"Now it's the bottom of the ninth inning, two outs, runners on first and second, the count is 3 balls and 2 strikes..."

"Osaka Tsubaki, they are leading Urawa Academy by a narrow margin of 3:2... The baseball elite of Osaka Prefecture, participating in the Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament for the fifth time in two years—this time, can they create a brand new history for the team and reach the semifinals for the first time in school history, becoming the first team in this tournament to advance to the top four?"

"From the footage, we can see Fujinami's expression is very serious—just one more good pitch, and he can lead Osaka Tsubaki forward, launching the final assault for the school's first win in history!"

On the pitcher's mound, when Fujinami Jintaro set his sights on the batter at home plate, he found that the opponent was also staring at him—the left-hander in the batting box, Hayashizaki Ryuya, the second hitter representing Urawa Academy from Saitama, was ready, poised to send his teammates home with a hit at any moment.

For Osaka Tsubaki, this match has been quite tough; or in other words, the three matches they have played in this tournament so far have not been easy at all.

The reason is simple: the main player Mizuhara Gakuto's luck in drawing lots has been so bad that everyone has complained countless times over the past week.

In the first game against Hanamaki East High School representing Iwate, though the opposing team's overall strength wasn't strong, they had a super high school-level genius player like Ohtani Shohei—in that match, in the bottom of the second inning, the first at-bat by the opponents saw Fujinami Jintaro give up a home run to right field, and by the fifth inning, the team was trailing 0:2;

If it weren't for the opportunity they seized when Ohtani Shohei's stamina reached its limit, plus a string of defensive errors by Hanamaki East's players, who knows how that game would have ended—in the subjective view of the players, the intensity of that game was nothing like what the 9:2 scoreline suggested.

In the second round, their opponent was Kyushu Academy representing Kumamoto, one of the top baseball schools in the Kyushu region. Like Osaka Tsubaki, they were an A Level team, highly regarded by professionals;

And in terms of experience, the players from Kyushu Academy were much stronger than Osaka Tsubaki: the main lineup made up of second-year students had participated in the past three Koshien tournaments, and not many newcomers nationwide receive such treatment.

Facing such an opponent, the second-round match naturally turned into another grueling battle: the two sides were tied 3:3 in the first eight innings, evenly matched; not until the top of the ninth inning did Osaka Tsubaki manage to rely on a sudden surge from the lower batting order to secure the winning 2 runs—this included a two-RBI double by Fujinami Jintaro, who was batting eighth.

And today, in the third round, Osaka Tsubaki drew Urawa Academy representing Saitama, another A-level team like the previous Kyushu Academy, having won the autumn Kantou Conference two years in a row, their strength equally formidable.

In today's qualifying final, Urawa Academy's ace Yamaguchi Rui performed exceptionally well, not allowing any runs in the first six innings and giving up only 4 hits, leaving the luxurious Osaka Tsubaki lineup with empty hands; even after the bottom of the eighth inning, Urawa Academy maintained a narrow 2:1 lead.

But, what makes Osaka Tsubaki a championship favorite is their players' not only high quality, but also their resilient hearts—a diamond forged through multiple reversals and narrow defeats over the past two years. No matter the predicament, this Tsubaki always remains calm, waiting for the turnaround in the game to arrive.

Yet another success in the top of the ninth, another reversal—Osaka Tsubaki's core batters launched a continuous offensive in the top of the ninth, overturning the score to 3:2; and now, they were just one step away from their first Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament top four in history.

On the mound, Fujinami Jintaro took a deep breath; with a fluid and smooth pitching motion, the baseball quickly flew from his hand—this was an inside cutter aimed at left-handed batters, and the pitch control was quite precise.

Watching the ball flying toward him, Hayashizaki Ryuya made up his mind, quickly adjusted his batting stance, and decisively swung the bat.

"Clang—"

Feeling the tingling sensation in his palm from the hit, he watched the baseball quickly fall to the ground and roll toward the shortstop. Hayashizaki Ryuya quickly threw down the bat and sprinted toward first base with all his might.

Though this ball didn't make it out of the infield, his speed was fast enough that there might still be— might still be a chance to reach base—just as long as he got to the bag first, Urawa Academy would still have a chance, they would still have...

"Pop." The baseball was securely caught by Osaka Tsubaki's first baseman, Oike Yuuya, which also marked the last out of the entire game.

On the mound, Fujinami Jintaro raised his arms in celebration, while over twenty-five thousand spectators gave a warm round of applause to the players on the field.

"Reversal, reversal, reversal—if there was a keyword to describe Osaka Tsubaki, this would be it; three games, three reversals, this team showcased to us the charm of high school baseball with their absolute strength and resilience, reminding everyone that until the game is over, no one has a reason to give up—just like the old saying goes, a baseball game starts in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs!"

Having continuously commented on Osaka Tsubaki's matches, even the commentator found it hard not to applaud such a team—after defeating several championship favorites one after another, Osaka Tsubaki now possesses all the conditions to win the Koshien: a powerful and balanced team roster, rich tactical reserves, a coaching team with sharp awareness of game situations, and the resilient championship heart facing any adversity...

With Osaka Tsubaki first advancing to the finals, the discussion about their semifinal opponent finally emerged—the second match on the 11th day of the tournament, Waseda Industrial School faces Naruto High School, the winner will confront Tsubaki in the semifinal showdown.

And this suspense did not keep Takayama's audience waiting for long, just over two hours later—

"Swing and a miss strikeout! Three outs! The game is over!"

"Waseda Real! 9:1!! For the second consecutive year, they've reached the top four in Senbatsu!!"

"The defending champion VS the biggest favorite! Lin Guanglai VS Fujinami Jintaro!! Audience friends! Is there a more perfect result than this?"

"The duel we wanted to see, it's here!!!"

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