But with Latrell now on base, it would be silly not to use it at a time like this.
In an instant, he felt throbbing in his mind as his eyes perceived everything around him. Since he was focused on the pitcher, he saw every twitch of the guy's muscles as he strode forward and whipped his arm out.
From the time the ball left the pitchers fingertips, Ken's gaze was locked onto the ball, analyzing the velocity, the spin as well as the environmental effects.
'Ughhh' Ken felt a piercing pain in his frontal lobe from the information pouring in, almost causing him to lose concentration. It seemed that the increase in mental capacity had caused him to overestimate his ability.
He quickly rescinded his mental capacity before his brain exploded. Thankfully he had already managed to ascertain the trajectory of the pitch.
Ken planted his foot and twisted his body, sending the bat flying into the strike zone.
WHOOOOSH
WHACK
'Crap.'
Ken cursed inwardly. After hearing the sound and the jarring feedback on his wrists, it was clear that he'd missed the center of the bat. However, he still threw the bat aside and ran towards first base.
The ball sailed above the short stop's head for a base hit. The left outfielder was quick to the ball, preventing Latrell from sprinting his way past 3rd base and back home.
"Nice hit Ken!"
As Ken stepped back onto first base, he felt it was a little regretful. He had yet to work out the kinks for his now SSS- Grade mental capacity, leading to the previous situation.
Now that it had upgraded, he could collect even more information than before. He had naively unleashed it all, not realizing that it would cause such an effect.
'Next time I'll need to narrow my focus on specific things.' He thought, massaging his temples.
The headache shouldn't last long, or at least he hoped so. Ken turned to Max who was now making his way up to bat. With 1 out, all they needed was a sacrifice fly in the outfield to secure a run and get ahead in this game.
Judging by how Max had been playing lately, Ken had a lot of confidence in his Captain.
"Batting 4th, 3rd base, Max."
The guy walked up to the batters box, his expression stoic. With his build and demeanor, it almost looked like he was entering the battlefield, rather than a High School baseball tournament.
However, seeing this only filled Ken with more confidence. A small grin appeared on his face as he slowly began to take a lead from first base.
Max let out a deep breath, training his focus onto the pitcher.
'I won't miss…'
All thoughts of scouts or colleges had been removed from his mind. The only thing that he wanted to do right now was capitalize on the situation his teammates had worked hard for.
Judging by the pitcher and catcher duo for the Dodgers, it was clear that opportunities like this would be few and far between, unlike in their other games.
Gripping his bat, Max was ready to rumble.
The pitcher began his wind up, striding forward with his lead leg and sending a nasty slider towards the outstretched glove of the catcher.
PAH
"Ball."
Max didn't even flinch, his eyes not leaving the ball the entire way. There was no doubt in his mind that the ball would be outside the strike zone, showing just how focused he was in the box right now.
"Tch."
Brady clicked his tongue in annoyance since his bait had failed. This was how they got into a good position in Max's first at-bat.
With their plan now foiled, he needed to come up with something better.
'I've still got some pitches to play with. How about we see how he goes against a curveball.' The guy thought, sending the lead to hit pitcher and placing his glove below the strike zone.
Cade nodded, satisfied with the call. He had been pitching to Brady for a few years now and was already used to his leads. He felt that only this guy was able to bring the best out of his pitches.
Such was the trust of a battery. One could have the best pitcher and best catcher in the world together, but without a foundation of trust, they would simply fail.
As Cade began his wind-up, footsteps entered his ears, almost throwing him off. Thankfully he was able to keep focused long enough to send out his pitch.
"Second!"
Ken had already sprung off to the races before the pitch left Cade's fingertips. He wasn't about to stay passive, not when 2nd base was free.
'Damn it!'
Brady cursed, watching the slow curveball make its way towards home plate. It looped, starting off high but dropped quickly as it neared the plate.
"Ball."
By the time the ball arrived and he picked it up, his eyes snapped towards Ken's figure who had already made significant ground towards 2nd base. It only took a moment to evaluate that the throw would be 50/50.
His eyes darted to Latrell on 3rd base who already had a significant lead, causing the latter to halt in his steps. It was clear that if he'd thrown to 2nd, the guy would have tried to steal home in the next moment.
Seeing that he'd been caught in the act, Latrell retreated back to 3rd base letting out a small chuckle. "So close." He muttered.
Ken slid feet first onto 2nd base, flashing a grin towards his Captain in the batters box. They were in an even better position now with a 2-0 count and runners on 2nd and 3rd.
A simple double would net them two runs, essentially blowing the game wide open.
Max nodded to Ken, his stoic features turning up in a slight smile. Ken didn't often get base hits, but he did run a lot after getting walked so often in these tournaments.
Having such a threat on base just added another layer of worries for the defense.