Benjamin always considered himself a strong person, believing that no matter how bad the circumstances, he could endure. But now, it seemed that he had been too optimistic about his own resilience. Perhaps he wasn't as strong as he had imagined.
Right now, his mind keeps flashing back to those images. He even had the feeling that if he pitched this ball, it would definitely be hit out for a home run.
'Here it comes!'
Despite his ominous premonitions, there was no turning back. Benjamin had no choice but to throw the ball.
During his delivery, his momentum was intense. In the Batter's Box, Sawamura couldn't help but become even more focused.
'Could it be that this guy is going all out?'
To be honest, Sawamura was caught off guard. He knew his opponent wasn't satisfied and would surely try to do something. But he had clearly underestimated his opponent's determination. He hadn't expected Benjamin to be this reckless.
Benjamin had the courage to throw everything on the line!
While admiring him, Sawamura raised his bat high. Benjamin's actions had earned his respect.
Sawamura always believed that the best way to repay an opponent's respect was to go all out and hit their pitch.
'Let's go!'
As long as the baseball was within his range, Sawamura would not hesitate to send it flying.
In that instant, Sawamura was ready. As soon as the ball came into his range, he was confident it wouldn't escape his grasp.
'Here it is!'
In the blink of an eye, the baseball flew toward him. As it came closer, Sawamura's heart surged with excitement.
He couldn't wait to send it flying. Although the ball was pitched with a low angle, making it difficult to hit, Sawamura felt his patience was running out. If he didn't swing at this ball, he felt he might go crazy.
Enough was enough.
Sawamura tightly gripped his bat, prepared to send the ball flying.
In his mind, he had already calculated the perfect angle to send the ball even farther. Just as he was about to swing, his eyes suddenly narrowed.
'Something was wrong with this pitch!'
Sawamura gripped the bat tightly and resisted the urge to swing. He stopped his motion and watched as the baseball flew past him.
SNAP!
The sound of the ball landing in the catcher's Mitt rang out loud and clear, so much so that even the fans in the stands could hear it.
"BALL!!!"
"WALK TO BASE!!"
This was the result that almost everyone had predicted earlier.
As far as the audience was concerned, they had already noticed that Benjamin had clearly gotten nervous when facing Sawamura. Just look at the pitches he threw—outside or inside, and none of them were close to the strike zone. The deviation was so large that even an amateur could hardly throw a pitch like that.
The third pitch was high, though not by much; it was still a good ten centimeters too high.
And then came the final pitch, the one that Sawamura had just faced. Although that pitch was somewhat in the strike zone, it was still clearly a Ball.
Benjamin's intentions were now clear.
At least most of the fans believed this. They thought that Benjamin, at the last moment, had lost the courage to face Sawamura head-on but was unwilling to surrender. So, he tried to lure Sawamura into swinging with an ordinary Ball.
Was this a joke? Who didn't know that the "Great Demon King" of Japan High School baseball had a pair of sharp eyes?
It's said that not many professional players in Japan could surpass his dynamic vision.
This was the reason why, despite not having the strongest power, he could often hit home runs. After all, his vision was so sharp that he could hit with precision, seeing everything in slow motion.
In such a situation, Benjamin from America actually thought he could deceive Sawamura into swinging?
"It was a pipe dream."
"Was Benjamin truly dreaming?"
"Had he always intended to walk with Sawamura?"
Regardless of what others thought, Sawamura didn't share that view.
He trusted his instincts. He believed his feelings just now were right.
Benjamin wasn't trying to avoid the confrontation; he wanted to face Sawamura directly. The final pitch was just bait. He must have had another pitch lined up to try and take him down.
But something had gone wrong. After throwing the ball, for some reason, Benjamin had put too much force into his fingers.
As the game neared its end, the audience could see that the American players simply couldn't bear the immense pressure.
In the end, they chose the tactic that was most beneficial to themselves.
"These American guys... I didn't expect them to be so unreliable at such a critical moment!"
Many people watching on TV were shocked, their expectations shattered.
Initially, they had thought of those American rich kids as fearless, hard-hitting players who would never back down, no matter the situation. Even if they lost, they would go down swinging.
But when they faced Sawamura head-on, all their previous resolve seemed to vanish.
Now, in order to secure the final victory, they had even resorted to the awkward tactic of Walking Sawamura.
To be honest, although their approach was understandable, the Japanese fans still couldn't help but be disappointed.
"By the way, Sawamura actually managed to force the American players to avoid facing him. In a way, that's impressive, right?"
Since they dared not face him directly, there wasn't much left to discuss. People naturally shifted their focus to other matters.
The American players had always been willful. Even when the pressure was overwhelming, they would never back down.
Yet, when facing Sawamura, they displayed such cowardice.
It truly caught everyone by surprise.
"After all, he's the 'Great Demon King'!"
"When Sawamura led Japan to battle in America, he certainly made life difficult for the American players. They probably have psychological scars by now..."
Although they didn't see Sawamura personally hit the ball out, the Japanese fans didn't feel as disappointed as they had imagined.
Upon reflection, they even thought this situation was quite satisfying.
Think about it: aside from their "Great Demon King," which other player in the world could force an American prodigy pitcher to do this?
The only foreign player who could probably do this was Sawamura.
This was naturally because of Allen's existence.
Allen had not only earned a massive reputation during the World Series, but privately, he was also very well-known.
When competing against Americans, he often wiped the floor with star players.
American star players had to come up with all sorts of strategies to handle him.
A Walk was just one of those tactics!
Allen's style was quite similar to Sawamura's. They were not only excellent pitchers, but their batting ability was also among the top in the game.
Now, when it came to handling Sawamura, the American players seemed to be a bit too familiar with the routine.
But Sawamura and his teammates weren't quite as familiar with their opponents.
Even though they had watched Sawamura's game footage from a few months ago, it was now outdated. Considering Sawamura's rate of improvement, the Sawamura of today was far more advanced than the one seen a few months ago.
Trying to assess the current Sawamura with footage from months ago was laughable.
They were on completely different levels, and it wasn't even comparable.
It was a shame, though, that whether in America or in the present game in Taiwan, both Allen and Sawamura's strengths were simply overwhelming!
Their individual power was so immense that it was nearly impossible for anyone else to shake them.
One out, runner on first base.
The Japan team's offense didn't stop because of the walk.
The pitchers of both teams had previously performed so well that they barely allowed any hits, let alone runs.
Now, with a walk, everyone was a bit surprised.
In past encounters, the bases were usually empty. But now, no matter how difficult the situation, there was finally a runner on base, and the Japanese players weren't about to miss this rare opportunity.
What an invaluable chance!
Now that there was a runner on base, if they didn't capitalize on it to score, would they wait for the opponents to react and then find a way to counter them?
Japan's players were no fools. How could they let such an opportunity slip by?
Since the chance was right in front of them, they were determined to seize it, no matter what.
For Japan, the current lineup was also perfectly arranged, with Renji following Sawamura in the batting order.
Although the chemistry between these two was not as strong as with their previous teammates, they were both players who had proven themselves on the baseball field.
To be honest, they were both baseball geniuses, with a level of game understanding far beyond what most could imagine.
As long as they were willing, they could accomplish many things—things far beyond what others would think possible.
With Sawamura on first base, he positioned himself as if he were about to steal second.
Even more strangely, Renji was set up for a bunt.
Both of them were applying pressure on the opponent from their respective positions.
The pressure had already been intense, and now, with both applying it simultaneously, it was even greater.
The Japan players had clearly made up their minds—they were going to give it their all. There could be no hesitation.
Any delay or hesitation might cost them the hard-earned opportunity they had.
…