His eyes were locked onto Ken the entire time as he waited for the pitch.
'Fastball, changeup, I'll hit whatever you throw at me…' Sam thought, gripping his bat tightly.
WHOOOOOOSH
DING
The very first pitch was a fastball on the outside which was promptly sent into the foul zone by Sam's mighty swing. The pressure from the bat surging through the air was enough to make Daichi nervous.
"Foul."
Like all good batters, Sam was starting to pick up Ken's pitches by the 3rd at-bat. Alongside Leo, the big guy was one of the most dangerous batters on the US team.
Daichi called for the next ball above the strike zone, hoping to bait out a swing. As long as they get another strike, the slider should put the big guy away for good.
Ken nodded before entering his wind up and whipping the ball out of his fingertips. From the batters perspective, it almost seemed as if the ball was rising as it neared the strike zone.
WHOOOOOOSH
DONG!
"Ah!"
Ken's face morphed into panic as he saw the ball get slogged before it could reach Daichi's outstretched glove. He quickly turned towards the ball in the sky and made some calculations in his mind.
'Crap, it's too close to tell…'
The ball went high in the air towards the Center outfield, soaring over Masayuki's head as he ran with all his might towards the back wall.
There was so much hang time that Masayuki had already reached the back wall and was staring up into the sky, waiting for it to come down.
Ken shifted uncomfortably as he waited to see if the ball would stay in or go over for a home run. It was a tense few moments before it happened.
Pah~
"Out!"
"3 outs, changeover!"
"Nice Captain!"
Ken breathed out a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his brow with his forearm. It had been a tense few moments as the result was literally up in the air.
Sam who had been running towards first base looked disappointed that he hadn't been able to hit a home run.
"So close…"
The top of the 8th inning began with Aki in the batters box. Despite his boasting skills in the dugout, he was struck out in succession with ease. His wide swings were almost comical as he tried to face Ryan's moving fastballs.
Seeing Aki struggle so much, Ichiro felt a little better.
Kuro suffered a similar fate, though he had at lease managed to hit a foul ball on the second swing. Yet the result was the same and he was removed from the field after 3 straight pitches.
Ryan cleaned up Atsushi and put an end to the 8th inning with the score still 2-0 in favor of Japan. He had calmed down since being put in his place by the Head Coach in the previous inning.
'Seems like he's got his priorities straight now.' Ken thought, watching Ryan walk off the field.
In his previous life, Ryan was someone he looked up to. Though he would be lying if he said that he wasn't jealous of the guy.
Now that he could stand on the same field as the American prodigy, Ken's pride wanted nothing more than to show his superiority. Of course he knew that this version of Ryan was not the same player he looked up to, nor was he on the same level.
Just because Ken was winning in this game, didn't mean he was better than Ryan overall. He had the system and was far more wily and mature than Ryan, at least right now.
There was also a large part of him that viewed Ryan as a rival. With Ken's accolades in Japan and now the World Cup, he needed a rival in order to push himself further on the path to become a professional player.
In fact, his action of getting under the guy's skin was a way to push Ryan forward. Ken knew that after this match, he would leave an undeniable mark in Ryan's heart, though maybe not in a positive way.
'It's fine as long as he continues to push himself to get better.' Ken thought inwardly.
"Are you ready Ken?" Chris asked, his tone sounding a little worried.
Ken was broken out of his reverie by his father beside him. He had been in deep thought and hadn't noticed him approach.
"I was born ready." Ken said with a grin.
"Pfft."
Chris let out a scoff and handed his son his glove before smacking him on the backside on the way past.
Ken tightened his cheeks in response, almost letting out a squeal thanks to the unexpected smack.
"HAHAHA!"
Chris burst out into laughter. It was like that time when Ken pitched in the bullpen at the Yokohama Warriors stadium after receiving his first introduction to professional baseball.
Hearing his father laugh, Ken felt his body relax swiftly.
With that he walked onto the field alongside his teammates. He would need to get through Leo in this inning, the US teams most dangerous batter.
"I'm counting on you bro." Ken fell into pace alongside Daichi and put his arm around the guy.
Daichi grinned in response, "You better not refuse my leads again then."
"Ah…" Ken had no response for his brother's words. It wasn't like he could tell him why he didn't want to throw the changeup against anyone but Leo.
Even if he could explain it, would Daichi even believe him?
"A-Alright bet. Let's go put an end to this World Cup." Ken said, holding out his knuckles.
After returning the gesture, Daichi made a shooing motion, sending Ken to the mound as he stopped behind home plate.
When the Japan team were finally in position, the announcer called over the speakers.
"Batting 4th, Catcher, Leo."
With his name being called, Leo approached the batters box, his entire being radiating pressure. His expression was still wearing a cold mask, yet it felt rather scary.
"6 more outs to go." Ken muttered.