Koushing Academy, aiming for the first-ever championship in their school's history, stands as the Aomori Prefecture representative holding the same aspirations for the Tohoku Region's first championship in 93 years.

As the broadcast camera swept over the entire Koshien Stadium, the announcer's voice joined the broadcast signal—NHK has given its highest importance to this summer 2011 showdown: besides star commentators Maeda Masaji and Tanaka Shuji, special invitation was extended to Wakayama Yu, who led Konan High School to their sixth consecutive Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament victory last summer.

As the camera panned across the players of Mitsuhoshi, Tanaka Shuji began introducing the statistics of both teams to the audience watching from home:

"On the first base side, representing Aomori, Koushing Academy, with a team batting average of .307 in the tournament, 4 home runs, and each of the top six hitters boasting a batting average of over .300—which shows stable and continuous batting is the foundation of this team's rise;"

"Mitsuhoshi's ace, the third-year Akita Kyoyoshi, has allowed only 1 point in 4 games, with 22 strikeouts, undoubtedly the iron wall of Aomori!"

"It can be said that under the guidance of Nakai Sonoki, this golden generation, led by Koushing Academy, has matured in pitching, offense, and defense, making this the best opportunity for them to win the championship this year!"

As Tanaka Shuji finished these introductions, the camera then turned towards the third base side.

"On the third base side, representing West Tokyo, Waseda Industries, with a team batting average of .402 in the tournament, 8 home runs, four individuals batting over .400, namely Shigetsugu as the lead-off, Yasuda as third, Yagaki as sixth, and—"

Just as he was about to finish, the camera cut to Lin Guanglai warming up his pitch—seeing that handsome face in the camera, Tanaka Shuji raised his voice several octaves:

"Recognized as the strongest player of this tournament, a generational monster, Lin Guanglai!"

"With a personal batting average of .783, the highest in history; 7 career home runs in the tournament, the highest in history; a total of 15 RBIs, tied for the highest in history—at least in batting, this tournament's Lin has reached unprecedented levels, and it will likely be difficult for anyone to catch up to this record in the future."

"In terms of pitching, he has maintained the dominance he showed last summer: most strikeouts, fewest hits allowed, and fewest walks in the tournament—just in terms of pitching, he is a national-level ace."

"Led by the monster of the Heisei era, West Tokyo's prestigious powerhouse is poised to make one final push for their school's second Summer League victory, and the seventh Spring and Summer consecutive championship in history—they are standing at the doorstep of history, and they are now only one step away!"

As the pre-match warm-up concluded, players from both sides tacitly formed circles around their respective zones, engaging in the final morale-boosting session before the match started.

Here at Waseda Real, the 18 players selected for the Summer League roster put their hands on their teammates' shoulders, closing their eyes.

The tumultuous cheers of the audience resounded from the surrounding stands. The morning sun of summer gently warmed their bodies, and upon taking a light sniff, one could smell the fresh, unique scent of the soil at Koshien, having just been watered.

As the players slowly closed their eyes, all the external noise was blocked out from the circular formation. At this moment, all they could feel was the sound of their heartbeats and breaths, along with the solid pressure of their teammates' arms on their shoulders. Feeling this, their previously restless hearts gradually began to calm.

At this moment, Lin Guanglai spoke up:

"Just as we entered the field, I don't know if you've felt the same: besides the cheers from our own supporters, many people are cheering for Mitsuhoshi. Everyone is hoping for the team from the Tohoku Region to win—for a moment, I even felt like we had become the villains destined to be defeated by the heroes."

"However, everyone, look down, look at your hands and feet, look at your arms and knees—the skin burnt and peeling from the sun, calluses that formed, healed, and formed again in your hands, the blisters created from training on your feet, collision marks from diving and sliding to bases… all these things tell us that we've reached this stage through our own hard work, through the effort that is multiple times, even dozens of times more than others, through accumulation bit by bit."

"We also have our reasons for having no choice but to win this game! Not for the championship, not for the victory, but simply to be worthy of the sweat and tears we've shed!"

"After we lost to Konan last year, I told everyone that this year, we would definitely come back! Now the pinnacle of 4,014 schools in Japan is right in front of us—this final step, we must take it together!"

As he spoke, all Waseda Real's players suddenly opened their eyes, and as the captain, Lin Guanglai shouted with all his might:

"Waseda Real—"

"Victory! Victory!! Victory!!!"

"Let's go—!!!"

"Ooooooohhhhhh——!!!!!"

With several frenzied roars, Waseda Real's players' spirits instantly soared, everyone was eager to start the match; on the other side, Koushing Academy was exactly the same, with their entire team's morale feeling rejuvenated.

The pre-match courtesy stage between the two sides was also much more aggressive compared to previous matches, with both teams displaying their fiercest aura, intending to suppress the opponent's momentum through this method—as the match has reached this point, it's clear that for both Waseda Real and Koushing, everyone has only one goal, which is—

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