In the preparation area of Nihon University Tsurugaoka, the atmosphere was eerily silent. Everyone sat stupefied, lost in thought, even those who wanted to boost morale were unsure how to begin.
The scoreboard above Shengong Stadium clearly displayed the current situation: 7 innings finished, Nihon University Tsurugaoka 0:3 Waseda Real.
The score difference wasn’t large, sometimes it’s just a matter of half an inning; but even the most loyal supporters of Nihon University Tsurugaoka probably weren’t too confident about a comeback now.
The reason was simple, Lin Guanglai was just too terrifying today: 7 innings finished, he’d already struck out 12 batters, except for one walk, other Nihon University Tsurugaoka batters hadn’t even seen what the first base bag looked like.
Anyone facing such a pitcher in a flow state couldn’t help but feel a sense of helplessness.
Seeing his players in such a downcast state, the Nihon University Tsurugaoka’s manager, Hagiyama Homi, didn’t scold them but calmly spoke to them:
"Kids, lift your heads."
Upon hearing the manager’s voice, everyone at Nihon University Tsurugaoka raised their heads one after another: self-reproach, pain, helplessness, all sorts of emotions mixed on their faces.
"Listen, kids, don’t think about anything related to the outcome now, okay?"
"Don’t think about winning or losing the match, focus on small things in front of you — let’s aim to hit at least one safe hit in the next half inning, okay?"
"We defeated Sakura Meilin, turned the tables on Nihon University, we’ve come this far, is it just to be the last stepping stone for Waseda’s victory and become the butt of jokes?"
"Also, stop making those miserable faces, okay? Don’t forget why we’re gathered together here."
"If baseball doesn’t bring us smiles, doesn’t bring us joy, then what’s the point of everything we’re doing?"
"Smile, kids, smile! Let me, the opponents, and everyone supporting us here see our smiles!"
With that, the manager Hagiyama Homi set the first example, showing an enthusiastic smile to everyone in front of him, then laughed out loud, "Hahaha."
Under the influence of the manager, the players of Nihon University Tsurugaoka were stunned for a while, but soon began to let go of their inner burdens:
They all started laughing too—first with forced smiles, then self-mocking laughter, and finally, everyone burst into loud laughter together.
"Hahaha, Ichidoko, you haven’t hit a safe hit as the third slugger yet, have you?"
"Haha, you have the nerve to talk about me, who was it that bumped into me causing us to lose points just now?"
"Yuichi, do you remember that thing when we first joined the team in freshman year, it was..."
"Hahahahaha, being able to play baseball with everyone, it’s really great to be here!"
As the captain and main player of the team, Ogaki Yuichi stood up and seized the moment to tell his teammates:
"Everyone, don’t think about the results of the game! Now let’s go up and enjoy this match!"
"Osses——!!!" was the enthusiastic cheer from everyone at Nihon University Tsurugaoka in response.
"Ah, this ball was chosen well by Tsurugaoka’s batter Asano, making Waseda’s Lin send out his second walk of the game."
On the pitcher’s mound, Lin Guanglai frowned.
Although he didn’t know what happened, he could clearly feel that Nihon University Tsurugaoka’s state had improved a lot—
Just at-bat, he and senior Tsuchiya replicated the pitching strategy from earlier innings, intending to strike out the batter through inducement;
However, the opposing batter clearly was more patient, not swinging unless it was obviously a good ball, leading Lin Guanglai to pitch his second walk of the game.
As the game unfolded, the situation became clearer:
The top of the eighth inning should be the last chance for Nihon University Tsurugaoka: if all goes as planned, manager Izumi should switch in senior Suzuki after this inning to close the game—facing the well-rested senior Suzuki, honestly, Lin Guanglai believed that the opponents had no chance at all.
If that’s the case, then it’s time to speed up!
Aiming a gesture towards Tsuchiya Ryota who squatted behind home plate, Lin Guanglai indicated he would speed up; the other nodded knowingly and gestured ’OK’ with fingers between his legs.
Lift foot, gather force, twist, fling arm—the baseball was thrown from Lin Guanglai’s hand, flying towards home plate like a bullet.
146km/h, 142km/h, 144km/h, 141km/h...
Having started seven innings, Lin Guanglai began to speed up again in the top half of the eighth inning, consistently pitching fastballs over 140km/h, leaving Tsurugaoka’s sixth batter Ohtake Ryota suffocated—1 ball, 3 strikes, Lin Guanglai effortlessly struck Ohtake out.
Then, facing Tsurugaoka’s seventh batter Higashihama Shota, Lin Guanglai continued to demonstrate his smooth control and excellent form to the audience both on site and in front of the TVs—he could always place the ball at the edges and corners of the strike zone, always causing great discomfort for the batters.
After maneuvering to a 2 balls 2 strikes situation with the batter, Lin Guanglai pitched his signature large curveball, faced with this sudden large curveball, Higashihama Shota could only watch the ball in awe, helplessly out.
On the sidelines, Izumi Minoru observed the situation on the field and constantly nodded; when he decided to have Lin Guanglai start in the finals, he indeed had a bit of a gambler’s mindset; after all, young pitchers are a double-edged sword, just as likely to harm oneself as the opponent.
Fortunately, Lin Guanglai didn’t let him down: no wonder he was a talent he personally discovered, outstanding skills aside, the key is having a great heart—even professional-level pitchers might not have this quality.
Seeing the situation approaching its conclusion, Izumi Minoru looked at Suzuki Kensuke sitting on the bench behind him, gesturing to him:
"Kensuke, go warm up. After this inning, you’ll replace Guanglai and close the game."
On the bench, Suzuki Kensuke didn’t move.
Thinking Suzuki Kensuke hadn’t heard, Izumi Minoru raised his voice again: "Kensuke, Suzuki Kensuke, warm up and prepare to close the game!"
Suzuki Kensuke’s expression was a bit strange, then hesitated and asked:
"Manager, do you really want to substitute me in? Would you like to... reconsider?"
"Reconsider what? The game’s tone is pretty much set, Guanglai has performed well today, it’s time for him to rest."
"But I think, um... Guanglai himself probably isn’t very willing to leave the field, manager."
Hearing this, Izumi Minoru showed a puzzled expression: "What do you mean by this?"
After a moment of silence, Suzuki Kensuke chose to reveal the truth:
"Manager Izumi, haven’t you noticed... that Nihon University Tsurugaoka until now, aside from two walks, hasn’t hit a single safe hit?"