Top of the first inning, the first-year team attacks first.
The chief umpire for this match is Mr. Izumi Minoru himself, while the tasks of broadcasting match information and recording game data are handled by the two female managers of the baseball club—Saito Mayu from the second year and Yuki Ono from the third year.
"First batter, left fielder, Ogata-kun." Saito's sweet voice came over the broadcast.
Hearing the broadcast cue, Ogata Kazuyoshi put on his helmet, eagerly grabbed his bat, and walked to the batter's box, stopping just one step outside the right batter's box.
He placed his hand on the brim of his cap, slightly nodding towards Tsuchiya Ryota squatting at the baseline for the catch and the chief umpire Mr. Izumi Minoru, and then he entered the batter's box—all these are baseball etiquettes consistently emphasized by Mr. Izumi and the team's seniors in daily practice.
"Go for it, captain! Show the first-year juniors your strength!" From the bench of the senior team, a large group gathered, shouting loudly towards Suzuki Kensuke on the pitcher's mound.
"Kazuyoshi! Hit the ball out for me—if you manage a hit, I'll treat you to JUMP next month!" From the first-year's bench, the team's right fielder Yagaki shouted towards home plate.
In response to the cheers from their teammates, Suzuki Kensuke just slightly nodded in acknowledgment; whereas the flamboyant Ogata Kazuyoshi was imitating the preparation stance of the legendary player Ichiro Suzuki—he held the bat high with his left hand, then placed his right hand gently on his left arm, across his chest.
Meanwhile, Lin Guanglai positioned himself at the left rear of the home plate area—he had heard about Suzuki Kensuke's pitching but rarely had the chance to see the captain go all out in regular training—so he wanted to observe closely from the short distance.
With the batter indicating he's ready, Mr. Izumi Minoru announced the start of the match.
On the pitcher's mound, Suzuki Kensuke surveyed his surroundings, ensuring his teammates' attention was focused and then aimed his gaze towards the home plate at Tsuchiya Ryota, waiting for his pitching signal—because of the catcher position's full view of the field, in most baseball games, the catcher issues the pitch signals based on the different situations on the field.
From home plate, Tsuchiya Kenta signaled the pitcher, and Suzuki Kensuke understood, lifting his leg, twisting his body, swinging his arm, and releasing the baseball—it traveled in a straight line, darting towards the inner corner of the batter.
In the batter's box, Ogata Kazuyoshi wasn't flustered by the coming ball, instead keeping his eyes fixed on it, then resolutely swung his bat.
"Thud!" With a light sound, the baseball was pulled and hit out of bounds—compared to the softer baseballs used during junior high, the hard baseballs Takayama used were faster and stronger, making it harder to hit, especially for the first-year students who had just started using hardballs; something not quickly adapted to with short training periods.
Count 1 strike, 0 balls.
The follow-up second pitch, the catcher called for a slider—Ogata Kazuyoshi mistakenly judged it as a regular fastball when facing the incoming ball, thus failing to hit it properly.
Count 2 strikes, 0 balls.
Pressure instantly mounted on the batter Ogata Kazuyoshi's side—with just one more good pitch, the pitcher could strike him out, but the opponent might also choose to use a bad pitch to lure him—when facing a situation of 2 strikes and 0 balls, the pressure on a batter is undoubtedly considerable.
"Kazuyoshi, don't stress, if it's a good pitch, swing the bat decisively!" The first-year teammates loudly cheered for Ogata Kazuyoshi.
At the baseline, Tsuchiya Kenta beamed with delight, 2 strikes giving him, as the catcher, more play-defining options—thinking so, Tsuchiya Kenta made a sign: he intended to call for a bad pitch, to see if he could trick the batter into swinging.
However, on the pitcher's mound, Suzuki Kensuke did not nod but touched his cap—a gesture meaning refusal in their pre-arranged code; instead, he touched his nose with his ungloved right hand, expressing the type of pitch he wanted to throw.
"Tsk tsk, Kensuke really shows no mercy to the juniors, going straight for this kind of pitch." A smile appeared on Tsuchiya Kenta's face behind his mask, he nodded, signaling the pitcher could begin.
Raise the leg, twist, swing the arm—the baseball was released!
In the batting box, Ogata Kazuyoshi did not notice the seniors' little gestures—his attention was wholly focused on the pitcher and the baseball: in his view, the captain's pitching style and speed for this ball seemed very much like a fastball, and it was clearly heading straight for the center of the strike zone as a fastball.
Ogata Kazuyoshi swung his bat with all his might, determined to smash the ball pitched right over the plate.
From the seniors' reserve bench, a collective enigmatic smile formed, contrasted by the first-year students' excitement: in their eyes, Ogata Kazuyoshi's bat was going to perfectly hit the incoming ball.
"He hit it, at least a double!"
"A home run might even be possible!!!"
Yet in the next second, the first-years' excited faces froze instantly, their cheers cut off—and as it flew in front of the home plate, the baseball suddenly vanished without a trace, completely disappeared; seen next, it was already in the catcher Tsuchiya Kenta's glove.
"Strikeout!" Announced the chief umpire Mr. Izumi Minoru for that at-bat's result.
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Back in the dugout, Ogata Kazuyoshi, having taken off his helmet, appeared quite frustrated: "I was watching that ball closely, the release was clearly a fastball, both speed and trajectory looked similar. I didn't expect it to be a forkball."
"Ah—" he groaned in frustration, "As expected of the 'last magic ball of the 20th century'! Damn it! I didn't think the captain could pull out such a trick!"
Forkball, a type of breaking ball in baseball. This type of breaking ball, whether in terms of pitching method or trajectory, is very similar to a regular fastball—because of the use of the inner part of the fingers to grip the ball, however, the Magnus effect of the forkball's spin is weaker compared to a fastball, creating its unique trait: as the ball reaches near the home plate, gravity causes the forkball's trajectory to exhibit a steep drop, thus confounding the batter—it's clear, Ogata Kazuyoshi just experienced a classic case.
While Ogata Kazuyoshi lamented, the second batter Yagaki and the third batter Uesugi were swiftly dealt with by the senior team's seamless coordination—Yagaki was struck out by the third-year pitcher-catcher duo using a combination of fastballs and curveballs; the third batter Uesugi Yasuyuki did hit the ball, but couldn't get past the seniors' infield defense, being solidly put out at first base.
Top of the first inning, the first-year team went three up, three down, truly an inauspicious start.
"Three outs, change of sides."
It's Lin Guanglai's turn to play.