As the days passed, the Orcs continued their secret enjoyment of the baseball games. They chanced upon each other so many times that they were no longer wary of each other's company.
They just silently enjoyed the baseball games not as Orcupine Orcs or Orcanine Orcs, but simply as fans of the game.
They likened themselves to the crowds on the other side of the fence. There were both humans and demi-humans cheering with each other, with no sort of discrimination or prejudice against each other.
It even became their wish to someday become a part of those crowds, experiencing the game in front of their very eyes and enjoying it with thousands of other like-minded people. It made them crave that kind of culture.
"It's that young lady again," said the Orcupine Orc to himself, but loud enough for the Orcanine to hear it as well.
"She's good. Maybe she's what we need to finally win a game," the Orcanine Orc thought to himself but said it loud enough that even a deaf bird could hear it.
In all the games that they had watched, the Montgomerys always lost against the Rebornians. Only a young lady called Yuna was the one who could stand a chance against them.
But even then, she could not fully carry her team to victory.
Those Dragonborns were far too oppressive, especially the sharpshooter lady called Sheina. She was their pitcher, and she would always pitch a complete strikeout without even letting her opponent touch the ball.
Not only that, but her dark-blue-colored brother was a very annoying opponent to deal with as well. His quickness would always allow him to steal the bases before their opponent could even react.
Case in point, once the game started, the two Dragonborns once again dominated the game. They led the game up by 5 points by the third inning.
"They shouldn't let Jaku score bases so easily," the Orcanine analyzed.
"I agree, they should also have the players move up the field so that they could catch more stray balls," the Orcupine answered.
In these past few games, the two Orcs learned more and more about the game and were knowledgeable enough to point out the mistakes of the Montgomery players.
It became quite frustrating for them, as they felt that if they were in their position, they could have done things better. Perhaps, they could have also won against the Dragonborns at this point.
"AW!"
"TSK!"
They both expressed their distress upon seeing their favorite team get absolutely decimated by the Dragonborns. Those siblings were far too strong!
However, they still held out hope. Thankfully, the young lady Yuna still showed off her accurate hits as she sent balls out to the field, with the Rebornians unable to catch them before they landed on the ground.
"...yeah…"
"....go Yuna…"
Both Orcs wanted to celebrate and shout to the top of their lungs but were afraid that the Rebornians would catch them peeking around the fences. After all, one of the balls landed very close to their location, with one of the demi-humans looking in their general direction for a few seconds before deeming it as nothing more than a little rodent.
Once the coast was clear, the two Orcs returned to the fences and watched with expectant faces as slowly but surely, the Montgomerys started to crawl back up the scoreboard.
And surprisingly, the game reached the top of the ninth inning with the score in a very close 7 - 7.
As long as the Montgomerys successfully defended this last play and outed the last Rebornian player, they could end the inning and give their team a chance to score and finally win a game.
"Come on…come on…"
"Team…you can do it…"
The two Orcs resisted the urge to perform their rituals in an attempt to tip the balance of favor against the Rebornians.
The one up at bat right now was the unpredictable Zion, who showed moments of brilliance and unprecedented batting power but was largely inconsistent leading to some missed opportunities.
Zion's brothers and sisters tried to talk to him and warn him not to get too overexcited at hitting the ball, but it seemed that the boy was barely listening to them.
Finally, he was up at bat. And at the very first pitch, the young Dragonborn swung hard and made contact with the ball.
Before the ball even left the baseball bat, a very fast Jaku tried to run to home plate and score a point against the Montgomerys.
But unfortunately for them, the ball ended up fouling out.
"Please defend against Jaku! He's going to score!"
"Don't let him have a lead!"
And miraculously, it seemed that their prayers were heard. The players all moved up the field and prepared themselves to catch the flying ball the next time it came in their direction.
A very excited Zion quickly repositioned and asked for the pitcher to give him a fastball.
The pitcher delivered on the request and sent a curveball, which Zion happily hit with his bat.
The ball flew up in the air before quickly descending into the ground.
Fortunately, because they changed their positioning earlier, one of the demi-humans was just in the perfect place to make a catch.
He raised his glove and let the ball land on his hand, with the referee counting it as out!
The Montgomerys celebrated, while Zion complained to his siblings about how it wasn't fair that he couldn't use his real strength in the game.
With the last and final inning, this was their last chance to win. They just needed one point, and they would finally beat the Rebornians for once. And luckily it looked like it was time for Yuna to be up at bat.
She wasn't like the others and swung her bat on the first pitch, making clean contact with the ball, and sending it flying in the air.
As expected, it was a home run.
Everybody celebrated, even the Rebornians. After practicing for a while, the Montgomerys finally won a game!
The crowd went wild, chanting some kind of song to dedicate to the winners.
"YEAH!"
"WE DID IT!"
The two Orcs celebrated as well, even getting caught up in the crowd's celebration.
As they chanted, the Orcs couldn't help but subconsciously want to supplement it with a beat of their own.
The Orcanine Orc tapped his chest to create a beat, while the Orcupine Orc strummed his quills to create a rhythm.
The resulting sound created a surprising resonance that spread out to the field, alerting the attention of the sharp-eyed Sheina.