CHAPTER 62: CHAPTER 62: SECOND ROUND OF BATTLE

As the second game of Day 5 of the tournament ended, Miyagi’s representative Sendai Yuuying narrowly defeated Shimane’s representative Kaisei High School with a score of 6:5, temporarily concluding the first round of the 2010 Summer Koshien tournament—the second round’s battles immediately reigniting without a moment of mourning for the defeated.

The third match on Day 5, Kanagawa’s representative Tokai University Sagami took the lead in the second round—ranked as the second favorite after Konan High School in this Summer Koshien, Tokai University Sagami showcased their absolute strength as a contender for the championship.

Facing a debut summer Koshien appearance with the aim of achieving a historic breakthrough for its school baseball club, Ibaraki’s representative Mizuchiyama High School, Tokai University Sagami’s ace pitcher Ichiyotai Shintaro passionately threw 138 pitches throughout the game, hitting two singles, one double, and delivering a spectacular two-run homer for the audience.

Tokai University Sagami secured a convincing victory of 10:5 over Mizuchiyama, becoming the first school to advance to the third round in this tournament.

We must say, the organizers of Summer Koshien really know how to arrange the schedule—Day 6 of the tournament is filled with high-profile matchups bound to provoke talks, not only among the spectators but even the players of Waseda Jitsugyo were somewhat distracted during their training, constantly thinking about today’s games.

The first match on Day 6 saw Gifu’s representative Toki Commerce School crush Tottori’s representative Yatsushiro High School with a 15:2 victory; their batting lineup flourished throughout the game, totaling 16 hits, demonstrating great offensive prowess.

Since first participating in the Summer Koshien in 1977, Gifu Prefecture’s Toki Commerce finally echoed their school anthem on the Summer Koshien stage after 33 years.

Today’s second match sharply contrasted with the first; Fukushima’s representative Holy Light Academy and Hiroshima’s representative Guangling High School each brought their ace pitchers together, presenting a spectacular pitching duel for the audience.

Lin Guanglai chose to watch this match from the TV: after all, both Holy Light Academy’s Suinei Hiromitsu and Guangling’s Arihara Kouta are recognized as some of the best pitchers in this tournament.

Suinei Hiromitsu, a right-handed pitcher and batter, has already secured his position in the team as a second-year—his four-seam fastball and slider are extremely well-developed, whether in release point alignment or speed differential, nearly beyond what a high school student can achieve;

Arihara Kouta, a right-handed pitcher and batter, reaches a maximum speed of 150km/h, with a height of 187 cm and a weight of 87 kg. Combined with his overhand pitching style, he poses a significant intimidation and pressure to batters.

Under the lockdown by the two pitchers, their teams’ batting lines suffered: throughout the match, both sides collectively managed only 9 hits; Holy Light Academy achieved 4 hits, Guangling scored 5;

Holy Light Academy seized a perfect opportunity in the bottom half of the seventh inning, barely managing to send a teammate back to home plate with a sacrifice bunt strategy.

Throughout the match, Arihara Kouta faced 29 batters, using only 99 pitches; in comparison, Suinei Hiromitsu’s 141 pitches seemed far less efficient—but the gap in the batting lineup determined the pitcher’s fate, the better pitcher was unable to secure the win.

Holy Light Academy narrowly progressed with a one-point difference, also leaving Arihara Kouta, despite his outstanding performance throughout the match, to swallow defeat in frustration.

Lin Guanglai watched at the TV with eyes wide open; this pitching duel fully demonstrated the influence and helplessness a pitcher could have over an entire game’s situation:

A good pitcher can ensure the team doesn’t lose points, but he absolutely can’t keep points from being lost forever—that’s why Lin Guanglai insisted on turning himself into a Dual Swordsmanship player proficient in both pitching and hitting.

In fact, after so much training, Lin Guanglai’s hitting had significantly improved compared to before; what he lacked was real match experience—upcoming match against Chukyo University would be a great opportunity to test the results of his hitting training in his view.

Lin Guanglai is confident in himself; he will definitely go pro after graduating high school, and professional baseball and high school baseball are entirely different worlds; to have the power of choice in an adult world, during high school phase, he must deliver a performance that scouts, supervisors, and management in professional baseball can’t refuse.

The much-anticipated battle between Waseda Jitsugyo and Chukyo University will take place on Day 8 of the tournament, only two days away.

Thinking about the day after tomorrow’s match, Lin Guanglai was unable to sit still; rising from in front of the TV, he murmured to the seniors watching alongside him, then ran to the equipment area, took out a bat from the gear bag, and went alone to the riverside near the hotel to practice swinging.

Summer Koshien’s matches are still ongoing.

Representing Osaka in this year’s tournament at Koshien is not the well-known PL Academy or Osaka Tsubaki but Luzhengshe High School, participating for their second time in Summer Koshien after a 13-year gap.

Starting last autumn, Luzhengshe’s shortstop Yamada Tetsuro began his explosive performance, quickly evolving from a relatively unknown ordinary player to a star player recognized both locally and nationally.

In the Osaka tournament, Yamada Tetsuro scored in seven consecutive games, becoming Luzhengshe’s most vital scoring machine; there are reports that upon graduation this year, third-year Yamada Tetsuro will directly enter the Nihon Professional Baseball draft, and he has already garnered attention from multiple teams.

In the match against Nara’s representative Celestial Principle High School, Yamada Tetsuro continued his scorching batting form: in the bottom of the fifth inning, facing a second base situation with no outs, Yamada skillfully hit a double, successfully sending a teammate back to score.

Ultimately, Osaka’s representative Luzhengshe defeated Celestial Principle 4:1 with ease, continuing their advance.

One game after another, an unceasing flood of matches; while one team cheers for advancing, simultaneously another team leaves the Koshien stage with tears of regret.

Quickly, it was Waseda Jitsugyo’s second round match day—August 14, 2010, Saturday, Day 7 of the tournament; the highly anticipated match against Chukyo University was today’s third game, set to start at 1:30 in the afternoon.

Due to being a weekend, Koshien’s audience numbers surged today—compared to an average of around 30,000 viewers on previous days, the stadium was filled to capacity once again today, with the stands packed with supporters from both teams and high school baseball enthusiasts.

Before the game began, players from both sides needed to go to the public area for media interviews—as today’s starting pitcher, Lin Guanglai undoubtedly undertook this task.

Koshien is truly a place that exceedingly loves young talents; upon entering the public interview area, Lin Guanglai was immediately surrounded by at least a dozen reporters, with nearly eight cameras and recording equipment almost pressed against his face.

First-year, no-hitter game, Koshien starting pitcher... Just combining these keywords, it’s no wonder the media seemed so desperate—standing at nearly 190 cm at the age of 15, coupled with a pitching speed over 145 km/h, the reporters seemed to witness the rise of a new star in high school baseball, and perhaps even professional baseball.

Under the watchful eyes of dozens of reporters, Lin Guanglai initially seemed a bit uneasy but soon managed to handle their questions somewhat.

Meanwhile, in Chukyo University’s interview area.

As the team’s captain, Moriyama Junpei confidently faced the camera and told the reporters in front:

"Daitou Supervisor has decided to retire at the end of this year; as part of the team, my teammates and I are deeply grateful for the supervisor’s care—regardless of baseball or personal growth, Daitou Supervisor is an indispensable mentor to us."

"As defending champions, we are confident enough to win this match."

"Our goal for this tournament? Our goal is to use the 92nd championship flag to bid farewell to Daitou Supervisor!!!"