"Run! RUN!"
Michael shot out of his seat and shouted at the top of his lungs. His earlier reluctance to show who he was cheering for was completely thrown out of the window as Japan were met with a chance.
Daichi threw the bat down in haste and quickly ran towards first base, his eyes locked onto the right outfielder.
The Japanese dugout went crazy, shouting and cheering their heads off at the miraculous hit from Daichi. It wasn't surprising since the game had been in a deadlock since the very first ball was pitched.
The defense in the outfield was caught off guard. Whether it was due to complacency, or not expecting the Japanese team to actually hit the ball, no one would know.
Darius in the right outfield cursed under his breath as he made his way towards the ball. Due to his slow reaction time, there was no chance he could get under the ball for a catch, which meant he needed to make up for it on the throw back.
By the time he reached the ball, Daichi was already on his way to 2nd base.
He took a few steps forward and sent a blitzing throw towards Ryder on the 2nd base. The throw was fast and accurate, dropping as it flew towards the open glove of the fielder.
SWISHHHH~
Daichi made the aggressive slide, his foot reaching the base well before the ball had entered the baseman's glove.
"Safe."
It was an easy call, but the cheer that accompanied it was much louder than one would expect from the home team crowd.
Upon seeing Daichi successfully make it to 2nd base, Ryan grit his teeth in frustration. All he had needed to do was get that one final strike and it would have been the end of the inning.
Yet a single wrong lead had caused the situation to deteriorate. Now there were two runners on base, and Ken was next up to bat.
Ryan felt a hint of distrust towards Leo behind the plate for the very first time.
'If he hadn't called for the slider…'
Yet before he could voice his frustrations, the sound of the announcers voice rang out over the arena.
"Batting 5th, Pitcher, Ken."
Ken stepped into the batters box and felt a smile creep onto his lips. It had been a long shot, but both Hiroki and Daichi had executed their part of the plan perfectly, which meant the next part would be up to him.
He shot a glance towards both his teammates on the base and gave them a wink.
'Leave it to me.'
Before getting into position, Ken stretched briefly and looked towards Leo.
"Hey, thanks for calling for that slider, you really helped us out."
Leo felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance, instantly giving him the urge to lash out. However, he manged to compose himself a moment later.
"Just throw me another one if you don't mind… Hehe."
Before the umpire could chastise him, Ken got into position with a grin plastered on his face. He could feel the animosity manifesting behind him, causing the smile to grow even wider.
With the unease on the mound and the anger behind home plate, the US team were in quite a predicament. If this was left to fester, forget leaking runs in this inning, the whole game could be in jeopardy.
"Timeout please."
Yet before things could devolve, a voice behind him nipped it in the bud.
"Tch."
Ken saw Leo stand up and ask the umpire for a timeout before jogging up to the mound to speak with Ryan.
'I guess that's why he's the Captain.' Ken remarked inwardly.
He had been hoping to stir the pot and invoke some kind of rushed decision, yet the guy was far too composed to fall for his tricks.
"He was aiming for the slider." Leo said once he got to the mound.
"You don't say?"
Ryan didn't sound impressed, quipping back sarcastically.
Leo frowned in response, not appreciating the guy's tone. For a moment he considered getting the coach to replace Ryan, yet he instinctively knew that he was their best shot to get through the current predicament.
"Look, we're in a pinch right now. You'll have plenty of time to act pissy after we win the World Cup. Follow my leads like usual, we just need one more out."
These words didn't seem to improve Ryan's mood at all, in fact quite the opposite.
"Your leads is what got us in this position in the first place." Ryan said, narrowing his eyes in response.
Not expecting the back chat, Leo raised his eyebrow. Instead of fighting back, his expression turned cold.
"So what are you suggesting?"
"They can't hit my fastballs. Let me throw them the rest of the game." Ryan replied, full of confidence.
Leo's face hardened in the next moment. There was nothing that he hated more than a pitcher who would question his leads and tried to impose their will onto him.
"United States, hurry up!" The umpire called out, deeming that enough time had passed for the time out.
Leo turned around and spoke with his back turned.
"If your fastball gets hit even once, I want you to bury your pride and follow my leads. If you refuse, I'll have you taken off the mound."
With that, he jogged back to the plate and thanked the umpire quickly. No matter what he was feeling in that moment, he needed to remain civil in front of the umpire.
Ken could feel the tension between both Ryan and Leo, yet this was only good news for him.
'The best option for them would be to walk me and load the bases. Atsushi hasn't been hitting well lately and it will be easier to secure an out before Hiroki can make it back to home plate.' Ken analyzed, going through the current scenario in his mind.
However, it was Ryan on the mound right now…