This morning, Lin Guanglai woke up very early.
As he got out of bed, his roommate Uesugi Yasuyuki was still sound asleep—as his pitching and catching partner for many years, Lin Guanglai was long accustod to his snoring; however, such days were now down to their last two or three months.
Lin Guanglai had already decided to participate in the draft imdiately after graduating from high school, aiming to directly enter the world of professional baseball to continue pursuing his baseball dream;
Uesugi Yasuyuki, on the other hand, had told Lin Guanglai about his own decision: due to his excellent academic performance, Uesugi Yasuyuki would continue his education after graduation; although he could still play baseball in college as he did in high school, he likely would not pursue a career as a professional baseball player in the future.
This ant that the upcoming West Tokyo Conference, and possibly the Sumr Koshien, would be their last battle as a pitching and catching duo, leaving him with a sense of lancholy.
A myriad of complex emotions were swirling into real sensations, constantly bombarding Lin Guanglai—among them, there was both reluctance about the impending separation and anticipation for the brand new future after graduation.
Standing by the dormitory window for a while, Lin Guanglai suddenly shook his head vigorously, then stealthily slipped out of the room without disturbing Uesugi Yasuyuki’s sleep—rather than worry here, he might as well vent his excess energy on the training field.
After all, the last sumr was about to begin soon!
There was still so ti before the baseball team’s designated wake-up ti, and unable to sleep, Lin Guanglai ca down from the second-floor dormitory area, poured himself a cup of water, and sat alone at a table in the dining area, his mind racing as he recalled the already concluded spring season:
After the narrow defeat in the Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournant semifinals, Coach Izumi Minoru decided to focus on training in the upcoming gas, with the team’s goal shifting to a full-on push for the Sumr League qualification—given this context, in the Tokyo Tournant and Kantou Conference, Tanaka Justice naturally beca the team’s main pitcher during this period; Lin Guanglai, as the right fielder, returned to the fourth batter position, which he had played most frequently and was most familiar with.
In the Tokyo Tournant, Waseda Jitsugyo’s final result was reaching the semifinals: after winning five consecutive gas, they lost to the eventual champion, Teikyo Junior & Senior High School, in the semifinals;
Although they did not win the regional tournant championship, as a team that made it to the semifinals of the Spring Koshien, the Kantou High School Baseball Federation awarded Waseda Jitsugyo a recomndation school qualification, allowing them to play more matches.
In recent years, talents have been erging in the Kantou region, where top teams like Yokohama, Sakushin Gakuin, Kantou University Takasaki, Teikyo, and Kantou Number One reside; playing against these strong schools in actual gas is naturally good news for the current Waseda Jitsugyo.
Waseda Jitsugyo’s performance in the Kantou Conference was acceptable: in the quarterfinals, they lost 2:5 to Sakushin Gakuin, ending the spring season with a top-eight finish.
After the Kantou Conference ended, the entire team didn’t idle around—over the past half month, they practically traveled all over Japan; besides scheduling practice gas with several strong schools in the Tokyo region, they were also invited to Aichi for local warm-up matches.
Although they didn’t achieve any notable championships in the spring gas, the fact proved that the integration of high-intensity gas and training greatly benefited the players’ personal growth: at least judging from the team’s performances during this period, both offensive and defensive rotations had shown significant improvent.
For the upcoming West Tokyo Conference, the whole team was full of confidence, with their goal set firmly on Koshien.
Ti flew by, and today’s morning training adopted a modular grouping approach with several pitchers and catchers going to the bullpen for pitching practice, while infielders and outfielders practiced separately.
"Bang—bang—bang—"
In the bullpen, Lin Guanglai was standing on the artificial pitcher’s mound doing warm-ups before formal practice began, while Tanaka Justice, Yagaki Kentaro, and the team’s backup catcher Rikou Kenzo observed behind him, with Yagaki Kentaro holding a speed gun.
Though he didn’t start much during the subsequent gas of the spring, that didn’t an Lin Guanglai gave up on the refinent of his pitching skills; in fact, during this ti, he had been following the recomndations from professional baseball scouts, systematically improving relevant techniques, including further increasing his fastball speed and practicing the cutter as a regular weapon, all progressing steadily and surely.
The current session was focused on testing the maximum pitching speed.
As his body gradually ward up, Lin Guanglai’s pitching speed increased as well; watching the numbers on the speed gun fluctuate, the expressions on Yagaki Kentaro’s face beca more and more vivid and intense.
Numbers around 147, 148 kiloters per hour quickly vanished, replaced by over 150 kiloters, bouncing back and forth; soon, the numbers continued to rise, gradually breaking through the 155-kiloter mark, venturing into unknown territories that no one had ever reached before.
Listening to the intense impact of the ball hitting the catcher’s mitt from a distance, the observers constantly clicked their tongues in amazent, occasionally taking a sharp breath: many had seen fastball pitchers before—ubiquitous in the professional baseball world—but soone like Lin Guanglai, who could pitch like this while still in high school, was unprecedented.
Lin Guanglai continued his pitching, with the ball speed skyrocketing higher and higher, quickly surpassing his personal record of 156 kiloters per hour, showing no sign of slowing down, racing forward rapidly.
kiloters, 158 kiloters, 158 kiloters, 157 kiloters, 159 kiloters...
The onlooking team mbers’ eyes were wide open—from their perspective, when the baseball left Lin Guanglai’s fingertips, it was like a white lightning bolt, seemingly in his hand one second, in Uesugi Yasuyuki’s mitt the next, with a force like rolling thunder.
After pitching a straight ball at 159 kiloters per hour, Lin Guanglai threw several more, but the speed did not increase any further; noticing the pitch count limit for the training was approaching, he decided to slow his pace, rest a bit, and make one final attempt.
Raise leg, gather strength, twist, swing arm—after a series of smooth actions, Lin Guanglai sent the baseball forward with his right hand, releasing it at the throwing point.
For so reason, when he pitched this ball, he felt a peculiar sensation in his heart, as if it was telling him:
"This one did it!"
"Bang—" The echo from the baseball’s fierce collision with the mitt had not yet dissipated when Yagaki Kentaro’s excited shout was heard:
"160km/h achieved!"
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