Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

Inside the resting area of Japan team.

The atmosphere was terribly heavy.

Even though the current situation on the field was extremely favorable for them.

The overall score was 1:0.

Japan team was still in the lead.

Yet, you could sense none of that atmosphere from the players.

Just before, Sawamura had successfully tricked the American player with a stunt.

He had averted a crisis!

To be honest, that situation just now was extremely dangerous for Japan team's players.

Don't think that because they passed the crisis smoothly, the path ahead is now clear.

That's completely unrealistic.

The recent crisis has already proved that the current situation is actually very unfavorable for the Japanese team!

Firstly, until just now, apart from Sawamura's home run,

none of Japan's players had managed a hit off Benjamin.

No hits at all, let alone runs scored.

These star players had strong batting skills.

But even then, they still couldn't get a hit.

It seemed like Benjamin's pitching was more troublesome than everyone expected, so even using power hitting to sweep the ball is not enough.

That was also why Sawamura took the risk and chose to go for a home run.

Because he clearly realized that if he didn't hit a home run in one go,

simply getting on base wouldn't solve the problem.

Japan team would find it very hard to score easily.

That guy called Benjamin, his pitching, from Sawamura's perspective, had some flaws.

Mainly because Sawamura was experienced.

He had faced similar pitchers before and naturally had the upper hand in direct confrontations.

He could easily see the opponent's hidden cards.

But in the Japanese team, only he himself had this ability.

The others probably didn't have such skill.

After all, this ability couldn't be developed overnight.

It required continuous matches and intense competition.

Over time, you would naturally learn it.

The others didn't have Sawamura's conditions to simply deal with a pitcher like Benjamin, who had formed his own unique system.

That was very difficult!

How difficult?

It was like an ordinary person who rarely exercises suddenly needing to climb Mount Everest.

No matter how talented he is in climbing, the discomfort and unfamiliarity would bring despair.

Other players' reactions to Benjamin's pitching were roughly like that.

Getting started was easy!

Like taking the first step on a staircase.

Hitting Benjamin's pitch was not a difficult thing.

With the abilities of these star players, they could easily do that.

The real difficulty was how to cleanly and decisively hit the ball where they wanted it to land.

That was extremely hard!

They had to successfully avoid the opponent's traps to have even a slight chance.

Hitting Benjamin's pitches, it was difficult to make the baseball act entirely according to their will.

And the more they used power to sweep it, the more they lost control of it.

Because of this, the American fielders could easily catch the ball.

Japan team was stuck, unable to get a hit!

This had almost become a vicious cycle.

In the bottom of the 4th inning, Japan team was at bat.

The second batter stepped up first and performed very steadily.

He showed no intention of swinging actively.

On the contrary, he seemed to be waiting for that baseball to come.

Once it came, he would either let it go or hit it foul.

Japan team changed their tactics.

On one hand, they hadn't yet come up with a good way to solve Benjamin.

They planned to wear him down by forcing him to throw more balls and expose more flaws.

Even if no flaw appeared, the continuous pitching would still exhaust his stamina.

These star players might fail to get a hit off Benjamin, but each had their own skills and batting system.

If they were determined to wear down one pitcher, they could still manage it.

Maybe not easily, but they definitely had their methods.

If they didn't have even this ability, they wouldn't be called star players.

Of course, this was just on the surface.

On the other hand, there was another very important reason.

That was Japan team was still discussing countermeasures.

They vaguely saw some signs but weren't sure if they were correct.

So they were deliberating.

At this point in the match, Japan team could not afford to lose.

Though given their current situation, losing the game would be quite normal.

But all the players knew clearly in their hearts.

They could not afford to lose!

If they lost, the audience wouldn't blame the "Great Demon King" Sawamura.

Sawamura had become a taboo in the Japanese team.

When people mentioned him, they could only praise him.

Absolutely no criticism allowed.

Just like in this game, if they won, it was all thanks to the Great Demon King Sawamura, with other players having little to do.

At most, they played a supporting role.

Would those amateur players really be able to beat the American team?

That was just wishful thinking!

If only a few hardcore fans thought so, it wouldn't be surprising.

In fact, many fans in Japan thought this way, with Sawamura's fan base claiming to be in the million range.

Winning the game might not change much for them.

But if they lost, they would have to take the blame.

To avoid such a miserable fate, the Japanese players had no choice but to fight desperately.

They would try every possible way to defeat their opponent.

Sawamura felt very helpless about this.

When they were discussing tactics just now, Coach Takeda hadn't come up with any ideas.

Helplessly, he didn't want to disappoint the players.

At that moment, the only choice was to put Sawamura forward to attract attention.

Also, to give the players a vent.

When their focus shifted onto Sawamura, they would be less tense during the game.

The current situation of Japan team,

though partly due to the unexpectedly strong American players,

was mostly because of Japan players themselves.

They were too nervous!

Perhaps they were too eager to win this final.

So during the game, they played cautiously.

Both offensively and defensively, they were conservative.

Seeking no glory, just avoiding mistakes.

'It is like they were avoiding Mima's fate.'

If the players continued with this mindset against the American team, their chances of winning were almost none.

They needed a change in mentality.

Though it was a bit unfair to Sawamura, Coach Takeda resolutely did so.

Surprisingly, it worked well.

In the following confrontation, Japan's players' performance improved significantly.

You could see this from the second batter's performance.

Firstly, though the second batter, Shirakawa, was eventually Out, he had worn down the opponent with seven pitches.

Benjamin became somewhat unsettled!

During pitching, he often looked at the batter.

This was common for most pitchers.

They wanted to kill the opponent with fierce looks.

Just like batters stare fiercely at pitchers to distract them.

A tough pitcher would also glare fiercely at the batter,

forcing them to submit under their dominance.

If they could shake the opponent mentally, it would be perfect.

They could then finish the batter off quickly.

Many batters Japan's team faced before were like this.

The players accumulated a lot of experience during such confrontations.

But Benjamin was different.

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