Top of the second inning, it's Narita's turn to bat, with their clean-up batter, Kondo Tomoya, stepping up to the plate.
Because Kondo, the clean-up batter, is a left-handed hitter, Lin Guanglai decided to increase the proportion of outside pitches—when a batter faces an unfamiliar pitcher for the first time, a combination of outside fastballs and sliders can usually make it difficult for them to distinguish the type of pitch.
This approach proved effective: after quickly gaining a 0-2 advantage, Lin Guanglai continued to press Kondo Tomoya, using an outside slider to force the batter to swing.
Kondo Tomoya hit a ground ball towards the second and third base direction—the baseball was easily scooped up by shortstop Matsunaga Kenta, who then threw it accurately into the first baseman's glove for an out.
One out.
