When Lin Guanglai chased the ball and successfully reached first base, cheers erupted from the Waseda Jitsugyo player's area.
The leadoff hitter got a hit and successfully took a base, undoubtedly giving Waseda Jitsugyo a good start in this inning:
With a runner on base, Practical Academy's defense was inevitably affected; likewise, the following batters for Waseda Jitsugyo would have more hitting options.
On the pitcher's mound, Sanzaki Yuuki felt somewhat irritated: pitching for eight innings, with over 110 pitches, both his physical and mental state were nearing their limit.
In this state, Lin Guanglai, standing on first base, continued to provoke him — every time he left the base, he would stand in an extremely borderline position.
As an opponent, Sanzaki wouldn't indulge Lin Guanglai's behavior, decisively spinning around to check him, but with little effect.
Lin Guanglai's sense of positioning while base running was remarkably keen: Every time he took a lead off base, the opposing pitcher always felt they could pick him off, yet they were always just a bit short. Back and forth it went, and eventually, it was Sanzaki himself who was on the verge of a breakdown.
"Four balls, take your base."
Due to his disrupted mindset, Sanzaki Yuuki's pitching rhythm was somewhat affected. Facing Chongxin Shinjiro, Waseda Jitsugyo's second batter in this inning, he pitched four balls, walking him to first base.
With the umpire's call, the current situation on the field was no outs, with runners on first and second.
In the stands, Waseda Jitsugyo supporters seemed to see hope of tying the score, and the spirit that was weakened by the hot weather and the trailing score suddenly rose, and the sound of the brass section blared again.
Surrounded by the clamor, Sanzaki on the pitcher's mound took a deep breath, trying to refocus his scattered attention.
He decided not to waste his remaining attention and energy on the annoying baserunners anymore — he wanted to confront the upcoming batters head-on, striking them all out one by one.
With the announcement broadcasted over the stadium, Waseda Jitsugyo's third batter, second-year shortstop Matsunaga Kenta, stepped into the batter's box.
Upon entering the batter's box, Matsunaga Kenta immediately assumed a bunting position.
His task in this at-bat was to advance his teammates on base with a sacrifice bunt — as long as they don't hit into a double play, it's considered a win.
However, Sanzaki Yuuki seemed to say, "Thinking about bunting, have you asked my opinion?"
With the swishing sound of pitches, Sanzaki Yuuki threw two fastballs exceeding 140 km/h, leaving Matsunaga in the batter's box without a chance to bunt, now facing a situation of no balls and two strikes.
Just as Sanzaki lifted his pivot foot, preparing to quickly dispatch the batter with the third pitch, Lin Guanglai made his move —
To set up this steal, during Sanzaki's first two pitches, he stood in a very conservative position off the base, intending to make the opponent think he wouldn't dare to steal third base — after all, the distance from first base to home is much closer than from second base; the difficulty of stealing between them is not in the same league.
Practical Academy's field players on the field quickly noticed Lin Guanglai's actions, trying to alert the pitcher, but it was too late — once the pitcher's pivot foot is lifted, he cannot stop throwing, or it would be considered a balk, not only granting the current batter a free pass to first base but also advancing all baserunners one base.
As Lin Guanglai dashed towards third base, Chongxin Shinjiro on first base also quickly followed suit — as the team's leadoff hitter, he naturally had speed and agility.
Good news, Sanzaki struck out the Waseda Jitsugyo batter; bad news, the opponents initiated a double steal from first and second.
Facing this unexpected situation, Practical Academy's catcher was evidently unprepared; when he tried to stand up and throw to third base, he found the struck-out Matsunaga Kenta hadn't left the batter's box, instead pretending to lose his balance and blocking his way.
Blocked by the batter, the Practical Academy catcher had no choice but to step back first, then position himself and throw the baseball fiercely toward third base.
And it was this extra step that gave Lin Guanglai the chance to safely reach the base: getting close to third, Lin Guanglai lowered his center of gravity, extending his arm forcefully toward the base, thrusting his entire body forward.
As his outstretched hand reached the base, Practical Academy's third baseman also placed his glove, catching the ball, on Lin Guanglai.
Lying on the ground, Lin Guanglai tightly pressed one hand on third base, looking up at the third base umpire beside him, awaiting his ruling.
This was a critical judgment that could determine the fate of the game — if Lin Guanglai, in his attempt to steal third, was ruled out, then for Waseda Jitsugyo, the game would face a desperate situation of a runner on second with two outs.
After a few seconds of contemplation, the third base umpire made his call:
"Safe!"
"Yasa——!!!" Seeing the umpire's signal, Lin Guanglai slammed the ground a few times, letting out an irrepressible roar — this gamble paid off!
Meanwhile, the players' area for Waseda Jitsugyo was thoroughly ignited; no one could sit calmly and watch the game anymore, everyone in the preparation area was releasing their emotions freely — repressed for a full eight innings, they desperately needed an outlet.
However, for the Practical Academy players on the field, their hearts suddenly filled with panic:
Top of the ninth with one out, Waseda Jitsugyo successfully seized upon Practical Academy's brief moment of carelessness, successfully advancing to second and third with a double steal tactic.
Practithroughout the entire game, Practical Academy, leading until then, faced their biggest crisis, just one half inning away from making history.
It was now the most critical moment of the game, a time that tested not the players' skills but their determination to win — whoever caved first might suffer a complete defeat.
Clearly, the first to cave was Practical Academy's ace pitcher Sanzaki Yuuki.
Exhaustion, nothing but exhaustion — that's how Sanzaki felt now. There wasn't a part of his body that didn't ache, especially his arm; the upper arm and shoulder, crucial for pitching power, were crying out in dire warning, telling him not to continue.
But as the team's number one, as their ace, at this point in time, it had to be him, only him, shouldering this responsibility.
Inhale — exhale — inhale — exhale.
On the pitcher's mound, Sanzaki tried to calm his rapidly beating heart with deep breaths.
"Stay calm, the more critical the moment, the calmer you must be."
He looked at the batter in the side batter's box at home plate — their opponent's third batter, a power hitter — continuously reminding himself to be cautious of the batter's swing.
His left foot lifted, gathering strength, the body twisted to drive the arm to throw, gently flicking the ball with his fingers upon release — a practiced routine Sanzaki knew all too well, having done it dozens to hundreds of times each day for the past three years — he launched the ball towards home plate.
"Clang—" Accompanied by a loud crash, Kenshu Yasuda's bat accurately made contact with the flying baseball, and under the tremendous force, the baseball flew toward the vacant area between left and central fields, landing before the outfielders could arrive.
At the same time, an earth-shattering roar erupted from the Waseda Industries players' area and support stands — everybody on the field was running full throttle, with Lin Guanglai sprinting from third base back to home plate, closely followed by Chongxin Shinjiro, and Kenshu Yasuda stopping at second base.
This was a life-saving double, reviving Waseda Jitsugyo's game completely.
"Aaaaahhhhh——ahhhhhhhhh——"
The players in the dugout furiously shouted, letting out primal screams, as all the pressure of the game vanished in this moment — they had tied the score!