Baseball: A Two-Way Player

Autumn Tokyo Tournament, semi-final, Waseda Industries VS National Academy Kugayama.

The bottom of the eleventh inning begins.

Having held on during the top of the eleventh inning, all the pressure has now shifted to the players of National Academy Kugayama as the game enters the extended extra innings—any minor mistake at this point could end the game directly.

In this half inning, the first batter for Waseda is the second hitter, the shortstop, Matsunaga Kenta.

Kawaguchi Kiyotaka stands on the pitcher's mound, takes a deep breath to soothe his tense arm muscles, exchanges a glance with Yasushi Kikuchi, the catcher squatting at the baseline, and then nods before pitching the baseball.

After three pitches.

"Strike, batter out!"

The home plate umpire behind the plate made his call with exaggerated gestures—the first at-bat in the bottom of the eleventh inning saw Matsunaga Kenta unable to stay calm, falling into the deception of Kawaguchi Kiyotaka's pitches three times in a row and being swiftly struck out.

"Oh oh oh oh oh oh—!!!" The players' area and cheering stands on the third base side of National Academy Kugayama erupted in thunderous cheers, both celebrating their pitcher's brilliant performance and relieving their own stress.

You see, the reason why the beginning of Waseda's lineup is so challenging to deal with is largely because these players have high personal qualities and a wealth of game experience to support them—baseball is precisely a sport that requires experience.

Starting from the first batter, Chongxin Shen Zhong, followed by Matsunaga Kenta, Kenshu Yasuda, and Lin Guanglai, these first and second-year players quickly secured starting positions as soon as they joined the baseball team, participating in various competitions, including regional tournaments and even the Koshien.

And now, Matsunaga Kenta, with Summer甲 experience, yet missing all three swings at this crucial moment—how could the team and fans of National Academy Kugayama not be pleased with his misfortune?

The subsequent third batter, Kenshu Yasuda, although learned from his teammate's mistakes, still couldn't avoid being struck out:

Like his previous at-bat against Kawaguchi Kiyotaka, the opponent's slider, especially the outside corner slider, was too deceptive.

In the face of a full count and the dual pressure of extra innings and a tight pitcher's duel, Kenshu Yasuda couldn't suppress his urgent desire to open the game for the team, choosing to chase an outside low slider, missing the swing and getting struck out.

At this point, not only the sidelines, even the defensive players of National Academy Kugayama on the field were fired up, loudly cheering for their pitcher while constantly reminding teammates of the situation on the field:

"Two outs!"

"Just one more!"

"Hold it together, everyone!"

"We must defend this half inning!"

Bottom of the eleventh inning, extra innings, two outs, no runners on base.

The stadium broadcast begins announcing the next batter.

"Fourth batter."

"Pitcher."

"Mr. Lin."

Seeing the tall and imposing figure standing outside the batter's box, the entire Shengong Second Stadium boiled over again, like a pot of hot oil.

As Lin Guanglai stood firmly in the batter's box, eyes fixed on the pitcher's mound, assuming his batting stance, the spectators on the stands couldn't suppress their excitement, letting out involuntary screams:

"Oh oh oh oh oh! He's here! This is the moment we want to see!"

"Yes, yes, we came here just to witness such moments!"

Having been commentating solo for almost three hours, Sugai Masakazu's voice was already a bit hoarse, but he still spared no effort in creating an atmosphere for the upcoming at-bat:

"Bottom of the eleventh inning, extra innings, two outs, no runners on base."

"0-0, both sides tied."

"Once again, it's Lin Guanglai's turn, this first-year super high school-level prodigy to decide victory or defeat."

"This summer, we have already witnessed so many miracles created by this young man."

"In this game, as a pitcher, he has already delivered 18 strikeouts—this data is second only to his predecessor, Wang Zhenzhi's record of 20 strikeouts in a single game during the Showa 32 (1957) autumn Tokyo tournament."

"This time, as a batter, carrying everyone's expectations—can this phenomenon from Waseda once again etch his name into the records of history?"

On the first base side, the third-year members who retired after this summer were enthusiastically cheering for the team and Lin Guanglai; the game happening on the weekend meant that even though they had retired, the third-year members still regarded themselves as part of the team, all came to the site to watch the game.

Aside from a faint layer of fencing, the field and the spectator area had almost no separation—Tsuchiya Ryota leaned his whole body onto the railing, half of his body reaching toward the field, veins bulging on his forehead as he shouted loudly:

"Guanglai!"

"Hit it out!"

"Blow the opposing pitcher's ball out of here for me!"

In front of the players' area, Coach Izumi Minoru also gestured at Lin Guanglai—his intention was very clear, to let Lin Guanglai give it his all.

The umpire signaled towards the mound, indicating the at-bat to start.

Before the sound of "Play Ball" had completely faded, a baseball was fiercely hurled over from the pitcher's mound.

Lin Guanglai was not to be outdone, decisively swung his bat.

"Clang!" The baseball was hit foul.

No balls, one strike.

With the advantage, Kawaguchi Kiyotaka pressed the attack, pitching a steady fastball into the inside corner of the left-handed batter—quality very high, Lin Guanglai forced a swing and fouled again.

No balls, two strikes.

Two consecutive fouls upon coming to bat, undoubtedly a disadvantageous situation for Lin Guanglai—just one more strike and the game would need to be continued endlessly.

No time to consider the last pitch, the third ball was pitcher immediately.

This pitch was incredibly fast, its angle positioned very sensitively, making Lin Guanglai hesitant to let it pass—gripping the bat tightly, he pulled his upper body back, lightly lifted his lower leg, took a step forward, and twisted his body with the strength of his waist and abdomen, fiercely striking at the baseball.

The baseball, lifted from the low strike zone by his immense power, finally landed outside the right field foul pole.

Though still a foul, the count remained no balls, two strikes, but this sudden foul home run made the National Academy Kugayama's pitcher-catcher duo break into a cold sweat, significantly disrupting their rhythm.

Fourth pitch, ball.

Fifth pitch, ball.

Sixth pitch, ball.

Kawaguchi Kiyotaka's control suddenly seemed problematic, with three consecutive pitches failing to land in the strike zone—this bizarre state prompted National Academy Kugayama's Coach Takara Samurai to call a timeout.

The stands at Shengong Second Stadium echoed with cheers and claps, the exciting duel between pitcher and batter thrilled the audience; however, for the players on the field, such a duel was a double torment physically and mentally.

After a brief adjustment, Kawaguchi Kiyotaka returned to the mound, communicating with his catcher through signs—he didn't want this stalemate any longer, he wanted a decisive outcome between him and Lin Guanglai with the next pitch!

On the seventh pitch, Kawaguchi Kiyotaka took a big step forward with his left foot, then lowered his body towards home plate, his shoulder swinging his arm like a whip—he pitched.

"Fastball!"

"Will enter the strike zone!"

Determining this in the briefest moment, Lin Guanglai then began his swing preparation, gathering his weight onto the supporting back leg, driving his entire body for power.

"Bam!" His lightly lifted right foot touched down again, toes pushing against the dirt, his power concentrated and transmitted through the collective turn of his body onto the black and gold-colored bat in his hand.

"Clang——!!!!!"

The bat made perfect contact with the baseball, the strength, angle, and fluidity of the motion reaching a textbook-perfect level.

From the commentary box, Sugai Masakazu's gaze followed the baseball soaring into the stadium sky, watching the small white ball pass over the infield, outfield, and finally land beyond the field, his excited voice once again echoed through the television:

"Sayonara! Sayonara! Sayonara!"

"Lin Guanglai did it! He created a miracle once more!"

"A walk-off home run, he ended the game and crushed National Academy Kugayama's hope to advance to the Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament!"

"This is a monster! This is a phenomenon player—when you need him to step up, he never lets you down!"

"This is the final strike from a genius!!!"