"Hello to all the high school baseball fans, good afternoon!"
"This is Hanshin Koshien Stadium, the 83rd spring, and the final day has finally arrived!"
"The champion of spring 2011 will soon be determined today!"
"Which team will hoist the symbolic blue-purple championship flag of the Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournant?"
"Is it Tokai University Sagami, who have reached the finals for two consecutive seasons and aim to make up for last sumr’s regret and achieve national dominance?"
"Or will it be Waseda Industries, entering the finals for the first ti in 54 years with their eyes on their second spring championship in the team’s history?"
"Today, we will witness the birth of a new champion together with over 40,000 spectators!"
As the live cara panned over the entire Koshien, the voice of the match comntary rang out clearly.
Inside the stadium, the players from both teams had completed their warm-ups; as usual, before the official start of the ga, the players gathered in circles to boost the morale of their teammates.
As the team’s captain, Lin Guanglai led the Waseda Jitsugyo Baseball Club mbers to stand outside first base, shoulder to shoulder, with hands resting on each other’s shoulders.
The stands erupted in the chaotic cheers of the audience, turning the entire Koshien Stadium into a massive furnace; amidst this fervor, Lin Guanglai and his teammates slowly closed their eyes, continuously inhaling and exhaling to calm their nerves and get into the mindset for the finals.
Compared to Tokai University Sagami, who have experience in Koshien finals, this batch of players from Waseda lacked experience; precisely because of this, they needed to find their rhythm in the ga faster than their opponents.
For a brief mont, Lin Guanglai felt like he was on an isolated island: the solid feeling of the soft earth underfoot and the emotions and warmth of his teammates connected through their arms—in this state, the pre-ga nerves and anxiety were soothed, and the chaotic emotions gradually subsided.
Opening his eyes again, everyone’s expressions turned resolute.
We’ve co such a long way, shed so much sweat and tears just to reach the finals stage; now, with the peak right in front of us, we have only one goal—
To bring the championship flag back to Tokyo!
At Lin Guanglai’s call, the 18 main players of the Waseda Industries Baseball Club extended their left hands, stacking them on top of each other—then, they raised their arms high towards the sky, as they shouted loudly in unison:
"Waseda!"
"Victory!"
"Let’s go!!!"
"Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh!!!"
Shouting several tis, expelling all the cowardice and anxiety from their bodies, the fighting spirit of Waseda’s players reached its peak.
On the other side, Tokai University Sagami felt the sa way, and even more so after tasting the bitter failure of last sumr—their fighting spirit was a few degrees stronger—for these players who have experienced failure, they are willing to give their all for this championship.
The pre-ga ceremony quickly finished, and due to the special nature of this tournant, the final had not invited any guests for the opening pitch, so after a brief adjustnt period for both teams, the match officially began.
In this match, from third base side, Tokai University Sagami, started on offense;
From first base side, Waseda Industries, started on defense.
"Buzz——Buzz——Buzz——"
The air raid siren sounded, and the ga officially started.
For Waseda Jitsugyo, the starting pitcher was still the team’s captain and ace pitcher, Lin Guanglai—by now, Lin Guanglai was already recognized nationwide as the top pitcher of this spring’s Senbatsu.
In this tournant, compared to his first year, the stronger and more accomplished Lin Guanglai demonstrated his perfect qualities as a starting pitcher:
With fastballs exceeding 150 km/h, a very skillfully executed breaking ball, and a strikeout capability far beyond his peers, he stood out among the high school players.
Standing on the pitcher’s mound, Lin Guanglai silently pondered his pitching strategy for this ga.
According to the pre-match data, compared to last sumr’s well-rounded team with excellent long-hitting ability, the current Tokai University Sagami had their long-hitting ability significantly weakened—they only hit 2 ho runs during the entire autumn season, the fewest among the final four;
Because of this, under the guidance of their coach, Mamoru Monma, the current Tokai University Sagami leaned more towards playing a small-ball ga, using bunts and wearing down batters to engage in a war of attrition.
And just less than twenty-four hours ago, Lin Guanglai had pitched seven innings in a ga; his arm was still sowhat heavy at this mont and not in his peak condition.
This strategy from Tokai University Sagami struck right at the weakness of Waseda at the mont: after all, compared to other prestigious schools with deep pitching reserves, Waseda’s bullpen has been a major concern throughout this spring’s Senbatsu.
Waseda had anticipated this long ago:
Before the ga, Coach Izumi Minoru specifically approached Lin Guanglai, reminding him not to get overly excited because of the finals and pitch with full power from the start, but instead to distribute his energy reasonably and prepare to complete all nine innings.
To this, Lin Guanglai readily agreed—over the past half year, he had put in a lot of effort in pitching, improving not only his pitch speed.
Lin Guanglai admitted to having a bit of vanity; rather than watching his teammates celebrate victory from Right Field at the end of nine innings, he indeed preferred to be at the center of attention among the crowd.
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