CHAPTER 53: CHAPTER 53: SUMMER甲’S FIRST BATTLE

August 9, 2010, early morning.

Tokyo’s Kokubunji City, Waseda Industrial School.

In the campus of Waseda Industries, the banner congratulating the school’s baseball team for making it to the Summer甲 is already hanging on the teaching building.

Although it is the summer holiday season, a fervent atmosphere is brewing in the Waseda campus at the moment.

"Kazuyoshi, hurry up! Otherwise, we’ll be late!" Uesugi Yasuyuki, standing at the front of the line, complained to Ogata Kazuyoshi, who was dawdling behind.

"Kazuyoshi, you’re always like this, dawdling around, we won’t wait for you next time!" Yagaki Kentaro echoed alongside Uesugi Yasuyuki.

"I’m coming, I’m coming, wait a bit, I’m just tying my shoelaces, don’t rush me Yasuyuki!" Ogata Kazuyoshi squatting on the ground, retied his loose shoelaces, patted his butt and stood up: "Kentaro, are you really in a position to say that to me? Who was the one who overslept on such an important day like today?"

"You, you, you, you, you..." Yagaki Kentaro suddenly was at a loss for words, not knowing how to retort.

Quickly stopping the two from bickering, Uesugi Yasuyuki looked around and asked, "Is the whole team here yet?"

"Yes, everyone is here!" The crowd gathered around replied to him.

These people led by Uesugi Yasuyuki are all baseball club members who couldn’t make it to the official roster for the Summer甲. Most of them are first-year students, but there are also senior members who couldn’t make it—after all, there are only 18 spots in the official Summer甲 roster, though older players might have priority due to their seniority, this applies only when their skills are roughly equivalent.

Even though they weren’t selected, these members at the scene have no less sense of belonging to the baseball club—for today, they are going to take the Shinkansen to Hyogo to support the Waseda Jitsugyo Baseball Club.

When the players of the baseball club arrived at the auditorium where the assembly was held, they found the auditorium already packed—Waseda’s faculty and students all sat on the auditorium’s floor, wearing specially made support uniforms, happily chatting away.

The entire venue was in an uproar, totally unable to quiet down—after all, the last time Waseda made it to the Summer甲 was 4 years ago, and the current batch of players had never experienced this kind of grand occasion before.

In a corner of the auditorium, the Asahi Shimbun filming crew was recording: these scenes were important materials for them, many could be used in future documentaries.

Once the support group was mostly gathered, the school’s responsible personnel waved a hand:

"Now, let’s head to Koshien! Cheer for our heroes!"

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The first match of the third morning features the defending champion, Aichi Conference representative, Chukyo University Chukyo; and the Yamaguchi Conference representative, Nanyang Technical School.

Judging from the scene of the match, this battle thought to be a "David vs. Goliath" encounter before the match didn’t unfold in a one-sided manner as expected; on the contrary, the whole match evolved into a pitcher duel.

Nanyang Technical School’s ace pitcher, known as "Tsubata II" (Note 1), Iwamoto Hikari, right-handed pitcher and left-hand batter, with a fastest pitch speed of 144 km/h, his main pitches include slider, curveball, and forkball—under his outstanding performance, the defending champion couldn’t gain any advantage at all.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, with the two sides tied at 1:1, facing a very simple ground ball shot, Nanyang Tech’s first baseman made a basic dropping error, thereby leading to a score loss—in the end, the score of 2:1 was maintained until the end, with the defending champion narrowly advancing.

After the match, Iwamoto Hikari, who pitched a full game of 112 pitches, stood on the first base of Koshien Stadium, silently shedding tears—this scene resonated with the Waseda players waiting in the player tunnel to enter the field.

Once the Chukyo University Chukyo players finished birding and exited through the player tunnel, the staff at the player tunnel signaled for Waseda’s players to enter.

Entering the field through the tunnel, Lin Guanglai suddenly felt a burst of brightness before him, as his vision instantly broadened: under the scorching noon sun, the entire Koshien Stadium was completely filled, even the outfield stands that had been frequently empty the previous two days were now packed with spectators.

Seeing their players entrance, the Waseda support group instantly erupted with loud noises on the third base side Alps Stand (Note 2)—the members of the brass band played the unique support song of Waseda, "Cyan Sky", as the chorus "Conqueror, Conqueror, Waseda" resounded throughout Koshien Stadium, the baseball club members on the stand waved their support items in their hands, cheering for the team with utmost voice.

"Give it your all to win today’s game!!!"

"Seniors, do your best!!!"

"Guanglai, don’t let us first-years lose face!!!"

While the players of both teams warmed up on the sidelines, the commentators on the TV station also started their work, with NHK’s Tanaka Shuji and ex-corporate league player Takumi Tanchisha responsible for today’s live broadcast.

"Japan’s summer, the 92nd summer, Koshien Stadium, the second match of day 3 of the tournament is about to begin! The matchup features the West Tokyo representative, Waseda Real; and the Okayama representative, Kurashiki Commerce."

Accompanying the on-site camera’s lens, the two commentators enthusiastically warmed up the audience for the upcoming match.

"Talking about Waseda Industries, this is their first participation since they won the championship in 2006—today their starting pitcher is not the Lin player who pitched a no-hit game in the West Tokyo Conference final, but instead they appointed the third-year captain Suzuki as the starter—Mr. Tanchisha, what do you think of this decision?"

"I think Mr. Izumi’s decision is understandable—after all, this is the first game of the tournament, and everything should prioritize stability, selecting third-year Suzuki is a more steady choice; besides, for first-year talented players, I also think it’s best to use them protectively."

"Then, how do you think this match will unfold, Mr. Tanchisha?"

"Hmm... I think this match will likely not be one of those wide-open games, most likely the result will be decided in the mid-to-late stages of the game—after all, whether it’s Waseda’s Suzuki or Kurashiki Commerce’s Shimada, both are control-type pitchers with not very high extreme ball speeds but a variety of breaking balls, adapting to each other’s pitches will require time for both batting lines. In short, it’s really a match worth anticipating."

"Indeed, it truly is something to look forward to!"

Time ticked by second by second, and soon it was time for the match to begin. After finishing their warm-ups, the players from both teams sprinted from the first and third baselines to the home plate under the umpire’s lead, performing the pre-match bowing ceremony.

"Yasa—"

"Please treat us kindly!!!"

First base side, Kurashiki Commerce, attacking first.

Third base side, Waseda Real, attacking second.

As the players from Waseda Industrial took their defense positions on the field, Koshien Stadium’s broadcast started introducing them one by one.

Under the watchful eyes of many, Waseda Industries’ first battle of the Summer甲 began just like this.