"Serves you right." Ken spat through his teeth, returning back to his position in the outfield. However, he turned to Steve and sent him a glare, telegraphing his thoughts.
Steve did his best not to look at Ken, turning his attention back to Brett on the mound. The mildly threatening gazes were not something that he needed to pay attention to, since he had already got the message.
'We can't give them anything easy.' He thought, readjusting.
Thankfully for the Gladiators, the next two batters were dispatched rather easily. A grounder to the pitcher followed by a fly ball to Latrell in the center outfield.
"Changeover!"
The team jogged over to the bench, preparing to go on the offensive next. Ken didn't have any complaints for Steve when they arrived, so he just sat silently, waiting for his turn to bat.
Feeling the frigidness of his friend, Steve tried to warm up to him. "Nice fielding back then."
Ken shrugged, "If the idiot didn't underestimate my arm and stayed at first, he wouldn't have gotten himself out." He replied nonchalantly.
"Heh, even if any other fielder got there when you did, it wouldn't be guaranteed that his throw would be so accurate." Steve added, "So it was a decent gamble."
Ken couldn't exactly argue, however he was a pitcher whose sole job it was to throw fast and accurate. Just what kind of idiot would take such a gamble against him?
But instead of responding, he merely nodded and turned to Nico in the batters box. Despite only training for a few weeks with Ken, Nico had improved quite well.
He wasn't sure if it was his Training Demon skill, but all 4 of his trainees were coming along nicely. Thinking about this, he turned to Max who was still wearing a somber yet determined expression on his face.
Ken could feel the tension in the air surrounding him, but he didn't interrupt him. He could only say so much since they were in vastly different situations.
Ken still had his whole senior year ahead of him, while Max only had this tournament in order to get some D1 offers. Speaking up to comfort him might have the opposite effect and cause him to lash out.
WHACK!
Hearing the sound of the bat make contact, Ken whipped his head around and saw the ball rocket towards the short stop along the ground. Yet the fielder fumbled the grounder, wasting precious time before he could collect it and throw to first.
"Safe!"
"Nice one Nico!"
Ken let out a chuckle, feeling that their luck was pretty good today.
'These guys might just keep making unforced errors all day.' He thought with a small grin.
"Oh? That made you happy did it?" Steve said wryly, "That's the first smile you've worn since the coach gave you the news."
Ken's face fell before he silently got up and grabbed his wooden bat. "I wanna end this early, so don't give up any runs." He said without turning around.
He moved over to the side of the field and began to practice his swinging motion. Ken's eyes followed Latrell who was batting before him.
'Just get on base man… I'll send you home.' He thought, tapping the bat on the ground.
WHOOOOSH
PAH
"Strike"
Ken nodded in appreciation. The ball sounded crisp as it entered the catchers glove, its speed rather high. However, the course looked to be rather simple, at least from where he was standing.
But it wasn't like everyone could have a skill like his lively fastball. Only after achieving a high spin rate could one increase the balls movement. This was how he and Ryan manipulated their fastballs.
Of course the latter did so with multiple grips, but to Ken, they were too inconsistent. This was why he never tried to replicate Ryan's technique, since he hated wasting pitches.
WHOOOSH
WHACK
"Foul."
The next ball was on an inside course, jamming Latrell on his swing. The ball was hit and rushed over the catchers head, furiously spinning away once it hit the ground.
Ken frowned. The count was now 0-2 and Latrell had his back against the wall. This was their best chance to get some early runs on the board and the first step to ending the game quickly.
He looked to Latrell with a little worry, but it soon disappeared after seeing his expression. The guy wore a confident and determined look, as if he'd already gauged the guys pitches.
And lo and behold, Latrell struck with the next ball.
WHOOOOSH
WHACK
A cheer sounded out as the ball flew into the outfield with some speed. It was quickly collected by the right outfielder, but not before Nico and Latrell had found their footing on base.
Since Nico already had a decent lead from first, he had safely made it to 3rd base, getting him into scoring position.
"Heh, excellent." Ken chuckled, feeling his body heat up.
He walked up to the batters box and grinned widely, now was the time to put a run on the board. But before he got into position, he turned to the coach who then gave him some signals.
'Do whatever you want…?'
Ken let out a laugh in his heart, feeling thankful. It seemed that the coach trusted his judgment after what had happened last time. He could either do a squeeze bunt, or try and hit it big.
"Alright, let's do this." He mumbled, holding his bat out as if he was going to bunt.
"Eh!? Why is he telegraphing his bunt already??"
The coach almost bit down on his mustache out of shock, not expecting this sort of move from Ken. It wasn't just him, his teammates on base were flabbergasted, not to mention the few scouts in the crowd.
Chicago's pitcher grit his teeth, feeling humiliated. To him, it felt like Ken was making fun of him. Out of anger, he sent the fastest pitch he could muster, intending to blow past the bunt.
Yet the moment the ball left his hands, a wide grin crept onto Ken's face as he raised his bat and lifted his front foot.
"Hehe~"
WHOOOOOSH
THWACK!