Baseball: A Two-Way Player

Although the match between Waseda Jitsugyo and Showa has ended, before the next match starts, the commentators responsible for this match are still discussing the exciting showdown that just occurred in the broadcast footage.

As commentators with semi-pro and even professional baseball experience, their perspective on the game is deeper and more professional than ordinary viewers'—precisely because of this, in summarizing this 4-round match, the commentators systematically evaluated the performance of both sides:

"I have to say, Showa High School's desire for victory today completely exceeded our expectations. The spirit and demeanor they displayed on the field are something that teams nationwide should learn from—facing a strong opponent, Showa's players indeed fought from the first second to the last moment of the match; such spirit is truly moving."

"However, although the score of 2:1 looks very close, it cannot reflect the real situation of the game—from the post-match statistics, this match, although back and forth in terms of action, was completely dominated by Waseda in content: 10 hits, 1 home run, 6 walks, and entering the scoring zone in 8 out of 9 innings—these offensive stats are undoubtedly extravagant, yet they couldn't widen the score gap, why is that?"

While the audience was puzzled by this, the commentary in the TV paused for a short while, and then resumed speaking:

"This leads us to mention Showa High School's main catcher today, Ogawara Takuma—it was his excellent guidance of the pitcher that kept the suspense of the game alive until the end."

"By analyzing Showa High School's data from the previous three matches, we can see that Ogawara heavily depended on outside breaking balls for pitch distribution during the previous local tournaments, rarely using inside pitches to suppress batters or directly confront them; however, in this match, facing Waseda's line-up filled with left-handed batters, Ogawara significantly increased the proportion of inside pitches in his strategy, repeatedly saving his team from peril through this method—this is a catcher truly playing with his brain!"

"Compared to their impressive defense, Showa's offensive strategy leaves much to be desired; when Uchida Saint's control became unstable in the seventh and eighth innings, their offense truly lacked patience, repeatedly gifting the opponent with strike opportunities, ultimately squandering scoring chances."

"For Waseda Jitsugyo, who aims to defend the West Tokyo championship and advance to the Summer Koshien for the second consecutive year, this match also serves as an alarm: leaving 14 runners stranded on base and Yagaki Kentaro facing scoring positions four times yet failing to seize any opportunities are issues their players need to address—after all, if the opponent were a school of Nihon University's caliber, even Lin Guanglai being on the field might not be sufficient given this batting line-up's condition."

"Of course, this match also has benefits for Waseda's players—in my opinion, at least, with the team's ace absent due to certain reasons, the players who were on the field managed to withstand the pressure and secure a victory against such outstanding opponents, which is quite beneficial for the team's overall confidence and state."

"It is foreseeable that once Lin Guanglai returns, the players, forged by this match, will stride towards their historic goal of winning the spring and summer tournaments consecutively for the seventh time."

...

As the match commentator said during the post-game review, advancing to the quarterfinals after a difficult nine-inning battle without the ace pitcher was undoubtedly a huge mental gain for Waseda's players.

Inside the return bus departing from Shengong Stadium's parking lot, though the physical fatigue can be felt after the match excitement subsides, Waseda's players are still lively in the back of the bus, sharing this hard-earned victory together.

In the players' gaze, Lin Guanglai stood up from his seat, smilingly expressing his emotions; his words were brief, yet the passion contained within them stirred everyone's hearts once again.

"First, I want to apologize to everyone; if it weren't for my personal reasons, perhaps this match wouldn't have been so tough for you all."

"Today's match, everyone was really amazing—you make me genuinely proud to have teammates like you!!!"

"The performance in this match also strengthens my belief that we absolutely have the capability to accomplish those unprecedented achievements I mentioned before!"

"Using this match as the starting point, let's win the upcoming matches all the way—what we want to win isn't just the opponents in West Tokyo, but Osaka, Aichi, Kanagawa—our goal is the pinnacle of all Japan!!!"

"Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh—!!!" Stirred by his encouragement, the entire bus became lively once again; previously sleepy players regained their spirit—their immense enthusiasm threatening to blow off the bus's ceiling.

While Waseda's players celebrated their victory and looked forward to the future, in Iwate Prefecture in Japan's Northeast Region, the eagerly awaited final battle of the Iwate Conference was about to begin—the final contenders being Hanamaki East High School from Hanamaki City, and the tournament's dark horse, Morioka San High School.

The afternoon the day before the finals, Hanamaki East High School.

Ohtani Shohei, who has become the team's ace pitcher, was not practicing with his teammates; he was alone in the infirmary, undergoing examination by the team's doctor; by his side was the baseball team's supervisor, Sasaki You.

"Shohei, I'm really disappointed in you—why did you hide your injury of a muscle strain at the root of your thigh?"

Sasaki You rarely loses his temper at his prized student; however, at this moment, his face truly wore an expression of regret—a part of this expression because he blamed himself for not discovering any issues early on, leading to the current situation.

Ohtani Shohei did not speak, simply pursing his lips in silent acquiescence.

This silence lasted for a while, finally, it was Ohtani Shohei who couldn't withstand the pressure and spoke first, pleading:

"Supervisor, I know anything I say now is of no use, you probably won't let me pitch in tomorrow's final—but supervisor, I'm begging you, at least let me appear as a batter!"

"We're just one step away from Koshien, our dream is within reach, I don't want to fall at the last step!"

His sincere tone softened Sasaki You's attitude: "The problem is your leg; even if I let you play right field, how can you ensure you won't have issues?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Ohtani Shohei replied in a firm tone:

"Don't worry, supervisor—in the final, I'll take painkillers to play."

"Hanamaki East is definitely going to Koshien this year! This isn't just our dream, but also the hope of the entire Iwate, the entire Northeast Region's people."

"No matter the cost, we must win the match against Morioka San—even if it means burning myself out, it doesn't matter!"