"Swung and missed! Batter is out!"
"Waseda Industries, they are just one out away from winning the Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament!"
The excitable voice of the game commentator came from the TV—it was like music to the ears for Waseda players and their supporters, instantly transporting them back to the summer five years ago.
But to the fans of Tokai University Sagami High School, the same voice carried a completely different flavor: even though many had prepared themselves for the possibility of losing the game before the top of the ninth inning, when this moment was actually approaching, the bitterness and gloom overwhelmed them again, leaving them dejected.
On the first base side, in Waseda's dugout, the players on the bench had all stood up early—they all knew too well what was about to happen with the game reaching this stage.
"Winning the Senbatsu! We're going to become the Senbatsu champions!!!" shouted Ogata Kazuyoshi excitedly, shaking his teammates beside him.
