Sawamura stepped up to the plate.
In the stands, the supporters who had specially come from Japan shouted at the top of their lungs.
They were cheering for Sawamura, but also trying to provoke America's pitcher.
Although most of them didn't believe that the American pitcher would risk facing off against Sawamura at this point.
Benjamin's performance in today's game had been quite good. Up until now, aside from Sawamura, only Akashi had gotten a hit.
If they walk Sawamura, the victory is pretty much guaranteed.
In this situation, how could the American players possibly risk facing Sawamura directly? That wouldn't make sense!
Even though they thought this way, Japan's fans were still trying to keep hope alive.
What if, just what if, the opponent lost their mind?
What if, just what if, the opponent did decide to face Sawamura head-on? Wouldn't that give Japan team a chance?
Besides, the American pitcher was, after all, just a young man.
A young man only in his teens!
At that age, full of youthful energy and talent.
Such a person is hard to provoke.
If they could get under his skin, maybe he'd choose to face Sawamura directly.
Although the fans of Japan knew the hope wasn't very big, for them, having any hope was better than having no hope.
It was better than sitting back and doing nothing.
So, no matter how slim the chance, they would never give up, absolutely not!
Sawamura, standing in the Batter's Box, was touched.
To be honest, during the previous Walk, if Sawamura's judgment was correct, Benjamin shouldn't have intended to Walk him.
This meant the American Coach probably hadn't given a direct order to walk him.
Benjamin himself and his teammate didn't have that intention either.
Their original plan was clear—they intended to attack after three balls outside the strike zone.
However, in the end, they made a mistake, which led to the walk.
From this perspective, the probability of the American pitcher facing off directly with Sawamura is still quite high.
Of course, Sawamura wasn't 100% confident.
Although the American players had been clear in their intentions before, the situation had now changed, and no one knew if the American players could maintain their style.
For Sawamura, all he could do now was increase his chances of hitting.
If the American player was determined not to face him head-on, then there was nothing Sawamura could do.
Luckily, the American player probably didn't have that kind of resolve.
After Sawamura took the batter's position, Benjamin on the mound stood frozen for a good 10 seconds.
This guy must have been thinking about his strategy against Sawamura, figuring out how to handle him.
He probably didn't think about walking him at that moment.
If he intended to walk him, there would be no need to waste so much effort.
A walk is very simple—whether it's a "face-saving" walk or one where there's no concern for pride, neither is hard to do.
Now, seeing the opponent hesitate, it meant he didn't want to avoid the confrontation.
After hesitating for 10 seconds, Benjamin seemed to have made up his mind. He then fixed his gaze and unleashed his full strength.
Benjamin took a deep breath, adjusted his stance, and threw the ball with all his might.
As he threw, he put all of his body weight onto his fingers.
Despite feeling like he didn't use much force, the baseball shot out like a rocket, flying fast.
'So fast!'
Sawamura, standing in the Batter's Box, was a bit stunned.
He had faced Benjamin many times before, but this was the first time he noticed how fast his pitch could be.
It wasn't a real increase in speed.
Benjamin's pitch seemed to have a life of its own, full of sharpness and finesse.
Sawamura gripped his bat tightly and swung at the fastball.
Sawamura's momentum was strong, but his bat didn't make contact with the baseball.
The two passed each other, neither one touching the other.
SNAP!
"STRIKE!"
Actually, that pitch had missed the strike zone.
Had Sawamura not swung, it would've been a clear ball, no question.
But unfortunately, he swung and missed.
So, it was counted as a strike.
Sawamura was now behind in the count!
The fans in the stands were on edge.
The supporters of Japan who had been so sure of Sawamura's ability now began to doubt.
They had thought that Sawamura was invincible, but now it seemed they had overestimated him.
The so-called "Demon King" was, after all, just a teenager, and just like anyone else.
When under immense pressure, he could either rise to the occasion or be completely crushed.
"Sawamura-kun…"
Even the commentators, seeing Sawamura like this, were at a loss.
They tried hard to organize their thoughts, hoping to describe the situation to the audience.
But after trying for a while, they couldn't find the right words to describe what was happening.
All they could do was stammer, unable to say a complete sentence.
Under everyone's gaze, Sawamura fought to control his emotions and refrained from swinging at the second pitch.
Snap!
"BALL!"
The count was now 1 Ball, 1 Strike.
At first, the American catcher was uncertain, wondering if it was wise to face Sawamura in such a situation.
But now it seemed like his worries were unnecessary.
Under the immense pressure, Sawamura was starting to crack.
Although he was still hanging in there, it was clear he couldn't hold out much longer.
His collapse was inevitable—it was only a matter of time.
In this situation, if they didn't capitalize on the chance to strike him down, they'd be wasting the favorable position they were in.
"Sawamura seems a bit nervous, swinging at a Ball..."
The commentator's analysis was spot on.
Many of the fans in the stands also agreed with this assessment.
It wasn't that they wanted to overthink it, but everything they saw in front of them pointed to that conclusion.
Sawamura, standing in the Batter's Box, seemed somewhat tense.
The players from Japan, who were sitting in the dugout, exchanged glances with each other.
They weren't just Sawamura's former teammates, but also his old rivals. When it came to understanding Sawamura, no one knew him better than these guys.
From what they knew, Sawamura was never the kind of person to be easily intimidated.
As the ace of the legendary Seidou High School baseball team, Sawamura's impression had always been that of someone with great skill and bravery.
Not only was his technique superb, but he also possessed a massive heart. He often made unexpected moves when no one else would have thought of them.
Could such a troublesome guy be a coward?
"I feel like something's off here..."
No matter what others said, Carlos absolutely refused to believe it.
Having been through many battles, he had faced many strong opponents, including the Inashiro baseball team.
What left the deepest impression on him was Sawamura.
Narumiya, who was from the same generation, was already one of the top pitchers in the country.
But before Sawamura appeared, Carlos had never seen anyone in the pitcher's role perform better than Narumiya.
Then Sawamura came along!
It was like the saying goes, "There's always someone better." Even among the strongest, there's always someone stronger.
Carlos, despite Narumiya and the stubborn players in the team refusing to acknowledge it, could clearly feel the gap between the two.
That gap was all-encompassing. Maybe one or two games wouldn't show much difference, but over a long time and many games, the gap would naturally become obvious.
Not to mention that in their direct matchups, Sawamura had never lost to Narumiya.
He was undoubtedly the number one pitcher, with outstanding pitching skills.
In fact, Sawamura was likely the best overall baseball player in the entire high school, not just in pitching.
To be the best player in the country, Sawamura's strength was well-rounded, encompassing both his baseball skills and mental fortitude.
Could such a monster be intimidated by his opponent?
This wasn't a joke!
Carlos would never believe it, no matter what.
Not only he, but also the star players from Tokyo, none of them were willing to believe it.
Perhaps the uninformed fans, who had only seen Sawamura from a distance and never interacted with him up close, might buy into such ideas.
But players who had actually interacted with Sawamura would never believe the commentator's words.
Yet, they were in the minority. Most of the fans in the stands were ordinary viewers.
Whether they came to their own conclusions or were swayed by the commentator's suggestions, they all thought that Sawamura must be nervous. Even the fans who had specially come from Japan were no exception.
They knew Sawamura had always been known for his boldness. They had never heard of him being nervous during a match before.
But those were all small games.
Compared to the World stage and the World Championship title, the games held domestically were like kids playing house.
Now, they were on the world stage, facing strong opponents from the baseball kingdom.
And now it was the bottom of the 9th inning with two Outs — the crucial moment.
The burden and pressure on Sawamura were unimaginable.
If they were in Sawamura's shoes, they would probably have been crushed by the pressure by now.
In comparison, Sawamura only seemed a bit nervous, which was already remarkable.
But as rare as it was, Sawamura being nervous was definitely fatal for the entire Japanese team.
The assistant coach, with a worried expression, watched the situation on the field. After hesitating for a moment, he walked up to Coach Takeda.
"Coach!"
What he meant was to ask Takeda if he had any good ideas.
After all, the next confrontation would decide the outcome of the game.
Japan team didn't have any more chances left!
Takeda, hearing this, forced a bitter smile and said, "What other way do we have now but to trust our players on the field?"
…