With the resurgence of East Asia Academy's state, they began a frantic counterattack against Waseda Industries, displaying a posture of biting down even if struck out, determined to claw back the score.
For a moment, Waseda Industries' defense found itself on the back foot.
"Coach, are we really not switching pitchers? It's already the bottom of the eighth inning and Kensuke's speed and pitch quality have visibly declined," Izumi Minoru's assistant asked him.
Izumi Minoru did not immediately respond but instead pointed towards the direction of Suzuki Kensuke, then said, "Look, Kensuke is already very tired; compared to us outsiders, he should have the deepest understanding of his own condition, right?"
"But even in such exhaustion, he still refuses to give up and continues to shoulder his responsibilities. If we adults substitute him now, wouldn't that be denying these kids' persistence, denying their efforts?"
The assistant next to him did not speak again.
Reaching out to pat the assistant's shoulder, Izumi Minoru comforted him, "I can understand your feelings. After all, as adults, we certainly hope to secure the victory steadily, even if it means resorting to some unscrupulous means at times."
But then he changed his tone: "However, these kids on the field are still high school students after all. High school baseball should be pure and untainted—if even such a game requires winning at all costs, how can we expect them to become upright adults in the future?"
"Of course, pitching changes can naturally be made—but such a decision should definitely not be made by us adults; the only one who can make that choice is Kensuke himself."
On the pitcher's mound, after receiving the ball returned from home plate by Tsuchiya Ryota, Suzuki Kensuke shook his somewhat swollen and sore arm—for East Asia Academy, wearing down the pitcher wasn't an exclusive tactic. If Waseda Real could use it, East Asia Academy could certainly do the same—in this half-inning alone, he had already thrown over twenty pitches.
Turning back to look at the situation on the field: one out, runners on first and second base, the third batter of East Asia Academy was about to come on to hit.
"The third batter, huh..." Suzuki Kensuke murmured as he gazed at the East Asia Academy batter standing on the outer side of the batter's box. After thinking for a while, he roughly made up his mind and gestured a few signals towards Tsuchiya Ryota behind the plate, receiving the other's approval.
The first pitch, a high inside fastball, was imprecisely controlled by the fatigued Suzuki Kensuke, and it didn't fully enter the strike zone. The opposing batter did not swing, and the umpire called it a ball.
1 ball, 0 strikes.
The second pitch, a high outside slider—like the first pitch—was also off-target due to the decline in control feel caused by fatigue. The slider's trajectory wasn't as precise as earlier innings, failing to stay on the edges of the strike zone, instead slowly sliding outside.
2 balls, 0 strikes.
Now the pressure was primarily on pitcher Suzuki Kensuke: with the first two pitches being balls, to get the batter out, he must now seize the strike count; however, his pitching feel is clearly off, with many borderline pitches likely unable to find the strike zone—which means to strike out the batter before him, Suzuki Kensuke must take the risk of throwing some less challenging sweet spot pitches.
But here's the problem: there are two runners on base now, and Waseda only leads by 2 points. If the opponent's batter hits a long ball, the score could be tied or even reversed instantly, which is the result Waseda most dreads;
But if they choose to walk this third batter, the whole Waseda defense will face a one-out, bases-loaded predicament, and the next batter for East Asia Academy is Takasugi Masahiro.
Glancing towards Lin Guanglai, who was nervously waiting in their team's player area, the thought "Should we change the pitcher?" suddenly popped into Suzuki Kensuke's head, but then he shook it off.
"Even if we really need to change the pitcher, as a senior, I shouldn't let the juniors bear this kind of pressure," Suzuki Kensuke thought, then he turned sideways, lifted his leg, leaned forward, swung his arm, and released the ball—a complete and seamless pitching action—the red and white baseball shot out from his hand, speeding towards home plate.
"Strike." As the baseball thudded into the catcher's mitt, the umpire's call echoed.
2 balls, 1 strike.
Then, seizing the momentum, when the umpire signaled again, without much adjustment, he pitched the ball once more—another strike! The game situation swiftly moved to 2 balls, 2 strikes.
With the throw of this strike, pitcher Suzuki Kensuke let out a loud shout, "Saa," in facing the disadvantageous situation of 2 balls, 0 strikes, this time he finally withstood the pressure and brought the game back into his control.
Taming his excitement, Suzuki Kensuke wiped talcum powder on his hands already drenched in sweat—to finish this half-inning, he only needed one more strike!
Suzuki Kensuke stood tall with feet together on the mound facing the batter. Responding to the catcher partner's signals, he nodded with determined eyes.
The same familiar routine—turning his body sideways, lifting the front foot, gathering strength, then twisting his body to bring the arm forcefully forward, fully releasing the baseball—in the moment before the ball completely left his right hand, applying a spinning action with his fingers.
Whoosh——!
The baseball escaped from Suzuki Kensuke's hand, darting swiftly towards home plate, in the blink of an eye it reached just in front of it, facing this ball's favorable angle, the opposing batter obviously wasn't going to miss it, decisively sending the bat towards the incoming baseball—
"Clang——"
The baseball collided vigorously with the bat, then had intimate contact with the field ground, scooting along the ground towards the gap between second and third base.
"Just like this!" Seeing the baseball hit to the ground, Suzuki Kensuke felt a rush of joy, then looked towards shortstop Matsunaga Kenta, silently chanting, "Kenta, next, it's all up to you."
Faced with this fairly quick grounder, standing between second and third base, Matsunaga Kenta swiftly moved forward to set up his catching position. Confirming the ball was in his glove, he quickly got up, taking a quick step to toss the ball towards second baseman Fukasawa Kouta near there;
Receiving the shortstop's throw, Fukasawa Kouta did not hesitate at all, lightly tapping his front foot on the second base bag before the runner from East Asia Academy from first base, then striding to send the ball straight towards first base;
First baseman Sugai Natsuki had long been ready. He planted one foot on the first base bag, stretched the other one forward, reaching out the gloved hand towards the incoming ball, catching it neatly in a near-split-like pose before the batter could reach first base.
At the crucial moment, Waseda's defense held firm. With this 6-4-3 double play, they successfully navigated the toughest situation, bringing the game into the eighth inning.
And for East Asia Academy, not much time remained for them to level the score.