April 2, 2012, Hanshin Koshien Stadium.

Day 13 of the tournament, the first match, Osaka Tsubaki versus Waseda Industries.

After finishing the pre-match interview and expressing his confidence in advancing to the Koshien finals for the third consecutive time, Lin Guanglai followed at the back of the squad, walking through the player tunnel into the Koshien Stadium.

Spring weather is always unpredictable, just like yesterday, when it rained all day long, leaving the entire Koshien infield wet and soggy.

"Ah—really nostalgic for last year's Senbatsu weather! Rain is so annoying..." Feeling the unique touch from the spikes on his shoes, Lin Guanglai couldn't help but complain to Uesugi Yasuyuki beside him.

Uesugi Yasuyuki also shared the sentiment, shaking his head and replying, "Spring weather is just like this, especially since Koshien Stadium is right by the sea; last year's Senbatsu where it didn't rain a single day is quite rare—I remember the news said it was the first time in over 80 years of Senbatsu!"

For these baseball-loving Takayama boys, rain is probably the least favorite and most unwanted condition for playing baseball:

Rainwater invades the field, making the infield dirt and outfield grass slippery, causing errors for both offensive runners and defensive fielders when they slip underfoot;

For pitchers, rainwater seeping into the seams of the baseball increases its weight even further, adding pressure to their pitching, and increasing the difficulty of control and endurance;

Persistent rain also affects a batter's vision, and a severe headwind might turn a promising long hit into a weak fly; if the infield becomes a swamp, the feeling is simply unbearable.

So Lin Guanglai can only hope, pray that it doesn't rain today—at least if it must rain, let it be after the match between Waseda Industries and Osaka Tsubaki is over; he doesn't want the game to halt halfway due to uncontrollable circumstances.

While the players were warming up on the field, the green stands of Koshien were crowded: this match between Osaka and Tokyo forces, a clash of champions and defending champions, drew over thirty thousand spectators—an incredible number for a Senbatsu match, not to mention the TV ratings.

The starting time quickly arrived, and amid the buzzing air raid siren, the umpire announced the official start of the match.

In this match, on the first base side, Waseda Real attacks first;

On the third base side, Osaka Tsubaki attacks after.

Under the watchful eyes of the audience, being the pioneer batter for Waseda Real in this match, Lin Guanglai emerged from the on-deck circle, striding toward home plate.

The broadcast director, adept in his duties, skillfully handled the live camera:

He first gave a close-up shot of the scoreboard in the outfield, with "1-Lin Guanglai-1" clearly visible, building an atmosphere of anticipation;

As the anticipation rose, the camera zoomed out and gradually focused on home plate, zeroing in on Lin Guanglai as he entered the batter's box, showcasing his face handsome enough to debut as a star on the big screen, extending for a good thirty to forty seconds;

Finally, the camera positioned behind home plate locked onto Fujinami Jintaro on the pitcher's mound, perfectly setting the stage for a cosmic clash between pitcher and batter.

During the walk from the on-deck circle to home plate, Lin Guanglai strategized his batting approach for this time at bat based on Fujinami Jintaro's technical features:

As the leadoff batter, his primary goal was to hit safely and get on base; but facing Fujinami Jintaro, a pitcher whose control wasn't extremely precise, adhering to plate discipline should be his top priority.

Lin Guanglai planned to watch one or two pitches first, and if Fujinami Jintaro's control felt off today, he might even prolong his at-bat to influence the opponent's mentality — pitchers become more prone to err under pressure, and if Fujinami Jintaro's mindset collapses, Waseda Real's chances of winning would increase significantly.

Soon, Fujinami Jintaro pitched the first ball.

"Thud."

"Ball."

A high ball on the outside, significantly far from the strike zone, with Lin Guanglai barely needing to judge, he knew from the initial trajectory that he could skip it — indeed, as analyzed pre-game, Fujinami Jintaro's fastball tends to drift to the upper right of the strike zone easily, potentially hitting the right-handed batter.

Gaining an advantage from the first ball, Lin Guanglai felt less pressured, able to boldly and aggressively watch one or two more pitches.

The second ball soon followed.

"Thud."

"Ball."

Another ball, though this time a slider aimed at Lin Guanglai's inside — truth be told, this pitch wasn't bad, but it still missed the strike zone by one to two ball widths, unable to deceive Lin Guanglai into swinging.

Despite throwing two consecutive balls and facing an extremely unfavorable situation, Fujinami didn't display any panic, merely communicated briefly with Mori Yuuya in the catcher's box before quickly releasing the third pitch.

Lin Guanglai swung and missed.

"Strike."

A 134 km/h vertical slider, with early trajectory nearly indistinguishable from a fastball, suddenly shifting upon entry and catching Lin Guanglai off guard, his bat flying just overhead the baseball.

Catching the ball returned by the catcher, Fujinami Jintaro took several deep breaths before closing his glove and promptly delivered the fourth pitch of the at-bat.

"Tock!"

This time, Lin Guanglai's bat connected with the ball, exerting tremendous force, directly sending the ball toward the first-base stands.

"Foul ball."

The count reached 2 balls and 2 strikes — after four pitches, the pitcher and batter each claimed victory twice; the pitcher holds a slight edge now, but a mere advantage in the count won't allow Fujinami Jintaro to lower his guard until he strikes out the batter.

Standing in the left batter's box, pulsating cheers of the hitting support song resonated in Lin Guanglai's ears, while Fujinami Jintaro quickly initiated the pitching motion before his eyes, bending down as the ball flew from his right hand.

The moment Lin Guanglai saw this pitch, a smile appeared on his face — the intention of this pitch was too obvious for him not to take a swing, it would be letting down the opponent for throwing it!

Gently lifting his right foot, his left leg and waist exerted force together, driving his body to twist, his sight remained locked onto the ball in flight throughout.

Hands tightly gripping the bat, body slightly tilted, Lin Guanglai swung fiercely toward the ball's arrival direction; upon contact, his body continued to exert force, driving the ball further toward right field.

"Thud——!!!"

For seasoned professional baseball viewers, this sound was undoubtedly familiar — only when wood bats scientifically collide with the baseball, a sound so melodious and captivating emerges.

One moment, the spectators were engrossed in the reverberation from this hit, the next, a massive cheer engulfed Koshien Stadium.

The baseball soared over a hundred meters, landing on the right field stands, with the Osaka Tsubaki outfielders giving up the chase in its wake.

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