CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 55: DRAWING FIRST BLOOD

"I’ll get this ball! I got it, I got it!!!"

Top of the fifth inning, two outs, with a runner on first, Mio Kyosuke of Kurashiki Commercial hits a high fly ball towards center field.

As the center fielder for the team, Kenshu Yasuda sprints rapidly towards where the ball is descending while signaling to his teammates to cover him, indicating that he is going to attempt the catch — with a soft "smack," Kenshu Yasuda skillfully opens his glove and confidently secures the ball amidst the glaring sun.

Three outs, the top of the fifth inning ends, and both sides switch offense and defense once again.

On the scoreboard above center field at Koshien Stadium, the current situation of the game is clearly displayed: after four and a half innings, the score remains 0-0 — Kurashiki Commercial has hit three base hits but hasn’t managed to score, leaving runners on base; Waseda Jitsugyo has been worse off, with only one hit reaching base in four innings with no further achievements.

The scorching summer sun blankets the entirety of Koshien Stadium. The unbearable heat and the prolonged stagnation are making the atmosphere on Waseda’s side slightly agitated — after all, as players from the prestigious West Tokyo school, they have some noble pride, yet they can’t even breakthrough the average defense of their opponents, leaving them feeling a bit embarrassed.

In the dugout, Suzuki Kensuke noticed the slightly restless atmosphere around him, so he hurriedly comforted his teammates:

"Guys, don’t worry! Didn’t we expect this kind of situation before the match? The opponents at Koshien are championship teams from all over, it’s not something you can easily win!"

"Everyone, take this time to hydrate and practice your swings in the warm-up area to get a feel for your batting — don’t hesitate when you swing, if you feel you can hit it, go for it, and if not, wear down the pitcher a bit more..."

"I’m also a control-type pitcher, I know very well the weaknesses of control pitchers — as long as we catch onto the ball’s path, we can definitely get some hits!"

Under Suzuki Kensuke’s encouragement, the team atmosphere improved slightly — at this point, the plate umpire signaled for Waseda players to enter the batting zone to start the game. Being the ninth hitter in the line-up and the first batter this inning, Suzuki Kensuke donned his batting gear, picked up his bat, and casually walked into the batting zone.

In the four innings so far, Shimada Keita of Kurashiki Commercial has struck out 4 batters, clearly shaking off his initial nerves and subtly showcasing the demeanor of an ace pitcher.

In the duel between pitchers, it seems that Shimada Keita on the pitcher’s mound has the upper hand: For the first pitch at this batter, Shimada Keita decisively attacked inside on Suzuki Kensuke, accurately placing the ball into the strike zone, with such a tricky angle that left the batter, Suzuki Kensuke, powerless.

Next, this pitcher who usually likes to use a lot of breaking balls unexpectedly threw a straight ball. Despite a velocity of only 135 km/h, he targeted the high inside corner that batters loathe — as a pitcher who doesn’t usually devote much effort to hitting, Suzuki Kensuke reconsidered and ultimately chose not to swing at this challenging pitch even specialized batters would find difficult.

The ball passed through the upper strike zone, entering the catcher’s mitt behind home plate — this pitch in a sensitive strike position was eventually ruled a strike by the home plate umpire after a short deliberation.

Now, the situation on the field instantly turned into no balls and two strikes — this was the least favorable situation for the batter, Suzuki Kensuke.

"Captain, the opposing pitcher likes to throw an outside slider after getting the second strike — if there’s a chance, try to attack the outside like this."— standing in the batter’s box, Suzuki Kensuke suddenly recalled the whispered advice from Lin Guanglai on the bench before he came up to bat.

Even though sitting on the bench this game doesn’t guarantee an opportunity to bat, Lin Guanglai wasn’t idle, he was constantly observing the opposing pitcher’s habits — habits are things that are hard to change, many times even pitchers themselves aren’t fully aware of their habits; and as opponents, sometimes it’s crucial to capitalize on such an oversight, using these habits to strike back.

Anyway, the situation on the field seemed almost hopeless for him, and not being a strong hitter, Suzuki Kensuke decided to follow Lin Guanglai’s strategy for this at-bat.

Confirming that the pitcher was ready in the strike zone, once the umpire gave the signal to start, Shimada Keita on the pitcher’s mound exchanged a glance with the catcher, nodded lightly, then lifted his front leg, following the rotation of his body to gather momentum, throwing the ball.

Standing beside home plate, Suzuki Kensuke was already in position, decisively choosing to swing at the incoming ball — with a "clang," the bat made precise contact with the ball; Suzuki Kensuke’s muscles tensed, pushing the baseball forward.

The baseball bounced off the ground first, then quickly headed in the direction between first and second base for a surprise attack. Kurashiki Commercial’s first baseman left the bag, attempting to cut off the ball in the infield, however, the ball had already passed through the infield before he could make contact, bouncing toward the right fielder.

Although Fukuda Kenta in right field managed to stop the ball ensuring the defense wasn’t breached, Suzuki Kensuke had already reached first base by then.

Bottom of the fifth inning, Waseda achieved a dreamlike start: no outs, a runner on first, and the batting order began again.

Up next to bat is the team’s lead-off hitter, Shigetsugu Shinjiro.

In his return to the plate, Shigetsugu Shinjiro didn’t follow the usual tactics to advance his teammate on base — as the lead-off hitter, he’s confident in his batting abilities, immediately adopting a stance geared for a full confrontation; meanwhile, Shigetsugu Shinjiro did not lose his composure, instead, he maintained a steady pressure on the pitcher, engaging in a patient duel with Shimada Keita on the pitcher’s mound.

Faced with such an aggressive opponent, Shimada Keita experienced emotional fluctuation, further impacting his pitching performance — in a favorable count of two strikes and two balls, his control faltered dramatically: he not only failed to place the straight ball in the high inside corner desired by the catcher, but mistakenly sent it to the sweet spot for the batter.

As the team’s lead-off hitter, how could Shigetsugu Shinjiro miss such a perfect scoring opportunity? He extended his arms backward while taking a big leap forward with his front leg, then his hips rotated, driving the bat through the swing —

"Thunk——!!!"

The bat made precise contact with the ideal part of the ball and under further power from Shigetsugu, continued its forward sweep. The ball surged into the sky with incredible speed, heading straight towards the outfield stands of Koshien.

After reaching its peak height, the ball’s descent was rapid — although it didn’t clear the field, it still hit the outfield advertisement board with a heavy thud at Koshien Stadium, catching the Kurashiki Commercial outfielders off guard.

With these unforeseen movements, not only had Suzuki Kensuke on first base sprinted all the way back home; even Shigetsugu Shinjiro who hit the ball had reached third base.

This triple hit completely broke the stalemate of the entire match: facing a perfect setup with no outs and a runner on third, Waseda then began to execute their stringent tactics, successfully bringing home their second runner of the inning with a sacrifice fly strategy.

Bottom of the fifth inning, Waseda Industries scored first, leading Okayama’s representative Kurashiki Commercial with a score of 2-0 — they finally managed to pry open a gap in their opponent’s seemingly impenetrable defense!