“Amazing…” He muttered before leaving the field slowly.
Ken glanced at him briefly, feeling the additional power from showdown begin to leave his body. As usual, his muscles were a little tender afterwards, but it wasn’t something that he couldn’t handle.
With the help of his Fatigue Management skill, the feeling usually went away after 10 or so minutes.
‘I can understand why the skill only allows showdown to be used on one player.’ Ken mused inwardly.
If he could use showdown multiple times per inning, there was a chance the additional power could damage his muscles. Ken had already felt the strain in the U18 World Cup after Leo had fouled so many of his pitches.
‘I’ve been thinking about that guy a lot recently…’
Perhaps it was because he used Leo as the gold standard for the High School batting level. Either way, the guy had been his toughest competition in his entire baseball career, it would be odd if he didn’t use him as a reference point.
The same could be said for Ryan Smith, the so-called prodigy. However, unlike with Leo, Ken believed that he was better than Ryan right now, at least with the assistance of the system.
In fact, Ken was hoping that Ryan might be in attendance at this tournament. But it didn’t look like he was competing.
‘Guess we’ll have to meet each other in College, or even the Majors…’ Ken thought, feeling a surge of anticipation. He gripped the ball tightly, as if to fill it with his expectations.
The next couple of innings were uneventful for both sides. Apart from the run Ken had helped score earlier, there was no action.
In the 4th inning, Ken managed to make contact with the ball of the sidearm pitcher, but it was easily caught in the outfield. In fact, no one scored again the entire game, with only a few hits being recorded altogether.
In the 8th inning, Trent managed to overcome his uneasiness and sent a lucky hit past Nico at short stop, allowing him to safely land on 1st base. While this was a cause for celebration, the Elite Squad could not capitalize on it at all.
Before long, Ken brought a close to the Elite Squad’s hopes in the top of the 9th. The score was 1-0 in favor of the Gladiators, with Ken’s squeeze bunt being the winning run.
There was some mixed reactions in the crowd since not much had happened during the game, but they eventually applauded the winners.
“How does one of the top batting lineups get shutout like that?” A man said, shaking his head in confusion. But the answer seemed to be staring him right in the face.
Ken was one of the only High School pitchers who could keep a team full of D1 commits scoreless.
“I didn’t believe the rumors at first, but I can definitely say he’s the best High School pitcher I’ve seen.” A short man who was wearing a wide brimmed hat spoke up, his face showing mixed emotions.
“Huh? What about Ryan Smith? Didn’t he already commit to you guys at Kansas State?” The other man replied with a look of shock.
In response, the Kansas State scout let out a sigh, a pained expression on his face. “He’s pulled out unfortunately. But it leaves us the option of chasing after Ken now.”
“What? Jason, didn’t you say it was confirmed since his father is an alumni?” The man responded.
“Did you ever meet Clayton Smith?” Jason wore an odd expression, turning his attention to his friend.
Gabe shook his head, “Can’t say I had the pleasure since I was in College myself back then.”
“Mmm. We played on the same team, back in 98. If he wasn’t already in his final year, I would have left.” Jason stated mysteriously.
“That bad huh?”
Jason didn’t expand, it seemed that the situation hadn’t been pleasant back then. “Let’s just say that I wouldn’t be surprised if Ryan had run away to escape his father’s clutches.”
He then sighed, shaking his head. “I just hope we still get to see him in the Majors eventually. It would be far too sad if America lost such a prodigy.”
Feeling that the atmosphere was going south, Gabe tried to change the subject. “What do you think the chances of you recruiting Ken will be?”
“Man, you’re always bringing up such depressing things.” Jason said, but he let out a chuckle. “I’d say our chances aren’t 0, but it’s not far from that number.”
Gabe smiled wryly, “Yeah, pretty much the same here.”
For colleges like theirs, it was tough to attract top tier talents. Places like Stanford, Princeton and University of Florida were the top destinations for players of Ken’s caliber, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have a shot.
Receiving a player like Ken would have a huge impact on many factors for College. The most notable would be the increased visibility and revenue generated from their appearance.
‘If I could get him, I’ll definitely get a big bonus’ was what many scouts were thinking right now.
Back on the field, Trent approached Ken, holding out his hand. “That was some pretty scary pitching out there.” He said, smiling softly.
“Thanks. I’m still annoyed that you hit my Curveball.” Ken admitted, accepting the handshake.
“Haha, it was a lucky hit… Wait, a shutout wasn’t enough for you?” He asked, feeling that it was rather ridiculous.
Ken shrugged, “Shutout, perfect game, it’s all the same to me.” This was the truth since Ken didn’t really care too much about his personal stats as long as he could keep winning.
Perhaps it was because he was Japanese, but he cared more about his team advancing to the finals than such things. After all, baseball was a team sport. One couldn’t play the game by themselves.
“R—Right… Well, we’ll definitely secure a wild card spot, so let’s have a rematch in the single-elimination tournament.” Trent said confidently.
“Mmm, we won’t lose.” Ken replied before turning his back and walking off the field.
Low scoring game, but a win is a win!
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