Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 548 - 123: Advancing to Japan’s Number One!

Long before this final at-bat began, Lin Guanglai was already determined to use a strong hit to clear the bases and send his teammates home, helping the team turn the game around.

Generally speaking, a closer is a bit easier to handle than a starting pitcher due to the depth of the pitch selection, just like Masui Koji, currently standing on the mound, whose main pitches are only a straight ball with an average speed of 144km/h and a maximum speed of 155km/h, along with a forkball; but Lin Guanglai is also aware that facing one of the top closers in the Pacific League, he might only have one chance to strike a long hit.

For this reason, when Masui Koji threw the first pitch of this at-bat, facing this fastball attacking his outer corner high point, Lin Guanglai decisively swung the bat without hesitation.

His front foot slightly lifted and then lowered, accompanied by a subtle shift in balance, every muscle in his body unleashed the power contained within with abandon—pressure from the score disadvantage, teammates' and fans' eager expectations, and a pure longing for victory... all such emotional forces erupted at this moment, driving his bat to draw a perfect arc in the air, precisely meeting the small white ball that was about to enter home base the next second.

"Boom—!!!"

The crisp sound resonated under the dome of Yahoo Dome, the kind of melody that only occurs when the bat's sweet spot perfectly collides with the ball's core.

The baseball, struck with precision, soared into the sky with intense spin, in the blink of an eye leaving the Ham Team's defensive players far behind—even Dai-Kang Yang, praised as the strongest central field defender in today's Nihon Professional Baseball, could only watch the baseball fly over Yahoo Dome's high wall with a look of despair, finally landing in the central field stands.

Comeback, bases loaded, home run! Game-winning grand slam!

Time froze the moment the baseball hit the stands, Yahoo Dome plunged into a moment of absolute silence, everyone's thoughts seemed to be frozen as if their brains had stopped working, leaving them only with expressions of stunned disbelief.

Then...

"Boom!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Like a volcano erupting after millennia or a long-suppressed tsunami suddenly landing, when the SoftBank fans reacted, the entire stadium was engulfed by a wave of pure joy powerful enough to lift the dome!

Victory was so close for the Ham Team, they were just one out away from tying the score, ready to carry the momentum into the next game—they even had fantasies of completing the miracle of turning the tide with the game's winning trend;

However, in an instant, the situation reversed, and the beautiful dream shattered.

On the mound, the Ham Team's guardian Masui Koji seemed drained of all energy, incredulously removing his cap and resting his hands on his hips, bowing deeply; everyone else on the field appeared drained in a moment, bending down or covering their faces deeply, daring not to look at others' reactions; while in the guest team's dugout, Kuriyama Hideki's hands slightly trembled, and Ohtani Shohei pursed his lips, revealing a look of unwillingness.

At this moment, Lin Guanglai, the focus of everyone's attention, was immersed in this historical moment of his own.

At the moment of hitting, the familiar yet perfect hand sensation at the tiger's mouth already told him everything: when the ball flew out, Lin Guanglai didn't rush to run; instead, he stood there raising his bat high towards the stands—in the glow of Yahoo Dome's lights, the black bat named LIN21 in Lin Guanglai's hand shone brightly.

Then he gently released the bat, starting to run around the bases amidst the heatwaves:

As he passed first base, he clearly high-fived the base coach beside him; as he rounded second base, he could see the disappointment in the eyes of the Ham Team players beside him; and when he rounded third base, he accelerated seeing his teammates who couldn't contain themselves, charging out from the dugout, reaching home plate in a few strides, then diving into the crowd surging towards him.

At the moment he touched home base, all teammates awaiting on bases—those runners carrying the home team's hope on first, second, and third base, and all the players from the dugout instantly submerged him! Furiously slapping his helmet and shoulders, they seemed to have lost the ability to speak, able only to roar with joy. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

When emotions slightly calmed down, in front of over forty thousand home fans, the SoftBank Team players lifted Lin Guanglai up, throwing him into the air repeatedly!

Tears, sweat, cheers, and shouts blended together, composing a perfect symphony named "Comeback."

Meanwhile, in the Eagle's Vision covering the entire outfield sky, the game score was updated: Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 5:3 Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters;

But for the SoftBank Team players and fans, more importantly, this comeback brought them just one victory away from returning to Japan's Number One after three years!