No outs, runners on first and third, and the teammates have clearly lost their momentum again—Lin Guanglai knows that he must make a move.

Quickly, he responded:

"Swing and miss, strike out! Batter is out!"

"Ah—this is indeed the Waseda Jitsugyo we know, and this is indeed the Lin Guanglai we recognize! If anyone can resolve the current situation, it definitely has to be him!"

Facing Teikyo's third hitter, ace pitcher Ito Takuro, Lin Guanglai took charge with precision and ruthlessly struck him out.

The situation on the field remains with runners on first and third, but they have finally achieved a breakthrough with one out.

Don't underestimate the importance of this out: With this out, Waseda Jitsugyo can now aim for a double play via a ground ball situation without conceding a run.

Of course, the premise is to eliminate Teikyo's fourth batter, Matsuboto Gou:

In all the media analyses and evaluations on Teikyo Junior & Senior High School, the name Matsuboto Gou often appears—180 cm tall, weighing 80 kg, with quick feet and a strong arm, he's an all-round three-faceted shortstop who makes hitting long shots seem as easy as eating or drinking.

Facing such a typical cleanup hitter, Lin Guanglai and Uesugi Yasuyuki's pitching strategy is naturally focused on suppressing his power hitting—low outside corners, full-force fastballs aiming to achieve positive ball count from the opponent!

On the pitcher's mound, Lin Guanglai flicked his arm, and the baseball shot out from his fingertips, leaving a shadow as it flew like a bullet straight towards Matsuboto Gou at home plate.

The speed of the ball was recorded on the big screen above the outfield: 150 km/h!

In the batter's box, seeing the incoming pitch, Matsuboto Gou smiled: Over the past few days, they've trained intensively against such fastballs—this is exactly the pitch they've been waiting for!

Gathering strength, pulling back the bat, twisting, and swinging!

Rather than swinging with full strength, Matsuboto Gou aimed towards right field, deliberately maintaining a small swing for a base hit.

The baseball was solidly struck by his bat, taking off in a strong line drive back into the field, putting Waseda Jitsugyo instantly on high alert defensively.

In left field, Sato Ken was sprinting at full speed to catch the ball before it could hit the ground; behind him, Kenshu Yasuda from central field was also dashing relentlessly to back him up.

However—

"Matsuboto Gou! A crucial hit! He didn't opt for his signature full-power swing but instead smartly directed the ball towards right field—caught everyone in Waseda Jitsugyo off guard, truly brilliant hitting!"

"Teikyo Junior & Senior High School scores 2 first! They've broken through Waseda Jitsugyo's defense in this focal battle!"

"Heisei Monster Strategy complete success!"

On the pitcher's mound, Lin Guanglai pursed his lips, feeling anger at his performance—this one, he was clearly outplayed by the opponent's calculations; furthermore, judging from Matsuboto Gou's batting strategy, Teikyo Junior & Senior High School must have prepared extensively against his full-force fastballs.

After thinking about it for a while, he shook his head, discarding all these chaotic thoughts from his memory palace; looking at his somewhat bewildered teammates beside him, Lin Guanglai clapped his hands and loudly encouraged them:

"It's only the first inning! A 2-run deficit is nothing to worry about—let's hold off this inning, and then show them our strength!"

After conceding 2 runs to the opponent from his hands, Lin Guanglai's body language became increasingly animated—this is only the first inning, for every positive ball count he achieved, he would shout loudly, both to intimidate the opponent and energize his teammates.

But at the same time, his mind became increasingly calm—he no longer worried about Matsuboto Gou on the bases, letting him move around at his side—calmly resolving the batters was now his main focus.

Moments later—

"Strike out! Sides switch!"

Six balls, two strikeouts, the enraged Lin Guanglai went full force, swiftly resolving the subsequent two batters, achieving the two outs needed to end the inning.

As players walked off the field, the atmosphere was like ice and fire: over on the Teikyo side, although they couldn't capitalize on sending Matsuboto Gou from third base home, scoring 2 runs against Lin Guanglai in the first inning filled them with confidence for the rest of the game, with smiling faces all around;

At Waseda Jitsugyo, players' facial expressions mirrored their current emotions: self-blame, frustration, anger—teenage players are especially vulnerable to emotional swings, not to mention that over the past months, as the stronger team, Waseda Jitsugyo rarely found themselves trailing in the first half of a game.

Just when the mood in the player area threatened to remain somber, Lin Guanglai stood up again—back in the dugout he quickly geared up with batting equipment and protective gear, then grabbed his bat and headed outside.

Approaching the exit of the player area, he energetically spoke to his teammates:

"Is our batting weaker than Teikyo? Since Teikyo wants to go head-to-head with us, we'll give them exactly what they want!"

"A 2-run deficit is merely a matter of one swing—regardless of what everyone's thinking now, all I know is that the last inning was tough for me, now this inning, I want to make it just as tough, if not tougher, for them!"

Saying this, he stepped out to the open field to practice his swings.

Shortly after, other Waseda Jitsugyo batters also geared up, following him in a stream as they moved out of the player area, swinging bats behind Lin Guanglai.

Soon, the field was tidied up by the staff, Teikyo players entered with laughter and ease for defense; in contrast to the elated Teikyo players who had gained an early advantage, Waseda Jitsugyo's players wearing stern expressions as they entered the batter's box—clearly, not only were the coach and captain dissatisfied with their previous inning's performance, even the players found it unacceptable.

Consequently, during batting, Waseda Jitsugyo players swung with remarkable intent, their aggressive posture inducing fluctuations in Teikyo pitcher Ito Takuro's mindset.

Under Chongxin Shen Zhong's persistence, Ito Takuro made an error in control, as a fastball over 135 km/h directly struck Chongxin Shen Zhong—though Chongxin Shen Zhong held back without making a sound, after a slight pause, he trotted over to first base.

Seeing the lead-off hitter successfully reach base, in the first base rest area, Izumi Minoru made a decisive gesture towards home: first touching his cheek, then place his right hand on his left wrist—Chongxin Shen Zhong and Matsunaga Kenta understood this to be a signal for a small ball tactic.

"Clang—"

The baseball was bunted out by Matsunaga Kenta, while Chongxin Shen Zhong had already started running in advance from the pitcher's leg lift—sacrificing an out, Waseda Jitsugyo sent Chongxin Shen Zhong to second base.

Following that, Kenshu Yasuda wasn't asked to deploy the small ball tactic—his fly ball, though far enough, descended too slowly giving Teikyo's outfielders enough reaction time, eventually resulting in a sacrifice fly to advance Chongxin to third base.

Two outs, runner at third, Waseda Jitsugyo steadily pushing their base positions forward, with the lineup's order reaching the fourth batter, Lin Guanglai.

In professional baseball, many renowned batters merely stepping into the batter's box can exert immense pressure on the opposing pitcher—clearly, in today's Koshien arena, Lin Guanglai is beginning to emanate that presence.

Ito Takuro didn't control his first two pitches well, and one even nearly hit Lin Guanglai; fortunately, Lin Guanglai reacted quickly dodging in time, getting walked to base would have been too uncomfortable.

Several subsequent pitches were either let go by Lin Guanglai or hit foul.

Soon, the count reached 3 balls, 2 strikes.

After examining several pitches back and forth, Lin Guanglai gauged Ito Takuro's pitching rhythm and trajectory fairly well.

After a brief adjustment, Ito Takuro pitched again—Lin Guanglai in the batter's box focused intently on the ball in Ito's hand, gripping the bat tightly and drawing it back, readying himself.

In his view, the trajectory of the baseball was so vivid, almost as if in slow motion.

"Inside corner!"

"Fastball!!"

"I can hit!!!"

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