As Leo sauntered off, the Japanese players on the field were in awe of the heads up athletic play of the American. The amount of body control required to soar through the air like he did was off the charts.
Ken could only smile wryly in response. Leo was truly a powerhouse athlete who would be making waves in the Major League soon in the future.
Instead of being depressed about it, Ken did a little introspection. He had underestimated the US batters after striking them out consistently this game.
Even with his powerful fastballs and large arsenal of pitches, even Davion whom he didn't view as a threat was able to orchestrate a sacrifice fly into the outfield.
'I guess it's not over till it's over.' He commented inwardly.
Daichi had already gotten back up to his feet and was feeling rather depressed. He was sure that it would be an easy tag to secure the out and save a run, yet Leo's actions had caught him by surprise.
Perhaps only he would be able to do such a move.
Leo received a warm welcome back in the dugout and the US team's morale began to surge. Finally getting a run on the board, Ken's pitching didn't seem as daunting as before.
Their change in attitude was evident as the next batter almost swaggered onto the field.
In Japan, Ai's eyes were glued to the TV in shock. She had been screaming earlier when Daichi was about to receive the ball and expected him to tag Leo out with relative ease. Yet upon seeing his move she was shocked into silence.
What was worse is that the broadcast team continued to replay the move, making her feel depressed and filled with worry.
"Come on Ken… You're almost there." She muttered, hugging a pillow close to her chest.
Rie's eyes had been moving between two players the entire time, not even caring about the match itself.
'Who has the better body? Is it that American or my Japanese sweetheart?' She thought inwardly.
She had plenty of time to ogle the peak physical form of Leo during the slow motion replays, yet felt it was a little unfair.
"I wanna see the other guy in slow motion…" Rie muttered to herself.
"Hmm? Did you say something?" Ai asked
Rie's face reddened a little, but she poked her tongue out and pointed to Hiroki's figure on 1st base.
"Who is that guy?"
"Ah, that's Hiroki. He plays for Yokohama High with Ken." Ai said simply, yet she felt a little suspicious.
"EH!? Since when does Yokohama have all these hot guys?" Rie stammered, feeling her jealousy surge.
"Hot? I dunno about that…" Ai replied.
As if to prove her friend wrong, Ai brought out her phone and brought up the team photo from Koshien and handed it to her friend.
Rie took the phone and her eyes widened like saucers.
"Hot…HOT…HOT. OH MY GOSH!"
She looked at Tatsuya, Jun, Makoto and Hiroki before exclaiming loudly. Yet as her eyes moved over the rest of the team she became a little more disappointed.
"Who is the midget guy?" She asked, pointing to a particular player.
"Pfft…"
Seeing that she was pointing at Shiro, Ai couldn't help but cover her mouth in amusement. Yet thinking about this, she thought about her manager friend Kaori whom he had a crush on.
'I wonder if he asked her out?'
Yet knowing Shiro, he likely didn't have the guts to do such a thing.
"Oh no, an error in the infield leads to a single for the US."
The sound of the commentators voice caught Ai's attention as she quickly looked back at the TV. There was a replay of Aki missing the grounder and allowing it to roll through his legs.
This allowed the US batter to easily make it to 1st base.
"Ever since Leo's heroics at the start of this inning, Japan look to be frazzled. Could this be the resurgence the United States were looking for?"
"Argh what are you guys doing!?" Ai let out a deep sigh of frustration, almost pulling at her hair.
Back on the field, Aki looked as if he'd swallowed a fly after his mistake.
"S-Sorry guys!"
His loud and nasally voice rang out, asking for forgiveness.
"Don't mind, 1 more out." Ken said in response.
It wasn't the end of the world just yet. As long as he got another out, they would be able to stop the bleeding.
"Batting 8th, Right outfield, Darius."
At the approach of the new batter, Ken's expression shifted. It was time to get serious and put and end to this inning.
Darius was feeling the momentum shift towards his team, filling him with confidence. In his eyes it was now the US team's time to make a comeback and take over the game.
He got into position and smiled towards Ken. He'd expected to see a worried expression on the guy's face yet was almost taken aback at the sharp eyes staring past him.
'Err…'
PAH!
"Strike!"
"H-Holy sh—"
Darius almost cursed out loud as the roaring fastball flashed past him. It was like a blur, not giving him any time to react thanks to its sheer speed.
He gulped, feeling his earlier confidence get pushed down by the harsh reality.
WHOOOSH
PAH
"Strike."
'Damn it…'
The next fastball was another bullet. Despite swinging, he was far too late to make contact with the ball.
Both Ken and Daichi were in sync at that moment, wanting nothing more than to keep sending fastballs at this guy until he struck out.
Thankfully for Darius, he was put out of his misery with the next ball.
PAH
"Strikeout! 3 outs, Changeover."
With that, the bottom of the 8th inning had come to a close.
The score was now 1-2 in Japan's favor and they would be starting with Riku at the top of the batting order. With this being the potential last inning, an extra run or two would give them some comfort.