As Munetaka Murakami walked to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, with the tying run at second and the winning run on first, Japan's 22-year-old third baseman likely wanted to consider this moment his first at-bat of the game. Banish from his mind all thoughts of his four previous trips to the plate: three strikeouts and a foul popup, a heavy 0-for-4 collar that dropped his WBC average down to .190.
But here was a final chance for redemption – and an opportunity to send his team to the WBC championship game for the third time in five tournaments.