Around an hour and a half later, the score was sitting at 4-0 in favor of the Gladiators. However, the team currently in the lead looked stifled, as if they'd swallowed a lemon.
If someone had just arrived at the game, they might be confused about the atmosphere.
Ken walked up to the batters box, wearing his poker face. Instead of doing his pre-hit ritual like he usually did, Ken merely placed the baseball bat on his shoulder and stared at the pitcher.
Alex completely ignored him, sending a looping throw close to 10 feet away from the strike zone.
"Ball."
Ken let out a sigh, feeling his boredom reach an all-time high. This was now the 3rd time he'd been walked, something that he could never get used to experiencing no matter how many times it happened.
There were a few jeers from the audience, but Alex simply blocked it out. After getting hit by Ken soundly in the first inning, he'd completely given up fighting against the guy, a sentiment he shared with his catcher.
However, just because he didn't allow him to hit, didn't mean that the guy wasn't annoying when on base either. In the second innings he'd managed to steal 2 bases and get into a scoring position quite easily.
Alex frowned in contemplation. It was as if he needed to pick his poison, a devastating home run, or getting made to look like a fool around the bases.
'I hate this guy…' He said inwardly before sending another ball.
A few throws later, Ken flung the bat to the side and made his way to first base once more.
"We meet again friend." Ken said to Troy, the unfortunate soul who had faced his showdown pitches.
The guy nodded, not saying a word in response. Troy seemed to harbor a grudge towards Ken, but seeing his imposing figure caused him to think twice before saying anything.
'At least I can practice my base running.' Ken thought, loosening up his legs.
He looked at the scoreboard, noting that it was the top of the 9th inning. There was a good chance that it would have already ended if he hadn't been walked all this time.
On the other hand, the game reaching a full 9 innings meant that he could pitch for a lot longer. But the only issue was that it didn't really feel like a game of baseball, at least to Ken.
There was something that was missing, leaving a bit of a bad taste in his mouth.
'Why does it feel so… boring?' He thought.
[Answer: User's skill level is too high for this level of competition.]
Mika's words suddenly breached his mind, causing his eyes to widen in realization. He was a little skeptical at first, but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed to be true.
But it was also something more.
When he thought back to the tournaments he'd competed in before, they all had high stakes. Prefecture tournament, Summer Koshien, Jingu Tournament, Senbatsu, not even mentioning the U18 representative baseball he had played.
Besides the latter, the rest of the tournaments were cutthroat. A single loss would mean elimination, creating a sense of danger and excitement that he had gotten used to.
Every game was a must win, therefore even the blowout games were considered a great achievement. Even now he remembered nearly every single match of his first year run with the Yokohama team.
'Is it because the stakes are low?' He thought.
For the first time, doubts began to creep into his psyche. Had he made the right decision moving to America? If this was the level of competition he would be playing against for the next 18 months, was it worth uprooting his life?
Ken shook his head, 'I need to focus on the game.' He thought.
He slowly took a bigger lead from first base, his eyes rooted onto Alex's leg. Since he had already memorized the guy's quick pitching form, he knew in an instant what was coming.
Ken quickly dove to his left, utilizing his long limbs and touching the base with his left hand. Alex's pick off throw landed directly in the first baseman's glove a few moments after Ken had put his hand on the bag.
However, Ken's eyes widened as he saw the foot of Troy, the first baseman descending towards the base with force. Everything seemed to slow down as it looked like the cleats would end up crushing down upon his hand.
In a moment of panic, Ken pulled back his hand, effectively giving up control of the base while still on the ground.
Still in shock, Ken felt a tap from the leather glove hitting his right shoulder.
"Out."
Instantly, Ken felt his anger bubbling up to the surface. In a single fluid motion, he got to his feet and towered over the first baseman, a dangerous expression on his features.
Troy, who had just attempted to crush his hand, quickly shrunk back, fear painted in his eyes.
"Oi! Break it up." The first base umpire shouted, moving forward to separate the two.
Ken turned his attention to the obviously blind fool and glared. "Did you not see what he just did?"
"W—What are you talking about? I slipped!" Troy shouted from behind the umpire, trying to defend himself.
Feeling Ken's stare, the umpire was taken aback for a moment before getting flustered. But in the next moment, the guy quickly rose to anger, his face turning red.
"I saw that you weren't making contact with the base when he tagged you. You're out, plain and simple."
Ken's features dimmed, barely holding onto his anger. He turned again to Troy, a flicker of a grin forming on the corner of his lips.
"I'll see you in the next inning. Better hope the ball doesn't… slip out of my fingers." Ken replied, his tone cold.
With that, he walked away before he made the situation any worse than it was. There was no changing the umpire's mind, nor was there any instant replay reviews in this level of competition.