"Strike! Batter out!" Behind home plate, the chief umpire pointed to the sky and loudly declared.
Seeing the umpire's gesture, on the pitcher's mound, Yamazaki Fuyuki clenched his fist, then bent down, gasping heavily — his body was feeling heavier, his strength continuously waning; under the scorching summer heat, whatever little water remained in him was being squeezed dry.
Seeing the state of their ace pitcher, in the batting preparation area, Ogura Quanyou, the supervisor of Nihon University Third, beckoned to the Yoshinaga Kentarou behind him: "Yoshinaga, go warm up."
Despite having various plans made before the game, Ogura Quanyou realized once the match started that he had underestimated the determination of the players from Nihon University Tsurugaoka.
Even though Tsurugaoka High School had beaten them 7-6 in this year's Spring Senbatsu Tournament, they showed no hint of winner's arrogance in this match:
From the opening of the game... no, from even before the match began, they had set themselves in a low position, clearly aiming to engage in a war of attrition against Nihon University Third;
From the first inning, first at-bat, they consistently implemented this attrition strategy, not minding being struck out or leaving men on base; as if as long as they could take Yamazaki Fuyuki off the mound, they would automatically win.
In the center of the field, as Yamazaki Fuyuki eliminated the last batter, the top half of the seventh inning came to an end — on the scoreboard at Shengong Stadium, Nihon University Third was leading Tsurugaoka High School 4-2.
Despite being confident in his players' abilities and his team still holding the lead, Ogura Quanyou felt a strange worry growing silently within him — the entire team's hitting hadn't found its rhythm today, apart from Ogihara Tatsuro's three-run homer, he couldn't think of another scoring opportunity.
At the center of Shengong Stadium, his team's performance in the bottom half of the seventh inning seemed to echo his concern: a slow ground ball was dealt with, a fly ball was caught by the outfielder, and the last one was struck out — the bottom half of the seventh inning lasted less than five minutes from beginning to end.
Although he considered substituting the pitcher, Ogura Quanyou still couldn't make up his mind — until the top of the eighth inning, when Yamazaki Fuyuki at his limit was hit for a single, Ogura finally stepped out of the preparation area and gestured towards the umpire:
"Change pitcher."
Nihon University Third, Number 1 Yamazaki Fuyuki off, Number 11 Yoshinaga Kentarou on.
The exhausted Yamazaki Fuyuki walked to the sideline from the pitcher's mound, still wearing a smile on his face;
Giving a high-five to Yoshinaga Kentarou who was about to replace him, then patting his junior's shoulder, Yamazaki Fuyuki encouraged him:
"All the rest of the game is in your hands, Kentarou."
Yoshinaga Kentarou nodded heavily, then quickly ran up the pitcher's mound to start warming up.
On the other side, in the player's area of Nihon University Tsurugaoka.
Seeing Yamazaki Fuyuki walking off the field, Ogaki Yuichi once again rallied his teammates: "Everyone, our plan is halfway successful — next is when we counterattack!"
"This summer, let's start by defeating Nihon University Third and continue our march to Koshien!"
-----------------
"Hit, hit, hit, and another hit!!! Nihon University Tsurugaoka's offense suddenly exploded in the top of the eighth inning!" The commentator's excited shout pierced through TV screens, reaching households across Japan: "Five consecutive hits, Nihon University Tsurugaoka's offense is relentless like a storm, Nihon University Third is completely stunned!"
"Friends watching, can you believe it?"
"Three innings ago, when Nihon University Third was leading 4-0, we almost thought the game was decided — but this is baseball, this is high school baseball!"
"Now, at the end of the top of the eighth inning, with five consecutive hits, Japan University Tsurugaoka High School has taken the lead! Now they are ahead 5-4!"
Stepping down from the pitcher's mound, Yoshinaga Kentarou looked dazed, almost on the verge of tears — any pitcher who replaced another and then was hit five consecutive times, losing 3 runs, couldn't possibly be in a good mood.
Confronted by his senior Fukuya who came forward, Yoshinaga Kentarou's gaze dodged, not daring to meet his eyes.
"Kentarou, what's happening to you?" Not giving Yoshinaga a chance to speak, Yamazaki Fuyuki continued: "The junior I know wouldn't show such defeat just because they lost a few runs!"
"Listen, Kentarou — losing points is definitely not only your fault, don't think of taking all of it on yourself;"
"Believe in yourself and your teammates, if we lost runs, let's just fight back, or are you saying you don't trust in your and your teammates' abilities?"
Gently patting Yoshinaga Kentarou's shoulder, Yamazaki Fuyuki said finally:
"A pitcher must have this awareness: we pitch not just for ourselves, but stand on the mound carrying the hopes of teammates on the field, and those partners who can't play due to insufficient ability."
"Now go back to the bench and rest briefly, Kentarou, then forget about this inning, prepare well for the next one — don't dwell on what's past, nor fantasize about tomorrow, go out and pitch, just focus on what you need to do right now."
"Once this summer ends, this team will be led by you — give it your all, Kentarou!"
Upon hearing Yamazaki Fuyuki's words, Yoshinaga Kentarou slowly lifted his head — Fukuya senior's gaze was clear and transparent, still with a smile on his face.
-----------------
Yoshinaga Kentarou stood on the field again — but this time, in the role of a batter.
Bottom of the ninth inning, two outs, runner on third.
As Yamazaki Fuyuki's replacement, Yoshinaga Kentarou came out as the fifth batter.
Not far in the stands, Nihon University Tsurugaoka's cheering section was boiling over — one out away from advancing to the decisive match of the West Tokyo Conference, and just a step from the dream of heading to Koshien; the batter up was still their substitute pitcher — it seemed victory was within reach.
Facing the ball pitched by Ogaki Yuichi from the mound, Yoshinaga Kentarou's mind had only one thought:
"For the points I lost, whatever happens, I have to make up for it."
He fixed his eyes on the flying baseball, then lifted his front foot, twisting his body back to gather strength, then took a strong step forward — his bat was swung with his body in a gesture almost smashing downward, he fiercely struck the oncoming baseball.
Bouncing a few times on the ground, the red-white striped ball traversed the area between first and second base unattended, breaking through Nihon University Tsurugaoka's infield defense, finally intercepted in the outfield.
Successfully standing on first base, Yoshinaga Kentarou looked towards his teammate returning to home plate, and let out a roar — he desperately needed a moment like this to release his emotions!
Equally excited was the cheering section of Nihon University Third, and the commentator on TV:
"Yoshinaga, Yoshinaga from Nihon University Third — with a hit, he redeemed himself while preserving the hope for Senbatsu Tournament runner-up advancement."
"Splendid, splendid! Viewers, it looks like this 'Nihon University duel' is about to reach the climax!!!"