Baseball: A Two-Way Player

"Top of the ninth inning, Waseda Industries' offense, the batter stepping up is number five, catcher, Tsuchiya Ryouta."

With the broadcast from Koshien Stadium, Tsuchiya Ryouta, who has delivered an outstanding performance both as a catcher and a batter in this match, leaves the waiting area and stands outside the batter's box by home plate.

Since Suzuki Kensuke was unable to play in the subsequent games due to injury, he assumed the role of the team's captain on the field—now the team is trailing by one run, and there's only half an inning left. The sense of responsibility as a captain continuously drives Tsuchiya Ryouta; a sense of belief arises within him.

Due to being behind in the score, Tsuchiya Ryouta did not rashly swing the bat but instead carefully selected pitches from the beginning of the at-bat.

Shimabukuro Hiroshi's first pitch carried a probing intent—a low-corner slider with little drop.

The ball couldn't drop into the strike zone, getting caught by Yamakawa Daisuke outside the upper-right boundary of the strike zone.

Such blatantly off-track pitches definitely couldn't deceive Tsuchiya Ryouta; he stood motionless, showing no intention to swing.

1 ball, 0 strikes.

The second pitch was entirely different from the slow pace of the first pitch, whizzing over with strong spin—a fastball aimed at Tsuchiya Ryouta's body, causing him to quickly step back several steps to avoid it.

2 balls, 0 strikes.

In the top of the ninth inning, Shimabukuro Hiroshi showed fluctuations in his form, unable to pitch two consecutive balls into the strike zone—even a third-year pitcher relatively matured and with plenty of stamina cannot withstand the intensity of pitching complete games every time:

On the pitcher's mound, sweat continuously dripped from Shimabukuro Hiroshi's head, and he panted heavily, clearly reaching the point of exhaustion.

If this were a professional baseball field, the team's closer responsible for finishing the game would have replaced him before the start of the ninth inning; but this is high school baseball, the stage of Koshien—even a well-resourced private school often relies on their ace to pitch complete games.

Thus, bearing the fans' and teammates' expectations, Shimabukuro Hiroshi couldn't retreat—after some adjustments, he leaned forward and threw the baseball.

Tsuchiya Ryouta responded with all his effort as well—standing in the left batter's box, he gripped the bat with both hands and pulled it out forcefully.

"Clang!"

The baseball flew out under his powerful hit, tracing a perfect parabola in the air, landing in an unguarded area between left and central fields before any Konan outfielder reached there.

As the baseball bounced on the ground, Tsuchiya Ryouta sprinted along the infield lines—Konan's left fielder Irei reached down to retrieve the bouncing ball, then passed it to his advancing shortstop.

Seeing the baseball near second base, Tsuchiya Ryouta, who reached the second base bag, stopped his sprint without going further.

It's a double! Cheers erupted from the supporters in the Alps Stand of Waseda, as the hope of tying the score loomed at the top of the ninth inning with the first batter hitting a double.

The broadcast focused on the pitcher's mound, and Shimabukuro Hiroshi's expression wasn't good at the moment—he frowned tightly and muttered toward his catcher, clearly dissatisfied with his own performance in this inning.

The dual exhaustion of body and spirit, plus the relentless pursuit by the fierce opponents, worsened his plight—Shimabukuro Hiroshi gritted his teeth, attempting to rely on mental willpower to push through.

In the Konan dugout, after some deliberation, Manager Wakayama Yu raised his hand signaling towards the umpire:

"Change the pitcher," he said.

Clearly, Shimabukuro Hiroshi had reached his limit—continuing to pitch might not secure the win for Konan; even if Konan won against Waseda Real today, Shimabukuro likely wouldn't have the energy to pitch in tomorrow's finals.

Weighing all these factors, Wakayama Yu decided to substitute Kawamata Angi, their backup pitcher—although not as strong as Shimabukuro, Kawamata could be an ace in a typical school.

Initially surprised at being replaced, Shimabukuro Hiroshi nodded after seeing his manager's serious expression and chose to follow the orders.

As Shimabukuro Hiroshi walked off the mound, thunderous applause erupted in Koshien Stadium—even though he initially allowed 3 runs, his excellent performance left a deep impression on the spectators; the audience expressed their encouragement and admiration with applause.

After substitute pitcher Kawamata Angi and Yamakawa Daisuke threw a few warmup pitches, he signaled he was ready—from not too far away in the batter's box, Sugai Natsuki stood ready, poised to bunt.

But Kawamata Angi obviously didn't plan to allow Sugai Natsuki an easy bunt. Fresh and full of energy, he threw three high-speed fastballs each clocking around 140 kilometers per hour, cooling down Sugai Natsuki's intent to sacrifice bunt with 1 ball and 2 strikes, making him hesitant to act recklessly.

Subsequently, Kawamata Angi capitalized on Sugai's indecisive mindset with a beautiful outside slider to strike him out—the baseball precisely caught the lower-left edge of the strike zone, leaving Sugai Natsuki with no chance to respond.

Immediately striking out a batter after taking over, Kawamata Angi shouted from the pitcher's mound—a clear indication of his tension.

Perhaps a bit too excited, Kawamata Angi's control wavered in the next at-bat—after a 6-pitch battle, he walked Fukasawa Kouta, the seventh batter, with 2 strikes and 4 balls.

Not long after, Kawamata Angi had a chance to redeem himself—Kakiwara Yosuke, who had scored a go-ahead hit in the top of the fifth inning, was put out effortlessly in four pitches; if there were any shortcomings, it was that in this inning, Waseda Real's defense allowed Tsuchiya Ryouta to seize an opportunity of lapse in attention, successfully stealing third base.

However, this does not diminish Kawamata Angi's pivotal strikeout, bringing Konan High School just one out away from their first-ever Summer甲 finals appearance in the school's history.

The atmosphere in the stadium grew tense; fans on either side had fallen silent, softly praying for their respective teams—Konan fans hoping their team could quickly win before any more surprises unfolded; Waseda supporters pin their hopes on the next batter.

"Now—top of the ninth inning, two outs, men on first and third."

"Next up is Lin Guanglai, the player who created countless miracles in this tournament—can he save his team once more?"

Amidst all the attention, Lin Guanglai stepped into the batter's box.