This was an incredibly difficult decision!
To almost everyone, the current Japan team was not only in a very strong position but also had a nearly guaranteed victory.
Leading 2-0, the situation looked very favorable.
But Coach Takeda was very clear in his mind.
Whichever choice he made, if it failed, he would definitely be blamed.
Coach Takeda was not afraid of taking the blame.
After stepping down from the national team's head coach position, taking on the youth team coach role, he had experienced all sorts of trials.
He had faced various choices during such trials.
Takeda was not exactly decisive or ruthless, but he could make decisions quickly.
He always thought of himself as a very decisive person.
Decisive and brave.
But now, Coach Takeda suddenly realized he might not be as brave as he imagined.
Or perhaps, the situation was just too good now.
Japan team had finally gotten a chance to dominate the world, and if he didn't grasp it well, not even his mother would forgive him.
"Then, let's do it!!"
Having made up his mind, Takeda's entire expression changed dramatically.
In the end, he resolutely chose to trust the Ace, Sawamura, more.
The reason for this choice wasn't because Sawamura was currently in great form.
It was mainly because Coach Takeda felt Sawamura's past achievements were too brilliant.
He had thoroughly investigated all the legends about Sawamura the day he selected him for the team.
Originally, he thought people might have exaggerated when describing Sawamura.
After all, public praise tends to be exaggerated.
But after the investigation, he had to admit his viewpoint might have been unreliable.
Promoting other celebrities might involve some exaggeration, but there was no need to exaggerate with Sawamura.
This guy's record was truly dazzling.
So far, he had won five national championships.
For an individual sport, an outstanding player with such a record wouldn't be rivaled by anyone.
Achieving this was amazing, but not completely impossible.
But this was a team sport!
Leading a team to win consecutive championships was undoubtedly exponentially harder.
Moreover, Sawamura had led two completely different teams to five national championships.
How difficult was that?
It was almost impossible to calculate with words or probability…
Not to mention that it included the grassroots team from the Akagi Middle School Baseball Club.
A miracle!
Sawamura's achievements in middle and high school were a living miracle.
At this critical moment of winning or losing, even Coach Takeda had to be somewhat superstitious and believe in him.
With two choices and no way to tell which was better, he'd rather trust Sawamura's glorious past and luck.
Sawamura always seemed especially capable in crises.
At this moment, Takeda could only trust that.
"Keep it up, solve the opponents one by one."
Coach Takeda instructed quietly.
The match's tension was so high that other teammates didn't notice the coach's quiet words to Sawamura.
Sawamura was slightly stunned upon hearing this.
He clearly hadn't expected Coach Takeda to show such an attitude.
Fortunately, he quickly realized something was off and stopped his own actions.
He turned back, focusing intently on the opponent.
Now it was Japan's turn to attack again.
By this point, both sides had become quite familiar with each other.
In theory, it should have been time to strike the killing blow.
Just like before, the American team had been acting very restless.
They seemed ready to do something at any moment.
Japan's situation was the same.
After a few innings, they had thoroughly studied the characteristics of Benjamin.
Now it was time to figure out how to decisively finish off the opponent!
Clearly, this was no easy task.
If it were easy, the situation wouldn't have reached this point; they would have already beaten the opponent beyond recognition.
Since that hadn't happened, these guys in front of them were definitely not to be underestimated.
And definitely not easy to solve.
How to handle these opponents had become Japan team's most urgent priority.
Of course, if Japan team continued to score steadily in the following innings, then the situation would likely become very different.
The American team's true collapse wouldn't be far off.
Coach Takeda's worries were not just his own — Sawamura felt the same.
He also understood that the pressure the opponent was putting on him was increasing.
If the batting line could help score more runs now, Sawamura's situation would undoubtedly improve a lot.
But was that really feasible?
The answer was obvious: not at all.
Though Benjamin was being bullied by Sawamura and had no effective counterattack, that didn't mean his own strength was weak; it was just that his opponent was too strong.
If another Japanese player faced him, it wouldn't work at all.
Benjamin toyed with Japanese batters like they were children.
Coach Takeda and the assistant coach were anxious to death.
They were desperate but could think of no good solution.
Although Japan team still led in score, what did that mean?
Nothing at all.
These veterans knew well that the match was tilting further against Japan.
The fifth inning's bottom attack was a very bad sign.
In the blink of an eye, Benjamin successfully got three Outs.
Despite being two points behind late in the game, the American players didn't look depressed; instead, they seemed to grow stronger as the game went on.
It was simply uncanny!
Japan players were helpless too.
They didn't know what kind of "magic drug" the Americans had taken to perform so heroically in the final moments.
So powerful!
The sides switched; Sawamura stood on the mound again.
Sawamura, who hadn't achieved any effect with the offense, already vaguely felt something was wrong.
On the other hand, the American players seemed to become stronger the more they fought.
Under these circumstances, how to seek victory?
Yes, although the situation was extremely critical, Sawamura never thought about losing.
If the game really failed, the analysis would come after.
Before the real failure of the game, before getting the last Out, Sawamura would never give up his persistence and pursuit of victory.
This was taught to him by a friend long ago.
It benefited Sawamura for his whole life.
Holding onto this belief, he carefully scanned his opponents.
At the same time, he calculated the current situation on the field.
The game had reached the 6th inning, and they still led by two points.
That meant if he could smoothly get the next 12 Outs, the initiative of the game would still be firmly in their hands.
For Sawamura, this was hard but not impossible.
Moreover, they had an important advantage.
They still held a two-point lead.
Even if Japan players couldn't score more runs, as long as Sawamura allowed one point or none at all, victory still belonged to them!
This was undoubtedly something to be very happy about.
"Just twelve more!"
…