Even if they had the guts, would it even be possible? With the reveal of Ken's forkball and Slider, all of their preparation was now a moot point.
"You guys did well…" Coach Roberts said, letting out a small sigh.
His eyes moved to the field where Ken was walking towards the mound confidently. In his heart, he knew that this guy was the main reason why they'd lost so bad. If it had been anyone else, they would have been able to at least get a few runs on the board.
"What are you saying coach? The game isn't over yet…" Cade replied with his head raised high.
Brady turned and looked deeply at his friend. The guy was one of the hardest workers that he knew, and had a never-say-die attitude. Even in this position, it looked like he would refuse to give up.
"Cade…"
Coach Roberts looked to the teen over 20 years younger than himself and let out another sigh. But this time a smile appeared on his face shortly after, "You're right Cade. It seems that you're a much stronger person than me." He admitted.
Feeling much lighter, the coach addressed the players. "Guys, we've come this far in the tournament, we're not about to give up just yet."
"While there's still time left on the clock, we need to push forward. I won't let people say that the Dodgers just rolled over in the final match." His words had strength, something that was absent just a few moments ago.
"Yeah!" Brady shouted, feeling his body heat up in response.
At first the team was a little hesitant, but the hype of those like Brady and Cade slowly began to take over them.
"Let's score some runs!"
Hearing the ruckus from the Dodgers bench, Tony's face changed, a small smile forming on his lips. "Mmm, very good. This is baseball, the game isn't decided until the last ball is pitched."
Soon enough, the Dodgers sent out their next batter.
"Batting 4th, 3rd base, Jackson"
"Let's go Captain! Smash it out of the park!"
"Hit it big!"
The Dodgers bench were loud, shouting out their support from the side of the field.
Ken raised his eyebrow in surprise, "That guy is the Captain?" he muttered, evaluating the large guy in the batters box.
'I thought it was the catcher…'
However, he shook his head in the next moment. Ken only needed to get a few more outs and the game would be over. Despite this pressure, he didn't feel a single bit of stress, his confidence on another level.
After receiving the lead from Steve, Ken nodded and entered his wind-up. Like many times before, his pitching motion was fluid, looking like a piece of art.
The ball flew towards the top of the strike zone, almost like it was rising.
WHOOOOSH
WHACK
"Eh!?"
Ken's eyes widened in surprise as the ball was hit cleanly. It flew into the center outfield, stopping just before Latrell for a base hit.
"YEAH CAPTAIN!"
The Dodgers bench went crazy for the base hit, acting as if they'd just hit the game-winning home run. However, Ken shook his head, quickly moving past it.
If their clean-up hitter was only able to get a single, it wasn't the worst thing in the world, especially since they were still up 9 runs.
"Batting 5th, Catcher, Brady."
As the announcer called for the next batter, Ken felt the familiar feeling of his showdown skill activating. He had used it back in the second inning, wanting to exact some vengeance on the cocky guy.
With his muscles now filled with power, Ken felt his confidence strengthen.
As he turned to Brady in the batters box, a grin formed on his face. 'You won't be getting a hit' He mused.
WHOOOOSH
PAH
"Strike."
The pitch was blindingly fast, something that even professionals would have trouble making contact with. Having every grade increased by two for a short period of time was taxing, but it was also super effective.
Ken's pitching was now at the EX grade after increasing by two grades. This meant that he was technically pitching at the level of a Major League Pitcher, at least temporarily.
Brady grit his teeth, trying to hold back the sense of helplessness gnawing at him. No matter how he thought about it, there was no way he could make contact with these pitches.
Sure enough, the next pitch came shortly after, blowing right by him to the catcher once more.
WHOOOSH
PAH
"Strike."
"Second!"
Steve was a little slow off the mark, his hand still feeling tingles from the ridiculous power of Ken's pitches. He quickly got to his feet and threw the ball towards second base with all of his might.
"Crap!"
The moment it left his hands, Steve knew that he'd messed up. The ball sailed over the head of Ryan on 2nd base, forcing him to jump high in order to try and reach it.
Jackson slid onto 2nd base easily, but a quick glance was enough to tell him that he could get more. He jumped to his feet and began to sprint towards 3rd base while the Gladiators collected the overthrow.
Latrell pounced on the ball and sent a desperate throw to 3rd base. Thankfully this one was accurate, however it was not in time.
"YEAH JACKSON!"
"Nice running Captain!"
The Dodgers bench was hyped after the miraculous play. After being stifled for 4 full innings, seeing some signs of life was enough to motivate them greatly.
"S—Sorry guys." Steve said, holding up his glove in apology.
Ken frowned a little, but quickly moved past it. He hadn't expected to be in this position, especially while showdown was active.
Steve asked for a fastball down the middle, his expression stern behind his face mask. It seemed that he wasn't impressed with his own mistake earlier and wanted to make up for it.
Ken nodded before sending a blitzing fastball right where he was asked.
But his face changed in the next moment as he saw Brady hold out his bat with two hands, getting into position for a bunt.
'Bunt!?'