WHOOOOOSH
PAH
"Strikeout!"
Steve swung for the hills, missing the ball by a hairs breadth. While the last two strikes had been questionable, this one was 100% a ball. With the pressure of a potential overtime training session with Ken looming over his head, he had swung.
The guy looked like he had just lost his life savings as he returned to the dugout in despair.
The coach pat his shoulder, "Don't worry, you'll hit the next one." He said consolingly. Inwardly he was a little surprised that the guy was worked up about a single miss, but he just chalked it up to his competitive spirit.
"HAHAHA that's what you get!" Brian laughed maniacally as he saw Steve's morose expression.
"Shut up…" He replied, tossing his helmet onto the bench in a depressed manner. "The umpire forgot his glasses this morning."
Brian didn't bother to reply, too busy laughing at the situation. Ken on the other hand placed his hand upon his friend's shoulder and smiled. However, to Steve, this was the devilish smile he saw whenever intense training was around the corner.
"Damn it!" He cursed, sitting onto the bench in a huff.
Both Brian and Ken had gotten onto base and were sent home by DJ. With the latter on 2nd base, Steve had struckout, but they were still winning 3-0 with 2 outs remaining.
Zeke and Kaden were next up to bat, both managing to get hits and send DJ back home. Columbia's momentum was almost unstoppable, their first inning only ending after they secured 6 runs, putting a stamp on the match from the beginning.
As they walked up to the field, Ken turned to Steve. "No wasted pitches this match. I want to keep my pitch count low so I can play tomorrow."
If the coach had overheard them, he might have had a few choice words to say, but thankfully Ken was smart enough to do it out of earshot.
"Just don't throw any meatballs and we'll be fine." Steve said, finally recovered from his earlier loss.
"Meatballs? I'm vegetarian." Ken said with a grin.
"They do those plant based ones these days I heard. Can you imagine what it tastes like?" Steve replied conversationally, pulling his face up in disgust.
Ken frowned slightly and left, heading towards the mound. He had tried to sound cool, but Steve had ruined it.
Upon reaching the mound he loosened up his arm. The next two batters were the one's that the coach had warned him about in the film sessions this past week. Jordan Nunez and Peter Blake.
Both were entering the draft this year and this would be their last post season as college players. The latter was a left handed batter, someone he would need to be wary of.
"Batting 4th, Jordan Nunez."
The announcer called out, prompting a wide shouldered player of Dominican descent to walk into the batters box. He had long arms and seemed powerful.
'I should try take advantage of his long arms and pitch inside.' Ken thought.
But before he could think any further, Steve had already called for a fastball on the inside, showing they were on the same wavelength.
Ken let out a small chuckle and got into position.
WHOOOOSH
DING
The ball was hit along the ground towards 3rd base. Levi scooped it up in rhythm and sent an accurate yet fast ball towards 1st. Zeke easily caught the ball for the first out of the inning.
"Nice!" Coach pumped his fist in triumph, seeing the first big fish go down without a fight. With the start they were having, he couldn't have asked for more.
Ken smiled upon the mound, though inwardly he knew that the same trick wouldn't work more than once this game. However, he quickly moved past it and turned towards the most difficult of the two.
"Batting 5th, Peter Blake."
This guy was considerably smaller than Jordan, at least in terms of stature. But his body still seemed powerful, something that Ken was well aware of.
'Mika, please activate showdown.'
[Affirmative]
[Activating Showdown on Peter Blake.]
Ken reveled in the sweet sensation of his muscles filling with power. No matter how many times he experienced this, it never lessened the euphoria.
In the batters box, Peter paled. He could feel an oppressive atmosphere as he stared at the tall figure on the mound. With the sun on his back, Ken's figure drew a long shadow which seemed to be crushing him beneath its weight.
He blinked a few times and the vision disappeared, but he was still feeling rattled. It was as if he was being strangled by the roots of a tree, intent on suffocating him.
PAH!
"Strike."
The first ball came but he could hardly see it before it landed into the catchers glove. Usually he would take this time to get a feel of the pitches and choose which one to go after, but the first pitch had eluded him.
He reset his position and wiped his face with his sleeve before stepping back into the batters box and waiting for the next pitch.
'Watch carefully…' He told himself.
PAH!
"Strike."
Peter frowned deeply, letting out a curse inwardly. 'Just how fast is he pitching?' He asked, looking up towards the screen.
'102!? What the hell?' He faltered, turning back to Ken on the mound with shock. He knew that the guy had the best velocity in college, but facing them head on was another story.
No matter how much film he watched, the pitches paled in comparison to what he just witnessed. Even after facing two pitches, he was not even close to coming up with a plan to hit them.
Sure enough, as the next ball left Ken's fingertips, Peter swung at the ball, expecting another fastball within the zone.
WHOOOOOSH
…
PAH
"Strikeout!"
Peter could only sigh in defeat after having been toyed with like a child. The changeup had made him swing far too early, making him look like a complete amateur.