Sixth Story: Home Run!

Chapter 7

7 February 2022 (9th inning)

At the top of the inning, 'H-A' bats once again.

Cường seems to have derived a chillingly great amount of enjoyment from just striking out his opponents on the home plate. The shouts of "Strike!" are music to his ears. The more he successfully puts one batter out of commission, the more dangerous and unpredictable his pitches become. This is probably also a warning to his rival in the dugout, who is sitting with his legs crossed while watching the game closely. The coach of 'H-A', sitting in the stands next to a few old men dressed smartly for a meal in a French restaurant, is grinding his teeth despite his team's one-point lead.

The seventh batter of 'H-A' bunts and dashes towards the first. Cường does not hesitate at all and throws the ball to the first baseman. However, he clumsily drops it outside his glove by closing it half a second too soon. The batter makes a left turn and heads towards the second base. By the time the defenders recover, he has already reached it.

"S-Sorry, it's my fault..."

"No worries, man. We're still in the game. We've got this," Cường firmly grabs his teammate's shoulder.

The next batter also hits the ball and manages to get onto the first base. However, the first baseman redeems himself by throwing the ball to the third and gets the runner tagged out. With one out, 'A' High is one step closer to ending the inning for their rival.

"That was great," the coach of 'A' High approves. "Keep it up."

'H-A' School's ninth batter is forced to leave after three strikes. The next batter is the lead-off.

"I shouldn't waste my energy," he murmurs and signs to the catcher. "Let's just walk him."

Sharing the same sentiment, the catcher stretches his hand out the batting box and catches the four balls. The lead-off batter simply clicks his tongue and drops his bat while jogging to the first base, fuming. The first and second bases are loaded. 'A' High is in a precarious position: if they make a mistake at this junction, it will be over for them.

Then, the second batter appears at the home plate. Cường takes a deep breath and throws a fast pitch. The batter closes his eyes and swings, praying that he has landed a hit.

His prayers did not go unanswered. The ball is forcefully prevented from reaching its destination inside the exhausted catcher's mitt. Cường looks shocked, for the second time in the game. The ball flies past him like a bullet, towards the left field. The overjoyed batter dashes, clearly intending to steal the second base, or even the third base if he is bold enough.

But Phúc, the shortstop, jumps and manages to catch the ball in his glove, then falls to the ground while holding the glove up to show the whole stadium that it is clearly inside.

"Are you alright, Senior Phúc?" Cường rushes over and asks the shortstop. "That was a pretty fast line drive."

He poorly masks his pained expression with a forced smile, "No pain, no gain."

Thankfully, 'H-A' is unable to score any points for this inning, but if they manage to perform an excellent defence, they will win this derby match. The pressure is clearly getting to not just 'A' High, but also 'H-A' School of the Gifted.

It must not be forgotten that Tùng is a dangerous opponent, who has a variety of pitches under his belt and can still keep going, by the looks of it. Despite being in the game for quite a long time, he looks strangely composed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the bottom of the ninth inning, 'A' High School! First at-bat, Lê Anh Phúc, shortstop."

"Bring it on, buster!" he taunts Tùng as he tries to predict the type of pitch.