Two outs, runner on third base, Lin Guanglai, steps up to bat.

With a runner in scoring position and the strongest hitter of the tournament standing in the batter's box, Koushing Academy cannot afford to be careless. Their manager, Nakai Sonoki, urgently calls a timeout and sends a messenger to the pitcher's mound to arrange special defensive positions against Lin Guanglai.

Fearing Lin Guanglai's powerful long-hitting ability, even if he didn't hit well on the first pitch, Mitsuhoshi's outfielders retreated deeply, almost standing near the home run wall. Their infielders shifted defensively, slightly tilting towards the right side of the field, leaving only Tamura Ryuho to guard Shigetsugu Shinjiro on third base.

Just judging from this defensive arrangement, Mitsuhoshi showed great respect for Lin Guanglai.

After arranging his teammates' positions according to the manager's instructions, Akita Kyoyoshi discussed with his catcher Matsuboto Kenji for quite some time. After roughly finalizing their strategy, he allowed Kenji to return to home plate.

Once Lin Guanglai walked into the batter's box and stood firm, Akita Kyoyoshi on the pitcher's mound took a full half-minute to gather himself, ensuring every part of his body was relaxed before finally throwing the ball.

At his second at-bat of the game, Lin Guanglai didn't swing aggressively like he did with the first at-bat. With a runner able to score with just an economical hit, he wanted to maintain home plate discipline and see a few more pitches, looking for the perfect one to swing at.

The first pitch by Akita Kyoyoshi was too high, about two to three ball-widths above the strike zone. Even though Matsuboto Kenji tried to pull it into the strike zone, he couldn't fool Lin Guanglai and the umpire.

Ball, undoubtedly, 1 ball, 0 strikes.

A moment later, the second pitch was pitched inside by Akita Kyoyoshi towards Lin Guanglai, who felt it was too inside, almost brushing past his belt. However, the umpire called it a strike, and he had nothing to say about it.

1 ball, 1 strike.

Exiting the strike zone to stretch a bit and relax his slightly stiff muscles, Lin Guanglai felt he had seen enough of the pitches, and it was time to swing actively.

Mitsuhoshi's defensive shift was quite dramatic; how could Lin Guanglai as the batter not notice? Of course, he didn't think such an arrangement would affect him, since he had encountered this situation before.

Mitsuhoshi might have thought they gave enough attention to Lin Guanglai, but with his subsequent performance, Lin made Nakai Sonoki, standing alone outside first base, realize that he had underestimated Lin's abilities.

With a runner on third, no matter how much the defense focuses on the batter, they must also pay attention to the runner on base. Thus, despite Mitsuhoshi's infield shifting to the right, Tamura Ryuho on third didn't move much.

For this reason, the area between second and third base, which should be covered by the shortstop and third baseman, was completely unguarded—precisely the target for Lin Guanglai's precise hit this at-bat.

Being a left-handed batter, Lin usually hits to the right side of the field. This time, the results of his hitting practice finally showed—

Facing Akita Kyoyoshi's pitch, Lin extended his gaze on the ball, choosing to wait until the ball reached the back of the strike zone. After confirming the pitch's type, he swung the bat with all his might—something difficult for ordinary batters, even potentially botching an advantage. But for Lin Guanglai, this was trivial.

The approaching ball and the swiftly swung bat found their mark.

The target was the gap on the left side of the body. To ensure striking accuracy, Lin even sacrificed some power transmission, using technique to push the bat in the opposite direction of his body.

With a tingling sensation in his hands, the baseball turned into a shooting star, soaring into the gap between second and third base.

Seeing the ball about to pierce through the infield defense, Mitsuhoshi's players reacted swiftly. Ryuho Tamura and Kitajou Shuya scrambled to cover, the latter even diving in the direction of the ball, trying to snag it in mid-air.

However, the ball hit by Lin seemed to have an automatic navigation system, flying just over Kitajou Shuya's glove, breaking through Mitsuhoshi's infield and landing between two outfielders.

Seeing the ball land for a hit, Shigetsugu Shinjiro, who was lurking around third, immediately burst towards home plate with all his might. Mitsuhoshi's outfielders initially intended to throw home but, seeing they couldn't prevent the score, abandoned the idea, passing to the inbound infielder to chase Lin Guanglai back, locking him at second base.

"Phew—" Standing alone on second base, Lin Guanglai exhaled a long breath, feeling significantly lighter from the previously mounting pressure.

After five consecutive hitless at-bats, regardless of the reason, as the team captain, he couldn't shirk responsibility. Fortunately, this at-bat did not let his teammates down, hitting a crucial two-base hit to break the deadlock.

Remember, this is not any friendly match—this is Koshien, the stage of the Koshien finals!

Looking toward the dugout at third base where his teammates were celebrating Shigetsugu Shinjiro's scoring, outside the dugout, Izumi Minoru made several gestures to Lin Guanglai, signaling that he had the freedom to play with the decisions on base.

This special treatment, independent of regular tactical arrangements, is something only Lin Guanglai can enjoy at Waseda Jitsugyo—not because of his talent and status, but because of the steady and outstanding performance he earned in every game!

After perfectly defending three innings and allowing a score, Mitsuhoshi's defense became somewhat flustered, with declining pitching quality and lack of focus among fielders—an ailment common to teams without experience in championship finals.

Meanwhile, the experienced Waseda Jitsugyo seized the opportunity to further their advantage; Lin Guanglai stole third, then returned home with the help of Yagaki Kentaro, scoring another run.

At the bottom of the fourth inning, Waseda Jitsugyo leads 2-0.

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