From the moment Lin Guanglai defused the bases-loaded crisis as soon as he took the field, the game entered a delicate balance.
A midsummer afternoon is the hottest time of the day, and as the players on the field continuously lose stamina, the pitchers' performance declines the fastest; the number of errors by other defensive players also increases——But despite that, neither Konan nor Waseda Jitsugyo was able to widen or narrow the score gap during this time.
After four innings, the score remained 5:0, with Konan High School leading.
Top of the fifth inning, Waseda Industries on attack, and the lead batter for this half-inning was the fifth batter, Tsuchiya Ryota.
After half a month's consecutive full-pitch games, Shimabukuro Hiroshi's stamina reserves were also basically exhausted, and while facing Tsuchiya Ryota, his pitching showed fluctuations——2 strikes and 4 balls, under Tsuchiya Ryota's sharp eye for choosing pitches, Shimabukuro Hiroshi gave away a walk.
