Unaware of the scouts talking about him, Ken just completed his warm up throws and sent a thumbs up to the umpire.
The guy gestured for the lead-off batter to come up, and clapped his hands.
"Play ball."
The first batter was an athletic looking teen whose brown hair could be seen sticking out of his helmet. He was around 6'1 and seemed to be the speedy type, much like Riku whom he'd played with in the U18 team.
Thinking of Riku, Ken's mind began to wander. 'I wonder what that guy is doing these days.' He thought, reminiscing.
However, Ken shook his head, he needed to pay attention.
'Wait, I haven't used showdown yet. Maybe I should try now?'
After having pitched in 2 games yesterday, there was no point where he felt the need to use showdown. Even with his regular pitches, no one could touch the seams of the ball.
[Would user like to activate Showdown on opposition player: Troy Knight?]
'Yes please.' Ken responded politely.
[Confirmed. Activating Showdown.]
With Mika's words, Ken felt his entire body heat up in response. The euphoric sensation of his muscles being filled to the brim with strength caused a smile to break out onto his face.
'Ah I missed this feeling.' He said inwardly, turning his attention to the batter in front of him.
Troy on the other hand, suddenly felt a cold sweat run down his back as he looked at Ken on the mound. For some reason, a dreadful aura appeared from the mound, causing him to feel greatly intimidated.
It wasn't just Troy, everyone in attendance seemed to feel a change.
However, before anyone could voice their concerns, Ken began his pitch.
He swung his leg upwards before kicking off with his back leg and opening his hips. With practiced ease, he strode forward, his arm whipping past and sending a rocket-like ball towards the strike zone.
Ken felt his muscles contract, perfectly executing the movements with even more power than he was used to. His eyes lingered on the ball while he followed through, dissipating his momentum expertly.
Steve's eyes widened in horror as the monster pitch flew towards him with reckless abandon. He had thought that after catching Ken's pitches for most of yesterday that he would be used to them, however this one felt completely different.
The ball seemed to be alive, slithering through the air like a snake as it made its way towards him, ready to bear its fangs and complete the strike.
PAH!
Steve felt a shock run up his arm from the impact, almost forcing him onto his backside. He stared wordlessly at Ken, his mind in turmoil.
"S-Strike!"
The shout seemed to have brought him back to the present, allowing him to breathe once more. It had been rather terrifying being on the other end of that pitch, he couldn't imagine facing it in the batters box.
He looked up at the batter, only to see the guy's face visibly pale. It was as if the guy had seen the face of death itself, only to be spared at the very last moment.
Tex's jaw was slack as he watched on from the audience, his eyes on Ken. The sound of the ball entering the catchers glove was so loud that it still echoed in his ears even now.
"102mph!?" The voice of the scout next to Tex exclaimed in shock, looking at the speed gun.
"Eh?" Tex looked down at his speed gun and also saw the 3 digits staring back at him. His mind took a few moments to process it, but the truth was looking at him right in the face.
"Is that thing regulated?" The scout asked softly, pointing to his speed gun.
Tex gulped before nodding, "It was calibrated yesterday at Texas University…" He stated.
An interesting expression appeared on the guy's face as he stared at Tex. "Are you sure he struggled pitching over the past year?" There was a clear sense of disbelief or rather incredulity in his tone.
Tex couldn't help but shrug his shoulders, at this point he didn't know what to believe anymore. Although he did plenty of research last night, he was not prepared for Ken's level of skill today, once again proving that he would be a sought after prospect.
"We have to get him…" The scout said, his eyes lighting up. "We could use a pitcher like him next year."
However, at these words, Tex sent him a weird look. "He's only a Junior…"
"A Junior!?" If he was shocked before, the scout was now in utter disbelief. What kind of Junior was 6'4 and could pitch over 100mph? Not to mention bat like an absolute beast.
Unaware of the stir he had caused in the audience, Ken rolled his shoulders, smiling inwardly. The pitch he'd just thrown with showdown had felt insane. His pitching action had never felt as fluid before, nor filled with so much strength.
The next pitch was another fastball, once again finding its mark without issue. Troy seemed too spooked to even swing at the ball, as if he'd already given up.
There was something about facing such a ball that instinctively made him shy away. All it could take was a small slip of the fingers and he would be straight to the hospital with a broken bone or even concussion.
This fear seemed to take over as the final ball went straight down the middle with a half-hearted swing in response.
"Strikeout!"
The moment the umpire called the strikeout, Ken felt the strength rescind from his body like a retreating tide. His muscles still felt a little hot, but not enough to affect him, just enough to be a little uncomfortable.
'I'll need to work on my muscles more so I can stay in showdown longer.' Ken thought.
Remembering how he had felt after using showdown for so long against Leo in the World Cup, Ken could only smile wryly. If he was forced to do so for an extended amount of time, he would be as good as finished on the mound for the rest of the game.