"Mr. Izumi, for the upcoming game against East Asia Academy, please let me start."
Suzuki Kensuke walked into Izumi Minoru's office and dropped this statement as soon as he stepped in, then stood there rigidly without saying another word.
Izumi Minoru, who was working at his desk, looked up and, upon confirming the visitor's identity, put on his signature kind smile again.
"Ah, it's Kensuke, sit down." He pointed to the chair in front of him, indicating for Suzuki Kensuke to sit — but Kensuke did not comply. Instead, he bowed and pleaded:
"Mr. Izumi, please let me start in the game against East Asia Academy! As long as I can participate in this game, for the later games, even if you..."
Before Suzuki Kensuke could finish his sentence, Izumi Minoru interrupted him. The kind old man still used his gentle tone to say to Suzuki Kensuke, "Kensuke, sit down first." — but this time, his tone carried an undeniable firmness.
After Suzuki Kensuke sat down, Izumi Minoru handed him a sheet of paper — a chart comparing the team's stats of the previous game when he and Lin Guanglai pitched.
After waiting for Suzuki Kensuke to finish reading the data sheet, Izumi Minoru slowly asked, "Kensuke, if you were me, between these two pitchers on the chart, whom would you choose?"
The response was silence, nothing but silence.
After a while, Izumi Minoru first broke the silence, "I have been a high school coach for decades, and I actually understand what was happening with your performance in the last game, Kensuke."
"Of course, failure is hard to accept, but without failure, how would we truly appreciate the value of success? Do you remember what I said to you players when you first joined the team?"
Facing Izumi Minoru's question, Suzuki Kensuke blurted out, "Winning is not the goal of high school baseball."
Izumi Minoru nodded, "Exactly, winning was never the goal of high school baseball — as long as you've given your best, had a good match against a strong opponent, does the outcome really matter? What is important is never the result, but what you learn from baseball."
"Victory or defeat is merely an outcome. Since you can share the joy of success with your teammates, Kensuke, why not trust them a little more and bear the bitterness of losing together as well? Isn't it also a form of arrogance to think you must shoulder all the past failures by yourself?"
Izumi Minoru stood up, walked to Suzuki Kensuke, and gently patted his shoulder:
"I promise you, Kensuke. For the next game, I will let you start — I hope you won't disappoint me, and even more, don't let down your teammates who wholeheartedly support you."
Having said that, Izumi Minoru left his office, leaving the room to the deeply contemplative Suzuki Kensuke.
-----------------
On the baseball field of Waseda Shogyo High School, the players were undergoing their routine training — due to the previous game, today the team was adjusting their condition and finding their touch under the batting coach's guidance.
With each swing of the bat, baseballs flew one after another towards the outfield, accompanied by loud shouts of "Good hit!" and "Well struck!" — it seemed that everyone was getting into better shape.
As the team's main catcher and vice-captain, Tsuchiya Ryota was now a little troubled: Lin Guanglai, a first-year, indeed had strong abilities, but with opponents getting stronger and the games becoming more intense, and only two days to rest between each game, there's no way he could handle it all by himself.
At the same time, as a close friend and catcher for three years, he was also worried about Suzuki Kensuke's condition: in Tsuchiya Ryota's memory, Suzuki Kensuke had always been someone who liked to take all the pressure onto himself — always serious in the team, only focused on shouldering the team with his actual performance.
"Ah, if only Kensuke could trust everyone a little more…" Tsuchiya Ryota sighed heavily, muttering to himself.
The whistle for gathering blew, "Toot-toot."
Seconds later, all the members of the baseball club had assembled in a line — clearly, it was time for Mr. Izumi to announce the starting lineup for the game.
"Now, I'll announce the starting lineup for the game against East Asia Academy." Izumi Minoru's gaze swept across the orderly crowd before him, then he continued reading:
"First batter, number 5, Chongxin Shen Zhong, third base."
"Second batter, number 6, Matsunaga Kenta, shortstop."
"Third batter, number 8, Kenshu Yasuda, center field."
"Fourth batter, number 9, Onoda Shunsuke, right field."
...
"Ninth batter..." Before announcing the starting pitcher, Izumi Minoru paused slightly, his eyes going back and forth between Lin Guanglai and Suzuki Kensuke, then he announced the starter:
"Number 1, Suzuki Kensuke, pitcher."
In fact, this starting lineup was what Izumi Minoru had originally planned:
First, considering yesterday's game against Todai, Lin Guanglai pitched a 7-inning complete game, started a 3-inning game, and in one match was forced to pitch another 4 innings under high pressure — for a first-year like him, this volume of pitching had already put his arm under overstrain.
Secondly, as a first-year who just joined the Waseda Jitsugyo Baseball Club, Lin Guanglai did not experience last year's heavy defeat against East Asia Academy, and thus did not share the senior players' intense urge for revenge, nor could he fully understand their lingering resentment.
Additionally, Lin Guanglai was also Mr. Izumi's backup plan for Waseda Shogyo — as a veteran who has coached high school teams for over twenty years, Mr. Izumi had a hunch that the game against East Asia Academy couldn't be overly open and would likely become a dull pitcher's duel.
In such a scenario, if Suzuki Kensuke were to be overwhelmed towards the end of the game, then Lin Guanglai as the number two ace pitcher might tip the scales in their favor — hence, Mr. Izumi had moved him from his usual right field position when not pitching to conserve his energy.
After announcing the lineup, Mr. Izumi left. As he walked away, Suzuki Kensuke, who had not spoken until now, stepped out from the line, bowed deeply to all the members of the baseball club:
"I'm sorry for making everyone worried in the previous game — I won't dwell on the past anymore. For the next match against East Asia Academy, I will give everything I have, please help me, let's continue to move towards Koshien together!"
Seeing his partner in this state, Tsuchiya Kenta shouted with joy: "That's it, that's the way, Kensuke! This is the Suzuki Kensuke I know!"
Then, patting his chest, he declared boldly, "Don't worry, Kensuke. In the game the day after tomorrow, I won't miss a single ball — our duo will definitely outshine Mihori Yuusuke and Takasugi Masahiro!"
"That's right, captain, count on our infield squad! We won't let any ground balls slip through this time!"
"And our outfield team, too! We'll catch every fly ball for sure!"
Finally, Suzuki Kensuke specifically sought out Lin Guanglai, who would be the substitute for the upcoming game. Looking straight into Lin Guanglai's eyes, with a warm smile, he placed his hands on Lin Guanglai's shoulders and said softly:
"Guanglai, I'm not sure how long I can last in the game the day after tomorrow, but if I have to step down, I'll leave everything that follows to you!"
Facing Suzuki Kensuke's sincere gaze, Lin Guanglai responded with a smile of his own:
"They won't score a single point, senior."