Ken watched on in disbelief as a full on brawl was taking place on the field. By now, the field was filled with a sea of players, including coach's and umpires who were trying to break up the many melee that were taking place.
The commentators were appalled, calling it the worst fight they had seen in the College post season history. This still didn't stop them from breaking down the sequence of events leading up to the fight.
The Gonzaga pitcher threw a deliberate beanball at the batter which had sparked the fight. But there was clearly some bad blood before this, since VT was in the lead and had beaten Gonzaga the game before.
"So what happens now?" Ken mumbled, still coming to terms with what was happening.
According to the NCAA rules, ejections would be handed out for those involved in the fight, which means these players would receive suspensions. Since both teams benches had emptied, what would happen if all these people were ejected?
The game was stopped and after over 30 minutes of reviewing, the umpires on the field called an end to the game. Both teams were forced to forfeit and give up their shot of facing Columbia for a spot in the Super Regionals.
BUZZ BUZZ
The moment the decision was made, Ken's phone started ringing.
"Did you hear what happened?"
"Yeah… I just watched the whole thing. Is coach there with you?"
"Yeah, I've never seen him this angry." Steve replied, "Coach said that there's a good chance that we won't be playing today."
Ken raised his eyebrow, "So does that mean we move onto the Super Regionals?"
"I'm not sure. We're heading back to the hotel now, we'll see you soon."
With that, Steve hung up and Ken turned his attention back to the TV which was still replaying the fight. He had never expected such a turn of events, nor could he have. Both VT and Gonzaga's entire season was now marred by this exchange.
He had only been part of one fight during a baseball game in his life, and it had resulted in their teams suspension for the entire spring. Japan was far more strict than the US in this regard.
"What a shame." Ken muttered.
*DING*
"Hmm?"
Hearing the system notification all of a sudden, Ken was a little perplexed, but upon opening the mission window, he understood.
#MISSION: NCAA Division I Tournament.
*Task 1: Win Ivy league Championship [Completed]
*Task 2: Qualify for NCAA Super Regionals [Completed]
*Task 3: Qualify for College World Series
*Task 4: Win College World Series
*Task 5: Win MVP (Tiered rewards for each Tournament)
Task 2 had now been marked as completed which essentially confirmed that they had qualified for the Super Regionals on the back of the brawl between the two teams.
'This is good right?' Ken thought. Though part of him wished to play against VT once more and win in a more convincing fashion than the walk off home run last game.
He let out a small sigh and hopped off his bed before heading out of the hotel room and making his way down to the lobby. The team and coaching staff would be returning shortly, no doubt with news about what was to come next.
Around 10 minutes later, the team arrived.
Coach Brown didn't seem to be in a good mood and he ushered everyone to the meeting room for a discussion. With the atmosphere, it almost seemed like their own team was the one in trouble for the brawl.
"In all my years in this sport, I have never seen something so stupid." He said, pacing back and forth at the front of the group. "And for what!?"
The team was silent, no one daring to speak up. Of course everyone was thinking the same thing, "Why are you angry at us?"
"What we saw out their today puts a bad name on our beloved sport. If I ever see any of you doing the same, you will be dropped from the team. I don't care if you're a 5 star recruit or if your parents are one of the school's top donors, behavior like this is unacceptable." The Coach said, pointing at the empty white board.
"Ahem… I think what the coach is trying to say is that we should be aware of such things in the future." The old and fit pitching coach Reynolds stepped in, addressing the team. He placed a hand on Coach Brown's shoulder as if to calm him down.
However, Coach Brown shirked the hand from his shoulder, his eyes still fierce. "I am not saying do not be passionate about our game, but you must remain level headed. All it takes is a single wrong move and you could throw away your future. Those two teams have lost their entire seasons thanks to their stupid mistake, and that's if their lucky."
He continued, "The NCAA have been under fire lately, but I can guarantee they will bring down the hammer when it comes to delivering punishment for this incident. I'm talking about players being suspended, and some may even completely lose their college eligibility because of this."
His words washed over the team, adding to the solemn atmosphere. Even though they were not involved in the incident, the words made them pause and think.
No one wanted to throw away what they'd worked so hard for in a single moment of stupidity.
As the Captain, Ken felt like it was a prudent time for him to speak up and address the players. He didn't often do things like this, so it felt a little awkward.
"The coach is right. I trust that we all have learned something today. No matter what happens on the field, we need to ask ourselves; is it worth risking our future career?" Ken said, his voice even.
Coach Brown seemed to be satisfied with Ken's assessment and placed his hand upon his shoulder. "Well said Ken."