Baseball: A Two-Way Player

October 16, 2010, the 63rd Autumn Tokyo Tournament, preliminary quarterfinal.

Waseda Industries VS Tokai University Takarazuka.

As the umpire announced the start of the match, Waseda's leadoff hitter, Chongxin Shen Zhong, stepped into the batting area.

As the team's first batter, Chongxin Shen Zhong adhered strictly to home plate discipline, patiently facing off against Tokai University's pitcher, Ooi Shingo.

After several persistent hits against the opponent, Chongxin Shen Zhong capitalized on a control error by Ooi Shingo and successfully hit a high curveball to take first base.

Following him was the second batter, Matsunaga Kenta, who, despite the unfavorable count of one ball and two strikes, boldly swung at a ball that came flying into his sweet spot.

Matsunaga Kenta tightly gripped the bat with both hands and pushed, hitting Ooi Shingo's ball into an unmanned area in front of right field.

Although nearly a week had passed since the last official match, Waseda did not repeat the same mistakes as in the second round. Today, their offensive line quickly hit stride, continuously launching a tidal wave of attacks against Tokai University's defense from the onset.

On the Tokai side, after consecutive hits from Waseda's first two batters, their catcher Asakawa Shinji stood up from the ground, walked to the mound, and began to calm his pitcher.

"Ooi, don't rush, stay steady!"

"Just pitch it to him; we can face them head-on."

"Pitch the ball you want, I'll catch anything!"

Patting his pitcher's shoulder, Asakawa Shinji returned to the catcher's area behind home plate to squat down again; from Tokai's player area, other substitute players loudly cheered for their teammates on the field.

This display of momentum yielded results— Kenshu Yasuda, the third batter to come up, was tempted by an outside pitch from Ooi Shingo, resulting in a poor swing.

The baseball was hit into a weakly rolling ground ball, easily intercepted by Tokai University Takarazuka's shortstop, Akira Higashira.

Due to players on first and second base, those originally on base were forced into a running state when the ball was hit, compelled to dash toward the next base.

Tokai University Takarazuka, intercepting the ball in the infield, executed a routine 6-4-3 double play, resolving two batters in one go.

Of the three runners, only Chongxin Shen Zhong originally on second base escaped because of his large lead and quick start—

Akira Higashira, picking up the ball, initially intended to prioritize the runner heading for third, Chongxin Shen Zhong, but ultimately, wary of risks, opted to first eliminate the runners heading to first and second.

Two outs, a runner on third— the next to bat was Lin Guanglai.

Carrying the bat, Lin Guanglai stepped into the left batting area to the right of home plate, recalling information about Tokai University Takarazuka:

"Ooi Shingo, fastest pitch speed of 138 km/h, very precise control, and extremely skilled at vertical angle breaking balls like curveballs and forkballs."

In the batting area, Lin Guanglai assumed his batting stance, intending to observe further, not planning to swing early—of course, if the opposing pitcher exhibited an error immediately, he wouldn't miss such an opportunity either.

On the mound, Ooi Shingo leaned forward, swinging his arm to throw the ball.

From Lin Guanglai's perspective, the ball aimed at the upper edge of the strike zone— an awkward position which he didn't swing at, letting it fly into home plate.

The umpire behind home plate called a ball.

The second pitch, Ooi Shingo threw a curveball; starting at the middle-lower position of the strike zone upon release, by the time it reached home plate, it had dropped below the strike zone.

Lin Guanglai didn't hesitate, opting to swing hard— the baseball narrowly missed the bat, once again landing in the catcher's glove behind home plate with a "pop" sound.

Swinging with full force, Lin Guanglai's bat missed the mark due to the differing speeds compared to the first pitch, causing him to stagger within the batting area.

The speed difference between this pitch and the first one was substantial, even Lin Guanglai couldn't catch up with the change to hit the ball promptly.

Facing two consecutive breaking balls by Ooi Shingo in subsequent pitches, Lin Guanglai maintained home plate discipline, suppressing his desire to swing, letting a good ball go while also selecting a bad ball.

The count reached two balls and two strikes.

Then another curveball was thrown, and this time Lin Guanglai didn't repeat his previous mistake. Focusing on the trajectory, he firmly swung the bat towards the ball's falling spot.

"Clang!"

The bat and baseball collided forcefully, producing a crisp sound—though this hit by Lin Guanglai was accidentally in the reverse direction, the baseball soared high, passing the right field boundary.

The moment the baseball was hit, Lin Guanglai dropped the bat and sprinted out; from third base line, Chongxin Shen Zhong similarly charged back towards home plate.

To be frank, this pitch by Ooi Shingo was quite good, and the quality of Lin Guanglai's hit wasn't particularly high;

But the ball's landing spot embarrassed Tokai University Takarazuka's outfield, especially with left-handed Lin Guanglai at bat; their defense formation had slightly shifted right.

By the time Matsubara Kenta rushed over, scooping up the baseball from the ground and relaying it to a teammate, Lin Guanglai was already standing securely on first base.

Top of the first inning, Waseda Industries 1:0 Tokai University Takarazuka, giving the match an early lead.

For the players of Tokai University Takarazuka, their expressions showed little difference—

After all, their opponent was one of the nation's top four teams this summer; from the beginning of pre-match preparations, Tokai University Takarazuka's players had never considered preventing them from scoring entirely, and the current situation was within their expectations.

The fielders soon collected themselves, encouraged each other, and after preparing their defense, they secured the necessary third out against Hagiyama Mitsuo, the fifth batter on Waseda.

"Three outs."

"Switch offense and defense."

Both teams switched field positions, Lin Guanglai took an outfielder's glove from the bag and jogged to right field, beginning passing warm-ups with the other two outfield teammates.

On the Waseda side, starting pitcher Uchida Saint's performance today was impressive.

After being overwhelmed by a formidable opponent in the Summer甲, Uchida Saint returned from Koshien with great efforts, being the most dedicated and hardworking in both daily training and matches;

And his efforts paid off—bottom of the first inning, Uchida Saint first struck out Tokai University's leadoff batter;

Then, in the disadvantageous situation of runners on first and second, using communication and cooperation with his defense, Uchida Saint caught Tokai University's batter with a low outside slider, relying on this defensive play to secure a double play, finishing the inning without risks.

As the Autumn Tokyo Tournament schedule progresses steadily, Waseda's team performances are also increasingly improving—the offensive line continues to contribute steadily, and though the pitcher reserves are average, their suppression power remains satisfactory.

Everything seems to be getting better.