Upon seeing Ken walk into the batters box, Ryan's once serious expression faltered a little. Seeing the smile on Ken's face only reminded him of his humiliation just a few days ago on this very field.
He couldn't help but grit his teeth, feeling his anger mount.
It was only after seeing Leo stand up and look at him deeply that he managed to compose himself. There was no point in getting worked up in this situation since it would only serve to distract him.
'Just stick to the game plan.' He told himself inwardly.
They'd already dissected their previous game film over and over in order to make sure they didn't make the same mistakes. Yet the fact that Japan was able to pinpoint and take advantage of such small nuances was concerning.
Ryan nodded his head, accepting the sign from his catcher.
He wound up before sending the ball flying towards the strike zone.
PAH
"Strike."
Ken didn't move an inch as his eyes were glued to the ball from the moment it left the pitchers fingertips. Though his face didn't change, he frowned inwardly.
He might have looked confident coming into the batters box, yet experiencing the moving fastball firsthand had caused him to reevaluate.
The idea was to foul off as many pitches as possible, waiting for the meatball so he could crush it into the stands. A single run would make all the difference in this pitchers duel.
He tightened his grip on the bat and faced Ryan once more. If he wanted a chance to hit the ball, he would need to use his mental capacity to try and calculate the trajectory.
The only problem with this, was that it caused great mental fatigue. Considering he was planning on pitching the entire game, he needed to use it sparingly.
Of course he had his Academic Trait to back him up, but he wasn't sure of the effects of using it so frequently.
'Let's just see what happens.' Ken thought.
In the next moment, the ball flew out of Ryan's fingertips towards the outside of the strike zone. Ken didn't hesitate to swing as he threw all of his power into it.
WHOOOOSH
DONG
Like a rocket, the ball ricocheted off the bat and flew straight past first base. Unfortunately, it was outside the field of play.
"Foul"
"Tch, lucky hit." Ryan muttered.
Though saying this, he would be lying if he said that the situation hadn't made him nervous for a brief moment.
'Okay good, I can hit them.'
Ken felt his confidence boosted after making contact with the last ball. Although it wasn't the most solid of hits, he would be fine with just doing so until the meatball came knocking at the door.
Daichi who had already returned to the dugout alongside Miho, felt his ears perk up at the sound of the bat hitting the ball. His respect grew for his brother who had been able to achieve what he was trying to do almost right away.
'How does he do it?'
Daichi shook his head. There was no use trying to understand Ken with logical terms. Many people would just chalk it up to the guy being a genius, though those people didn't know the amount of work he put in to get where he was.
Meanwhile, Leo had already crouched down and sent out the next sign towards Ryan. There was a brief pause before Ryan nodded and got into position.
Ken's eyes narrowed as he awaited the pitch. His game plan was the same, foul until the right ball came along.
The pitch came out and Ken's eyes never left the pitch. Once again he poured his strength into the swing, intending to hit it into the foul zone.
'Crap!'
It was a slider, but the ball was lacking any of the erratic movement he was expecting.
WHOOOOOSH
Ken's bat flew over the ball, missing it by a hairs breadth and striking nothing but air.
PAH
The sound of the ball landing in the glove taunted him as he completed his follow through.
"Yeah!!!"
The crowd erupted after seeing the Ace strikeout 2 consecutive batters.
As Ken lowered his bat, his glance moved to Ryan on the mound who wore a haughty expression on his face.
Ken could only chuckle wryly before turning around and heading back to the dugout. It was only the 2nd innings, he had plenty of time to wipe the smirk off the cocky American's face.
As he made his way back to the dugout, Ken's mind was racing. With the last slider, Ryan had reverted back to the orthodox grip. Either it was because he wasn't confident in throwing it accurately otherwise, or he was incorporating both grips into his repertoire.
If it was the former, then they might be able to capitalize on the slider as well, increasing their odds of getting a hit.
But if it was the latter, then they would be screwed. The original estimation of a meatball every 9 pitches would decrease, creating even less of an opportunity for them to hit the ball.
He passed by Ichiro and gave him a fist bump, wishing him good luck, receiving a nod in response.
As he entered the dugout, he approached his father and the Head Coach. This game he couldn't just rely on his own mind, he needed to make use of the incredible experience and game knowledge of the two coach's.
Ken quickly relayed what he had learned to the two, waiting to hear their feedback.
Both coach's frowned and seemed to be in deep thought for a while. At least for Chris, this was something that he hadn't encountered before and was considered out of the norm.
While scouting for a professional Japanese team, techniques like Ryan's were generally frowned upon.
"I think it's a little early to jump to conclusions." Coach Takashi said, his deep voice sounding out.
"There's still plenty of time left in the game, look for your opportunity."