Lin Guanglai's successful steal of home in the bottom of the seventh inning marked the turning point. With two outs, Waseda Jitsugyo managed to pull 3 runs from Hanasaki Tokuharu, overturning the score while extending their lead to 2 runs—this score remained unchanged until the end of the nine innings.

The final score was 3:1, and Waseda Industries advanced to the semifinals.

After the game, both sides shook hands to express gratitude to each other and their opponents. It was their wholehearted effort that provided such a spectacular match to everyone.

After the ceremony, Lin Guanglai specifically walked to the location of Hanasaki Tokuharu High School to find their catcher today, first-year Wakatsuki Kensha.

Knowing that Lin Guanglai came to find him after the game, Wakatsuki Kensha seemed a bit overwhelmed.

"Wakatsuki-san, today's game, you played really well, bringing a lot of difficulty to us at Waseda Jitsugyo."

"Not at all, Elder Lin, your strategy on the bases is truly clear—the timing of that last steal was perfect, and I initially didn't react at all."

"Looking forward to seeing you again in the future."

"I also look forward to becoming stronger so I can face you again—next time, I will definitely win!"

The two praised each other for their performances, and Lin Guanglai took off his cap to exchange with Wakatsuki Kensha. They also left a photo together.

Although Hanasaki Tokuharu didn't secure the victory in this game, Lin Guanglai, experiencing a normal game situation, was clear about the troubles this freshman catcher with a baby face brought to Waseda Jitsugyo.

Especially in today's game, Waseda Jitsugyo's players often had to divert some attention to the catcher when they were on the bases, and hesitated several times during steals—all thanks to Wakatsuki Kensha in front of them. His strong throwing arm could cover the entire infield.

After the match against Hanasaki Tokuharu, Waseda Jitsugyo's players swiftly left the field, returning to their designated accommodation to quickly perform post-match muscle stretching and relaxation, which has become routine for them.

Winning this recent match means Waseda Jitsugyo has become one of the top four performing teams in the Kantou Region. Reaching the semifinals was the minimum goal set by the players before this Kantou Conference—after all, as champions of the Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament and runners-up of the Tokyo tournament, they couldn't represent Tokyo and lose too miserably.

After a while, with reports coming in from other match venues today, the semifinal matchups for this Kantou Conference became clear:

Upper bracket: Kofu Technical School (Yamanashi) vs. Waseda Real (West Tokyo);

Lower bracket: Nihon University (West Tokyo) vs. Narashino (Chiba).

The fourth day of matches arrived as scheduled, and the semifinals kicked off—facing Kofu Technical School, Waseda Real's supervisor Izumi Minoru made substantial changes to the starting lineup, providing a valuable chance for many players who had been selflessly contributing to the team as substitutes, pinch hitters, and pinch runners, only getting one round in each match.

On one hand, several days of continuous battles, even for well-conditioned starting players, inevitably leads to temporary physical fatigue and low phases, making appropriate rotation necessary;

On the other hand, this was a form of gratitude from Izumi Minoru as the team supervisor, as well as from the starting players, toward those team members quietly supporting them from behind.

For this match, neither the supervisor nor the players at Waseda Jitsugyo had many expectations—since the set target was already achieved, the substitute players granted the starting opportunity could simply enjoy the game, and the outcome was merely an accompanying result. Winning would be best, but the consequences of losing weren't that severe.

Unexpectedly, without any burdens, the replacement players on the field burst forth with impressive prowess, playing an exhilarating match against Kofu Technical School.

By the end of the first eight innings, Waseda Jitsugyo and Kofu Technical School were tied at 4:4.

As the game entered the top of the ninth inning stage, Waseda launched another offensive:

Leading off this inning, Ueno Yuhei gave the team a good start with a double towards left field that broke through Kofu Technical School's defense, successfully reaching second base;

Following Ueno, Galken Mello hit a right-field single, successfully reaching base himself while advancing his teammate to third base;

Thereafter, Kofu Technical School's pitcher Ishihara Kibou steadied the situation, quickly striking out two batters to alleviate the exceedingly unfavorable position;

With two outs and players on first and third base, Ogata Kazuyoshi, a teammate of Lin Guanglai and the team's current source of joy, stepped up. He seized upon a control error from Ishihara Kibou, swinging with all his might to send the ball out of the park, essentially extinguishing Kofu Technical School's hope for a comeback with a three-run homer.

With a three-run lead at the end of the ninth inning's top half, Izumi Minoru wasn't going to let victory slip away.

Standing outside the player area, Izumi Minoru turned around and called to the dugout:

"Guanglai, go warm up—this game, you'll be the closer."

Taking several factors into account, Izumi Minoru decided to send Lin Guanglai as the closing pitcher in the bottom of the ninth inning.

This wasn't just for the sake of the game's immediate outcome; in fact, Izumi Minoru's mindset was already focused on the next day's final—having reached the final, there's absolutely no reason to let the championship slip away when it's within reach. At this time, allowing Lin Guanglai, who hadn't started in a while, to find his pitching rhythm was essential for tomorrow. Izumi Minoru hoped Lin Guanglai could pitch the entire game.

Lin Guanglai nodded, then grabbed his pitcher's glove and followed his teammates into the field.

Seeing Waseda Jitsugyo choose to change pitchers, bringing in Lin Guanglai, Kofu Technical School's players, who were initially full of confidence and planning to mount an offensive in the bottom of the ninth inning hoping to tie or overturn the score, showed expressions hard to describe.

As a scorching star in the high school baseball scene, there is likely no one who doesn't know Lin Guanglai's formidable prowess on the pitcher's mound—on days he pitches, the strong lineups of other prestigious schools often can't hit a single in the ninth inning from him. Now, seeing a fully energetic Lin Guanglai coming in to close in the ninth inning, how could Kofu Technical School's players muster any thoughts of resistance?

The final result was predictable; after Lin Guanglai's appearance, he pitched a total of 9 balls, delivered 3 strikeouts, and with a flawless performance in half an inning, steadily secured the victory.

After finishing the game against Kofu Technical School, Waseda Jitsugyo's players packed their equipment on the field while jubilantly celebrating this victory—they were even eager for another match and brimmed with confidence for tomorrow's final.

Two or three hours after the game against Kofu Technical School, the result from the second match at Seaside Stadium came through: with ace pitcher Yoshinaga Kentarou resting, Nihon University was crushed 1:9, ending their journey at the semifinals.

Waseda Jitsugyo's opponent for the final will be Narashino School, who will have the home turf advantage—tomorrow the two schools will face off at Seaside Stadium for the title of Kantou champions.

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