The next day, both the Bobcats and Crocs arrived at the stadium the same time. Ken happened to see Leo first, and he subconsciously clenched his fist. There would be a desperate battle today, one that they needed to win.
Leo turned and locked gazes with him. Electricity seemed to shoot between the two, a clashing of wills. On one side the cold genius and on the other, Ken.
Ken had expected some level of complacency from the other team after securing such a damning victory the day before, but this was not the case. They looked focused and determined to battle.
Leo sent Ken a brief smile before turning his head and leading his team into the ballpark first.
"It's going to be a tough game today…" Ken muttered.
"We knew that already right? Why do you sound surprised." Steve popped his head around Ken's shoulder and asked.
"I was hoping they might underestimate us after what happened yesterday." Ken said with a wry smile, "But if anything, they look even more fired up."
"Won't it feel better if we beat them at their best?" Brian said, nudging Ken with his elbow. "That way we can demoralize them."
Ken let out a small chuckle, "Let's focus on winning first, otherwise we'll be knocked out of the post season."
"Roger~"
They arrived at the locker rooms not long later and got changed. The coach didn't say much, he didn't have to after seeing how fired up his team was. Anything he said might have had an opposite effect.
"Alright, let's go win this game!"
"YEAH!"
As the team walked onto the field, they saw the spectators moving towards their seats in preparation for the match. It looked to be packed once more with majority of the crowd flouting their Florida Crocs colors in show of support.
Ken went through some warm ups around the field and spotted Latrell and Michael in the same position as the previous day and gave them a wave. If anything, he was glad that he got to see these two during the trip, especially Michael who he had a vested interest in.
Once the warm ups were done, the teams were gathered and the National Anthem played over the speakers. After this, the Bobcats took the field and Ken made his way to the top of the mound.
He took a moment for himself and looked around the field.
'As always, the view from here is the best.' Ken thought, a small smile creeping onto his face. He could feel his teammates supporting him from behind, filling him with confidence.
His eyes moved to Steve who was fixing his chest protector behind the plate and having a casual conversation with the umpire. The guy was just as reliable as those behind him, at least when it came to baseball.
The guy got into position and waited, ready for Ken's warm up pitches.
Ken took a deep breath and centered himself. This game was their best shot at winning, but the coach had only given him 7 innings. He hoped that they would be far enough ahead by that point.
Throwing it to the back of his mind, Ken threw his warm up throws and rolled his shoulder a few times, nodding in satisfaction.
'My arm feels light.' He thought.
"Batting first for our Crocs, Justin Michaels!"
Ken saw the lead off batter for the Crocs walk up to the mound with a serious expression. The guy had played well in the previous match, hitting basically everything that was thrown at him. Yet he lacked the same carefree mood as yesterday.
'It seems like they're taking me seriously. I don't know whether to be happy or upset.' Ken thought, feeling a smile creeping onto his lips.
He saw Steve crouch down behind the plate and give the sign for a fastball. Ken would never wave off a fastball, not without a good reason.
He nodded and took a deep breath. Lifting his leg, Ken went through the action he'd performed thousands of times, but something felt a little different. He was too engrossed in his movements to understand.
As the ball left his fingertips, he saw a stunned expression on Justin's face.
PAH!
"S-Strike."
"Nice pitch!"
Ken felt that the first pitch was good and caught the throw back from Steve. For some reason he felt that his pitching had improved since the last time, but he didn't have the luxury to give it any more thought.
"Let's keep this momentum going." Ken muttered, getting into position once more.
PAH
"Strike."
Walking back to the mound, Ken was almost jumping for joy. His pitches felt sharp and the ball was moving well. He was on form today.
Justin on the other hand was feeling dreadful. For some reason, he felt sluggish in the batters box. He could barely see the course of the pitches let alone swing in time. He turned to his coach as if looking for some reassurance.
The man made some signs at him, telling him to swing at the ball. He could only nod in response. The last two balls he had not even been able to move, yet he was being told to swing?
Suddenly, Leo's words yesterday made perfect sense, he knew it now. Ken could have gone to any college he wanted to and they would have accepted him with open arms. Yet he still couldn't understand why the guy went to Columbia.
Justin shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He needed to swing at the next ball at the very least, otherwise he might be too embarrassed to call himself a lead off hitter. He usually prided himself on the ability to make contact, but with the way things were going he would be sent back to the dugout without a single swing at the ball.
As Ken entered his wind up, a feeling of dread filled him, causing his body to freeze for an instant.
WHOOOSH
PAH
"Strikeout."