"Whoosh—"

"Clang!!!"

"Good hit—!!!"

"That's right, just like that!!!"

At a baseball training field somewhere in Hyogo Prefecture, loud noises continuously resounded—the combination of the clash from metal bats striking baseballs, along with the players' calls to each other across the field.

The atmosphere on the field was incredibly lively, and the players were in excellent spirits—these were players from Luzhengshe High School undergoing pre-match training.

Two days ago, Luzhengshe High School from Osaka effortlessly defeated Comprehensive Technical High School from Hiroshima 4-0 and successfully advanced to the second round of this year's Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament; their second-round opponent would be Waseda Real.

Frankly, the Luzhengshe players held some pent-up energy during training—known as "powerful hitters", their batting lineup was considered the strongest in this tournament, earning an A rating from five Takano Media outlets simultaneously.

This rating wasn't conjured out of thin air; it was a reputation built by these Luzhengshe players starting from the Autumn Osaka Tournament—during the entire Autumn Tournament, Luzhengshe High School had 10 wins and 2 losses, with the team's entire batting lineup averaging an impressive .335 hitting rate, along with 4 home runs, showcasing undeniable power.

Yet, their solid strength backed by real data was still overshadowed by the brilliance of Lin Guanglai alone—in recent days, everyone on the field spent ample time researching the opponent by poring over newspapers and TV shows:

Those tabloids and media outlets enjoyed sensationalizing Lin Guanglai, which was fine—but what Luzhengshe players didn't expect was that even their alumni, now playing for the Yakult Swallows like Yamada Tetsuro, sent texts during training to remind them to adjust their mindset when facing Lin Guanglai.

However, the more others did this, the more restless Luzhengshe players became: "How many skilled pitchers have we Luzhengshe defeated? Even the so-called once-in-a-century Fujinami Jintaro from Osaka Tsubaki became a defeated opponent to our batting lineup!"

Thus, Luzhengshe players had fervently trained these past few days, especially in batting practice, their emotions more intense than ever—they seemed eager to tear Lin Guanglai apart on the field!

This fervent state naturally caught the attention of Luzhengshe's team supervisor, Ogata Ryusei—as a top graduate of Nippon Sport Science University, Ogata was delighted to see the players' passionate training approach, which was beneficial for upcoming games;

Yet, familiar with competitive sports dynamics, Ogata had some concerns: Excitement is a double-edged sword, and if the team starts smoothly like previous games, there's nothing to worry about;

But if their batting lineup is suppressed by the opposing pitcher, and players' spirits become restless, that intense excitement could turn into a dagger against themselves—with a star-caliber pitcher on the opposing side, such possibility isn't insignificant.

His players could advance without hesitation, but as the team supervisor, Ogata had to plan ahead for the team's collective interests, incorporating any factors that might disadvantage them into his considerations.

Standing at the edge of the field, Ogata gazed at a stack of thick materials placed on a nearby chair, lost in thought.

Since confirming the second-round opponent, he dedicated these past few days to studying the Waseda Real team—in Ogata's view, the current Waseda Real was strong, but their strength was rather lopsided.

Their power was akin to weak schools relying on a genius leading them; whether in offense or defense, nearly all focus was on Lin Guanglai.

The materials in Ogata's hand further substantiated this point:

Since the latter part of last summer's games, Lin Guanglai's offensive share has continually increased—during the Autumn Tournament, upon becoming the unmovable fourth batter, granted unlimited firing rights by the team's supervisor, this share reached a staggering level.

Ogata never denied Lin Guanglai's strength; his prowess wasn't limited to baseball skills alone, but was also due to his resilient, mature mind far beyond his peers—no adversity could topple him, making him even more formidable, aggressively countering with greater force.

However, Ogata also believed that no matter how strong an inner heart was, there was ultimately a threshold—Luzhengshe's goal to utterly defeat Waseda Real must force Lin Guanglai to a point of despair, then completely crush him!

For this, Ogata considered a method, but wasn't sure if his team would accept his suggestion—with today's increasingly tolerant baseball environment, he might not have dared to implement such an idea in his own era.

"Toot toot—" blowing the whistle, Ogata summoned his players; gazing at their weathered faces from sun exposure and wind, he slowly spoke:

"Alright, fellas, your recent performance has been excellent, and as your supervisor, I'm very satisfied—"

"So, this afternoon, you all have a half-day off to relax a bit, then prepare for tomorrow's game."

The expected cheers didn't arrive; some players even furrowed their brows, while the team's main pitcher, Watanabe Shinya, frankly said:

"Supervisor, we don't want to rest—we want to continue practicing hitting; we want to defeat Waseda Real! We want to prove those media are wrong!"

These words resonated with everyone's sentiments, one after another nodding in agreement.

Ogata, seeing this, wasn't being pretentious, immediately waving a hand and responding: "Alright, we'll follow your lead, let's continue training this afternoon—but remember not to train too late, if anyone's excessive training impacts tomorrow's match, don't blame me for benching you."

"Also, there's something else I want to consult with you all about..."

Staring at the earnest faces before him, Ogata, who worked on Luzhengshe's supervision for many years, suddenly felt parched, momentarily unsure how to speak to his students;

After pondering internally for a while, he still slowly began:

"I know you all wish to prove Luzhengshe's ability by defeating Waseda Real—but there's wisdom in foresight, which I hope you're all aware of."

"Have you considered what might happen if we fail to kickstart any momentum for a long time? You should all know the principle that often, a vigorous swing doesn't necessarily bring us scores..."

"With that being the case, I have a suggestion; of course, whether to heed it is up to you, as it's merely a suggestion, not specific strategic demand."

"When the game is struggling to make progress, I hope you'll abandon the so-called powerful hits, the dignified honor of the prestigious…"

"Grab the short bat!!! Let's employ a practical strategy, seizing base after base, to completely control the game's rhythm!!!"

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