Thursday, August 9, 2012, the second day of the 94th Nationwide High School Baseball Championship Tournament.
Even though less than 24 hours have passed since yesterday's opening ceremony, it wasn't until now, while waiting to enter through the player's tunnel, that Matsui Yuuki truly felt it:
Oh, so this isn't a dream, I'm actually at Koshien!
Especially the moment he walked out of the tunnel, the scorching midday sun blanketing him, with crowds moving all around the green stands, the feeling intensified.
Arriving in the players' area and putting down his bag, Matsui Yuuki took out his pitcher's glove—despite regular maintenance, having been used for six or seven years, it inevitably showed some signs of wear and tear.
This glove was bought for nearly seventy thousand yen when his parents took him to the largest sports store in Yokohama after he first joined the hardball little league team. It wasn't cheap.
