"What do you say about this ball?"

"He bit into it!!!"

"The ball is flying high!!!"

"It's going—it's going out!!!"

"He did it! He did it again!"

"Indeed, this is the strike of a genius; Luzheng Society's Watanabe Shinya is helpless against it!"

"Lin Guanglai, it's him again! At the bottom of the fourth inning, with a solo home run, he helped Waseda Jitsugyo break the stalemate on the field!"

From the moment the baseball soared high, the players of Luzheng Society fell into chaos.

As the core of the team's outfield defense, Hai Bu Dadao was desperately trying to chase the rapidly falling baseball, hoping it would land within the field.

But his hope was dashed.

The baseball, shooting straight up into the sky, fell at an unstoppable speed towards the deep outfield, eventually flying right past the entire field and was caught by the excited spectators in the stands—at that moment, Hai Bu Dadao could only stand by the outfield advertising board and hang his head.

The other players of Luzheng Society on the field showed a similar demeanor: after a prolonged attack without scoring, they were instead seized by the opponent to strike back, a significant blow to these defensive players.

For a while, all spectators watching the game could feel that after Lin Guanglai's solo home run, Luzheng Society's defensive intensity noticeably decreased.

And, naturally, Waseda Jitsugyo wouldn't let this opportunity slip—by applying a small-ball strategy of bunting and hitting, they successfully scored another point before the opponent got three outs, extending their lead to 2-0.

After the bottom of the fourth inning ended, in the dugout on the third-base side, the mood among Luzheng Society's players grew heavier, as if lost travelers wandering in a desert, their throats nearly completely dried up, yet they still couldn't see any trace of an oasis.

"I'm sorry, Coach, we should have listened to you from the beginning—after playing through these few innings, I realized I was too overconfident."

Hai Bu Dadao stood up from the substitute bench, walked over to their coach Ogata Ryusei, and bowed to him.

Upon hearing his friend's unexpected statement, Ishijima Gen, crouching beside, felt somewhat incredulous—he pursed his lips and said nothing.

"Lift your heads."

Such a voice reached Ishijima Gen's ears.

"Hai Bu, and everyone else, I want you to lift your heads."

Ogata Ryusei continued to emphasize his words.

Hearing their coach say this, despite the discomfort in their hearts and the reluctance, the players of Luzheng Society chose to lift their heads, preparing to listen to their coach's reprimands—in many of their minds, the outcome of the game was largely because they didn't take the coach's advice, so being scolded was quite normal.

However, Ogata Ryusei spoke words that surprised everyone:

"Do you know? Actually, I feel very proud of everyone—you didn't choose my way from the start but instead faced the opponent's pitcher bravely. I am very happy with this; it proves that each of you has a heart pursuing excellence!"

Then, he shifted his tone back to the familiar style of speaking as Luzheng Society's coach:

"But kids, lift your heads up, the game isn't over yet!!!"

"What are 2 points in a nine-inning game? Why act so dejected?"

"Now that you know the opponent is strong and you've learned through trial and error, let's use my advice and fight inning by inning to win the game back!"

"We are 'strong-hitting Luzheng Society.' Others might not manage it, but that doesn't mean we can't!"

"Tell me! Tell me! Do you have the confidence to hit the ball out for me!!"

In the players' eyes, Coach Ogata Ryusei appeared fierce and aggressive at this moment, his facial expression full of intensity; yet at the same time, his words felt like a refreshing stream, continually pouring into the mouths of those struggling to survive, giving them new hope.

"Report, Coach, we are confident!"

"Louder!!!"

"Report, Coach!!!"

"We are confident!!!!!!"

The previously gloomy atmosphere suddenly disappeared, and the players of Luzheng Society, regaining their spirit, each put on their gloves and jogged onto the field to their defensive positions—any sharp observer could genuinely feel that this team was somewhat different from a few minutes ago, as though they had been rejuvenated.

Watching his team's players stride confidently, Coach Ogata Ryusei sighed gently in the dugout.

"Ah—"

Then, he cast his gaze towards the opposing dugout, where Lin Guanglai was gearing up to pitch in his view.

While inspiring his players, Ogata Ryusei asserted that "2 points are nothing." Yet, as a seasoned professional, he knew better than anyone else that this game was likely to end at this stage unless something unexpected happened.

If the players had listened to his suggestion initially and engaged in a sustained battle with Waseda Jitsugyo using bunt advancement, perhaps there would be room for changes;

But now, through four innings, Lin Guanglai's touch was already fully warmed up—a pitcher capable of achieving ten strikeouts in four innings is probably beyond Luzheng Society's lineup to handle.

Indeed, the situation on the field was as he predicted: even as Luzheng Society's players revised their batting strategy and reduced the frequency of full-power swings, they were still ineffective against Lin Guanglai—only at the initial stage did they cause him some trouble.

In the stadium, the exclamations from the audience rose like waves; under the gaze of tens of thousands, Lin Guanglai continued his performance:

The 11th strikeout, the 12th strikeout, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th...

Generally speaking, even for a strikeout-type pitcher, the number of strikeouts in a game is rarely this high; however, today Lin Guanglai seemed divinely inspired, everything he pitched worked.

From the top of the fifth inning to the top of the eighth inning, he continuously achieved ten strikeouts, bringing his total for the game into the 20s—Luzheng Society's entire lineup cycled through, yet they couldn't deal with him.

"Incredible! Absolutely incredible!" On the commentary platform, even the usually objective and impartial commentator developed a slight bias inadvertently—this game performance by Lin Guanglai had won over too many people, and if this level of play didn't result in a victory, it would be unfair.

"Attention, viewers, let me announce a brand-new record—"

"In 1973, at the 45th Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament, the 'monster' player Jiangchuan Zhuo from Sakushin Gakuin set a record for nine consecutive strikeouts in one game—a record long considered hard to break."

"But today, history is rewritten! In 2011, at the 83rd tournament edition, the player Lin Guanglai, also dubbed the 'monster,' achieved ten consecutive strikeouts against the high-caliber hitting team Luzhengshe High School!"

"His name will forever be etched into the history of the Senbatsu, standing alongside those great names!"

As the commentator passionately reviewed history and envisioned the future, the fiery Koshien Stadium was hosting the top of the ninth inning—Waseda Jitsugyo needed to concede fewer than 2 points this inning to defeat Luzheng Society and advance to the quarter-finals of the Senbatsu.

The audience continued to cheer loudly, naturally expecting a complete game shutout victory—since it's a historic performance, it would be best if there were no flaws.

Yet at the moment, Lin Guanglai felt somewhat exhausted: as a strikeout-type pitcher, he used more pitches than other types; he had already exceeded 120 pitches, and his stamina was approaching its limit.

But he did not choose to leave the field: not only was the 2-point lead not secure, suddenly making a change might give the opponent a chance;

Lin Guanglai admitted he also had personal ambition—standing at the threshold of history, who could resist the opportunity to make history?

And right then, when the game seemed to reach an equilibrium, sudden ripples arose.

As the fourth batter Ishijima Gen stepped up to the batting box, he faced a situation where there were two outs and runners on first and third bases—looking at Lin Guanglai taking deep breaths on the pitcher's mound, a thought sprang up in his mind:

The teammate on first base was continuously putting pressure on the pitcher, and the teammate on third base only needed a hit to return; the opposing pitcher was evidently unable to maintain vigilance on the bases.

"Perhaps, this is my moment to be a hero."

Ishijima Gen thought to himself.

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