Amid the applause of tens of thousands of spectators at the scene, the alarm signifying the end of the game was sounded inside Koshien Stadium.

"Buzz—buzz—buzz—"

The air raid siren blared, announcing the end of today's first game, and the score on the scoreboard above the outfield was frozen.

Waseda Jitsugyo, 2 points.

Luzheng Society, 0 points.

The game has ended, but for the sports reporters responsible for recording and broadcasting the event on-site, their competition has just begun.

Led by the staff, Lin Guanglai stood on the post-match interview stage—without a doubt, having seized 22 strikeouts and broken a 48-year-old record, Lin Guanglai was selected as the best player of this match.

As soon as he got on the stage, the flashlights from below started flashing madly, the dazzling white light almost blinding Lin Guanglai, forcing him to raise his hand to shield himself.

The first female reporter to earn the right to interview smiled brightly, congratulating Lin Guanglai:

"Mr. Lin! Congratulations!"

"Your performance in today's game was simply outstanding!"

"In this game, you not only hit a home run, giving your team the upper hand, but you also broke the record of 21 strikeouts in a single match set by Toda Yasuji in the Showa 38th Senbatsu Tournament."

"Now, Lin, you are the holder of the record for the most strikeouts in a single game in the spring and summer Koshien events—I'd like to ask, how do you feel now, Mr. Lin?"

"As for how I feel, of course, I'm happy," Lin Guanglai said with a smile: "The happiest thing is that we, Waseda, won this game and successfully advanced to the quarterfinals of this year's Senbatsu."

"Today's opponent Luzheng Society was really strong, both their pitchers and hitters put a lot of pressure on us, so it was great to win this match."

"As for the record of 22 strikeouts, well... being able to break this record and stand alongside countless players is my honor. To achieve this record, I must thank the coach for not taking me out of the game and my teammates for continuously creating opportunities for me."

Pausing here, Lin Guanglai then spoke again:

"This record belongs to all of us at Waseda!"

Hearing his words, many reporters on site couldn't help but chuckle—Lin Guanglai himself might not mean it that way, but to these reporters, saying something like "the opponent's batting lineup gave us a lot of pressure" seemed quite Versailles-like.

For the other defensive players on Waseda's field, this game might have been the most peculiar official game experience since they started playing baseball:

After all, in a full nine-inning baseball game, only 27 batters need to be ousted, and today Lin Guanglai dealt with 22 all by himself—the outfield members probably had it the easiest, as Luzheng Society rarely managed to send balls into the outfield, and the few that did were easily intercepted by the infield.

After the female reporter's question, other media reporters also eagerly started asking questions: "Mr. Lin, during that last at-bat which got you the 22nd strikeout, facing the fourth batter of Luzheng Society, taking 10 pitches before winning, what was your feeling at that moment?"

Lin Guanglai's smile grew brighter: "At that time, I was actually aware I was about to set a record; for this reason, even though I was very tired, I didn't ask the coach to sub me out, but kept thinking to hold on a bit longer."

"However, in that last at-bat, Luzheng Society's Ishijima hit really well—several good pitches I threw that could have been decisive were spoiled by him."

"I was thinking how truly tired I was, that if Ishijima hit the ball out that at-bat, I'd request the coach to take me out of the game immediately, as I really couldn't continue pitching."

"Hahahahaha—" The on-site laughter was kind and genuine once more.

"But thankfully, though it was tougher than expected, I did it in the end. Thank you to everyone, the coach, my teammates, and all the supporters who fully cheered us on—this is our collective victory."

As the interview came to an end, after completing all the segments, Lin Guanglai bowed to everyone present to express his gratitude, before leaving the interview stage.

Watching that tall figure gradually walk away, many experienced veteran reporters couldn't help but sigh:

"Waseda's luck is really good; almost every generation has a national-level Koshien star..."

As the time reached evening, the Daily News's "Our Koshien" program aired as usual, maintaining its superb production quality.

Especially the record-setting match between Luzheng Society and Waseda, which occupied a huge portion of the program.

The production team was also very attentive, even finding footage from the tournament 48 years ago; within the program, footage showed PL Academy's Toda Yasuji raising his arms in joy, smiling amid the embrace of opponents;

Then the screen scrolled rapidly like the pages of a book, showing glimpses of many renowned pitchers during their high school years: Jiangchuan Zhuo, Arima Daisuke, Matsuzaka Daisuke, Yu Darvish, Tanaka Masahiro... the screen gradually shifting from black and white to full color, symbolizing the passage of time.

Suddenly, the screen switched instantly to today's final at-bat of the game—the camera focused on Lin Guanglai's handsome face, his fierce eyes staring intently at the batter.

Then his arm swung, and in slow-motion playback, the rapidly spinning baseball rushed towards home plate, with even the red stitches clearly visible.

Accompanied by the impassioned shout of "swing and miss, strikeout," the scene froze on Lin Guanglai's back: standing tall and slender with proportionate build; under Koshien's lights, the number 1 on his back shone brightly.

This episode was like a depth charge within the Takayama community, causing a whirlwind of ratings—countless Takayama fans voiced their opinions on various forums, almost all expressing admiration and amazement at Lin Guanglai's performance.

With the conclusion of Day 8's matches, this year's Senbatsu event gradually entered its final sprint stage—the upcoming bouts: the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals will all be completed within 4 match days.

Currently, the quarterfinal teams and match schedule have all been released:

March 31st.

1st Match, Kyushu International University (Fukuoka) vs. Northsea (Hokkaido);

2nd Match, Kakogawa North (Hyogo) vs. Nihon University (Tokyo).

April 1st.

1st Match, Wisdom Wakayama (Wakayama) vs. Waseda Jitsugyo (Tokyo);

2nd Match, Kagoshima Real (Kagoshima) vs. Tokai University Sagami High School (Kanagawa).

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