On July 24, 2010, the highly anticipated West Tokyo Conference Semi-finals will commence today at Meiji Jingu Stadium.
This time, the semi-final match-ups are full of highlights and thrills:
The first match will start at 10 AM, with Japan University Third High School (Nihon University) facing Japan University Tsurugaoka High School (Nihon University Tsurugaoka) in a "Nihon University showdown";
After the conclusion of this match, at 12:30 PM, Waseda Industrial School (Waseda Real) and Waseda University Senior High School (Waseda University) will engage in a "Waseda Derby."
Standing on the pitcher's mound at Shengong Stadium, Yamazaki Fuyuki felt that he was in great condition today: his body was flexible and extended, his muscles relaxed, and whether it was swinging his arm or releasing the ball, everything felt perfect. The baseball flew effortlessly into the strike zone.
After throwing a few more pitches, Yamazaki Fuyuki nodded towards the home plate umpire behind him, indicating that he had finished warming up. Following the umpire's signal, Nihon University Tsurugaoka's leadoff batter, Enomoto Yu, stepped into the batter's box.
The first semi-final match has begun!
The first pitch.
Yamazaki Fuyuki confirmed signals with the catcher behind home plate, then smoothly tossed the ball—a blur of a baseball shot from his hand, vanishing from the sight of the audience and batter; when it reappeared, it was already being thrown back to Yamazaki Fuyuki on the mound by the catcher.
Astonished by the speed of the pitch, the audience raised their heads in unison, eager to know the exact speed of the pitch—a set of numbers lit up on the scoreboard above Meiji Jingu Stadium, followed by a massive outburst of amazement from the spectators:
151km/h!!!
Even the commentator on the television couldn't help but exclaim: "Oh my—no wonder they're the runners-up of this year's Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament, as Yamazaki has already thrown a fastball exceeding 150km/h right from the get-go. Even nationwide, there aren't many high schoolers who can pitch like that, right?"
A guest next to the commentator chuckled and agreed: "That's right, you know in typical high school teams, being able to pitch over 135km/h qualifies you as an Ace pitcher, and even in prestigious schools, exceeding 140km/h is enough to be a starter—being able to pitch over 150km/h at a high school level can only be expected from a player like Yamazaki."
For Yamazaki Fuyuki on the field, he couldn't hear what the commentators were saying at the moment, his eyes were solely focused on the batter in the box.
Lifting his leg, gathering strength, turning, swinging his arm—the baseball was once again launched by him, still with the same smooth and powerful motion, still a rapid fastball.
The stands surrounding Shengong Stadium echoed with exclamations once more—another 150km/h fastball!
Just like the spectators, Enomoto Yu in the batter's box also looked up to see the speed of the pitch—feeling helpless about it: it wasn't that he didn't want to hit it, the speed was just too fast.
"No, I can't let this continue, the next pitch I have to swing." Enomoto Yu thought to himself.
The following third pitch, the catcher's choice of pitch remained unchanged, still the overpowering fastball: though the speed of this pitch slightly dropped, it still reached 148km/h.
Despite Enomoto Yu focusing intensely on the path of the ball and swinging with all his might, he still missed, leading to a strikeout.
"A swing and a miss for a strikeout!!! Incredible, truly incredible, this is the absolute strength of the runner-up Ace pitcher of the Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament!!!" Seeing Yamazaki Fuyuki throw three straight fastballs, the commentator couldn't help but shout.
Dejected after the strikeout, Enomoto Yu returned to his team's area, handed his batting gear and protective equipment to a teammate, and apologized to them sincerely:
"Sorry everyone, as the leadoff hitter, not only did I fail to hit the ball, I also couldn't figure anything out—the opposing pitches are just too fast, sometimes I couldn't even see the path."
The team's captain, Ogaki Yuichi, patted him on the shoulder and waved his hand, saying: "Ah, no worries Yu, don't blame yourself—don't forget the strategy we agreed on before the game!"
The teammates chimed in, comforting Enomoto Yu: "Yeah, yeah, with Yamazaki Fuyuki in his prime form, not even you, amongst all high schoolers in Tokyo, hardly anyone could get a hit off him—so relax, Yu, just stick to our plan."
"Exactly, even though Yamazaki Fuyuki's pitch is fast, no matter how strong the pitcher is, they can't maintain that speed the entire game—we just have to constantly exhaust his stamina right from the start, make him throw the balls that cost more energy more frequently," Ogaki Yuichi looked around at his teammates, confidently stating: "Our battlefield lies not in the beginning, but in the eighth, or even the bottom of the ninth inning!"
"It doesn't matter if we concede points, even if we fall behind by a large margin, don't get discouraged—let's not forget how we defeated the opponent in spring! As long as we seize every possible opportunity, I believe Tsurugaoka High School will certainly enter the finals in the end!"
-----------------
For the players of Nihon University Third High School, the initial stages of the match development went as expected:
With their team's ace, Yamazaki Fuyuki, showcasing formidable strength, the batting lineup of Nihon University Tsurugaoka was utterly silenced—so far into the match, after four and a half innings, Nihon University Tsurugaoka hadn't managed to get many hits off, being thoroughly suppressed by Yamazaki Fuyuki;
As for Nihon University Third High School's batting lineup, although not in the best form, strategic advancement on bases allowed them to secure the first run, leading 1-0 at present.
It is now the bottom of the fifth inning, Nihon University Third High School is on offense; the current situation is one out, runners on first and second base.
Standing in the batter's box is Nihon University Third High School's sixth batter, Ogihara Tatsuro.
With 3 balls and 2 strikes, the full count.
On the pitcher's mound, Ogaki Yuichi of Nihon University Tsurugaoka took a deep breath, trying to quell his nerves: in the current situation, if he lets the current batter walk to base, it means conceding at least another run this inning;
Though trailing 0-2 wasn't unacceptable for Nihon University Tsurugaoka, Ogaki Yuichi still wanted to take a gamble: he intended to throw the pitch in the strike zone, aiming for a strikeout to alleviate some pressure off his teammates on defense.
Lifting his leg, gathering strength, turning, swinging his arm, the baseball "whizzed" from his hand, flying toward the inner corner of the batter's strike zone.
However, with a loud "clang," Ogihara Tatsuro struck the ball in an almost perfect form—the baseball was driven by the immense force of the bat, shooting across the night sky of Shengong Stadium like a meteor, then landed in the stands outside the field.
It was a powerful home run, and a three-run blast at that—meanwhile, the score of this game reached 4:0, with Nihon University Third High School in the lead.
Ogaki Yuichi felt some regret, as the run was largely due to his impulsive decision; but he quickly steadied his mindset—these scenarios were pre-planned, and they were far from the worst possible situation, they still needed to play seriously in every turn, every attack and defense;
And for the Nihon University Third High School side, the first five innings of this match were as smooth as could be, as they celebrated with the home run hitter Ogihara Tatsuro, everyone in the dugout was relaxed but not careless—they all yearned to avenge their spring loss with a resounding victory against their opponents.
After five innings, is this match already losing suspense?