Back on the field, Daichi was in the batters box, his face serious.
He'd just faced two fastballs with a ridiculous course. Since this was his 2nd at-bat, he thought that he might have more of a chance to hit the ball after seeing more of the pitches, but he was wrong.
It wasn't just impressive that Ryan could throw the balls with an unorthodox grip, it was also crazy that he was able to keep them within the strike zone. Apart from the supposed meatballs which had appeared a few times since the beginning of the match, it was incredible.
He could finally understand why the guy was hailed as a prodigy.
Yet that wasn't the only impressive thing. Leo was able to contain the pitches, never having dropped a single one.
It was without a doubt that the duo were a battery to be reckoned with.
Yet saying all this, Daichi didn't think that he or Ken would lose out to them. At the current moment they were both freshman, while Ryan was a sophomore and Leo was a Senior.
Not to mention that Ryan and Leo were both from the same High School. They were given plenty of time to work together on the field, showing just how much chemistry they'd accumulated.
'We won't lose.' Daichi said inwardly.
At some point they would be given an opportunity. It might not be in this inning, but there would definitely be a time where they would have a chance.
Ryan took a deep breath on the mound, regaining his focus. It was currently the 5th inning and the 2nd at-bat for the Japanese batters.
For now, his grip changes were working against the Japanese batters. There were a few bad balls that he'd thrown today, but thankfully they were either misses, or nowhere near the strike zone.
Leo was doing a good job of cleaning them up, keeping the other team off the bases.
He looked down the lane at his catcher and nodded when he saw the next sign. He wound up and threw the ball out with force.
It was a slider, one of the pitches he was most confident in. Unfortunately, he couldn't utilize his new technique with it just yet since the ball would lose its sharp break otherwise.
Daichi's eyes lit up and he swung at the ball hard. His wide shoulders carried the load while his body twisted, propelling it forward with force.
WHOOOOSH
DING
He felt a shock wave through his body as the end of the bat made contact with the ball. It flew high into foul territory, prompting Daichi to roll his shoulders and prepare for the next ball.
'I missed out on a good opportunity.' He thought.
"Woah!"
The crowd cheered wildly, causing Daichi to raise his head in confusion.
'What happened?'
"Out!"
"EH!?"
Only then did Daichi see the 1st base fielder extricate himself from the rolled up tarp on the side of the field. His eyes widened after seeing the ball expertly tucked into his glove.
"Damn it. Just when I thought I was getting close." Daichi cursed in annoyance.
He was forced to leave the batters box, feeling shortchanged. Of course no one liked to get out from a foul ball, especially when even making contact with a ball was so difficult.
"Unlucky bro." Ken said, on his way past.
"I was so close…" He complained, heading back to the dugout.
He received a hand on the shoulder from his father as if to console him. Coach Takashi looked as if he was going to say something, but shut his mouth a moment later.
Since the whole mismatch situation with Daichi and Ken, the Head Coach had felt a little embarrassed in front of him.
"Ahem. Nice try Daichi, get him next time okay?" He said a few moments later after Daichi had already walked past.
"Yes sir!"
Hearing the comforting words of the Head Coach, Daichi felt a little better.
He moved over to Miho and looked out at the field before letting out a small sigh.
Miho giggled, sending him a nudge with her elbow. It wasn't often that Daichi was like this, honestly she thought it was kind of cute.
"Don't be so down, it's not like we're losing." She said, her tone sweet.
Daichi was a little taken aback, but he soon nodded.
"I guess I'm just a little frustrated with my performance so far." He said truthfully.
Miho was silent for a while as she watched Ken face the first pitch. It was a fastball in the high 90's, making a wicked sound as it entered the catchers glove.
"I don't think beating yourself up is going to help with your performance." She said simply, not taking her eyes off the field.
Daichi turned and looked at her side profile, taking in her beauty. Her words rang true, there was no point in dwelling on what had transpired so far, not unless he intended on learning from his mistakes.
Before he could respond, she turned her head and gazed into his eyes, grabbing his hands in her own.
"Just focus on what you can do, not what you have failed to do." She said with a sweet smile.
"Miho…"
While the two were having a touching moment in the dugout, Ken was busy trying to read the pitches in the batters box. It was already the 5th inning, which meant they were starting to run out of time.
Since he was the 5th batter, if no one got onto base this match he'd only have 1 more chance at batting after this.
'I can't keep this up.' He said inwardly.
It was time to pull out all the stops. Just a single run would be enough to give them the edge.
As Ryan sent the ball from his fingertips, Ken's mind went into overdrive. He released the seal on his huge mental capacity, flooding his brain with information.
He counted the spins on the ball and projected possible trajectories, all within a fraction of a second. The headache he experienced was almost instantaneous, yet he grit his teeth and pushed through.
WHOOOOOOSH
DOOONG!