Chapter 193: Chapter 77: The Last Pitch
"Swung and missed! Batter is out!"
"Waseda Industries, they are just one out away from winning the Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament!"
The excitable voice of the game commentator came from the TV—it was like music to the ears for Waseda players and their supporters, instantly transporting them back to the summer five years ago.
But to the fans of Tokai University Sagami High School, the same voice carried a completely different flavor: even though many had prepared themselves for the possibility of losing the game before the top of the ninth inning, when this moment was actually approaching, the bitterness and gloom overwhelmed them again, leaving them dejected.
On the first base side, in Waseda’s dugout, the players on the bench had all stood up early—they all knew too well what was about to happen with the game reaching this stage.
"Winning the Senbatsu! We’re going to become the Senbatsu champions!!!" shouted Ogata Kazuyoshi excitedly, shaking his teammates beside him.
However, no one had the time to pay attention to him. All Waseda players’ focus was on the current situation on the field—at this moment, many hearts were racing, and the pounding rhythm told them this wasn’t a dream! Waseda Industries, along with the players fighting for her, were genuinely about to become the Koshien champions!
Amidst the completely different mental states on both sides, the Koshien broadcast slowly sounded again— for Waseda, who was defending on the field, if everything went smoothly, this would be the final batting announcement of the tournament.
From Tokai University Sagami High School, third year player, Ushida Tetsuya slowly walked to home plate, stopping outside the right batter’s box on the left side.
The close-up from the broadcast camera showed Ushida Tetsuya’s extremely tense mindset at that moment, constantly adjusting his breathing rhythm outside the batter’s box, trying to calm himself and face the pitcher in a good state.
But Lin Guanglai wasn’t concerned with his opponent at this moment—after all, it was already the top of the ninth with two outs; focusing on the batter seemed almost meaningless at this point. Instead, he turned his body around, stood facing his own side, and scanned his teammates from first base one by one.
With a slight shift of his gaze, he could see each person’s eyes, and apart from the excitement and thrill, Lin Guanglai could clearly feel the emotions of "trust" and "dependence."
Gently nodding to each teammate behind him, Lin Guanglai turned his body back to face home plate— meeting the resolute gaze beneath Uesugi Yasuyuki’s heavy mask—they had been partners for many years, understanding each other’s thoughts without needing to say much more.
After confirming that everyone was in game mode, Lin Guanglai gently closed his eyes, slightly suppressing the excitement and thrill in his heart, and kept setting psychological cues for himself, telling himself "the game isn’t over yet."
When the familiar game feeling once again filled his mind, he slowly opened his eyes—through the TV broadcast signal, everyone across Japan watching the game saw this scene: a pair of mesmerizing eyes filled with nothing but firm confidence.
Lin Guanglai knew well that at this stage of the game, the initiative in the batter-pitcher duel was completely in his hands:
Tokai University Sagami had no retreat left; from then on, every batter’s turn was a battle for the team’s survival, and if they made even a single mistake, it would lead to irreversible consequences.
The first pitch, as with the previous two at-bats, was a consistent approach to pressure the batter right from the start—therefore, Waseda’s pitcher-catcher duo chose a high inside fastball.
Uesugi Yasuyuki signaled for Lin Guanglai to just throw with all his might on this pitch, leaving the rest to him.
On the pitcher’s mound, Lin Guanglai began immediately. Compared to the smooth and fluid pitching motion before, this pitch appeared more aggressive.
The moment the baseball left Lin Guanglai’s hand, it streaked through the sky like a meteor rushing towards home plate, heading straight towards Ushida Tetsuya’s high inside corner.
This pitch greatly restricted Ushida Tetsuya’s swing space as a batter, making it impossible to swing with full power even if he tried. Therefore, Ushida Tetsuya didn’t swing, opting to let it pass and gamble on the umpire’s call—the pitch’s position was ambiguous enough to warrant such a gamble.
"Pop." The baseball landed in Uesugi Yasuyuki’s glove; while catching, the crouching catcher subtly pulled the glove down a little.
"Strike."
The umpire’s firm call came from behind, and Uesugi Yasuyuki smiled slightly, knowing he had made the right move on this pitch.
For catchers, pitch framing is one of the ways they work to give their team an edge—in this at-bat, Uesugi Yasuyuki skillfully leveraged the umpire’s stereotype of Lin Guanglai’s exceptional control, leading to the umpire calling it a strike.
No balls, one strike, two strikes away.
The second pitch, a low outside slider—completely different from the previous pitch in both trajectory and type, aimed to pull the batter’s attention and space, using the significant contrast to outwit the batter.
As the baseball sped towards him, Ushida Tetsuya, having read the trajectory, decisively swung the bat!
"Ahhhhhhhh!!!" The atmosphere at Koshien Stadium reached its peak, the entire venue like a volcano about to erupt, releasing its passion.
"Swing and a miss! Swing and a miss!"
"It was a critical pitch, and Ushida Tetsuya failed to hit the outside slider!"
"The count is now no balls, two strikes—Waseda Industries is just one pitch away from the Senbatsu title!!!"
In stark contrast to the commentator’s excitement, Tokai University Sagami players in the dugout near third base seemed utterly despairing: they all leaned on the dugout fence, each looking blankly onto the field, with red eyes and making hoarse cries of desperation.
"Tetsuya, come on!!! Please, hit it out!!! Hit it... out..."
Seeing Ushida Tetsuya miss the swing, all of Tokai University Sagami players’ hearts sank to the bottom—they could no longer muster any words of encouragement, silently shedding tears seemed the least disruptive way they could think of for the players on the field.
Compared to the highly-publicized Nihon University and Luzheng Society, despite being last summer’s runner-up, Tokai University Sagami didn’t receive much anticipation from the media and experts—nobody believed they could replicate last year’s success, especially without the star high school pitcher Ichiyotai Shintaro.
But only Tokai University Sagami’s players knew, before coming to Senbatsu, they all put their hearts into it—many of them had experienced being the runner-up last summer, the bitter memory of that defeat pierced them deeply, making them even more eager to showcase their talents at Senbatsu.
They came to Koshien full of hope, gave everything they had, and fought their way onto the final stage by burning through their energy—was Tokai University Sagami going to falter at the last step before victory again? Was the dream of winning Koshien really going to remain unattainable for this group of them?
"Tokai University Sagami, go on—!!!"
"Ushida, come on! Please hit the ball out!!!"
"Don’t give up!!!"
The solemn cries from supporters came from the cheering section for Tokai University Sagami at Koshien—in this vast ocean of Koshien, the formation of Tokai University Sagami felt like a lone boat, swaying in the storm named Waseda Industries.
Amid the overwhelming momentum from the spectators, Lin Guanglai on the pitcher’s mound made his move.