"What other way do we have now but to trust our players on the field?" Takeda said, forcing a bitter smile.
It wasn't just the fans; even Takeda and the assistant coach were starting to worry.
Could Sawamura be under too much pressure, causing his mental state to be unbalanced?
This wasn't uncommon among excellent players.
Many top-tier players appeared confident in practice and during games, but when it came to high-stakes situations, they lost their composure.
When a player's mental state is unbalanced, they try to force things, but their muscles become stiff. The more they try to perform well, the more rigid their movements become.
In the end, their efforts go to waste.
Japan team had actually not performed well in this game.
The players on the field hadn't even performed up to 80% of their usual level. Though the previous incident had not directly affected them, it certainly had an impact.
In fact, it had a significant impact, causing them to play in a daze and not fully show their abilities.
To be frank, the reason Japan team had made it this far was mostly thanks to Sawamura.
He had single-handedly halted America's fierce attacks and even hit two home runs!
At this point, everyone had placed all their hopes on Sawamura.
With so many people's hopes resting on him and facing such a dire situation, anyone would be overwhelmed.
No matter how impressive Sawamura's past records were, at the end of the day, he was just an ordinary person with two hands and a head. He couldn't grow extra limbs.
He could be nervous, too!
But even if he were nervous, Coach Takeda had no choice but to keep him on the field.
So far, Sawamura and Akashi were the only ones who had been able to hit the ball.
Everyone else had been played around with by Benjamin.
Anyone else who took the field would likely be out immediately.
Compared to that, Sawamura was the only one who could change the game's situation.
No matter how small the chance, Sawamura in the Batter's Box was still better than anyone else!
Coach Takeda didn't want to replace him, but there was no better player available.
He could only place his hopes on Sawamura.
He hoped that the "Great Demon King" wasn't just a title, and that Sawamura's luck would carry Japan team.
No matter how the outside world speculated, the confrontation on the field was still ongoing.
After a Ball and a Strike, Sawamura became more cautious with his swing.
He seemed to adopt the attitude of "not seeking success, but avoiding mistakes."
Perhaps it was his fame, which made failure too costly for him to bear.
At this moment, he made up his mind: better to be walked than to swing recklessly.
The American catcher caught on to Sawamura's mindset.
He glanced at the stands. Though he couldn't see specific people, he could guess that there were likely many professional scouts in attendance.
A player like Sawamura, destined for a career in professional baseball, surely had his own concerns.
If he performed poorly here, it would be a huge embarrassment.
Scouts who had once had a good impression of him would likely lower their evaluation.
At seventeen or eighteen, he might still be a child, but his thinking was already very close to that of an adult.
Especially those who had aspirations to go further in their careers.
Their depth of thought sometimes exceeded that of ordinary adults.
This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
The American catcher's heart was racing.
He felt a surge of emotions.
His coordination with Benjamin had been nearly perfect, and despite the strong Japanese team, they had managed to dominate them.
But Sawamura had become an obstacle they couldn't ignore.
Three confrontations, two home runs, one walk.
They had been completely outplayed by Sawamura.
If there was a chance for revenge, the catcher certainly wanted to take it.
He quietly passed this thought to the pitcher, Benjamin.
'Should we go after him?'
Benjamin eagerly agreed.
In truth, even without the catcher's input, Benjamin had never planned to walk Sawamura.
The previous walk had been an accident.
If it were up to him, he would have preferred a direct confrontation with Sawamura.
Now, with the catcher's support, Benjamin felt completely confident...
At this point, he absolutely wanted to have a life-or-death showdown with Sawamura Eijun with the Throne Of The World at stake.
Of course, before that, it was still necessary to understand each other better.
Although they had decided on a do-or-die strategy, it was still preferable not to proceed that way.
While they underestimated their opponent strategically, they absolutely considered Sawamura as their mortal enemy in terms of tactics.
Even though Sawamura looked harmless right now, he could be in a state of tension, swinging his bat less than before.
It seemed as if he had made up his mind to get Walked.
"BALL!"
"BALL!!"
Sawamura Eijun had decided that no matter what, he wouldn't swing the bat.
As a result, Benjamin threw two Balls outside the strike zone.
The count became one Strike, three Balls.
The pitcher was now cornered!
The old teammates in the stands were watching with great amusement.
Clearly, they hadn't expected things to turn out this way.
The American team's pitcher-catcher combo felt like they were in a state of confusion, like 15 buckets of water going up and down.
Earlier, the catcher had observed carefully and noticed that Sawamura was in trouble.
That's why they thought they could take advantage of the situation.
But now it seemed that while Sawamura did have some issues, once he was serious, he was still quite difficult to deal with.
Whrroosh!
Neither of the two knew whose idea it was, but another ball outside the strike zone flew toward the batter.
Sawamura, who had been up to this point, suddenly swung his bat at the incoming ball.
SNAP!
"STRIKE!!"
The World U-18 Championship Finals!
In the ninth inning, two Outs, runner on first base.
The count was full at three Balls, two Strikes.
Sawamura, who had swung the bat, showed a flicker of regret in his eyes.
He was probably angry with himself!
In the dugout, Miyuki, who had been pondering, suddenly had a bright realization.
He vaguely guessed what Sawamura was planning to do.
"This guy really isn't someone to take lightly…"
Even as his golden partner, it took Miyuki a while to understand Sawamura's intentions.
On the field, the battle between pitcher and batter continued with intense momentum.
Neither side was willing to back down or admit defeat.
The American team's pitcher-catcher duo had originally planned to confront Sawamura head-on.
But both were highly talented and aware of the current situation.
If it came to an actual face-off, they weren't sure they would have the upper hand.
After all, Sawamura's collapse had only shown a few signs, and no one could be sure if it was true or not.
After testing two pitches, the two realized something was wrong.
Against their balls that were close to the strike zone, Sawamura hadn't swung at them.
And it wasn't just a normal case of not swinging—he showed absolutely no movement at all.
This was like poking a hornet's nest.
Benjamin and the catcher's minds immediately went on high alert, thinking that Sawamura was deliberately changing his approach at the last moment…
Unexpectedly, Sawamura chose this pitch to swing at—and missed!
The mindset they had thought was lost was now revived.
They keenly noticed this was a great opportunity.
Benjamin, who hadn't planned to make things more complicated, couldn't resist such a temptation.
For the last pitch, he threw his best one!
Whrroosh!
The baseball whizzed toward him.
In the Batter's Box, Sawamura curved a cold smile on his lips.
He had waited so long for this pitch.
Had it been easy for him?
He had kept giving his opponent psychological hints...
The past was too painful to recall.
Sawamura shook his head, pushing all those chaotic thoughts aside.
He now has a throne to claim!
SHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He powerfully and decisively swung his bat at the incoming ball with everything he had!
PPPAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The baseball hit the bat and was immediately sent soaring in the air.
At this moment, Sawamura no longer looked exhausted.
The baseball was launched and, with the eyes of everyone, whether in the stadium or not, landed in the left-field stands.
Sawamura stood motionless in the Batter's Box. Only after the hit did he raise his fist and punch the air triumphantly.
'I did it!'
'I DID IT!!!!!!'
Finally, he didn't disappoint anyone!!!
"HE HIT IT!!!!!!"
"THE GOOD BYE HOME RUN!!! AT THE WORLD FINALS!!!!!!!"
"SAWAMURA HIT A HOME RUN!"
"THE JAPANESE TEAM HAS SCORED A TWO-RUN HOME RUN TO TAKE THE LEAD."
The commentator spoke in a daze.
At this moment, he seemed to have completely forgotten that not long ago, he was analyzing all the disadvantages for the Japanese team.
…
T/N: With this, the game is completed!
This Volume too will be completed Tomorrow, and there will be an important announcement...
As always, Thank you all for reading until now!!
See you Tomorrow!
Until then, take care!
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https://www.patre0n.com/ColdColt