Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 415 - 61: Championship Victory

If someone were to enter the Yahoo Dome just at this moment, they’d surely be astounded by the tremendous roar emanating from the home SoftBank fans.

The Yahoo Dome stands are now a scene of frenzied fervor: home fans dressed in SoftBank team uniforms and supporter shirts are waving various cheering items excitedly, singing loudly without a pause; some elderly Showa grandfathers are so thrilled they’ve stripped to their bare chests in the summer heat, waving their bundled clothes to cheer for the team.

The reason for their excitement is evident... just take a look at the Eagle’s Vision above the outfield:

The game against the Yakult Swallows is now in the top of the seventh inning, with Lin Guanglai starting on the mound, the SoftBank team playing at home has yet to concede a single run, only allowing two hits by Yakult — as for the consistently explosive Valentin, his three at-bats today have yielded nothing, his most notable achievement being a high fly ball to right field that was caught.

As for the lineup, there’s even less to say. SoftBank’s line-up has been scalding hot after smoothing out the kinks, allowing them to secure the current third seat in the Pacific League and the top spot in interleague play despite a volatile starting pitcher roster.

Faced with this super lineup that surpasses the other 12 teams in firepower, the naturally weaker Yakult team has no means to counter — the 6-0 score clearly reflects the difference in strength between the two sides.

Not far from the field in the bullpen, Chika Huangda is getting in his final warm-ups: as one of SoftBank’s key setup pitchers this season, once Lin Guanglai finishes the seventh inning, he will take the mound to secure the eighth inning before handing it off to the closer.

At the center of the field, the game continues; Lin Guanglai is just one out away from wrapping up the top of the seventh with a perfect scoreless performance — an end to his duties for today.

Now standing at the batter’s box is Yakult’s fifth hitter Hatakeyama Kazuya: as Yakult’s first baseman with top-notch power and excellent pitch selection, his crouching stance lack stability in hitting, making him weaker in dealing with speed and breaking balls — which is exactly Lin Guanglai’s strategy for this at-bat.

Instead of using his usual strong fastball to quickly resolve things, Lin Guanglai displayed great patience in this at-bat, engaging in a duel with Hatakeyama Kazuya using speed variations and pitch avenues. The count steadily climbed from 0 balls, 0 strikes to a full count of 3 balls, 2 strikes.

This final decision pitch came when Lin Guanglai and Hosokawa Kei exchanged a glance and suddenly sped up, firing a blazing fastball towards home plate — all the previous pitches were breaking balls around 130 to 140 km/h, the sudden over 155 km/h fastball left Hatakeyama unadjusted, unable to time his swing.

With the baseball landing in the strike zone, the resounding "smack" was immediately followed by an overwhelming cheer from the SoftBank fans; at the field’s center, surrounded by the celebratory cheers of home fans, Lin Guanglai removed his cap and raised his hands in gratitude to the fans — based on the existing schedule and rotations, this is also his last pitch game during interleague play.

Seeing their star player responding to their tokens of support, the crowd grew even more enthusiastic, especially on the stands close to the pitching mound, where many female fans wearing Lin Guanglai jerseys and holding his exclusive supporter items erupted in loud screams, expressing their affection in their own way.

Soon in the bottom of the seventh inning, SoftBank’s championship-minded lineup showed no mercy, adding another 5 runs for the home team, making the score 11-0 and thoroughly removing any suspense from the game.

Seeing the situation unfold like this, Yakult decided not to resist further, replacing players with young prospects to handle the loss, while providing them an opportunity to gain experience; SoftBank’s offense also slowed down, refraining from further relentless attacks — collectively removing suspense from the game outcome.

The final score was 11:4. Though the SoftBank team appeared somewhat lax in the last two innings, the lead accumulated earlier was too substantial, allowing them to effortlessly seize the victory.

Thus, the final suspense of the 2013 Central League and Pacific League interleague play came to an end: since the introduction of interleague play in 2005, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks claimed their fourth interleague victory, a number that keeps them far ahead of other teams.

After lining up to salute their opponents and completing the usual post-game interviews, the players could finally fully unleash the joy of winning the interleague play:

Led by Manager Akiyama and Captain Nakagawa Seiichi, they first made a round of the field to thank the fans who supported them at home and then truly started the celebration.

Frankly, SoftBank Hawks is not lacking in honors. An interleague victory is not an uncommon achievement for them.

However, the new season has been fraught with twists and turns. After a disastrous start and ups and downs throughout, the interleague victory trophy at least provides the players some solace;

Even though the Pacific League thoroughly surpassing the Central League in records this year resulted in a winning streak for SoftBank during interleague play without much rank improvement, this period’s experiences at least provide everyone with more hope for the upcoming mid-to-late season schedule.

The game ended, but SoftBank players’ celebration has only just begun: after the game, the entire main squad participated in the post-game celebration feast under Manager Akiyama’s guidance — usually serious managers, stern coaches, and caring seniors all drunkenly toppled under the influence of alcohol.

Fortunately, Lin Guanglai isn’t yet 20 years old and by law can’t drink; otherwise, given his performance in interleague play, he might have joined their ranks...

As one of the few players still sober, he handed over the drunken seniors, including the manager, to their families before heading back to the West Hotsaki Dormitory.

The interleague victory ceremony will be held on the first home game day following the event’s conclusion, alongside awarding the Most Valuable Player.

It is truly something to look forward to...