Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 298 - 160: Victory in Sight (Double-Length)

Finally, he got the pitch he wanted. Prepared and ready, Hagiyama Mitsuo decisively swung the bat. To hit this outside slider, he even leaned all his body weight towards home plate, and his swinging posture was his most classic full-force swing.

"Clang——!!!"

The slider, which wasn’t particularly fast to begin with, was hit by the bat before it could move, and the entire ball was lifted from the bottom up under the immense power. Matsuboto Kenji felt his temples throbbing—just hearing the crisp contact sound in his ears, he knew the ball had definitely been hit squarely in the sweet spot.

Quickly standing up and taking off his mask, Matsuboto Kenji looked towards the left-field direction from the catcher’s seat, then slowly closed his eyes, unwilling to face what was about to happen.

Amidst the huge cheers from the Waseda Jitsugyo support group in the third base direction, the baseball sliced through the sky, flying into the Koshien Stadium stands like a stone into the vast ocean, then disappeared.

"Hagiyama’s hit! The baseball is out of here!!!"

"Home run! Hagiyama Mitsuo! His second of the tournament!"

"3:0!!! Waseda Industries! They are getting closer and closer to the honor of their second Summer League championship in school history!"

Amidst the cheers of Waseda Jitsugyo supporters and the silence of Koushing Academy fans, Hagiyama Mitsuo raised both arms high and made a lap around the field, and after scoring at home plate, he immediately embraced his nearest teammates.

Hitting a home run on the stage of the Koshien finals, he had indeed written his name in the annals of history—no matter how many years pass, whenever people remember today’s game, his name, Hagiyama Mitsuo, will be mentioned countless times.

Excitedly running back to the dugout, Hagiyama Mitsuo dodged the hugs from teammates rushing out from the bench to celebrate and quickly ran up to Lin Guanglai, extending his fist once more:

"Well, Guanglai, how was my performance in this at-bat just now?"

"I’ve done my part, now it’s your turn to keep your word!"

Lin Guanglai praised his excellent performance in that at-bat and promised him with a fist bump again:

"Yeah—don’t worry, senior, I’ll definitely keep my word!"

For the Koushing Academy players defending on the field, a sudden home run, though worth only a point, was no small blow and worsened an already less than optimistic situation, making the players’ spirits urgent once again. Many pursed their lips, feeling a heaviness in their hearts.

A 3-point lead in baseball isn’t particularly large, as a rally can tie it—but for Koushing today, such a general rule clearly didn’t apply:

When your team has attacked for five innings but could only swallow the bitter result of 15 up and 15 down, playing for 2 hours without even seeing the opposing first base, your confidence takes a massive hit.

More crucially, after Hagiyama Mitsuo, they would face the front of Waseda’s batting order again, making the situation even more precarious.

In the Alps Stand at first base, Koushing Academy supporters were shouting loudly, hoping the team trapped in difficulties could quickly get out of it—never mind catching up with the score disadvantage, at least not let another run in this half-inning, right?

But evidently, having seized a scoring opportunity, Waseda Jitsugyo had no intention of stopping, and their offensive continued.

When Chongxin Shen Zhong came up to hit, Izumi Minoru called over the few behind him, instructing them that their tactical choices in this half-inning could be more aggressive, aiming to use this strongest batting lineup to stretch the lead to a desperate level for the opponent.

As Izumi Minoru was saying this, on the field, facing a pitch from Akita Kyoyoshi, Chongxin Shen Zhong did not disappoint, seizing on an inside pitch deviation and hitting a quick ground ball to right field that penetrated Koushing Academy’s defense, successfully reaching first base.

With the coach’s orders backing him, Matsunaga Kenta, who came to bat behind him, transformed into a more confident version of himself:

Ordinarily, acting as a component in the offensive strategy with sacrifice bunts to help teammates advance, the second batter Matsunaga was the least noticed of Waseda Jitsugyo’s front-line hitters—even many thought that anyone could replace him in the bunting role, possibly even doing better.

Despite the skepticism, Matsunaga Kenta may say nothing verbally, but it’s impossible for him to feel no frustration inside; if he could stand out, who would want to play such a role?

However, that is the essence of a team. A top-notch team needs not only star players with outstanding individual prowess who can lead the team out of predicaments but also role players who work diligently in their tactical roles—sometimes, the latter’s importance even exceeds the former’s.

Luckily, Waseda teammates knew his tactical sacrifices and his difficulties. In everyday life and in games, everyone in this big family was more tolerant of his attitude—and now, with the coach’s backing, on the stage of the Koshien finals, Matsunaga Kenta wanted to be his true self for the first time in a long while:

Not a bunt or a sacrificial fly, but a solid hit, genuinely helping the team!

The first pitch from Akita Kyoyoshi came, and aiming for the incoming ball, Matsunaga Kenta focused on it to the end. After confirming the path of the baseball, he decisively swung, hitting it squarely.

Evidently, Matsunaga Kenta’s outburst caught Koushing Academy off guard once again—who would think a second batter known for bunting in the previous five games, would suddenly abandon his specialty and swing at the first pitch, connecting squarely, especially with one out?

The line drive landed at the boundary between right field and infield, rolling all the way to right fielder Sawada Tatsushi before he picked it up—by then, Matsunaga Kenta had already reached first base, and the speedy Chongxin Shen Zhong managed to run to third base.

As Matsunaga Kenta stood on first base, the players from the Waseda Jitsugyo dugout along the third base erupted with enormous cheers—cheers that seemed to almost surpass those for Hagiyama Mitsuo’s home run.

Seeing his excited and ecstatic teammates, Matsunaga Kenta also smiled, reflecting in his heart:

"Fantastic."

With his teammates in front getting hit after hit, as the team’s vice-captain and third batter, Kenshu Yasuda, following Matsunaga Kenta, couldn’t just let himself be outdone by his friends, right?

In his last at-bat, he battled through 8 pitches only to strike out. Now seeing his brothers in front hitting safely, if he struck out again in this turn, who knows how they might mock him when he got back—just the thought of that scene made Kenshu Yasuda cringe with embarrassment.

Determined not to become the target of group ridicule, Kenshu Yasuda resolved to get a hit in this at-bat!

After giving up hits in three consecutive at-bats, Akita Kyoyoshi adjusted his state in time—this at-bat for Kenshu Yasuda was still very tough.

After a six or seven-pitch standoff, this time it was the star pitcher of Koushing who couldn’t withstand the pressure.

"Ball four!"

"Batter, take your base!"

In a crucial moment of the game, Akita Kyoyoshi surprisingly issued his first walk of the entire game, allowing Kenshu Yasuda to reach first—and directly loading the bases.

Watching Lin Guanglai walk step by step to home plate, Koushing supporters shivered with fear.