Ohtani Shohei's strong performance of consecutive strikeouts since this inning and Lin Guanglai's explosive state as a batter have made the audience both at the venue and in front of their TVs eagerly anticipate the development of this at-bat.

The umpire's right hand pointed towards the pitcher's mound once again, with the pronouncement of "Play Ball" marking the beginning of this showdown between strong pitching and powerful hitting.

The fastball down the middle relying solely on speed might have an effect on others, but when facing Lin Guanglai, Ohtani Shohei clearly does not believe the opponent lacks the ability to hit such a pitch out.

However, having just used only six pitches to consecutively strike out two of the top-order batters, Ohtani Shohei is filled with confidence in his pitching at this moment—neither his current state nor the pride in his heart allows him to avoid a direct confrontation with Lin Guanglai.

Bending down to apply some talc on his hands to keep his palm and fingers dry, Ohtani Shohei positioned his hand on the baseball's seams, feeling the coarse texture of the ball's surface and the clear edges of the seams—at this moment, he felt certain that he could strike out Lin Guanglai!

Under the gaze of tens of thousands of spectators, Ohtani Shohei on the pitcher's mound began his motion, lifting his front leg high before taking a sudden step forward, his left foot firmly planted on the grounds of Koshien, his waist and hips exerting force, propelling his upper body forward, his strong arm cracking like a whip to release the baseball from his fingertips, shooting like a phantom straight towards home plate.

"Pa——!!!"

In an instant, the baseball traversed the distance between the pitcher's mound and home plate, diving straight into the glove of Sasaki Takashi who crouched behind home plate, eliciting a loud explosive sound—as if this were an exaggerated baseball comic, at this moment, white smoke should have risen above the catcher's glove.

"Strike!"

"Rahhhhhhh——!!!"

Simultaneously with the umpire's strike call, there was a roar from Ohtani Shohei on the pitcher's mound, clenching his fist and howling skyward in excitement—at this moment, he indeed needed such a cue to release his emotions.

The audience in the stands certainly did not spare their applause—for such an inspiring display of courage and effort from the young players, enthusiastic cheers and applause were the best compliments they could give.

In the batter's box beside home plate, Lin Guanglai lowered his head, his gaze locked onto the bat in his hands: the ball just now, faced with the unwavering momentum of Ohtani Shohei and the objective situation of a leading score, made his swing attitude less decisive than at the start of the inning—this was something to be cautious about, because a batter who loses the courage to swing, no matter how skilled they are, will be ineffective.

Feeling the solid touch of the bat in his hands, Lin Guanglai let out a low growl, demanding himself to forget about the scores and count of the game, focusing all his attention on the next pitch, swinging with all his might to hit the ball out.

Receiving the ball returned from the catcher, Ohtani Shohei took a deep breath, calming his excited demeanor for a moment; soon, the same smooth pitching motion was once again displayed at Koshien Stadium, and the baseball flew from Ohtani Shohei's hand once more.

"Clang——!!!"

The baseball was pulled by Lin Guanglai and flew foul, soaring high onto the first-base side stands, causing a chorus of gasps from the spectators; both involved parties standing at home plate and the pitcher's mound respectively both slightly pursed their lips, clearly unsatisfied with their performance in this at-bat.

For Lin Guanglai, his swing was a bit too early, unable to pull the ball within the field; otherwise, with the initial speed imparted by Ohtani Shohei, making solid contact would surely result in a long hit.

Although Ohtani Shohei got the second strike he wanted, Lin Guanglai following up on his second pitch in this at-bat made him feel the enormous threat from his opponent—the upcoming showdown was still a tough battle, like a dancer on the edge of a cliff, one slight mistake could lead to a plunge into the abyss.

The third pitch, an inside fastball, the baseball goes foul.

The fourth pitch, a high fastball, the baseball goes foul.

The fifth pitch, an outside slider, Lin Guanglai takes a ball.

The sixth pitch, a fast forkball, the baseball goes foul.

After a prolonged stalemate, neither side could determine a winner—during this time, both parties exhausted their abilities, with fast-paced and dynamic pitching and batting duels captivating the audience inside the stadium.

After a series of pitch battles, both Ohtani Shohei on the pitcher's mound and Lin Guanglai in the batter's box, after such high-paced and intense confrontation, mutually chose to step away from the mound and box respectively for a brief respite—though anyone with eyes could tell this was merely the calm before the storm.

In the Waseda Industries Alps Stand, the crimson wave of people surged once again; taking advantage of this spare moment, Lin Guanglai's exclusive cheering song was once again played by the brass band—in the majestic sound of music, the young man raised his bat high, making an aiming gesture towards the pitcher's mound, entering the batting stance; on the pitcher's mound less than 20 meters away from him, the equally tall and imposing young man tucked his hand behind him, gazing silently at home plate.

Lift the leg, step forward, body rotation, arm swing.

The arm cracks like a whip, and the baseball flies from Ohtani Shohei's fingertips, fiercely shooting through the strike zone.

Lift the leg, step forward, body rotation, bat swing.

Almost identical mechanics, the black and gold painted bat swung closely along the body, powerfully chasing down the baseball.

"Clang——!!!"

The explosive force of his body surging, transmitted from his hips and legs to his upper body, his body core twisted to the extreme, after hitting the baseball, a violent vibration passed through Lin Guanglai's hands, numbing them both.

"Lin Guanglai!!! This ball——it's out again!!!"

"His personal fifth home run of the tournament!!!"

"Five in a single Summer League! The second in tournament history! First since Kiyohara Kazuhiko in the 67th tournament of 1985, ending a 26-year drought!!!"

Amidst the commentator's passionate shout, Lin Guanglai raised his clenched fists high, smiling and running a lap around the infield, celebrating exuberantly with his teammates upon returning to home plate; on the pitcher's mound, Ohtani Shohei's face was somewhat troubled, but this wasn't out of being blasted for a solo home run.

"Oh! Hanamaki East's player, Ohtani, seems to have some issue—what's happening?"

With the commentary box and stands filled with exclamations, the broadcast replayed the just-concluded at-bat duel: according to the slow-motion replay, in that just-concluded at-bat, to push for faster pitch, Ohtani Shohei had to step larger, attempting to utilize the energy stored in his lower body for acceleration—and it was precisely this action that might have triggered his old thigh injury.

After a brief examination, though Ohtani Shohei remained silent in the footage, it was Hanamaki East's Sasaki You, the coach, who took the initiative to respond:

"Substitute."

Ohtani Shohei pursed his lips tightly, but he did not choose to oppose the coach's decision—just like what the coach had just told him, although they might lose this match, they still had an infinite future; to affect his entire career for the sake of being the hero at this moment was neither rational nor responsible for the entire team.

Therefore, Ohtani Shohei silently consented to his coach's decision.

As Ohtani Shohei limped off the field with the support of his teammates, all of Koshien's audience stood up, applauding the young man before them; after he left the field, Hanamaki East soon followed in his footsteps, leaving the stage of the Summer Koshien.

"Match over!"

"Result, Hanamaki East 1:8 Waseda Real, Winner, Waseda Real!"

"Both teams, salute!!!"

"Thank you for the match!"

"Thank you for the match!"

After completing the routine post-match bow ceremony, Lin Guanglai stepped out of the lineup, arriving at Hanamaki East's section, finding Ohtani Shohei standing aside from the lineup—there was still a hint of tears on Ohtani's face, evidently just having cried once.

Extending his hand towards Ohtani, Lin Guanglai said:

"Mr. Ohtani, great match—hope to have the opportunity to face off against you in full form at next year's Senbatsu."

Surrounded by the continuously flashing cameras, their two hands gradually overlapped, finally tightly clasping together.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.