On the mound, Ken felt his mind go into panic. The ball had just hit the bag and was launched into the air. If it beat Nate and went into the outfield, it would be the end of all his hard work.
Just when it seed like there was no stopping the ball, sothing incredible happened.
Nate's right hand shot up, catching the ball barehanded and preventing it from getting past him while he was in mid-air. But now that his hand was not there to break his fall, Nate fell squarely on his back, sliding along the dirt for a mont.
In an incredible display of athleticism, Nate rolled to his feet and threw the ball towards first base in a single action, using all of his strength.
Ken watched in shock as the ball flew past him. He turned to Samson whose long arm was already stretched out, waiting for the ball to arrive.
Justice was running as fast as he could towards first base, unaware of the play that had taken place. His only job was to get to first base safely, no matter what.
From his vantage point on the mound, Ken couldn't tell what was going to arrive first, the runner, or the ball. Not that it mattered, everything was out of his hands at this point.
'Please make it…' Ken silently prayed in his heart.
PAH
The ball slamd into the glove at almost the exact mont that Justice planted his foot upon the base.
The crowd was dead silent, waiting for the 1st base umpires decision. The man did not make the call for what seed like forever. But when he did…
"Safe!"
The crowd went into an uproar, filled with jeers and boos directed at the official.
Ken's heart sank the mont he heard the ruling. Strength seeped away from his body and he fell down to one knee, his body in shock at the play.
In the crowd, Steve was livid. He stood up and started yelling out abuse at the top of his lungs, cursing the blind umpire who had stolen the perfect ga away from Ken.
Of course these words were just hot air, used to blow off so steam.
Ai was wearing a troubled expression, while Ken's parents looked heartbroken. Yuki couldn't even look at her deflated son upon the mound, it was too hard.
The jeers continued until the replay appeared on the jumbo screen, showing the play. One might expect that once the evidence was shown, people might just accept what had happened, but this was not the case.
"THAT'S OUT! WHAT IS THIS BULLSH—"
"Ga is rigged! I want my money back."
The replay was not substantial enough to outright call the umpire wrong, but it was close enough that the ho fans felt like they had been robbed.
Ken's raised his gaze slowly, trying to pull himself out of his state.
It was then that he saw his grandfather having a discussion with the plate umpire. He raised his eyebrow in question, wondering what the man could possibly do in such a situation.
That was when Daichi approached him, offering his hand.
Ken glanced at him briefly before taking the offered hand and helping himself up. He was dead tired, but his curiosity was burning.
"What's Grandpa doing?"
"He's challenging the call. They'll have to review the footage before making a final decision. Since there's so much on the line, this will probably take a while." Daichi added.
He turned to Ken and spoke up, his tone remorseful. "Sorry man… That lead I gave you was—"
However, Ken cut him off, "It's not your fault, little brother. I know how hard you've been working to support this past week. Did you forget that Miho and Ai talk all the ti?"
Hearing this, Daichi's eyes widened slightly but he let out a sigh in response. It seed that his secret research on both Toronto and Seattle hadn't gone unnoticed.
"How lucky do you consider yourself?" Daichi asked, giving him a grin.
"? I'm the luckiest man on Earth." Ken replied, pointing his thumb to his chest. "The Goddess of Luck is always on my side."
Daichi laughed, "Well let's hope that's the case."
The umpires convened and the announcer spoke over the speakers, his voice calming the pissed off fans.
"The Ligers are challenging the ruling of safe on first base. Please be patient while the replay is thoroughly reviewed."
So cheers rang out at the prompt update. Since the review was being done, there was still a chance for history to be made tonight.
"So who reviews the play? The umpires?"
"Nah, it's so guys in New York."
"Oh that's cool, I never knew that."
With the potential of good news, the crowd began to murmur among themselves while the replay continuously played on the jumbo screen.
Play was currently suspended, pending the review. If the call stood, Ken would have to face the Seattle's first batter once more, but if it was overturned, the ga would end and his perfect ga would be recorded.
The Liger's players gathered surrounding Ken as they waited for his fate. Having now played with Ken for a whole season, they had gotten closer to him over such a ti.
"That was a little sloppy from back there, sorry." Nate said, apologizing to Ken for his fielding.
Ken shook his head vehently, "No way man, you did well to make it this close. I certainly couldn't have pulled off anything like that." He admitted.
But Nate just scoffed, "I highly doubt that. You're almost 7 years younger than ."
The team talked among themselves while ti ticked by. Almost 15 minutes passed by without any word and everyone in the ballpark was starting to get restless.
The replay had been shown almost 30 tis and there were already so issues within the crowd who were getting tired of waiting.
The umpires spoke to one another a final ti before the plate umpire approached the cara. Static ca out of the microphone that he was wearing as he prepared to verbalize the decision of the challenge.
"After review, the call on the field has been overturned. The runner is out. The perfect ga is preserved, and the ga is over."
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