CHAPTER 54: CHAPTER 54: SOLID DEFENSE

Today’s Koshien saw nearly 40,000 spectators flood in. It’s impossible to say there’s no pressure with tens of thousands of eager eyes focused on the players on the field; every Waseda Jitsugyo player on the infield, outfield, home base, and pitcher’s mound can feel the invisible pressure coming from all directions and their own psyche. This feeling is by no means comparable to local tournaments.

As Suzuki Kensuke on the pitcher’s mound finished his warm-up pitches, the first batter for Kurashiki Commerce, a third-year lefty, Mio Kyosuke walked into the batter’s box, marking the official start of the second match on the third day of Summer甲.

At this moment, a loud "buzz—buzz—buzz—" air raid siren echoed throughout Koshien Stadium, which is also a traditional feature of Koshien:

In the early days when Summer甲 was held, there were no broadcasters or electronic scoreboards in stadiums to remind the players, school cheerleaders, and staff about the game status. So, when the games began and ended, air raid sirens would go off inside the stadium to alert the audience—even though it’s no longer necessary today, Koshien, which always respects history and tradition, still retains this custom.

Under the cover of the air raid siren, Suzuki Kensuke threw the first pitch of the game: right from the start, Waseda’s pitcher-catcher duo opted for a conservative attack, choosing a slightly slower fastball to ensure precise placement of the ball.

Though the ball’s speed wasn’t fast, its tricky angle allowed it to precisely land at a low inside corner of the batter—Kurashiki Commerce’s Mio Kyosuke hesitated for a moment and eventually chose to let the ball pass.

With a single-elimination format, neither Waseda Jitsugyo nor Kurashiki Commerce dared to take risks at the start, instead opting for a more conservative approach to gradually engage with the opponent.

After securing the first strike, Suzuki Kensuke didn’t press the advantage to chase another strike but attempted to confuse Mio Kyosuke in the batter’s box with a breaking ball—after a bout of strategy between the pitcher and batter, the count reached a full count of 3 balls, 2 strikes.

At this point, from the commentator’s booth, Tanaka Shuji asked his co-commentator Takumi Tanchisha, "So—the count has reached a full count now, Mr. Tanchisha, what do you think Pitcher Suzuki will use to resolve the batter?"

Sitting beside Tanaka Shuji, Takumi Tanchisha pondered for a moment, then replied:

"Well—based on the information we have, Suzuki Kensuke is a typical control pitcher, with an average speed of around 140 km/h, and being a right-handed pitcher, he naturally has a disadvantage against the left-handed Mio. In this situation, I don’t think going for a strikeout with a fastball would be a good idea."

"Conversely, I believe Pitcher Suzuki should utilize his excellent control skills and a combination of curveballs, sliders, and change-ups to create fly balls or grounders, which should be more suitable."

As Tanchisha predicted, Suzuki Kensuke opted for a breaking ball as the last pitch in this at-bat: he threw a slow curveball with a speed of under 110 km/h to lure the batter into swinging—this is one of the ways to induce a fly ball.

Faced with such an incoming ball, Mio Kyosuke naturally couldn’t pass up the opportunity and decisively swung. The baseball made contact with the bat, producing a crisp "clang" sound and then flew towards left field.

The hit wasn’t great, high but not far, and Kakiwara Yosuke, stationed at left field, galloped over and easily caught it in his glove, then adjusted a bit and passed the ball to a teammate who came to assist.

One out.

As Suzuki Kensuke faced the next two batters from Kurashiki Commerce, he repeated the same approach: relying on precise control with breaking balls and occasionally catching the opponent off guard with not-so-fast fastballs to first create a grounder between first and second base, near first base, and the pitcher timely covered first for an out against Kurashiki Commerce’s second batter, Fukuda Keita;

Then, facing the third batter, Egusa Junpei, Suzuki Kensuke opted to increase speed, using a fastball and his signature forkball combo to completely suppress the batter, striking him out.

The top of the first inning ended with Waseda Jitsugyo’s defense showing no errors, successfully retiring Kurashiki Commerce’s lineup in order and dampening their spirits.

Up next is the bottom of the first inning, Waseda Industries’ offensive turn.

In the Kurashiki Commerce dugout, the team’s atmosphere wasn’t affected by the top of the first inning’s orderless lineup; as the players donned their defensive gear, they could still joke with each other.

"Keita, show them something! Don’t let me be the only one who got struck out in the first inning!" Egusa Junpei jovially shouted to his pitcher.

"Alright, alright, I won’t let you become the only one!" Shimada Keita, glancing at his mischievous teammate, helplessly rubbed his forehead.

"Hahahahaha—" bursts of laughter erupted among the players in Kurashiki Commerce’s dugout.

As Kurashiki Commerce’s defense players took temporary positions on the field, the Koshien Stadium’s broadcast sounded again, introducing the players on the field to the audience.

After throwing a few adjustment pitches, Shimada Keita signaled to the umpire that he was ready to start pitching; with the umpire’s gesture, Waseda Jitsugyo’s first batter, Chongxin Shen Zhong, slowly walked into the batter’s box.

At the beginning of the game, Kurashiki Commerce’s second-year catcher, Fukui Ryo, also opted for a relatively safe pitch-calling strategy: for three consecutive pitches, he called for breaking balls in the same low outside position, intending to help Shimada Keita quickly find his control feel—

The result can only be said to be subpar but still within an acceptable range—three pitches thrown, the count 2 balls, 1 strike.

For the fourth pitch, Fukui Ryo didn’t select the low outside corner again—a corner overused in pitch-calling, once the opponent adapts to the speed and trajectory, there’s a high likelihood of a hit.

For this pitch, he called for a high inside fastball, attempting to steal a strike through changes in pitch location and type.

But, as with the previous pitches, practice is practice, a game is a game, especially for high school pitchers whose states can easily fluctuate between highs and lows, finding the feel of control takes time, this pitch’s control was still lacking, and Chongxin Shen Zhong once again allowed it to pass.

Facing the unfavorable count of 3 balls, 1 strike, Shimada Keita’s mindset wavered slightly, and the subsequent pitches still failed to enter the strike zone—a walk, allowing Chongxin Shen Zhong to advance to first base.

After catching the ball pitched by Shimada Keita, Fukui Ryo stood up from behind home plate and walked over to the pitcher’s mound—the catcher needs to actively communicate with the pitcher at times like this to ease the pitcher’s emotions.

After some adjustments, the game resumed—on Waseda’s side, the second batter, Matsunaga Kenta, strictly followed the established tactics, choosing a sacrifice bunt to advance Chongxin Shen Zhong to second base.

But after adjustments, Shimada Keita didn’t give Waseda more chances—with the aid of various breaking balls, he first struck out the third batter, Kenshu Yasuda; then induced the fourth batter, Onoda Shunsuke, into hitting a high fly ball towards central field, where it was securely caught by Kurashiki Commerce’s central outfielder, Choan Ryoki.

Three outs, Kurashiki Commerce responded in kind, not letting Waseda gain any advantage either.

With the first inning complete, due to each side’s solid defense, the score remained unchanged—this match is destined to be a grueling battle.