Exiting the batting zone, Lin Guanglai slightly moved his upper limbs and then stepped back into the batting zone and stood firm.

The third ball was swiftly pitched over; Lin Guanglai let the fastball below the strike zone pass once again, and for the third time, it flew into Ishikawa Ryo's catcher glove.

Just as Ishikawa Ryo was joyfully celebrating finally getting a strike count, a voice from behind made him feel as if he fell into an icy pit in the blazing summer:

"Ball."

Feeling somewhat incredulous, Ishikawa Ryo turned his head to look at the umpire who made the decision and found that the expression on his face didn't seem fake—yet unable to argue with the umpire right then, he reluctantly turned back to focus on the game.

Thinking carefully about that ball just now, Ishikawa Ryo reckoned that it was likely his instinctive framing that led the umpire to make such a ruling:

After all, in the previous at-bats, today's impression of poor control by Ito Takuro was likely strong in the umpire's mind, and when the criteria became slightly strict, the catcher's framing might instead lead to a judgment of a ball.

The count came to 3 balls 0 strikes, and the situation on the field was extremely unfavorable for Imperial Capital.

"Things aren't looking good now..." Behind the mask, Ishikawa Ryo pursed his lips, clearly feeling quite helpless about the current situation, "After all, we'll have to walk him..."

Although walking Lin Guanglai would lead to a fully loaded bases situation, it is still better than the opponent hitting a long drive and scoring directly.

Left hand placed in the requested position, right hand signaled, Ishikawa Ryo indicated to his pitcher companion to just throw a high ball and not to get entangled with Lin Guanglai anymore—he really feared that if Lin Guanglai got caught up, the opponent might hit another smashing shot.

Facing enormous pressure, Ito Takuro nodded, then swung his arm and threw the ball.

"Oh no! It's a big problem!"—this was Ishikawa Ryo's first reaction upon seeing this ball.

Upon seeing the ball Ito Takuro pitched, Ishikawa Ryo already knew what the result of this at-bat would be—the catcher was struggling for strikes earlier, and no matter what, Ito Takuro couldn't control it into the strike zone; now he just intended to walk the batter, unexpectedly his own pitcher ended up making a big play:

This ball not only shot directly towards the sweet spot of the strike zone but was also the moderately paced fastball that the batter loves to hit.

The moment the baseball shot from Ito Takuro's hand, even Lin Guanglai himself was momentarily stunned—as the baseball got closer to the strike zone, reacting timely, of course, he wouldn't let the ball pass by.

A good batter not only needs to hit balls others cannot hit but also seize the fleeting opportunity when the opponent makes a mistake and strike decisively!

Bow drawn, arrow ready—baseball flying into the home plate in an instant, ball arrives, bat follows!

"Clang---!!!"

The baseball once again soared high into the sky, in the blink of an eye crossing a distance of 400 feet, over the determination lines on the edge of the field, directly blasting into the scoreboard above central field, then bouncing back into play.

"Booming---"

In the hearts of the Teikyo Junior & Senior High School players, Lin Guanglai's shot felt like booming cannons, repeatedly striking the most tender spot of their hearts.

On the pitching mound, Ito Takuro's face was pale, his lips pressed tightly without a word; in the catcher's seat, Ishikawa Ryo throwing away his mask and gazing in the direction the ball went, shook his head silently, unsure of what to say.

"Fourth batter Lin Guanglai! Hits the scoreboard with a home run!"

"Waseda Real! Three-run comeback!"

"Two consecutive home runs over two at-bats!"

"5 to 2!!!"

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