But adults were adults after all. Coach Kunimi quickly recovered. He understood that although the opposing side was in astonishing form and their big move had been astonishingly effective, the gap in strength was real. Even in such a state, they were still the weaker side—provided he could reclaim their morale.
If the players' mentality collapsed, this game would turn into a slaughter.
As an old coach, though not a professional one, he was at least a longtime baseball fan with many years of coaching experience. He quickly noticed some issues. Their repeated attacks on inside corner balls did seem targeted, but there was another possibility: their signals had been deciphered.
For them to keep swinging and hitting such long hits was still far too exaggerated given their ability. Of course, it was also possible that they had improved. It was simply another possibility.
Then it was simple. Since he could not be certain, he would act as if it existed. He called another defensive timeout and personally walked onto the field.
The most urgent problem now was that the whole team had become too negative. The consecutive hits and attacks had left them not knowing what to do or how to win anymore. Deep down, some of them might even have thoughts of giving up.
"Coach!"
"The situation is critical. Takahashi, tell me what you feel first."
"Yes! It felt like they were targeting the ball trajectory! At the start, they swung at inside corner balls three times in a row. But their cleanup hitter was targeting the outside corner, and he stepped in without hesitation on that pitch.
It was probably directed by that person in their dugout. We can't predict which pitch they're going to hit at all!"
"Then don't try to predict it!" Coach Kunimi said