Baseball: A Two-Way Player

"Ohhhh!!!!"

"Yes, we made it, we made it!!!"

"Aaaaahhhh!!!"

"Awesome!!!"

"Hahahahaha!!!"

"We're going to the Senbatsu!!!"

"Woohoo!!!!"

In the baseball club's activity room, the players erupted in ecstatic cheers upon learning that their team had successfully qualified for the Senbatsu tournament—they hugged each other tightly, shouting loudly, singing and dancing in celebration of this moment.

The thunderous celebration reverberated throughout the campus, startling other students in the academic buildings: one after another, they emerged from their classrooms onto the hallways, with puzzled expressions as they observed the baseball club members sprinting wildly in the corner.

Soon, the hallway of the entire academic building was crowded with students.

"What's going on, what's happening?"

"Has something great happened to the baseball club again?"

Meanwhile, in the office of the principal of Waseda Industrial School, the current principal of Waseda High School, Watanabe Shigeo, also received a confirmation call from Takano Ren about the school's participation in the Senbatsu tournament.

Then, the campus broadcast was turned on:

"Good afternoon, students. We have an announcement about the baseball club."

"Confirmed by Takano Ren, our school will participate in the 83rd Senbatsu tournament!!!"

The broadcast echoed throughout the campus, repeating the announcement several times; when the broadcast stopped, the students in the hallways also erupted in loud cheers.

"Great!!!"

"The baseball club rocks!!!"

"We're going to Koshien again!!!"

For these Waseda students, although they couldn't participate in the games as players, the experience of supporting the team at Koshien last summer was unforgettable for many, a cherished memory for life—and now, the baseball club's success instilled a sense of shared honor among all of Waseda's students.

The baseball club members continued to revel in joy, their jubilant celebrations recorded meticulously by the Daily News cameras, to be broadcast as pre-tournament coverage material.

Meanwhile, the hundreds of students in the hallways waved towards the direction of the baseball club members, loudly expressing their congratulations:

"Congratulations on making it to the Senbatsu!!!"

Hundreds of voices together created a powerful force like streams merging into a river—seeing this scene, even the seasoned Daily News production team members were moved.

Not long after, other media outlets heard the news and rushed to the scene, seizing the opportunity to interview the Waseda players and capture first-hand news.

As the most popular captain and core player of the team, Lin Guanglai naturally became a focal point for various media.

When asked about the team's goals for the Senbatsu, facing the somewhat aggressive reporters, Lin Guanglai confidently gave the same answer as before:

"As a prestigious team, Waseda's goal is singular and unchanging."

"Nationwide victory."

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After confirming their participation in the Senbatsu, Waseda's training plan had to be adjusted accordingly—to ensure the team reached competitive form before the tournament, Mr. Izumi and the coaches intensified the training regimen, increasing the frequency of internal matches—until inter-school games resumed, this was the only way to get into game rhythm, which was the same for every school.

Time moved to February, and during this period, Waseda Jitsugyo Baseball Club organized an official graduation ceremony for the third-year players who had retired earlier.

The club specially borrowed a large classroom and decorated the hall as grandly as a New Year's celebration.

All third-year students dressed in formal attire, and the juniors also attended in their best clothes, with seniors and juniors taking photos together to commemorate the occasion.

For the third-year club members, the feeling of leaving wasn't heavy—unlike other schools where graduates scattered far and wide upon graduation, these third-year members of Waseda Jitsugyo Baseball Club had already decided to continue their studies and play together at Waseda University's baseball team.

Rather than the sadness of departure, the anticipation for the future became the main topic among the third-years—during casual chats, Tsuchiya Ryota brought up the special recruitment situation of Waseda University's baseball team for this year:

"Waseda University's baseball team did so well this year and lost three ace pitchers, it is said that the new supervisor Ookamura Tatsuya is planning drastic changes!"

"From what I know, Arihara Kouta from Guangling and Nakamura Shougo from Celestial Principle have already accepted invitations from Waseda University."

"Kensuke, we need to keep working hard once we are in university—or else we might not even make it to the main team!"

Sitting beside him, Suzuki Kensuke nodded solemnly, evidently agreeing with his partner—competition in university baseball is naturally more intense than in high school, as there are only so many prestigious universities, leading to a tendency for skilled players to cluster.

At the end of the graduation ceremony, the third-year students gathered with Mr. Izumi and Chief Sasaki for a group photo.

Before leaving, former captain and vice-captain Suzuki Kensuke and Tsuchiya Ryota found Lin Guanglai for a commemorative photo.

Looking at the junior beside him, Suzuki Kensuke patted his shoulder and earnestly said, "Guanglai, we're counting on you to lead the team!"

Tsuchiya Ryota added, "Guanglai, perform well in the Senbatsu—we, your third-year seniors, will all be at the Hyogo venue during spring break, so don't let us down!!!"

With the end of the graduation ceremony, the Waseda Jitsugyo Baseball Club officially entered a new era—as Suzuki Kensuke looked back after departing, the tall and upright figure in the crowd was still as prominent.

He had a premonition that the coming years would be the golden era for the Waseda Industrial School Baseball Club.

On March 5th, Takano Ren's ban on external matches was officially lifted—from this day forward, Waseda played one or two practice games almost daily with various teams in the Tokyo Region.

The opponents varied in skill, and the outcomes of the matches were both wins and losses—as the start of the Senbatsu tournament drew closer, Mr. Izumi sought to use these games to practice, rapidly bringing the team into competitive form.

Everything was progressing steadily for the better, but just about half a month away from the Senbatsu's start, an unexpected event occurred.