The baseball was hit and flew high.
Sawamura shrugged and paid no mind.
Although the Japan team currently has almost no coordination, and their defense is unreliable, since they were selected for the national team, it already proves their personal strength.
These guys are very strong!
A fly ball like that is nothing to them.
In other words, if such a ball really troubled them, Sawamura would have no choice but to surrender.
If Coach Takeda blamed him, Sawamura could only helplessly spread his hands.
The burden was too heavy to carry!
Japan players didn't disappoint Sawamura's expectations.
They firmly caught the ball.
Snap!
"OUT!!"
Taking this Out, Sawamura completed the defense for this inning.
Three outs, offense and defense switch.
The game reached the top of the 5th inning, and the score remained 2-0.
Japan team led by two points.
In a pitching duel, holding a two-point lead while the opponent scores nothing, on the surface, the leading Japan team should have a complete advantage.
But the situation on the scene is not like that.
Even from an observer's standpoint, it's clear the American team has stronger momentum.
Aside from the pitcher, the American players hold advantages in all other aspects.
Why then is the score behind despite the advantage?
It still comes down to Sawamura.
His individual strength is so sharp, like a dagger firmly stabbing the enemy's heart.
That should be fatal.
But unfortunately, given the current situation, Japan team doesn't dare to say their victory is guaranteed despite their two-point lead.
In the rest area, the teammates all sweat.
Coach Takeda frowned, deeply worried.
He hadn't expected the players to feel such pressure.
Honestly, this was unexpected.
In defense, as the absolute core, Sawamura handled the enemy's biggest firepower point.
He almost toyed with the enemy.
Compared to Sawamura, the other Japanese players had very few defensive responsibilities.
In the previous inning, only two players caught the ball.
Others hardly moved or showed.
In mature teams, with tacit cooperation, players can choose positioning based on the opponents.
Because of constant repositioning, energy consumption might be higher.
But the current Japan team is clearly not like that.
They are a temporary assembly, and to avoid interfering with each other, Coach Takeda had to make a choice.
He gave up on coordinated defense.
Although this technique is sophisticated and can bring good results if successful, since the players lack experience cooperating, active defense might interfere with others.
To avoid mutual disturbance and maximize the star players' abilities, Takeda painstakingly devised a strategy—not perfect, but effective.
That is: everyone stays in their own area, and whoever's ball it is, they catch it.
This means some cleverly placed balls are harder to handle, but since Sawamura is on the mound, it's obviously not easy for the opponents to pitch such balls.
In the early game, Takeda's strategy worked well.
Despite the crude defense, Sawamura on the mound kept the American players from causing trouble.
But other players grew increasingly nervous, for some unknown reason, they seemed restrained.
At first, Takeda and his team didn't notice.
The team's momentum was good, and they thought they could defeat the opponent in one go.
Unexpectedly, once the American players gradually adapted to Sawamura's pitching, everything changed drastically.
Because they adapted to Sawamura's balls, when Sawamura didn't use high-level breaking balls, they could make contact.
Since the American players could hit the ball, the situation changed greatly.
Originally, balls rarely reached the field, so it was hard to judge the defense.
Now, the defense faced harsh tests.
Problems emerged suddenly, far more serious than expected.
Those guys' brute strength was frightening.
Even fly balls flew very far, basically landing in the outfield.
Although all balls were ultimately caught, this was itself a dangerous sign—who knows if the baseball could be hit even further?
Note that the closest fly ball was only about 10 meters from leaving the stadium.
If the game continues like this, no one can guarantee the American players' bad luck will last.
If by chance they turn their luck around and hit the ball out of the park, the situation won't look good.
That's one concern.
Another is the players' nervousness.
Takeda was silently frustrated.
Earlier, they made big changes, abandoning all regular national team protocol, not depending on the Koshien winning team, and some of the other prominent players anymore.
Instead, they picked many strong players from all over the high school, forming the strongest team.
This team indeed didn't disappoint his expectations.
They swept through all opponents almost effortlessly.
Although the process had some twists, the overall direction was on track.
Almost exactly as the coaching staff predicted.
It was just unexpected that the American players adapted so well.
By mid-game, they had to face a choice:
Replace Sawamura, or replace Rinji.
Outsiders watch the fun; insiders see the trick.
For most spectators, Sawamura Eijun is still strong.
With him, everything naturally goes smoothly.
But Coach Takeda and the assistant coach clearly know:
Without using high-level breaking balls, Sawamura is basically running out of tricks.
Moreover, the American players have adapted to his pitching.
Keeping him on the mound is definitely risky.
Those two hits and the several balls to the outfield are ironclad evidence.
That's one aspect.
Another very important one is experience.
Sawamura Eijun seems especially experienced in crisis management.
He can often turn rotten situations into miracles.
Whether it's hits or outfield long hits, he was the one who resolved them.
How effective were those resolutions?
The current score on the field is clear.
In other words, keeping Sawamura on the mound is still much more beneficial.
As for replacements, Japan team doesn't have many good options.
At best, they could pick Hongo.
Hongo is strong and in some ways even surpasses Sawamura.
But his style is badly countered by the American team.
Takeda and the assistant coach don't dare risk putting him on under these conditions.
Keep in mind that Sawamura's pitch speed is around 150 km/h, plus his magical pitching form.
The real speed effect is far beyond expectations.
Still, the American players have adapted to Sawamura's speed and quickly developed countermeasures.
At first, very few could hit Sawamura's ball; he struck out batter after batter.
But now, the situation has changed significantly.
Not only mid- and upper-order batters, but even lower-order batters can make contact.
Though their hits aren't good, they at least touch the ball.
How long could Hongo last on the mound?
There's also another point to mention: Hongo's characteristic.
He is not someone who can necessarily perform steadily just by entering a game.
The other option is to use Miyuki.
However, with Allen still not on the mound, and the game still in the middle, it would defeat the purpose of not using him from the start.
The best course of action is to make Sawamura continue like this for an inning. Even if they lose a run, they can still take it.
Or at least he hopes.
...
T/N: Well, That's it for now.
Thank you all for reading!
Have a good day!
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