ball securely tucked in his glove.
Tap
"Out"
"3 outs, changeover."
"Argh damn it."
Riku's grin was wiped off his face, much to the delight of the Cuban National Team who found his expressions to be an eyesore.
"Gotta be quicker than that." Jorge said with a wicked grin.
Of course Riku could not understand the English words being directed at him, though he could sense the intent behind them. However, he wasn't petty, in fact he loved this kind of competitive atmosphere more than anything.
"Let's try it again." He responded in Japanese, his trademark smile reappearing on his face.
Thus the Japanese players returned to the field to start the 3rd inning with the score still 5-2 in favor of Japan.
Kei and Daichi continued their iron defense, successfully preventing the assault of the Cuban batters at the top of the 3rd.
However, Antonio with his sidearm pitching also kept Japan silent, despite some of their best batters coming up to face the pitch. Hiroki, Daichi and Ichiro failed to get a lock onto the ball, going down in succession.
"The real test is coming up." Coach Takashi said, running his hand through his goatee as he often did while deep in thought.
Chris nodded, his eyes focusing on Daichi behind the plate.
The Cuban batting order was starting at number 3, meaning they would be facing both Lopez twins at the start of this inning. If they were to hit big now, it would definitely make things more difficult in the future.
As Manuel stepped into the batters box, Daichi took in a deep breath and settled himself. He needed to do his best right now and hold onto the 3 run lead they accumulated earlier.
While 3 runs didn't sound like much, they had been struggling to get used to the sidearm pitcher. Who knew if they could adjust by the end of the match?
Chris's words echoed in Daichi's head as he adjusted his frame of mind.
[Trust your skills and take charge.]
A flash of determination appeared on his features as he called for the next pitch.
Kei nodded in response before sending a pitch flying towards the open glove behind the plate.
Manuel's eyes narrowed as he watched the ball sail towards him.
'Hah, too easy.'
Within an instant, he twisted his large body and sent a powerful swing towards the ball, intent on destroying its existence.
Daichi's eyes were fixed on the ball as he waited with baited breath.
'Break! BREAK!'
The metal bat and leather ball were on a collision course which would only end with one result, expulsion.
WHOOOOOSH
DING
"Huh?"
Instead of the resonating sound that he'd expected, Manuel froze for a moment. Yet as he saw the ball bounce along the ground in between the first and second bases, he quickly dropped the bat and ran as fast as he could.