Standing in front of the player dugout at Koshien Stadium, Lin Guanglai was filled with emotion: the same scenery, although he had seen it many times, always evoked completely different feelings each time he stepped onto the soft ground.

This time last year, they lost in the semi-finals to that year's champion, Konan High School, who achieved the rare feat of winning both the spring and summer titles—although a year has passed, Lin Guanglai still remembers the tears shed by his seniors after the match ended.

"Guanglai! We're here to cheer for you!!"

A familiar voice echoed from the stands—Lin Guanglai looked up to see a group of faces that were all too familiar: Suzuki Kensuke, Tsuchiya Ryota, Onoda Shunsuke... These seniors who had fought alongside him at this same moment last year had kept their promise and really came to the Koshien to cheer him on.

Waving in the direction of his seniors, Lin Guanglai's face lit up with a radiant smile; but as he turned away, that smile quickly gave way to seriousness—a seriousness that recognized the presence of his seniors, meaning it was his turn to fulfill a promise.

He would use absolute strength to show Narashino, their longstanding rival, that this Summer League championship was his to claim!

In the earlier first semi-final match, representing the Tohoku Region from Aomori Prefecture, Koushing Academy defeated Okayama's Kansai High School with a score of 5:0, securing their spot in tomorrow's final.

Koushing Academy's opponent in the final would emerge from the next two teams: whether it was Waseda Industries with the first offense or Narashino with the second, both were hot favorites for the championship as recognized by most media before the tournament, undoubtedly part of the prestigious A class teams.

Before the match, in Waseda's dugout, manager Izumi Minoru was giving the final pre-game pep talk—the addition of such a segment today was partly because this match was an important semi-final, just one step away from the championship, and Izumi Minoru wanted to alleviate pre-game tension for the players; it was also to address some unexpected personnel adjustments made for the match against Narashino.

"I'm sure everyone has noticed that Narashino's starting pitcher today isn't Izumisawa Ryouta, whom we faced in the Kantou Conference before—they're using a second-year left-handed pitcher, Inahara Isshu, who has rarely played before, so we have no specific preparations."

Saying this, Izumi Minoru glanced around at the players surrounding him, and found no traces of panic or unease on their faces, nodding in satisfaction.

"However, after playing all year, our team is aware of our standing in Japan—better than I am. I've always believed in one thing: even if Narashino switched a hundred pitchers, it wouldn't matter! The team that enters the final to compete for the championship will undoubtedly be us, Waseda Industries!"

"Buzz—buzz—buzz—"

The air raid siren sounded on time, marking the official start of the 93rd Summer Koshien Tournament semi-final, Game 2.

Facing the opponent's new pitcher brought up in the semi-final, Waseda's batters were not complacent: after all, this was a semi-final match. Could there really be someone who would put an average player on the mound in a semi-final just to catch the other team off guard? That was definitely unrealistic.

Perhaps because this was his first starting appearance in this year's tournament, and it was directly in the semi-final, Inahara Isshu appeared noticeably nervous at the start of the match, with wild pitches being carefully avoided by Chongxin Shen Zhong one after another, resulting in a walk to first base.

Subsequently, with the help of two consecutive teammates' sacrifice bunts, Chongxin Shen Zhong successfully advanced to third base, handing the scoring opportunity to Lin Guanglai, the fourth batter.

For this important semi-final, Izumi Minoru adopted the most conservative approach in offensive strategy: as long as the lead batter safely made it on base, he would send him to the scoring position first, then leave it to Lin Guanglai—besides, he never disappointed his teammates.

As Lin Guanglai walked from the on-deck circle to the batter's box, the atmosphere in Koshien Stadium fired up: with the strongest batter taking the field, the spectators naturally looked forward to his upcoming performance with great anticipation.

On the pitcher's mound, Inahara Isshu could naturally feel the change in the stadium's atmosphere, but was not frightened by it. Instead, he slowly closed his eyes, trying to recall the instructions given by the manager at last night's meeting.

On the night before the game.

Tetsuya stared seriously at the players in front of him and asked them one last question: "Everyone, I'll ask once more, do you truly want to win tomorrow's match and give everything for the Koshien championship?"

Faced with this sudden question from their manager, Narashino's players looked at each other for quite a while, not knowing why Tetsuya suddenly asked this question; the first to react was Nakamura Atsutaka, who had the biggest response previously. Faced with Tetsuya's question, Nakamura Atsutaka replied loudly:

"Yes, Manager, I want to win! I really want to win the Koshien championship! If it helps the school win, I don't mind burning myself out!"

His response also motivated his surrounding teammates, and everyone in Narashino replied in unison: "Yes, Manager, we seek nothing but victory!"

Nodding at his team, Tetsuya laid out his plan:

"If that's the case, then in tomorrow's match, do not worry about Lin Guanglai!"

Not worry about Lin Guanglai? What did that mean? Just as Narashino's players were about to ask, Tetsuya continued:

"In tomorrow's game, the other side will certainly create opportunities for Lin Guanglai to face us and use his incredible batting power to score—since that's the case, let's not face him!"

"When it's the fourth batter's turn to hit, if first base is empty, walk him intentionally, then focus on dealing with the other batters—Waseda's fifth batter is a loose cannon, their sixth an all-around shrinking Lin Guanglai, with the remaining lineup not worth mentioning."

"Since everyone wants to win, in tomorrow's game, remember just one thing—if the next hitter is Lin Guanglai, walk him; if not, face him head-on and beat him—attacking with that mindset, our strength is enough to defeat our opponents!"

"But I'm sure everyone understands the potential results of such actions..." At this point, Tetsuya paused a bit for the players to consider before continuing, "So I ask again, are you willing to give everything for victory?"

Inahara Isshu opened his eyes on the pitcher's mound, his mind set.

He still remembered the answer given by the entire team when the manager asked them that question a second time—

"Yes, Manager, we seek nothing but victory!"

This was the collective choice made by all members of the Narashino High School baseball team.

Exchanging a glance with catcher Mikawa Kenta at the baseline, Inahara Isshu nodded knowingly and soon pitched the ball toward home plate.

A moment later—

"Ball four, batter walks!"

On the broadcast screen, Lin Guanglai, expressionless, put down his bat and turned calmly toward first base.

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