When Ooshima from Chiben Gakuen Junior & Senior High School’s second baseman failed to make the double play at first base, allowing the third batter Kenshu Yasuda to safely reach base, the entirety of Koshien Stadium erupted in jubilant cheers.
Two outs, bases loaded, and up next was the extraordinary high school-level hitter Lin Guanglai, who has already hit 6 ho runs in the tournant so far, setting a new record since 93 years ago—just the thought of what might happen next was enough to send waves of excitent through the spectators in the stands.
"Fourth batter! Lin Guanglai!! He’s here!!!"
Marked by the excited voice of the sports comntator, Lin Guanglai stepped out from the dugout, slowly moving towards the ho plate—his steps were firm and steady, his expression serious and focused; his handso face alongside the black and gold tal bat in his hand shimred brilliantly under the sumr sun.
As he made his way towards the batting area near ho plate, the live signal from Asahi TV was reviewing the spectacular performance of his 6 ho runs in the previous three gas—such dazzling footage also stirred the emotions of the viewers in front of their TVs, making them feel as if they were about to witness history once again.
anwhile, the stadium PA announced again:
"Fourth batter, pitcher, Mr. Lin!"
"Fourth batter, pitcher, Mr. Lin!"
Many of the spectators in the stands had already stood up—so of them took out their caras, setting them up before focusing their lenses on Lin Guanglai; the girls gazed at the tall silhouette at ho plate, their eyes revealing complex emotions.
The hearts of countless people were stirred by him alone, the entire stadium’s fans spellbound because of him.
Seeing this, the comntator couldn’t help but remark:
"Bottom of the seventh inning, two outs, bases loaded, coming up for Waseda Industries is their star player, the extraordinary high school-level monster, Lin Guanglai."
"This is Lin Guanglai’s fourth at-bat in today’s ga—his previous trips to the plate resulted in two hits, one being out, and 1 run batted in; such performance naturally qualifies as competent, even excellent, for any regular fourth batter."
"But I believe, for Lin Guanglai, who boldly declared before the ga that he hopes to hit another ho run today, this is rely his ordinary level of play—and now, once again, the opportunity is before him, how will this super hitter, who has hit 6 ho runs in the previous three gas, perform in this at-bat?"
"Dear spectators, let’s watch closely together—perhaps this will be another mont when new history is made."
At the sa ti as the comntator was stirring emotions, Ono Yohei on the pitcher’s mound began his pitching motion.
Outside the player area near first base, Chiben Gakuen’s coach Kosaka Shosang stood with his hands on his hips, looking stern: Actually, even before this at-bat, he had been hesitant about whether to change pitchers—after all, judging from the previous at-bats, Ono Yohei was almost at the end of his tether facing the pressure from Waseda’s batters, letting him continue pitching might lead to disaster;
However, switching out the ace at this point, the second pitcher who’d co in hasn’t had much ti to warm up, what if he collapses under pressure? Wouldn’t the team then lose a key player for nothing?
After much consideration, Kosaka Shosang ultimately decided to place his hopes on the ace, hoping that he could lead the team through this predicant.
Ultimately, Kosaka Shosang suffered from being inexperienced—for the current situation, his experience was still lacking, making it inevitable that his decision-making was sowhat indecisive.
Returning focus to the field, facing soone of Lin Guanglai’s caliber, Ono Yohei dared not be complacent, the balls he pitched were mostly aid at suppressing the batter’s swing space, hence facing so issues in control.
After two balls, he didn’t even manage a single strike count—not to ntion tricking Lin Guanglai into swinging, standing in the batting area from start to finish except for the preparatory bat swinging, Lin Guanglai barely moved at all.
This left Ono Yohei mired in his own conundrum, stuck between advancent and retreat:
Bases loaded, facing the opponent’s strongest hitter, Ono Yohei genuinely wanted to pitch into the strike zone, but the imnse pressure left him sowhat helpless, while the tantalizing pitch wasn’t even enticing to the opponent’s batter;
But if he were to walk the opponent with four balls, not to ntion the potential boos from the audience, just losing one more run was sothing Chiben Gakuen could ill afford at the mont; moreover, according to the team’s pre-ga research on Lin Guanglai, he certainly knew that this man had the capability to turn a bad ball into a long hit, recklessly walking him might even worsen the situation.
Stealing a glance towards the sidelines at the coach, Ono Yohei hoped to receive so direction but found not only himself, but even their young coach was furrowing his brows, contemplating the next move.
After a soft sigh, Ono Yohei refocused—at this point, it seed like all he could do was grit his teeth and keep pitching.
With a swing of his arm, a push forward, a white flash surged fiercely towards ho plate.
At the very mont, Lin Guanglai moved—it was his first action this at-bat.
Watching the fast-approaching baseball towards ho plate, he smoothly swung his black and gold bat—the ball’s position was sowhat high, but it was indeed within his preferred range, the confidence of a power hitter left no room for hesitation, decisively choosing to seize this opportunity.
The tal bat carved a lethal shadow in the air, striking the forthcoming baseball with precision and power.
"Clang——!!!"
Alongside the crisp, loud strike sound, ca the massive cheers from the entirety of Koshien Stadium.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh——!!!!!!"
"Lin Guanglai! He swung at that ball!!"
"Ahhhh! The timing was perfect, and the power was sufficient!"
"Will it go out? Will it go out!! Will it go out!!!"
In the stands, nearly 50,000 spectators acted in unison: They lifted their heads high, shielding their eyes from the dazzling sun, while quickly searching for the trajectory of the baseball with their gaze.
The white ball, under everyone’s watchful eyes, traversed the entire distance of Koshien Stadium, flew over the center field’s ho wall, then smashed heavily onto the scoreboard above the field.
With a "bang," not rely was it the sound of the scoreboard colliding with the baseball, but also the sound of Chiben Gakuen players and supporters’ hearts breaking.
"Grand Slam!"
"Lin Guanglai! His performance continues!"
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