Baseball: A Two-Way Player

With just three pitches, Lin Guanglai resolved the leading batter from National Academy Kugayama, showcasing his impressive competitive state today—having such a consistently performing pitcher bolstering the whole team naturally gives the other players more confidence to make their moves.

The second batter for National Academy Kugayama is their third baseman, Izumimiyama Yuuki. Usually, he plays a tactical role, aiding his teammates by bunting to advance them whenever Kiwazawa Kenya opens up the game for the team.

Of course, as the second batter for National Academy Kugayama, Izumimiyama Yuuki is no slouch: he's got blistering speed and excels in bunting—that's his forte—many times, using his long legs, he reaches base safely on balls that should have been easy outs; his speed puts immense invisible pressure on the defense when he's on base.

When facing a batter who threatens the bases so greatly, Lin Guanglai's thinking was straightforward—exchanging a glance with Uesugi Yasuyuki, the catcher-pitcher combo of Waseda Jitsugyo quickly locked in their pitching strategy for this at-bat.

At the start, Lin Guanglai was relatively cautious, focusing on luring the batter while pitching, but Izumimiyama Yuuki wasn't fooled, letting two tempting bad balls go by;

Seeing that the fishing strategy had little effect, Waseda Jitsugyo's pitcher-catcher duo decided to go on the offensive: Lin Guanglai sounded the horn to increase the pace before Izumimiyama Yuuki had fully reacted—instantly, the batter's advantage with two bad balls vanished.

For the decisive pitch that followed, Lin Guanglai opted for an inside fastball: the ball's entry point made the batter uncomfortable, and the angle and high spin rate further constricted the batter's swing space, making the feel of the hit exceptionally heavy.

Pressured by two strikes, Izumimiyama Yuuki was forced to swing, trying to hit the ball foul to buy time for a prolonged battle with the pitcher—but the ball didn't land where he wished:

The ball flew weakly into the infield, then rolled feebly toward third base. Although Egami Kenji was also just a newly starting player, such a simple play posed no difficulty for him.

Scooping the ball into his glove from the ground, Egami Kenji snapped his right arm, sending the baseball into the glove of Waseda Jitsugyo's first baseman Hagiyama Mitsuo, just a step before Izumimiyama Yuuki reached first base.

There's no denying, Izumimiyama Yuuki's speed is indeed formidable—Egami Kenji's handling of the ball was quick enough, but he still nearly failed to put him out.

Next up was the third batter, Matsuda Jin, who was fooled by Lin Guanglai's pitching, hitting a fly ball that drifted into the outfield, promptly caught by Shigetsugu Kenshu, guarding central field.

Three outs, ending the first half of the inning, and the sides switched fields.

As the head umpired announced the side change, Waseda Jitsugyo players swiftly ran back to their own dugout at the edge of the field, donning their respective protective gear according to the batting order.

Helmet, arm guard, knee guard, ankle guard—though not as demanding in terms of physical confrontation as soccer or basketball, proper protective gear is still necessary when facing a pitcher;

Otherwise, if the opposing pitcher misses a throw, a ball traveling at over 130, even 150 km/h could hit you, which would be quite unpleasant.

If it hits the buttocks or back, where there's more protection, you might just end up with some bruises for a week or two;

But if a fastball strikes the wrist, ankle, knee, or elbow, where there's less protection, it could potentially cause significant harm to a player's baseball career.

This is why, in professional games, when a pitcher throws a hit-by-pitch ball, it often leads to both benches clearing in a brawl on the field.

Just as Waseda Jitsugyo was gearing up for the offense, on the mound at the center of the field, Kawaguchi Kiyotaka of National Academy Kugayama seemed somewhat exhilarated.

It's not just Lin Guanglai who has his pride. For Kawaguchi Kiyotaka, who could also take on the roles of starting pitcher and central lineup batter as a first-year, he harbors his ambitions:

With his stunning performance this summer, Lin Guanglai has become a renowned high school player in all of Japan—regardless of whether the opponent knows him or not, at least to Kawaguchi Kiyotaka, he has already deemed Lin Guanglai his lifetime rival.

If today he can lead National Academy Kugayama to victory over Waseda Jitsugyo led by Lin Guanglai, creating history by advancing to the autumn tournament finals, Kawaguchi Kiyotaka is confident that all of Japan will see that West Tokyo has more than just Yoshinaga of Nihon University or Lin from Waseda Jitsugyo, but also him, Kawaguchi from National Academy Kugayama!

With this mentality, Kawaguchi Kiyotaka began his pitching—today he displayed an exceptionally impressive competitive form, his entire being like a blaze, determined to turn every obstacle in front of him to ashes.

Facing Waseda Jitsugyo's first batter, Chongxin Shen Zhong, Kawaguchi Kiyotaka struck him out with just four pitches:

Excluding one slider with slightly less control, Kawaguchi Kiyotaka's three winning pitches were all straightballs confronting the batter head-on—Chongxin Shen Zhong was thoroughly overwhelmed, ending his at-bat without even swinging his bat.

The second batter, Matsunaga Kenta, held firm to the home plate discipline and was ultimately fortunate: with the count at 3 balls and 2 strikes, facing Kawaguchi Kiyotaka's decisive throw, Matsunaga Kenta managed to suppress his urge to swing, standing rigidly in the batter's box.

Sure enough, the baseball, which looked like a strike from the batter's perspective, altered its path before reaching the home plate, sliding out of the strike zone.

With this walk, which had its bit of luck, Matsunaga Kenta tossed his bat in the direction of his dugout and jogged to first base.

Kawaguchi Kiyotaka, who issued the walk, initially appeared somewhat frustrated, clearly dissatisfied with his handling of that last slider—after all, the game had just begun, and his control hadn't yet peaked.

However, shortly after, it was as if something occurred to Kawaguchi Kiyotaka atop the mound, and the frustration on his face suddenly vanished, replaced by a strange smile.

The cameras faithfully recorded this scene, and both the commentators in the commentary booth and the viewers at home felt puzzled by Kawaguchi Kiyotaka's expression—"What exactly is he happy about?"

Only Kawaguchi Kiyotaka and his National Academy Kugayama teammates knew, that walk meant the two dual swordsmanships are destined to meet in this half-inning's game—everyone on National Academy Kugayama knew their small pitcher had been eagerly anticipating this matchup for a long time.

After using three pitches to easily retire the third batter of Waseda Jitsugyo, Kenshu Yasuda, Lin Guanglai, now the fourth batter, slowly stepped into the batter's box.

On the mound, Kawaguchi Kiyotaka felt every nerve in his body expanding, a thrill sweeping through him; with an intensely predatory stare, akin to a lion viewing its prey, he watched Lin Guanglai in the batter's box, wanting to devour him with one swift attack.

In the batter's box, Lin Guanglai was also watching Kawaguchi Kiyotaka on the mound—his gaze deep and tranquil, without even a ripple.

The clash of titans was imminent.