PAH
"Strike."
Ken frowned, watching as the slider went into the catchers glove. He briefly glanced at the umpire before holding his tongue. It was clear to Ken that the pitch was a ball, but he wasn't in the position to argue.
Quelling his annoyance, he tapped the plate and his cleats once more, getting into position.
'If the sliders are getting called strikes, I might have to change my game plan.' He thought, gripping his bat tightly.
He patiently eyed the pitcher, waiting for the next ball. The guy lifted his leg and burst forward, sending a rocket towards him.
'Fastball!'
WHOOOOSH
PAH
"Strike."
"Hehehe, hook, line, and sinker." The catcher said, grinning from ear to ear.
Ken frowned, feeling his face heat up slightly in embarrassment. He had fallen for the changeup, swinging far too early since he'd been expecting a regular four-seam fastball.
'Is this how my opponents feel after seeing my changeup?' Ken thought, saying a silent prayer to all those he might have embarrassed.
However, he soon began to think deeply. 'It's clear that the catcher knows my game plan of targeting the fastball. Otherwise he wouldn't have started with a slider before following it with a changeup.'
Ken shook his head, feeling a little stifled. This was the first time in a long while that he'd had to participate in this kind of mental battle between himself and a catcher.
'Stay calm, trust in your gut.' He said in his heart, taking a deep breath.
After tapping the plate and his cleats once again, Ken got back into position, his face resolute. It didn't matter which ball was next, he was going to just try and hit it. With an 0-2 count he currently had his back up against the wall.
The pitcher started his wind up and sent the ball flashing towards him.
Ken's eyes widened, 'Slider! I can hit it.'
He planted his front foot, digging his heel into the dirt and swinging with his tremendous strength. He chased after the ball which looked to be heading towards the outside.
WHOOOOSH
PAH
The slider evaded the bat, missing the tip by a couple of inches as it flew past.
"Strikeout!"
"3 outs, changeover."
'Damn it.' Ken cursed inwardly, but he didn't let his frustration show. Without a word he left the batters box and headed back towards the bench.
"Not smilin' now are ya mate?" The catcher taunted.
Ken froze, turning around slightly. His face was stoic, but his eyes burned the image of the catcher's features into his mind. "Alright, I've remembered you." He said before continuing on his way.
"Yeah you'll remember me… In your dreams." The guy said, flashing a grin.
The umpire looked towards the catcher weirdly, "What does that even mean?"
"Ah, you know… After he loses the match or something…" The catcher stammered in reply.
Hearing the stupid explanation, the umpire shook his head, obviously not impressed with the trash talk. He didn't even feel like giving the guy a warning after such a poor display.
"Haaah, this generation truly is hopeless." He muttered.
After ignoring the odd words, Ken wordlessly made his way back to the bench to drop off his bat and helmet. His mind was replaying his at-bat over and over again, analyzing what he'd done wrong.
From the beginning, it was as if the catcher had full control over his thoughts. He had only felt like this when facing Daichi before, though it was not as pronounced.
If anything, it was like a rudimentary version of his brother, the Maestro. With the first pitch, the catcher had framed the slider perfectly, getting an early strike into the count. The second was a changeup, easily mistaken for a fastball.
Once he was behind in the count, the finishing blow was a wide slider. With his mind focused on the very first slider being called a strike, there was no way he was going to let it go through to the catcher.
Unfortunately for him, even with his long limbs it was impossible to hit that ball.
'Formidable…' He thought, feeling a tingle run through his body.
Without realizing it, a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Despite being struck out in dominating fashion, he seemed to be happy.
"Bad… Luck?" Steve said, feeling his body shiver after seeing the smile on his friend's face.
Over in the Dodgers bench, the catcher Brady Sandford sent a high five to the pitcher Cade Ball. "Bro, that dude is shaken by us already. I don't think he'll be putting up much of a fight this game." His words were confident, yet the pitcher didn't seem to be as convinced.
"It's still only the first inning, don't count that guy out yet." Cade replied.
Before Brady could respond, the coach of their team spoke up. "Okay, good start everyone. Remember what we talked about earlier regarding the Gladiator's pitcher."
Cade let out a scoff, "You mean the fact he can only throw 3 pitches?" he said with amusement, causing the rest of the team to chuckle in response.
Coach Roberts frowned, causing everyone to quickly shut their mouths. "They made it all the way to the finals on the back of those 3 pitches. Out of all the team's he's faced, none have managed to score a run on him… Do you think it's funny now?"
The coach's words were like a cold bucket of water poured over their heads. While it might seem outlandish, the fact of the matter was, the guy had a perfect record in this tournament.
Seeing that his team had lost their earlier arrogance, Coach Roberts nodded in satisfaction. "Now, we didn't come all this way to lose in the finals. Try and time his fastball in the first at-bat, I want to see you making contact by your second at-bat."
"Yes coach!" The team called back in unison.
With that, their first two batters got ready to face the pitches of the Gladiators.