Baseball: A Two-Way Player

Waseda Industries, inside the baseball club activity room.

The players sat in a circle, all eyes on Izumi Minoru standing at the center, listening attentively to his words.

"In the semi-final match, our opponent will be National Academy Kugayama from the same West Tokyo region. Some of you have faced them this past spring, while others have yet to experience their strength."

The match Coach Izumi was referring to took place earlier this year at the Tokyo Spring Tournament—back then, Lin Guanglai had just enrolled and hadn't made the team lineup yet; in the spring encounter, Waseda then secured a decisive victory with a score of 10:2, advancing to the semi-finals.

"I know some of you have already started thinking about how to play against Nihon University from the other bracket—let go of such impractical thoughts! Focus your attention on the opponent right in front of you!"

"National Academy Kugayama's new lineup is undoubtedly stronger than you imagine. Believe me, even the slightest underestimation of them will lead to our downfall!"

Symbolically coughing a few times, Coach Izumi cleared his throat and began to analyze the pre-match data for his team.

"First and foremost is our defense; this is crucial and cannot afford any mistakes."

"Take note that National Academy Kugayama is a team that loves to steal bases: in their last 5 games, they have successfully stolen bases 15 times."

"Their batting lineup has an average batting average of .350 and has hit five home runs; regarding this, Guanglai, adapt on the spot based on the field situation."

As he said this, Izumi Minoru turned to look at Lin Guanglai—he had decided to start Lin Guanglai to suppress National Academy Kugayama's lineup in the upcoming match.

While such an arrangement might impact Waseda's finals strategy, for a team aiming to head to the Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament, reaching the finals is the basic requirement—to secure a spot in the tournament, Waseda must at least make it to the finals.

Although officially stated that the team selections for the tournament are made by the committee with no clear standards, schools over the years have summarized some general patterns:

First, the right to participate in the Senbatsu Tournament is largely determined by autumn tournament results—this is a confirmed fact. The champions of each region's autumn tournament will automatically qualify for the tournament;

And the Tokyo Region, where Waseda is located, shares a spot with the Kantou Region—to secure a head start in obtaining a slot for the tournament, Waseda must defeat National Academy Kugayama and achieve at least the top two results;

If defeated by National Academy Kugayama, they can leverage this upset victory to earn favor with the committee, which could potentially end Waseda's path to the tournament.

This is the difference between spring and summer events—unlike summer, where it's a direct knockout and the competition is purely based on team state and hard strength, spring tournaments add many uncertainties due to the selection system.

This is why many schools with relatively average strength place their hopes for heading to Koshien in the spring—any breakthrough might allow them to compete as an inspirational school representative.

"We also need to pay attention to their starting pitcher, the first-year Kawaguchi Kiyotaka."

"Right-handed pitcher and batter, specializes in two-seam fastballs and sliders—note that although Kawaguchi is just a first-year, the data we have collected show that his fastest pitch speed had already surpassed 143km/h this summer, marking him a young pitcher with great potential."

"Additionally, this person also has commendable batting skills, serving as the fifth batter for their team."

"So, do you find this person familiar?"

Upon hearing this question from Izumi Minoru, many players laughed immediately, looking teasingly at Lin Guanglai, with a few mischievous ones even mock-whistling.

"Isn't this our own Dual Swordsmanship from Waseda? Are they doing a knock-off?"

"Hahaha, Guanglai, are you going to stand for this? I wouldn't take it if I were you."

"Exactly, exactly, in tomorrow's game, show that Kawaguchi what real Dual Swordsmanship is!"

Unfazed by the instigations of his teammates, Lin Guanglai simply smiled and waved dismissively, assuming a "none of my business" stance.

Of course, despite not outwardly showing direct hostility, as a young individual, Lin Guanglai had his share of pride—since we both are Dual Swordsmanship players, and both are first-years, let's clash directly in the game and see who indeed is the superior player.

October 23, 2010, Meiji Shrine Outer Garden Second Pitch.

As part of Shengong Stadium, Shengong Second Stadium was initially used as a Sumo Arena; it has been dedicated as a baseball stadium for student matches since 1961.

Compared to other fields, Shengong Second Stadium's most notable feature is its proximity to the audience—the sky-blue stands are built almost hugging the field; sitting in the stands, you can watch the players' every move from the closest distance, feeling as though you are one with them.

For Waseda's players, this was undoubtedly a brand-new experience—although Shengong Second Stadium is a dedicated venue for various Tokyo region high school baseball events, Waseda had never played a game there before.

Compared to the sparse crowd in earlier rounds, starting from the semi-finals, the number of spectators in the stadium visibly increased; the cheering sections organized by both schools also became much more grand.

Amidst the noise created by the entire audience, the semi-final match of the Autumn Tokyo Tournament at Shengong Second Stadium officially kicked off.

"Welcome to NHK's broadcast of the 63rd Autumn Tokyo Tournament semi-final match. I am your play-by-play announcer, Sugai Masakazu."

"In this match, the two sides facing off are the National Academy Kugayama High School from the Suginami District and Waseda Industrial School located in Kokubunji City."

"Leading off, third base side, National Academy Kugayama."

"Hitting second, first base side, Waseda Industrial."

"The starting nine for both teams have been announced, with both starting pitchers being first-year players talented in both pitching and hitting."

"Kawaguchi Kiyotaka VS Lin Guanglai, National Academy Kugayama VS Waseda Industrial."

"Now—ladies and gentlemen, let's look forward to the start of the match!!!"