Chapter 310: After the Game

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!!

At Jingu Stadium, the tens of thousands of spectators in the stands applauded in unison. The Seido fans celebrated their team's victory and winning the ticket to Koshien.

The Inashiro fans, meanwhile, offered comfort and blessings to the team that had given their all yet still suffered a regrettable defeat.

"Go line up."

Outside the Inashiro dugout, Coach Kunitomo wore a stern expression, as if the disappointment and weeping of the boys before him could not touch his cold heart; yet, deep within, he was sighing profoundly.

Similar scenes had occurred many times throughout his decades-long coaching career, but seeing the pained expressions of these children still filled him with deep self-reproach; it was he who had failed to lead them to Koshien.

Especially for those third-year players, this had been their final chance. The Inashiro players hunched their shoulders, lowering the brims of their caps to hide the expressions on their faces, and walked toward the field with heavy steps.

On the Seido side, after a brief celebration, the group had long since lined up to wait for the Inashiro players. Just like last year, the victors this year were still them, and the losers were still Inashiro.

Huangqian Yangyi watched Narumiya Mei walking toward him. The other's eyes were bloodshot, and his face was streaked with damp tears. Compared to this time last year, Narumiya Mei was undoubtedly even more heartbroken now.

This was a powerful Pitcher, both in technique and mentality.

"Line up!"

"Salute!!"

"Thank you for the game!!"

In the massive stadium, the boys' high-pitched voices echoed across the field, also officially declaring the end of the Summer Tournament Regional Qualifier.

"Yangyi! If you don't win the championship at Koshien, you should just end yourself!" Narumiya Mei looked up, his bloodshot eyes carrying a sharp gaze.

Huangqian Yangyi nodded slightly: "We will win."

"I won't admit defeat. I lost to you last time and this time, but next time, I will definitely defeat you!" Narumiya Mei continued.

"I'll be waiting," said Huangqian Yangyi.

The conversation ended, and the Inashiro group turned and silently left the field. The Seido High School party, led by Coach Kataoka, Coach Ochiai, Department Head Ota, and Department Head Takashima Rei, lined up and walked to the area beneath their fans' stands, bowing deeply to these loyal supporters.

"Haha, Koshien again!"

"Coach Kataoka! Lead the team to take the championship!"

"Repeat the title!"

"Huangqian! Continue your undefeated record at Koshien!"

"Jiecheng! Don't leave any regrets for your final Summer Koshien!"

"Miyuki! Do your best!"

"Chris! Show off your skills at Koshien!"

"Ryosuke!!"

"Isashiki!"

The Seido fans enthusiastically cheered the players' names, sending them their best wishes.

In the team, the four First Year kids felt the intense atmosphere of the scene along with everyone else, each of them feeling somewhat at a loss.

Koshien? They had only joined the team a few months ago, and they were already going to Koshien?

Among the four, Arima Kazusa and Kominato Haruichi were the most moved; both understood what this meant, unlike Sawamura and Furuya, who had no concept of Koshien.

However, there were only 18 spots on the Koshien roster, which meant that the 20-man First String would have to cut two people from the current base. As for who those two would be, Arima Kazusa and Kominato Haruichi were both somewhat worried.

According to Seido's past customs, they wouldn't cut First Year players from the team. After all, the Autumn Tournament would follow right after the Summer Koshien ended; by then, the third-years would retire, a new team would be formed, and the current First Years on the First String would be key to the new team.

But the problem was that Seido had never had four First Years on the First String at the same time before, and both were worried that they might be the ones cut.

Looking at Sawamura and Furuya beside them, it was clear that these two didn't realize this point at all.

Come to think of it, the probability of these two Pitchers being cut was actually quite high. After all, the team had an ace like Huangqian Yangyi, as well as Pitchers with decent strength like Tanba Koichiro and, uh, Kawakami. No matter how you looked at it, it wouldn't be Sawamura and Furuya's turn this summer.

After thanking the fans, the Seido group returned to the conference room to pack their things.

Outside the stadium, Huangqian Yangyi walked at the back of the group with his backpack on, talking on his phone.

"See you at school later; it's not very convenient with so many fans outside right now," said Huangqian Yangyi.

"Got it, Nii-chan. We'll come find you at Seido later." Kumiko stood outside the crowd, watching the Seido team walk out of the venue, and waved at her brother.

After the Seido Baseball Team received the fans' blessings once more outside the stadium, they lined up and boarded the bus for the return trip.

On July 31st, the final of the Summer Tournament West Tokyo Regional Qualifier came to an end.

The two teams representing Tokyo at the 89th Summer Koshien this year were finally decided: Teito High School from East Tokyo and Seido High School from West Tokyo. Both teams would head together in August to the holy land of high school baseball: Hanshin Koshien in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture!!

After the game, major news media outlets reported on the process, the results, and post-game analysis, focusing on the direct confrontation between the two aces of Seido and Inashiro.

Huangqian Yangyi's shutout Perfect Game against Inashiro, as well as Narumiya Mei's equally brilliant performance, were topics the fans couldn't stop talking about.

In the hearts of the national audience, Huangqian Yangyi was undoubtedly the strongest high school Pitcher in Japan today, and the audience was very much looking forward to his performance at the upcoming Summer Koshien.

While holding expectations for Huangqian Yangyi's Summer Koshien, the audience also felt pity for Narumiya Mei. For such a top-tier Pitcher to be unable to display his style on the Koshien Pitcher's Mound was a huge regret for the audience and for the player himself.

In the eyes of the audience, being able to push the current Seido to this extent meant Inashiro Industrial High School undoubtedly possessed the strength to compete for the championship, yet they couldn't even enter the gates of Koshien.

Some Inashiro fans expressed that if Inashiro hadn't been in West Tokyo but in another district, they definitely would have made it to Koshien.

Even in East Tokyo, they could have!

Such remarks undoubtedly carried a hint of looking down on Teito High School, but surprisingly, not many people stood up to refute them, which showed that everyone acknowledged the strength of Inashiro Industrial.

Outside of Tokyo, because of this game between Seido and Inashiro, countless people felt the cruelty of the West Tokyo district once again. That even a team as strong as Inashiro couldn't make it to Koshien was simply terrifying.