Baseball: A Two-Way Player

When Lin Guanglai's bat pierced through the defense of Kyushu Academy, a deafening cheer erupted over Koshien Stadium.

In the first pitch of the first at-bat, Lin Guanglai delivered a clean, graceful swing that pierced through Kyushu Academy's formation.

Even facing the opponent's heavy defense, Lin Guanglai relied on his exquisite batting skills to precisely hit the ball to a neglected area—faced with such an offense, the Kyushu players could only shake their heads helplessly: it wasn't that their defense was weak, but that the opponent's strength was simply too formidable.

As the broadcast camera began to replay this at-bat in slow motion, viewers in front of the television could feel what this swing contained beyond the result:

Otsuka Shonan's pitch, though not fast, showed a resolute attitude targeting the hitter's inside corner, the angle of the baseball was actually quite subtle—for most average hitters, this pitch might pass by unnoticed;

But only a talented player like Lin Guanglai could spot the discrepancy of about half a ball's width between the ball's entry position and the catcher's location—such a tiny opportunity was seized by Lin Guanglai, dealing a massive blow to Kyushu Academy.

Especially for the professional scouts and journalists in the stands, Lin Guanglai's performance in this at-bat brought them even greater shock:

"He got stronger again!!!" —This was the first thought that popped into many professionals' minds.

If last summer, Lin Guanglai's performance although impressive seemed fleeting and required more observation; then today, just from this at-bat, many scouts could conclude that he was undoubtedly an intensely driven player.

Compared to last summer when his batting relied more on talent and instinct, this year Lin Guanglai had started to integrate art and technique—considering he's only just entered his second year!

Such a player, given another year to hone his skills, even the professionals present couldn't quite imagine witnessing the birth of what kind of monster.

The game on the field continued.

At third base, surrounded by applause from the audience, Lin Guanglai handed his protective gear to a teammate and began distancing himself from the base, putting pressure on the opposing pitcher—his position away from the base was much further than in usual games.

Generally, most pitchers are right-handed, so when a player is on third base, due to facing the pitcher directly, they need to be particularly cautious about controlling their distance from the base, otherwise inattentiveness could easily lead to being picked off;

But there was no such concern in this game: Otsuka Shonan from Kyushu Academy was a left-handed pitcher, facing first base when pitching; if he wanted to pick off Lin Guanglai at third, he'd have to turn around before throwing—this amount of time was enough for Lin Guanglai to return to the base safely.

Of course, Otsuka Shonan at this moment was unaware of Lin Guanglai's actions behind him—his expression was somewhat solemn, all his attention focused on the batter in front of him.

Since the autumn tournament began, Waseda's latter half of the lineup hasn't been stable, constantly swapping places among the players—this current batting order on the field was settled after repeatedly being tested in practice.

Fifth batter, first baseman, 3rd-year, Hagiyama Mitsuo.

Standing over 185 cm tall, Hagiyama Mitsuo had a remarkably strong build, his arm muscles completely filled out the sleeves of his uniform; his batting average wasn't high, barely over .200, but his slugging percentage was among the top on the Waseda team, making him a bona fide power hitter with wild swings.

Due to his lack of speed and average defense, when Waseda's offensive power was relatively sufficient, Hagiyama Mitsuo didn't receive many opportunities to play—last summer, in Koshien, he mainly appeared as a pinch hitter in the later stages of matches;

After the senior players retired in the third year, the less defensively pressured first base position was vacated, and Hagiyama Mitsuo naturally took over this spot without question.

Kyushu Academy had also diligently studied Waseda before the match, and with someone on third base now, coupled with a power hitter at bat, Otsuka Shonan was feeling a bit overwhelmed amidst the dual pressure—it was, after all, his first time participating in such a major event during his high school years.

Izumi Minoru, standing outside the dugout on the third base side, gestured several signals to Hagiyama Mitsuo in the batting area, indicating tactical instructions; Hagiyama Mitsuo touched his helmet, signaling his understanding.

On the pitcher's mound, Otsuka Shonan repeatedly shook his head at his catcher; after finally deciding on the type of pitch, he leaned forward and threw the ball.

Facing the incoming ball, Hagiyama Mitsuo made a decision that no one expected—

A bunt.

Just minutes ago, this large man appeared ready to confront the pitcher head-on and hit the baseball out; now he gently horizontally gripped the bat and softly nudged the ball towards the area between first and second base.

As the baseball hit the ground, Lin Guanglai, already halfway to third base, sprinted swiftly towards home plate.

As a local top-tier team, Kyushu Academy responded quickly; Otsuka Shonan on the pitcher's mound rushed towards the location of the baseball, picked up the ball from the ground, and swiftly threw it towards home plate.

With Hagiyama Mitsuo's slow speed, he had only reached halfway to first base by this point, giving Kyushu Academy plenty of time to attempt a double-play—catch Lin Guanglai sprinting to home plate first, then throw the ball to first base to seal the inning.

But Lin Guanglai did not give them this opportunity, his speed was astonishingly fast—unbelievable for someone over 190 cm tall.

Just when the baseball left the pitcher's hand and was flying in mid-air, Lin Guanglai's long legs had already closed in on home plate. To ensure absolute success, as he neared home, he lowered his center of gravity, extended his right leg, bent his left leg under his butt, and slid directly towards home.

"Whoosh—"

The elastic fabric of the white baseball pants rustled against Koshien's infield dirt, kicking up a cloud of dust at home plate.

At this moment, Sakai Hongzhi Lang, who caught the throw from his own pitcher, placed his glove on Lin Guanglai's body.

But it was too late—before the heavy catcher glove touched him, Lin Guanglai's outstretched right leg had already landed on the home plate bag.

The home plate umpire, having observed the entire process, made the call without hesitation:

"Safe!"

Sakai Hongzhi Lang, failing the tag, showed some frustration, pounding the ground with his right hand; only when he heard the loud shouts of his infield teammates did he snap out of it—there was still a runner at first!!!

Hurriedly getting up, Sakai Hongzhi Lang immediately threw the ball towards first base; but with the tense situation and failed tag, his throw was way off target, flying past his own first baseman.

If not for the right fielder's focused defense and positioning behind, even at Hagiyama Mitsuo's slow speed, this wild throw could have easily advanced him to second base.

On the scoreboard above the field, next to "Waseda Real," the score changed to a big 3.

In trying to tag Lin Guanglai, Kyushu Academy literally lost the battle while already losing the war:

One out, a runner on first—Waseda declared their return with a dominant opening.