WHOOOOSH
PAH
"Strikeout."
Thankfully, Ken's pitches were lucky enough not to be clubbed by the ridiculous swing of Levi. However, it felt like in a matter of time, being struck by such a swing was inevitable.
Next in the batters box was Clinton Tully, the catcher for the main squad. He seemed to have good plate discipline, only swinging on anything that looked to be headed for the strike zone.
Unfortunately for him, he was unable to keep up with the sheer speed and movement of Ken's pitches. It was one thing to consistently throw at a high speed, but another thing entirely for the balls to move so much in the air.
"Strikeout. 3 outs, changeover!"
As Clinton was heading back to the dugout, his expression was deep in thought. Though usually quiet, he was one of the most Senior on the team apart from Tristan, the captain.
After experiencing Ken's pitches and Steve's leads, it left him a lot to think about on how this team would progress.
"Hurry up Clint. We're going to embarrass that kid this inning." Ethan's dark voice appeared, breaking Clint out of his train of thought.
"Haaahh…" He couldn't help but sigh softly to himself as he watched Ethan walk onto the field. He wasn't sure why Ethan was acting in such a way, particularly towards Ken.
'Does he feel inadequate or something?' Clint thought, not daring to voice his concerns.
However, when he thought about it, things didn't make sense. Ethan was in his Junior year of college, which meant he would be eligible for the draft next year as long as he could declare.
Someone with his skills would be guaranteed to be drafted. So why did he have something against Ken? Deciding to leave it for now, Clint took up his position behind the plate, waiting for the next batter to arrive.
He glanced towards Ethan whose eyes had not left Ken the entire time.
"Give it a rest…" He muttered.
Thankfully, he didn't have to intervene. When the next batter came up, he was easily dealt with by some efficient pitches. The pattern never remained the same, so it made it difficult for batters to predict the balls that would come.
"Strikeout."
Soon enough, it was finally Ken's turn to bat. Having already sent Ethan's pitch over the fence, he felt confident that he could do the same once more, as long as he wasn't intentionally walked.
Ken assessed Ethan's expression and instantly knew that there was no chance he'd intentionally walk him. After all, not only was this technically a practice match, but he also likely wanted to avenge the previous at bat.
'Hehe, that's good. Get angry.' Ken mused inwardly, performing his ritual.
As Ethan was about to get into position, he saw a figure walking onto the field, causing him to frown.
"Pitcher change. Ethan, come off the mound." Coach Daniels said, waving him in.
"What!?" Ethan was so shocked that he almost dropped the ball. Just as he was about to have his next showdown with Ken, the assistant coach had stepped in and pulled him off.
A part of him wanted to dig in his heels and stay on the spot, but as his eyes moved to Coach Brown on the other side of the field, he quickly did as he was told. Even though the Head Coach didn't make the decision, Ethan knew that he would treat the disobeying of orders harshly.
Feeling deflated, Ethan made his way off the mound and over to the dugout. He handed the ball to the other starting pitcher, Bryton.
"Tch. I wanted to hit him into the stands again…" Ken mumbled.
"Hahaha, calm down. You're teammates remember." Clinton stated, happening to hear Ken's murmurings.
Ken shrugged before stepping back from the batters box, allowing space for Bryton to do his warm up throws.
"Ken."
"Hmm?" He turned around only to see Coach Brown beckoning him to come over. In an instant, he felt his stomach sink.
'No way… This is only my 2nd at-bat. He can't take me out of the game right?'
"Go head to the bench." Coach Brown said, pointing to the dugout with an unreadable expression.
Ken was about to argue, but he could feel the eyes of all his teammates on him in this moment. He had already pissed off the coach earlier, it would do him more harm than good if he were to cause a scene now.
So he just grit his teeth and nodded, making his way back to the dugout. Inwardly though, Ken was seething. He had only batted a single time, and had only pitched a single inning.
'He definitely has something against me…'
The gloomy atmosphere that he was giving off was easily seen. The 2nd string players remained silent when he returned to the dugout, not wanting to get involved. Even Steve felt oppressed by ken's mood.
"H—Hey man… Don't worry about it. I'm sure he's only taking you off because he's seen enough to make a decision." Steve said, trying to console Ken.
Ken raised his head, causing Steve to flinch. The anger and frustration within Ken's eyes was something that he was not used to seeing.
"This coach has it in for me…" Ken stated softly so only Steve could hear.
He had not come across this sort of discrimination throughout his baseball career before, so Ken didn't know how to handle it. All he knew that it left a bitter taste in his mouth.
However, Steve grabbed Ken's arm. "Are you a kid playing in the little league or something? Snap out of it."
"What?" Ken's expression darkened. This was the first time that Steve had spoken to him like this. Usually he might have been shocked, but he really wasn't in the mood right now.
Just as he was about to say something he would regret, Steve continued.
"You need to shift your mindset. This isn't High School anymore, this is College man…"