From the moment Lin Guanglai defused the bases-loaded crisis as soon as he took the field, the game entered a delicate balance.
A midsummer afternoon is the hottest time of the day, and as the players on the field continuously lose stamina, the pitchers’ performance declines the fastest; the number of errors by other defensive players also increases——But despite that, neither Konan nor Waseda Jitsugyo was able to widen or narrow the score gap during this time.
After four innings, the score remained 5:0, with Konan High School leading.
Top of the fifth inning, Waseda Industries on attack, and the lead batter for this half-inning was the fifth batter, Tsuchiya Ryota.
After half a month’s consecutive full-pitch games, Shimabukuro Hiroshi’s stamina reserves were also basically exhausted, and while facing Tsuchiya Ryota, his pitching showed fluctuations——2 strikes and 4 balls, under Tsuchiya Ryota’s sharp eye for choosing pitches, Shimabukuro Hiroshi gave away a walk.
Throwing the bat aside, Tsuchiya Ryota trotted all the way to first base; once on base, he didn’t settle down, constantly pressuring Konan’s infield defense by taking leads and returning.
Up next was the sixth batter, Sugai Natsuki, who seized on a weakly suppressed inside pitch thrown by Shimabukuro Hiroshi, hitting a semi-high ball through the infield.
The baseball landed on the grass in front of Right Field, allowing Sugai Natsuki to reach first base.
The commentator in the commentary box also keenly noticed the change in the situation:
"Ah——Top of the fifth inning, Shimabukuro’s condition is showing significant fluctuations, the side effects of consecutive full games are now clearly apparent."
"No outs, runners on first and second——This is definitely the best opportunity for Waseda Industries in this game!"
Konan High School called a timeout, not only to give their ace some time to adjust but also to cool down Waseda’s momentum.
This timeout was later considered to be effective: the seventh batter, Fukasawa Kouta, was caught by Shimabukuro Hiroshi’s low outside pitch, hitting a ground ball towards third base——If it weren’t for Tsuchiya Ryota’s lead being enough for him to reach third base quickly, this ball might have resulted in a triple play for Konan!
Ooshima Kousuke at the shortstop position saw Tsuchiya Ryota nearly reach third base, so he didn’t try to get him; after receiving the rolling baseball, he directly threw the ball towards second base;
Guoji Continent caught the ball, lightly stepped on second base, and then accurately threw the ball into the glove of Mae Hira at first base——when this series of actions was completed, Fukasawa Kouta still had a considerable distance to first base.
"Brilliant defense! A swift and precise double play, worthy of a championship-level team, the adjustment speed is really fast!"
In just one at-bat, the situation on the field reversed: two outs, a runner on third——Waseda needs a hit to score.
All the pressure now fell on Kakiwara Yosuke.
From the pitcher’s mound, Shimabukuro Hiroshi took a few deep breaths, swung his arm, and released the ball.
"Clang——!" Unexpectedly, Kakiwara Yosuke swung at the very first pitch he faced at the plate.
Disregarding whether the ball would be caught, after hitting it, Kakiwara Yosuke immediately dropped the bat and sprinted towards first base without looking back.
Seeing the baseball shooting towards third base, the Alps Stand let out gasps of surprise; the ball’s drop point was really troubling for Konan’s defensive players.
Ooshima Kousuke, through judging the trajectory, realized he couldn’t catch the sharply hit ball in time, so he adjusted his position, catching it into his glove after it bounced, and passed it to first base.
Confirming that the defensive players around third base weren’t paying attention to him, Tsuchiya Ryota immediately sprinted towards home plate as soon as the ball bounced to the ground.
"Pop." The baseball flew into Mae Hira’s glove; almost simultaneously, Kakiwara Yosuke’s foot landed on first base. Follow current novels on ɴovᴇl(F)ɪre.ɴet
"What about this ball? Did Kakiwara successfully reach base?!" The TV commentator voiced the thoughts of all the players and spectators.
In the stadium, tens of thousands of eyes simultaneously looked towards the direction of the first base umpire——The ball was too close to call, probably only the umpire could discern the sequence.
Under everyone’s gaze, the first base umpire stretched out both hands and waved them forward——"Safe!!!"
The Waseda players’ area near first base and the Alps Stand erupted into enthusiastic applause——After five fierce innings, they finally broke through the opponent’s impregnable defense once.
Standing on first base, behind Kakiwara Yosuke was his own cheering section——The fans praised his performance with unreserved zeal, leaving him a bit startled, being someone from the lower part of the batting order.
As the stadium broadcast blared, the Alps Stand for Waseda erupted into a huge cheer once again:
"Ninth batter, pitcher, Mr. Lin."
Walking into the left batter’s box, Lin Guanglai used his cleats to shuffle the ground a few times, finding a relatively comfortable stance, and then got ready to bat.
Unlike the ninth batter in an ordinary team who usually goes up to the plate just to swing a few times as a formality, Lin Guanglai is formidable, and the players from Chukyo University and Kantou Number One should be the most aware of this.
With two outs, a typical bunt wouldn’t apply much pressure to Konan; hence, Lin Guanglai adjusted his stance in this at-bat.
He stood slightly more towards the outside of the batter’s box, leaving Shimabukuro Hiroshi a wide space for outside pitches——Outside pitches can induce many swings and misses, but they also leave the batter enough room to swing, making them an excellent way to hit a long ball.
Knowing Lin Guanglai’s prowess, Konan’s defensive players didn’t dare to treat him like any ordinary ninth batter, evident from their caution in pitching.
On the first pitch, Shimabukuro Hiroshi quickly released the ball, and it flew towards the inside corner——Lin Guanglai thought it was hittable and swung his bat to catch the inside pitch.
The baseball entered the catcher’s mitt of Yamakawa Daisuke, who was ready for it; Lin Guanglai’s swing hit nothing but air.
From the batter’s perspective, the early half of the pitch behaved almost like a fastball, until it sharply dropped just in front of home plate——it was only at this moment that Lin Guanglai realized he had been deceived by a forkball.
To this, he didn’t develop any negative emotions——Batters are inherently at a disadvantage against pitchers, and if getting tricked by one or two pitches made one upset, it’d be better not to play baseball at all.
At this moment, Lin Guanglai had only one thought in his mind:
"A vertical breaking ball? I’ll test a couple more pitches——If they dare to throw like that again, I’ll definitely hit a long ball to show them!"