CHAPTER 340: CHAPTER 192: THE CURTAIN RISES

The quarterfinal match between Waseda Jitsugyo and Tokogakuen Academy, owing to the high number of strikeouts by both pitchers, was compressed into a fairly short duration—this exceptionally thrilling classic pitcher’s duel, destined to be revisited countless times in the coming years, concluded in less than two hours, in just 1 hour and 50 minutes.

After wrapping up the post-match interview, Waseda’s players left Koshien Stadium, quickly boarded the bus back to the hotel. There, the players took showers or did stretches as needed. This afternoon after the game, there was no training, allowing the team ample time to relax and unwind.

Meanwhile, the draw results for the semifinals had just been announced:

The winner between Osaka’s Osaka Tsubaki and Kochi’s Meitoku Gijuku will face the winner between Aomori’s Koushing Academy and Okayama’s Kurashiki Commerce—should both highly anticipated schools, Osaka Tsubaki and Koushing Academy, advance, this year’s Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament final will replay once again on the Summer League stage.

In the other half of the bracket, Waseda Industries, who had already advanced to the semifinals, would have to wait till tomorrow to find out who their opponent would be—the final spot in the top four would be contested between Tochigi’s Sakushin Gakuin and Yamanashi’s Tokai University Kofu.

Rushing through their post-match stretching and showers, Waseda’s players instinctively gathered around the hotel television, starting to watch the Summer League broadcast: the TV was airing today’s second game, with Senbatsu champions, aiming for their eighth consecutive Senbatsu victory in history, Osaka Tsubaki, facing Meitoku Gijuku, the traditional powerhouse from Kochi Prefecture who won this year’s Shikoku Spring Tournament.

For Waseda, who aim to defend their championship, if any team could pose a threat to their title defense, it was surely the current Osaka Tsubaki: after winning the Senbatsu title, this team proved invincible in the Kansai Region, clinching both the Osaka Tournament and Kansai Tournament, remaining undefeated in any official match to date this year.

Since arriving at Koshien, Waseda’s players have regarded Osaka Tsubaki as their biggest potential rival, having compiled a thick dossier of scouting reports on each player of the Tsubaki team.

In this quarterfinal match, Osaka Tsubaki got into the game rapidly; or rather, their pace was so unexpectedly swift that it caught everyone off guard:

In the top of the first inning, at the first at-bat with the first pitch, the leading batter Mori Yuuya swung and sent the ball soaring, tracing a beautiful arc in the air before landing in the right field stands—less than a minute into the game, Osaka Tsubaki had taken the lead!

After quickly gaining a run, their championship pedigree was fully on display: this star-studded batting lineup from Tsubaki was top-tier nationwide, both in durability and explosiveness.

Especially with the return of Tandate Ryoki, who had missed the spring due to a fracture, joining the Summer League in the final hour, fortifying the team’s offensive network—even Meitoku Gijuku’s pitchers suffered as a result.

The Senbatsu champions did not opt for a fierce offensive; instead, they adopted a slow and steady approach, continuously getting hits to stretch and maneuver the opponent’s defense, causing their fielders to exhaustingly scramble back and forth under the scorching sun.

Despite Meitoku Gijuku’s best efforts in defense, eventually, lapses occurred and were capitalized upon by the opponent:

In the bottom of the sixth inning, ninth batter Fujinami Jintaro seized on an errant pitch by Meitoku Gijuku’s ace Fukunaga Tomoyuki, hitting a ball over the left field fence; in the bottom of the seventh inning, the recently returned Tandate Ryoki didn’t lag behind, hitting yet another solo home run to embellish the team’s lead.

It wasn’t until the bottom of the ninth inning’s last moments that Meitoku Gijuku managed to break the ice with a homer from their fourth bat, Kishin Ichiro, salvaging some pride for their team.

After a battle lasting 1 hour and 42 minutes, Osaka Tsubaki eventually triumphed over Meitoku Gijuku with an 8:1 score, taking another significant step towards their dreams of a consecutive spring and summer victory.

In this match, the standout star was naturally Osaka Tsubaki’s ace pitcher Fujinami Jintaro:

Throughout the game, he threw 118 pitches, delivered 13 strikeouts, surrendered only 4 hits, and also had a home run, proving to be both an offensive and defensive powerhouse.

The sheer strength displayed by Osaka Tsubaki awakened Waseda’s players gathered around the television—they realized that if they truly wanted to claim the championship, this was the team they would have to defeat; with that thought, any trace of complacency lingering from consecutive wins was completely wiped away.

The next day, the remaining two quarterfinals commenced—soon, the lineup for this tournament’s final four was unveiled:

In the upper bracket, Koushing Academy (Aomori) VS Osaka Tsubaki (Osaka);

In the lower bracket, Waseda Real (West Tokyo) VS Tokai University Kofu (Yamanashi).

On Wednesday, August 22, 2022, the 15th day of the 94th Tournament of Champions.

At 9:00 AM sharp, with the sound of an air raid siren, the match between Waseda Real and Tokai University Kofu kicked off on time—considering various factors, Takano Ren ultimately decided to place the high-profile showdown between Osaka Tsubaki and Koushing Academy in the final slot of the day.

In this match, Lin Guanglai, who pitched a complete game the day before against Koushing Academy, did not take the mound; instead, the team’s number two pitcher, Tanaka Justice, replaced him. Izumi Minoru planned to adjust according to the game situation—if the team’s offense was smooth and they could continually score, they might even consider letting Tanaka Justice pitch the entire game.

Whether it was the previous day’s match against Osaka Tsubaki that spurred them on, today, Waseda Real entered their game briskly:

The leadoff batter Yagaki hit a double right away and, with his teammates’ help, quickly advanced to third base; Suzuki Daigo in the third spot drove his teammate home with a single; shortly afterward, Lin Guanglai hit a home run, clearing the bases.

By the top of the first inning, Waseda Real had already amassed a 3-point lead, significantly lightening the burden on Tanaka Justice, allowing him to pitch more confidently.

Although in the middle of the game, Tokai University Kofu’s players managed to mount a few decent offensive plays and score, the fully charged Waseda Real often responded in the subsequent half-inning.

About two hours later, the final buzzer sounded, and amid applause from the Koshien crowd, defending champions Waseda Industries defeated their opponent 8:4, becoming the first team to advance to the final in this tournament.

In the other match, Osaka Tsubaki was not to be outdone, facing Koushing Academy in a grueling battle, where neither team’s batters broke through in the first six innings—until the later part of the seventh and eighth innings, Tsubaki capitalized on a mix of power and finesse, stretching the score to 3:0.

Fujinami Jintaro remained brilliant in this game as well, with the powerhouse Koushing Academy lineup hardly managing against him, hitting only 2 hits the entire game.

When the lineup for the final was announced, attention from all over Japan was drawn to it:

Waseda Industries versus Osaka Tsubaki, Tokyo versus Osaka, defending champions versus Senbatsu champions, the quest for consecutive summer titles versus consecutive spring and summer titles, Lin Guanglai versus Fujinami Jintaro...

The stage for an epic showdown was slowly being set...