Seaside Stadium in Ichihara City, the game is still ongoing.

It's Waseda Jitsugyo's turn to bat, and Lin Guanglai on second base is itching to make a bold move to third base, with Hagiyama Mitsuo at home plate gripping his bat tightly. He tries to pressure the pitcher and simultaneously distract the defensive players on base.

On Hanasaki Tokuharu High School's side, Sawafuji Kazuji on the pitcher's mound can't see the situation behind him and focuses on the batter at home plate. Meanwhile, for Wakatsuki Kensha in the catcher's position, Lin Guanglai hovering between second and third base is like a pesky fly—annoying yet tricky to handle.

The large, heavy catcher's mitt stretches forward as Wakatsuki Kensha subtly shifts his catching position, taking one or two steps closer to the right-handed batter's box—an action aimed at quicker coverage of third base.

Sawafuji Kazuji throws the ball toward home plate, and Hagiyama Mitsuo swings and misses.

Wakatsuki Kensha glances between second and third base, seeing that this time Lin Guanglai isn't making any bold attempts but is safely within the secure range of the base.

Still, Wakatsuki Kensha doesn't let his guard down. For the next few pitches, he maintains the same catching position as he did during the second pitch, determinedly guarding against Lin Guanglai's possible steal attempts.

After a back-and-forth between pitcher and batter, the count reaches a full count, forcing Wakatsuki Kensha to shift his focus more toward the batter, Hagiyama Mitsuo, deciding to deal with the current batter first.

It is precisely at this moment that Lin Guanglai quietly advances two to three steps toward third base.

Just as Sawafuji Kazuji's front foot slightly lifts, Lin Guanglai's tall figure shoots off toward third base.

His body's center of gravity lowers, arm movements speed up, strides lengthen—faster, faster—facing a strong-armed catcher, every second counts.

At home plate, Wakatsuki Kensha, receiving the ball, is ready. His body, like a slingshot, takes a small hop as his arm whips out, launching the baseball like a cannonball toward third base.

Seeing that he still has a distance to cover to third base, and catching a glimpse of the incoming baseball, Lin Guanglai simply throws his entire body forward, fully extending to touch the base quicker.

Almost at the same time his hand outstretches onto the third base bag, the glove holding the baseball grazes his body.

This play, Lin Guanglai's timing was precise to the extreme; almost at the moment Sawafuji Kazuji lifted his foot, he was already striding toward third base. Wakatsuki Kensha's throw was beautiful too; he didn't falter, instantly sending the ball to third base as he caught it.

Another fifty-fifty situation!

On the field, the players' focus is drawn to the third base umpire. The decision on this play is crucial:

If Lin Guanglai is tagged out, Waseda Jitsugyo's offense would need to start over; but if Wakatsuki Kensha's attempt fails, Waseda Jitsugyo would be in an advantageous position with a runner on third.

Amidst all eyes watching, the third base umpire, after a moment of silence, gives his call.

"Safe at base!!!"

"Hah—!!!" Upon seeing the umpire's call, Lin Guanglai, still sitting on the ground, lets out a loud shout of excitement, raising his arms continuously, celebrating his successful decision.

At home plate, Wakatsuki Kensha appears slightly puzzled but quickly regains his resolve—putting his catcher's mask back on, he crouches behind home plate with determination in his eyes.

With the opponent successfully stealing bases in succession, he resolves to focus all his energy on the batter in front now!

Hagiyama Mitsuo, the fifth batter, has just been struck out in the previous inning. If the subsequent three batters are eliminated one by one, Lin Guanglai's previous efforts will amount to nothing.

Because Yagaki Kentaro is starting today, his batting order has been moved to ninth—Waseda Jitsugyo's sixth batter, the team's starting catcher Watanabe Taku, walks into the batter's box.

After five pitches, it's 2 balls and 3 strikes; the batter is out—Hanasaki Tokuharu is one out away from ending this half-inning.

In this at-bat, Hanasaki Tokuharu's pitching and catching coordination is exceptionally seamless, hard to believe they've been partners for just over a month.

During the decisive pitch phase, Wakatsuki Kensha signals for a high inside fastball, Sawafuji Kazuji precisely places the ball on the strike zone's edge, leaving Watanabe Taku no chance to swing and only watch the baseball pass by.

At third base, Lin Guanglai feels a bit anxious:

Two consecutive batters have been eliminated, and the order is reaching its end, with Egami Kenji, not known for hitting prowess, up next—everything indicates that Waseda Jitsugyo's attack this inning might just end here.

But Lin Guanglai doesn't want this—Hanasaki Tokuharu's determination is great today, and their defensive performance is quite stable. Without seizing this opportunity, who knows if there'll be another chance like this later?

After struggling internally for a bit, Lin Guanglai makes a gesture toward his team's player area on the first base side: he wants to attempt a home steal!

Izumi Minoru, seeing this, is momentarily stunned but then nods in affirmation—since the Kantou Conference, Izumi Minoru's approach hasn't changed:

For Waseda Jitsugyo, aiming for the historic seventh consecutive spring-summer championship, Koshien is the grand cake, with the Kantou Conference's victory just the cherry on top—Izumi Minoru is more than happy to provide players the space to showcase themselves and grow.

Winning is great, but sometimes, a timely failure isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Giving a thumbs up toward third base, Izumi Minoru signals Lin Guanglai to go for it; simultaneously, he sends several signals to Egami Kenji at home plate, telling him to coordinate with Lin Guanglai.

Stealing home is extremely, extremely difficult, needing just the right combination of timing, positioning, and synergy—within Lin Guanglai's high school career, he's only completed it once in an official match.

He doesn't plan to reveal his intentions from the start but maintains a safe distance from the third base bag, the same as before, observing the situation of the opposing defensive players and drawing their attention through advancing and retreating.

After waiting through two pitches, with the count at one ball and one strike, Lin Guanglai feels the timing is right!

In his view, it's the very moment when Hanasaki Tokuharu's defensive players have the least attention on him:

Sawafuji Kazuji and Wakatsuki Kensha are focused on the batter, while the third baseman nearest to him stands in a position far from the base—no one is paying attention to him!!!

Sawafuji Kazuji makes a slight adjustment, his front foot slowly raising; Lin Guanglai, for the third time this inning, sets off, quickly advancing toward the next base.

"Woosh—woosh—" the wind whirls past his ears.

"Someone's stealing home! Watch out!" Hanasaki Tokuharu's infielders first notice Lin Guanglai's move and loudly alert their teammates.

"Huff huff—huff huff—" Lin Guanglai keeps adjusting his breathing.

The distance to home plate rapidly shortens; the baseball has just passed through the strike zone, yet to fully enter the catcher's mitt.

Throwing caution to the wind, Lin Guanglai again launches his body out, his arm extending, target locked onto the home plate.

"Bang." Catching the pitcher's ball, Wakatsuki Kensha shows no signs of panic; calmly and confidently, he firmly grasps the ball in his glove, quickly twisting his body, aiming to tag Lin Guanglai before he reaches base.

A tumble, dirt flying everywhere.

As the dust gradually settles near home plate, the umpire, bathed in sunlight, stands resolute and firm like a fair and just deity, giving his decisive call.

"Safe at base!!!"

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