"Guanglai, Guanglai—stop daydreaming, it's your turn to play!"

Until the call of his teammates reached his ears, Lin Guanglai broke free from his thoughts and refocused his attention on the field.

After six innings, both Waseda Industries' Izumi Minoru and Osaka Tsubaki's Nishikawa Koji seemed to have a mental connection. They both chose, almost synchronously, to replace their starting pitchers—the difference being that Fujinami Jintaro was directly substituted by the third-year Osaka Tsubaki player Kitano Koudai; whereas Lin Guanglai was placed by Izumi Minoru to the right field position.

Once the two powerful starting pitchers were off the field, the situation suddenly changed dramatically—this clash between the two prestigious teams from Kantou and Kansai was shifting from a nerve-wracking but somewhat monotonous pitching duel to an all-out offensive battle.

At the top of the seventh inning, the attacking Osaka Tsubaki was the first to break through Waseda's defense, almost as if they were venting all their frustrations from facing Lin Guanglai, showing their sharp fangs against the substitute Uchida Saint:

This half-inning, Osaka Tsubaki's batting order cycled back to their leadoff batter Yamazaki Tatsuya—on the first pitch of this at-bat, he slammed a double, setting off a storm of attacks from his following teammates against Waseda.

Starting with Yamazaki Tatsuya, Osaka Tsubaki hit consecutive singles in four at-bats, disrupting Waseda's defensive setup, leaving them scrambling in vain.

The equilibrium maintained for the past six innings was thus shattered, spiraling rapidly out of control.

In just half an inning, Osaka Tsubaki completely reversed their earlier lackluster state with their inherent strong capabilities, taking a 2-point lead in a fair and square showdown.

In the following bottom half of the seventh, Waseda was not to be outdone. The ninth batter, Sato Ken, who took the lead in this inning, performed exceptionally once again, surprisingly hitting a single off Osaka Tsubaki's second pitcher Kitano Koudai, setting a positive tone for the team.

By the time Lin Guanglai stepped into the batter's box, Waseda had already tied back 1 point, and at the cost of one out, successfully advanced the other two base runners into scoring position, occupying second and third base.

Outside the Osaka Tsubaki player area, Nishikawa Koji stood with his hands on his hips, shaking his head slightly—he was very dissatisfied with Kitano Koudai's performance.

He immediately called for a timeout, and ignoring Kitano Koudai's current pressure, Nishikawa Koji angrily yelled towards the pitcher's mound:

"Kitano! Use your brain! How are you throwing those pitches? I put you in to close the game, not to act as a ticking time bomb for the team!"

This action startled Waseda's players, but it seemed completely normal to the members of Osaka Tsubaki.

Having coached Tsubaki for over a decade and led the team to a Summer甲 victory, Nishikawa Koji had his own coaching strategy:

For those children in a period of confusion, continuously striving to become a starting player but unable to find direction, he acted like a caring father, nurturing the development of each individual from the inside out;

But when Tsubaki's players acted foolishly on the field, or if their personal issues led the team into trouble, he would immediately reveal his sharp side, sternly reprimanding them.

And now, facing his manager's fury, Kitano Koudai on the pitcher's mound immediately took off his cap, apologizing in his direction.

Having been with Osaka Tsubaki Baseball Club for nearly three years, Kitano Koudai knew that speaking more at this moment would do no good— the best way is to prove himself through action on the field.

Taking a deep breath, Kitano Koudai turned all his attention to Lin Guanglai in the batter's box—even though his confidence wavered when facing such a renowned batter, as a pitcher, he must not lose confidence.

He would face Lin Guanglai head-on!

The first pitch, Kitano Koudai aggressively targeted Lin Guanglai's inside corner. Although he couldn't control it into the strike zone, the ball that almost hit the batter served its intimidating purpose.

0 balls, 1 strike.

The second pitch, a cleverly pitched changeup, completely caught Lin Guanglai off guard, successfully tricking him into a swing and miss.

1 ball, 1 strike.

The third pitch, a high inside fastball, difficult for batters to handle, Lin Guanglai believed it to be a ball and chose not to swing.

But the umpire called it a strike.

2 balls, 1 strike, the pitcher held the advantage.

Without arguing with the umpire, not even glancing at him, Lin Guanglai simply stepped out of the batter's box, took a few practice swings, and after some adjustments, stepped back in.

Since changing his hitting technique, in practice matches over the past few months, he would either hit multiple home runs in a game or strike out in several consecutive at-bats. His batting status remained somewhat unstable.

Fortunately, Ikezaki Takakazu had long warned him, and Lin Guanglai himself was also prepared—he knew this was not an overnight success, so he maintained a very positive attitude.

When Kitano Koudai pitched the fourth ball of this at-bat, Lin Guanglai swung his bat confidently at the same time.

"Clang—!!!"

The Osaka Tsubaki field echoed with the crisp sound of the hit familiar to all Waseda supporters, the white baseball shot into the sky like a cruise missile, piercing deep into the outfield, finally crashing into the netting above with a violent shake.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh—"

"Captain, you're incredible!!!"

"Home run!!!"

Amidst the enthusiastic cheers of the Waseda players, Lin Guanglai stepped on all three bases, circled the infield, and returned to home plate, celebrating with his teammates who had previously scored.

This home run marked a significant increase in hits in the subsequent innings for both Waseda and Osaka—while Uchida Saint and Kitano Koudai were both strong third-year players, they were not as superior as their juniors.

Although Osaka Tsubaki managed to claw back 1 more point afterward, they ultimately failed to complete the comeback—thanks to Lin Guanglai's decisive three-run homer, Waseda narrowly defeated their opponent on Osaka Tsubaki's home ground with a 4:3 victory, ending this Osaka exchange match with an undefeated record.

After the game.

Kitano Koudai stood trembling in front of Manager Nishikawa, bracing himself for the impending storm—this game, as the closer entrusted by the manager, not only did he fail to stabilize the situation but was also hit for a three-run homer, making him the primary culprit for the team's loss.

After a while, the anticipated scolding did not come; with his head down, Kitano Koudai dared to lift his head slightly, only to see Nishikawa Koji sporting a mischievous smile.

Without saying much, Nishikawa Koji approached Kitano Koudai and patted his shoulder:

"Next time you face a strong hitter, try to be a bit smarter."

On the other side of the field, Mori Yuuya looked at his right hand, recalling the scene during the post-game pleasantries.

When he apologized to Lin Guanglai for his pre-game provocation, Lin Guanglai also apologized:

"I take back what I said before the game as well, you're very impressive—looking forward to facing you again in the future."

Seeing his friend in a sense of bewilderment, Kume Kenji jokingly teased him:

"Yuuya, since we shook hands after the game ended, you've been like this—do you know what you look like right now?"

"Like what?" Mori Yuuya was puzzled.

As if thinking of something funny, Kume Kenji burst into laughter:

"You look like a jilted woman who's constantly worried after being dumped by a rich guy…"

Before Kume Kenji could finish his sentence, he found himself tightly locked from behind by Mori Yuuya—under the circumstances, he could only beg for mercy:

"Ah, my bad, Yuuya... I was just joking... look at you, getting all worked up!"

"Joking, huh... Let me show you what a joke is... my eternal substitute... Let me show you a joke!!!"

Under the noonday sun, the two young players frolicked, their vibrant energy drawing other Tsubaki players on the field to join in.

Meanwhile, the Waseda players, having completed the exchange match, didn't linger in Osaka for long; instead, they returned to Tokyo the afternoon after the game, resting for half a day, with training resuming as usual the next day.

No words were spoken among the players, but each one of them knew in their hearts:

The real summer was about to begin!

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