Lin Guanglai fixed his gaze tightly on the baseball tossed by Uesugi Yasuyuki, then gathered strength, stepped forward, and swung the bat—the bat collided with the slowly pitched baseball, enveloping it with force, and then sent it flying in the direction of the pitch—the tiny baseball quickly turned into a small white dot, and flew out of the field.
Standing behind the guardrail throwing the ball, Uesugi Yasuyuki, seeing this hit, gave a thumbs-up to Lin Guanglai, who was batting, and encouraged him, "Very good, very good, Guanglai, your hitting has clearly improved!" Then he pitched another baseball towards Lin Guanglai.
This was Lin Guanglai’s daily routine training a few weeks after school started—practicing hitting five hundred times a day, with weekend training doubled—under the combined effect of plenty of practice and talent, Lin Guanglai’s hitting had made noticeable progress compared to before—of course, it still needed the test of actual games.
Just as Lin Guanglai was thinking this, Mr. Izumi gave the order for everyone to gather. Once all team members were assembled, this kindly-faced old supervisor said with a smile:
"I see that the first-years have almost adapted over the past couple of weeks, so should we consider scheduling our Red and White Game, where the first-years play against the upperclassmen?"
Upon hearing this, the upperclassmen team members, like hungry wolves, one after another shouted to Izumi Minoru:
"Red and White Game! Red and White Game! Red and White Game!"
"Supervisor, it should have been arranged earlier, we can’t wait any longer!"
"Exactly! How can we not carry on such a great tradition?"
"We will warmly welcome our juniors!"
On the other hand, among the first-years, the atmosphere was entirely different: although Lin Guanglai was eager to challenge the seniors, most of the first-years were still a bit nervous.
—After all, for most high school baseball boys, the disparity between third-years and first-years is often like the difference between first-string players and cheerleaders, a chasm between them. Facing the seniors, one is sure to be beaten down—it’s even worse if it affects the supervisor’s evaluation and leads to not getting into the first team, which would be a loss.
Seeing the changing expressions of the first-year students, Supervisor Izumi found it somewhat amusing, so he comforted them: "First-years, don’t be so tense, it’s just an internal welcoming match—you don’t need to worry about how you perform in this game, just like I said before, mistakes are also part of the growth experience."
"The main purpose of this game is to let you see the strength your seniors have gained through hard work—some of them weren’t even as good as you when they were first-years."
"Relax, don’t feel pressured, you arrange your starting lineup and batting order yourselves this time—everyone, enjoy the fun of playing baseball with friends."
The Red and White Game was scheduled for the following afternoon. After the big training session that day, a group of first-years gathered to discuss strategies for the game—but made no substantial progress.
Eventually, under Uesugi Yasuyuki’s instigation, and through a first-year team vote, everyone unanimously decided to throw the responsibility onto the strongest Lin Guanglai—after displaying his skills during daily training, the first-year rookies were all impressed by him; after all, at the end of the day, baseball is still a sport that worships the strong.
"The capable should do more, right? Guang-kun, you’re so strong, we’ll rely on you for tomorrow’s game, hahaha." One of Lin Guanglai’s new teammates, an outfielder named Ogata Kazuyoshi, patted his shoulder and said.
To this, Lin Guanglai felt somewhat helpless, "You guys... be serious, damn it!", but in the end, he still accepted this responsibility.
Before the Red and White Game started, Lin Guanglai gathered the first-years, forming a circle, and announced the lineup and batting order for the game:
"Batting first, Ogata Kazuyoshi, Left Fielder."
With each announcement, the gathered first-years would express their encouragement and support for the starting players with applause.
"Batting second, Yagaki Kentaro, Right Fielder."
"Batting third, Uesugi Yasuyuki, Catcher."
"Batting ninth, Lin Guanglai, Pitcher."
After announcing the starting lineup, Lin Guanglai had everyone gather a bit closer and shared his thoughts:
"For today’s game, I want everyone to go onto the field with the mindset of wanting to win."
"Think carefully, even though the seniors said they would go all out to show us their prowess, in their eyes, they definitely won’t take us 100% seriously—that is our opportunity."
"Believe in yourselves, believe in your teammates, stay focused on the field, give it your all with every defense, and swing with all your might with every bat, as long as we do this, I am convinced we have a chance to beat the senior team members!"
Lin Guanglai’s words evidently had an effect, as the other first-year newcomers, feeling his determination, one after another, offered their support:
"Don’t worry, Guang-kun, as an outfielder, I’ll make sure to catch every high fly ball!"
"Exactly, we infielders will fight hard to perfect every defense play!"
"We will definitely hit Suzuki-senpai’s pitches!"
The first-year’s several pairs of hands stacked together and then swung upwards with force:
"1, 2, 3, First Years! Go!!!"
On the other side, the upperclassmen team wasn’t as tense as the first-years—having played in Koshien qualifiers, such a small internal game was nothing more than routine for them.
"Looks like quite a few spectators have come today, tsk tsk; they must have come to see how we crush the first-year rookies, haha~" commented Manabe Kenta, the main shortstop of the upperclassmen team, who is currently a second-year student.
For most of the upperclassmen, in their minds, today’s game was bound to be a one-sided performance with no suspense;
—after all, although this year’s first-years have a prodigious player like Lin Guanglai, baseball, in essence, is a team sport: no matter how strong a pitcher is, they can’t ensure their teammates will never make a mistake; and even Lin Guanglai, facing a formidable batting line-up composed of sophomores and juniors, it’s impossible for him to not concede any runs.
"Kenta, did you forget what I usually say? Never underestimate your opponent, no matter who they are!" the team captain Suzuki Kensuke reprimanded the somewhat complacent Manabe Kenta.
Chastised, Manabe Kenta stuck out his tongue and went off to practice swinging with embarrassment.
"The first-years have a lot of momentum." said Tsuchiya Ryota, the main catcher of the first team and the team’s vice captain to his pitcher partner.
"Yeah, after all, they have a genius pitcher like Lin Guanglai in their class, the presence of a good pitcher can really boost one’s confidence." replied Suzuki Kensuke.
Hearing this, Tsuchiya Ryota couldn’t help teasing his partner, "Aren’t you afraid the first-year freshmen might snatch your main pitcher position?"
To this, Suzuki Kensuke replied, "Ryota, after being pitching partners for three years, don’t you know by now what kind of person I am?"
"If Guanglai-kun can truly show abilities surpassing mine, it will only be a good thing for us—I want to go to Koshien, I want to stand on Koshien’s pitcher’s mound to pitch—therefore, as long as it benefits the team, I will welcome it with open arms."
With that said, Suzuki Kensuke picked up his glove and headed towards the warm-up area, but before he left, he tossed back one more sentence:
"Besides, you’re underestimating me a bit."