Before the top of the second inning began, Shigetsugu Shinjiro ran to Lin Guanglai's side, pointed to Ohtani Shohai on the pitcher's mound, and said:

"Guanglai, in the last half-inning, Kenta, Kenshu, and I noticed something while we were batting—"

"Although Ohtani's pitch speed is fast, from our batting experience, the quality of the ball seems a bit light. If you can catch the right spot, it should go really far."

After saying this, he patted Lin Guanglai on the shoulder and said earnestly:

"If anyone in our team can stabilize the score with their batting, it has to be you, Guanglai—use your batting, use your base running, to help us score!"

"We're counting on you, Guanglai!!!"

Feeling the warmth transferred through the palm, Lin Guanglai met his senior's gaze and nodded heavily:

"Hmm—don't worry, senior. I won't let you leave your last summer with regrets."

"Fourth batter, pitcher, Mr. Lin."

"Fourth batter, pitcher, Mr. Lin."

As the announcement reverberated through Koshien, the entire stadium erupted like boiling water—not just the Alps Stand where the Waseda Jitsugyo team was, but all the spectators present.

"Hey—front row, can you sit down? We at the back can't see the game like this."

"Then tell the person in front of me to sit down first, or how am I supposed to watch the game?"

As Lin Guanglai walked into the batter's box, the audience at Koshien stood up one after another, blocking the view of those seated behind, who had to stand as well—similar scenes unfolded in several sections of the ballpark, causing tens of thousands to stand in succession like waves crashing against the shore.

There was no choice; after achieving the feat of four consecutive homers in the previous game, Lin Guanglai was now the most sought-after player by the audience. The packed house at Koshien today was largely thanks to him.

"Player Lin Guanglai is on the field!"

The excited voice of the announcer came from the TV.

"In the first round against Teikyo Junior & Senior High School, he hit consecutive home runs in four at-bats with nine RBIs, setting two new records in 93 years of Summer Koshien—what kind of performance will this gifted player bring in his first at-bat today?"

Standing in the batter's box, Lin Guanglai carefully recalled the tip given by Shigetsugu Shinjiro:

The concept of "ball quality" is subjective and lacks scientific definition or data support; it largely depends on the batter's personal perception.

What Shigetsugu Shinjiro referred to as "light ball" were those with ample spin and sharp trajectory—the pitcher uses lower body strength to whip the arm like a whip, imparting reverse spin to the baseball.

Light balls thrown this way may appear to rise in the batter's line of sight, causing them to misjudge the hitting point and swing and miss.

However, these fast-spinning light balls also have a weakness: although the ball is fast, the rebound force increases as well—when precisely hit by the batter, even a gentle touch can send the ball flying far for a long hit.

Therefore, pitchers whose ball quality is relatively light need to pay close attention when their pitch speed decreases because losing speed makes them an easy target for strong batters.

This is why some well-known pitchers in Japan who do well often struggle when challenging the Major League—

The way Japan trains its pitchers often results in light ball quality, making Japanese pitchers susceptible when facing Major League hitters who are over 2 meters tall, weigh over 100 kilograms, and possess refined hitting skills.

As such, in the Western baseball world led by Major League Baseball, there is a greater preference for "heavy ball quality" pitchers:

Due to naturally better physiques, pitchers from North America and Latin America tend to excel in strength—leading to a throwing mechanism that relies on arm power.

By deeply gripping the ball and minimizing wrist motion, these heavy ball quality pitchers throw balls with slower spin rates, yet they are exceptionally difficult to hit—not only are the pitches fast enough to outpace reaction time, but even when hitters make solid contact, it's difficult to send the ball far at times.

This pitching mechanism hasn't widely spread in Asia primarily because it demands high physical requirements—after all, it's difficult to mass-produce individuals over 190 cm tall with great athletic talents, especially among Japanese and other Asians.

Furthermore, reliance on arm strength can cause significant wear on pitchers' bodies, greatly impacting their career longevity—it's rare to find genuine ace starters in the Major League over 35 years old; in Nippon Professional Baseball, playing until 40 is typically not an issue.

After the initial face-off with Ohtani in the first half of the inning, Waseda Jitsugyo's top three batters all pointed out that Ohtani's pitches seemed light and believed this was an exploitable point.

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