Almost all American players instantly felt a sinking feeling.
Those with sharp instincts began to notice something strange.
Then they saw the expression on the batter's face, and their hearts grew even heavier.
Though many would complain or be upset, the American players basically all respected their team's fourth batter's ability.
He was a genius, and a very hardworking one at that.
Hard work plus sweat, combined with unparalleled talent.
Even proud American players had to admit their fourth batter was someone very difficult to surpass.
With such talent, he should be the spearhead of the team's offense.
But now this spearhead, just after coming up to bat, had been completely shut down.
And in a devastating manner.
At this moment, they were deeply confused.
What exactly happened? Why did it feel so bizarre?
"That pitch just now seemed kind of weird."
An American player hesitantly murmured.
Isn't that obvious?
The others nearly rolled their eyes to the ceiling.
They knew something was off.
That pitch originally seemed ordinary to onlookers.
But their fourth batter not swinging made the Americans take a closer look.
Looking back, that pitch did seem a bit strange.
The pitch speed seemed faster than a normal fastball.
Having that feeling, they instinctively glanced at the pitch speed monitor.
The baseball stadium in Taiwan, capable of hosting world-class tournaments, was naturally of a high level.
The electronic scoreboard there also showed pitch speeds.
Though not every pitch was displayed, most were.
And just now was one of those instances.
The pitch speed monitor was clearly displayed:
147 km/h!
This was truly a baffling number.
If you say that speed isn't fast, that would be a gross exaggeration.
A pitcher who can throw at that speed is rare worldwide in that age group, countable on fingers.
But to say this pitch was particularly fast also seemed wrong.
Not long ago, Sawamura had thrown pitches over 150 km/h.
Truly astonishing.
Compared to that speed, this one was just ordinary.
What was even stranger was that people had just felt Sawamura's pitch speed had reached a new level.
But now it seemed that the new level never really existed.
Everything felt strange; even these elite American players scratched their heads, unable to understand why.
Unable to figure it out was one thing; what troubled them more was their strategy for the next confrontation.
It seemed Sawamura's pitching had made a substantial improvement.
Although they weren't sure what the actual improvement was,
There was one thing they all clearly knew: Sawamura's pitching had changed greatly compared to before.
Under such circumstances, the American players had to make a choice.
Should they continue with their previously planned strategy, or adapt it to the current changes?
This was a very difficult choice. If they made the wrong call, the advantage they'd gained would vanish.
"What a magical boy!"
The American coach said emotionally.
He had seen many genius players over the years.
Being the national team's Coach proved his ability.
Even more impressive than his ability was his experience.
In training these genius players, he developed a set of training and evaluation systems specifically for genius players.
Not only for the players he coached, but also for other genius players.
He would use his system to evaluate others.
The same applied to Sawamura!
Sawamura's talent was one of the few he had ever seen.
Extremely talented!
Even though he hadn't fully developed yet, Sawamura showed a fierce presence.
He had thought he rated Sawamura highly, but soon realized he had underestimated Sawamura's talent.
No one expected this guy to grow so much in such a short time.
So much that even he had to look up to him!
Unbelievable!
Under the confused gazes of the American players,
Sawamura repeatedly threw the little ball from his hand.
During pitching, Sawamura carried a natural aura.
The American players were honestly a bit dumbfounded.
They had thought they had fully studied Sawamura and adapted to his pitching style and speed.
No one expected that Sawamura could still break through during the match.
Yes, a breakthrough.
Apart from these two words, the American players could think of no better way to describe what they were seeing.
A player's body was clearly at its limit, his speed and pitching already adapted by opponents.
Under these circumstances, what could happen next?
Almost everyone thought the matter was about to be settled.
Unexpectedly, an unforeseen development occurred.
When no one was paying attention, Sawamura did something big.
He suddenly mastered a new pitch.
Maybe it wasn't new, but rather a pitch he had saved for later use.
But this possibility was even scarier! The American coach didn't even want to think about it.
If this pitch was something Sawamura deliberately kept in reserve,
Then what other pitches did he still have?
Thinking this way, Sawamura's image became even more mysterious.
If this were true, then the American players had no chance.
They wouldn't be able to break through Sawamura's defense in the remaining time.
So the coach didn't want to believe it, because if he did, they would completely lose the chance to fight for victory.
PAAK!
Under pressure and in a hurry, the American team's fourth batter still stubbornly swung his bat.
He barely managed to hit the ball!
The ball was hit out, but the aftereffect of this forced swing was not small at all.
The baseball, soft and weak, was directly caught by Japan team's fielders.
Snap!
"OUT!!"
A great start.
But the American team's following batters couldn't improve the situation.
One was struck out, another hit a deep fly to second base.
Even though Japan team players were under a lot of pressure,
The star players' experience remained, so the defense itself had no problem.
Some difficult balls might have caused slight judgment errors due to various unpredictable elements.
But for this kind of ball, they had no trouble catching.
Three Outs, change of innings.
This time, Sawamura shut out the American batters in order, which was very significant.
Originally, the American team held the advantage.
Now, the momentum shifted back to the Japan team.
After all, they now led 2 to 1.
If they could hold this one run and get the last six Outs,
Then victory would belong to the Japanese team, and no one could take it away.
In the dugout, the star players who hadn't taken the field looked at each other in confusion.
Not only were the Americans puzzled, but they were also baffled.
That guy had looked like he was on the brink of collapse, about to fall apart.
Who knew he would be reborn, showing a powerful pitch seemingly never used before?
All eyes were on Miyuki, waiting for his explanation.
"It's a special fastball!"
...
T/N: Well, That's it for now.
Thank you all for reading!
Have a good day!
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