Japan won!
The team members were all very happy.
At the beginning of the match, none of them took Italy seriously. They believed that winning was just a matter of course.
However, during the match, the Italian players brought them a huge surprise.
It was truly a big surprise.
Japan's players never expected this.
The other side truly punched them in the face!
During the match, they nearly lost their footing.
Although the result didn't lead to their defeat or elimination, it undeniably made them look foolish.
Fortunately, all of that did not happen.
In the end, they won, a proper victory.
Even though their main star lineup didn't play, they defeated Italy and smoothly advanced to the next round.
The commentator on the stands didn't have the loud, exaggerated tone that Japanese commentators had.
His voice was calm, but his analysis was quite insightful.
"Even without their main lineup, Japan still defeated Italy, clearly showcasing their strength."
These remarks were quite normal.
But the following statement was very perceptive.
"The pitcher who played, Hongou Masamune, if not for his jersey number, people would hardly believe he wasn't Japan's Ace pitcher. It's even hard to believe that with him on the team, the Ace pitcher role would fall to someone else?"
"But the result now is that the man wearing the Ace pitcher jersey number is not him, but another person."
As he spoke, the commentator's gaze shifted to Sawamura.
The cameraman covering the live broadcast was also insightful and immediately switched the camera to Sawamura.
Sawamura, who had celebrated the victory, looked genuinely happy.
Even though he didn't play, after the victory, he sincerely celebrated with his teammates.
The atmosphere in Japan's rest area was very pleasant.
The players all had sincere smiles on their faces.
"Before the match started, no one would have expected this game to be so exciting."
Even Japan players hadn't anticipated how much trouble their opponents, Italy, would give them.
That's why they were so happy after the win, because it wasn't easy for them to win, as evidenced by the scoreline—2:0.
With the gap in strength between the two teams, this score was almost impossible to occur, but it did.
After all, what exists is reasonable.
Since this score appeared, it clearly indicates that there were unexpected situations in this game that Japan's players didn't foresee.
Anyone who watched the game could probably quickly give the accurate answer.
Italy's super pitcher, Mario.
He was truly an amazing player.
Although the Italian players showed a lot of effort in the early stages of the game, the difference in strength between them and their opponents was still obvious, even glaringly so.
In this situation, Mario almost single-handedly turned the tide.
Thanks to his efforts, for a long period, Italy was not at a disadvantage against Japan.
He was truly an outstanding pitcher!
If only Mario had been the only one in this game, fans from Japan and even around the world would have deeply remembered this guy, even if Italy lost the match.
But now, it's probably hard to say if that's the case.
Mario was indeed excellent, but compared to the pitcher standing on the mound for Japan, he didn't seem that outstanding.
Hongou Masamune!
A terrifying pitcher with a ball speed exceeding 153 km/h (95 mph) and excellent control.
Despite Mario's excellent performance, he couldn't create even the slightest opportunity for Italy.
Why was that?
The reason was quite simple, but also brutally harsh.
It was because the man standing on Japan's pitcher mound was even more skilled.
As a result, Italy never had a chance to score, let alone get on base.
Mario was excellent, but compared to Hongou Masamune, he seemed to fall short.
If the situation were only like this, it wouldn't be so hard to accept.
What was most unacceptable in this match was Hongou Masamune's jersey number.
Anyone with a bit of knowledge about jersey numbers could tell the player's position on the team.
For example, if a team has 20 players, their jersey numbers would range from 1 to 20.
Generally, a pitcher's jersey numbers are as follows:
Number 1, of course, is for the Ace pitcher.
Number 10 is the main pitcher's first backup.
In baseball, the pitcher is the most important position. The first substitute pitcher for the ace is number 10. This number also represents the most important position outside of the nine main players.
There are also other numbers for pitchers, like 11, 18, and 20.
In this case, Japan's team had 5 pitchers with these numbers.
Number 1, of course, was Sawamura.
But number 10, which should be the main backup pitcher, wasn't the outstanding Hongou Masamune from today's match.
It was Narumiya Mei.
Hongou's number was 11, meaning he was the third pitcher on the team, after Sawamura and Narumiya.
The next pitcher, number 18, was Hoshitaru Kouki.
It's terrifying to think about!
This incredible pitcher, who completely suppressed Italy, with a ball speed over 150 km/h and precise control, was only ranked third in Japan's pitching lineup.
Their first and second pitchers still hadn't fully participated in the game.
It's frightening!
No wonder people say Japan is a strong contender for the championship this year!
On the field, all Japan's players were in high spirits, as though they had already won the final match.
The main reason for their excitement was still their opponent's strong performance.
Being able to beat such an opponent made the Japanese team excited.
This gave them a strong sense of confidence.
After competing with such experts, the team's strength had clearly risen to a higher level.
Japan players felt like they had undergone a complete transformation after the game against Italy.
If they played again, they believed they could perform even better.
But unfortunately, their opportunity to play may only come once.
The team wouldn't have more time to practice together.
When the semifinals and finals start, they will likely be entrusted to the Tokyo Stars mainly.
It's not that these players were worse than those from the Tokyo Stars.
But compared to this team, the Tokyo Stars had already trained together, played matches, and were from the same region, making their understanding of each other much deeper.
Their cooperation would likely be far beyond expectations.
Sawamura looked at his teammates and then glanced at the Italian players.
At that moment, he had a faint feeling.
Perhaps Coach Takeda's decision wasn't entirely right.
After all, this team had been hastily assembled, and how much strength could they truly show?
The biggest problem they faced was not a lack of strength, but a lack of coordination!
From this perspective, if Coach Takeda had initially chosen the Tokyo Stars team and only reinforced two specific positions, then they should have gone all out from the first game.
With a strong lineup, they would have made progress after each game.
After this match, Hongou and the others would surely have improved.
Even if their individual strength didn't change, the team's coordination would undergo tremendous changes.
But such changes would no longer be seen in future matches.
Because the players who would take the field next were no longer the same people.
The team's style would undergo great changes.
In this way, they were essentially using two different lineups to challenge world-class competitions.
It wasn't very wise!
This doesn't mean that saving strength was wrong.
Considering that they might face stronger opponents later, and their current opponents weren't that strong, saving strength was a safe strategy.
In previous regional games, the Seidou High School baseball team and other top teams often didn't send their main pitchers at the start, waiting until necessary.
But this approach had a premise—these players and the team had already coordinated very well, and missing a game or two didn't affect their strength.
However, that's clearly not the case here.
This team still had huge flaws and wasn't well-coordinated.
Under these circumstances, saving strength was a questionable decision.
Sawamura wasn't sure whether he should admire his Coach's confidence or complain about his naivety.
But he can't really complain, as Japan was trying something new, which they had not much experience with.
In any case, the upcoming matches were something they had to face.
Regardless of how things went before, when it was his turn to play, Sawamura would still go all out for the win.
The host country, Taiwan, had an advantage during the group stage.
Their opponents weren't strong, and they quickly secured victories.
They became the second team from Japan to advance to the next round.
Next up, they were facing the American team, which was said to be the second strongest after the Dream Team.
They confidently declared that they would challenge Sawamura.
These proud prodigies couldn't wait that long.
They were in a rush to challenge Sawamura.
No wonder they were called the strongest team. They really gathered quite a few elites.
They also had a super pitcher with a 150 km/h fastball, and a terrifying batter with a reported batting average of 60%.
They even had a player who hit three home runs in the first game.
It was said that the pitchers facing them were nearly crying.
After all, they had won in the qualifiers, so didn't they deserve some respect?
As for Japan's true strength, that remained uncertain.
So far, no one had forced them to play at full strength.
Because their opponents weren't strong, they won easily.
If the rules hadn't prevented them, they might have finished the game in seven innings.
As for Japan's next opponent, it would be decided in the last round's match.
South Korea vs Cuba.
The fourth and fifth-ranked teams in the world.
Two teams with rankings close to each other—one representing Asia and the other representing the Americas.
Although neither team was the strongest, both were very representative of their respective baseball strongholds.
The outcome of their match was also seen as a phenomenon.
If Cuba loses to South Korea, then three of the top four teams will be from Asia.
Only America, the baseball kingdom, would have made it to the top four.
After the match, Coach Takeda was interviewed by the press.
The reporters' questions were sharp and pointed out all the flaws.
The most cutting one came from a journalist from Japan.
In Japan, reporters were everywhere.
They often joke that if you cut in line, you might end up on the news that night.
This shows how many reporters there are in Japan.
Given the number of reporters, the standards naturally varied.
Some were true masters with excellent on-the-spot reactions.
The reporter who asked Takeda the question was clearly a master.
Not only did he have strong on-the-spot reactions, but he also had robust professional knowledge.
He noticed the same issue that Sawamura had.
"Why didn't Coach Takeda have his players go all out in this game?"
…