They're putting up a good fight.
Against the first string, that is.
For now they are.
Akaishi,
pitching's quite exhausting.
Oh yes,
the game's not over yet.
Mitsuru Adachi
（Serialized in Shogakukan's 「Weekly Shonen Sunday」）
Created by
Toshihiro Nakazawa
Nobumasa Sawabe
Planning
Masato Hayashi
Rei Anami (TV TOKYO)
Shin'ichirou Tsuzuki
Planning Assistance
Toshisato Okuno Shin Omura Takenori Ichihara
Masato Hayashi
Supervisors
Original Planning Assistance
Michihiro Tsuchiya
Series Composition
Yuji Kondo
Main Character Design
Maho Takahashi
Tomoyuki Matsumoto
Koichi Imano
Art Design
Subcharacter Design
Prop Design
Kayoko Ono
Miki Tsubouchi
Hiromi Komine
Yutaka Kuramoto
Art Director
Color Design
Photography Director
Editing
Nobuhide Tanaka Toshiyuki Kuroiwa
Kotaro Nakagawa
Takeshi Takadera
HALF H・P STUDIO
Music Producer
Music
Sound Director
Sound Production
「Summer Rain」
Lyrics／Composition: Kentaro Kobuchi
Arrangement: Kobukuro
Kobukuro
（Warner Music Japan）
Opening Theme
Shogakukan Music & Digital Entertainment
TV-TOKYO Music
Warner Music Japan
Music Assistance
Ryosuke Sakurai
Animation Producer
Animation Production
Shunji Aoki Naohiko Furuchi
Producers
Osamu Sekita
Director
Shogakukan Shueisha Production
Production Studio
SUBTITLED BY ANBU
It's the top of the fourth,
with the Prefab team's offense being led off by
clean-up hitter and third baseman, Makihara.
Here I come!
Just watch.
I'll stand out no matter what,
and make my comeback to the first-string team.
Strike one!
Strike two!
Strike three!
Damn it!
What the hell kind of change-up was that?
Change-up?
How do you hit change-ups again?
That's the kind of fastball I wanted you to have.
Down the middle?
Safe!
Idiot.
What was that pitcher thinking?
Our batting center doesn't have machines that let you practice against change-ups properly.
But he ran the bases well there.
Where are you going, Risa?
To the lady's room.
Looks like the young lady's not very interested in baseball.
I'm not either, Daimon.
I'm only interested in the publicity going to the Koshien will bring for this school.
The next batter is an eleventh grader, isn't he?
That's right.
That's Miya, the best bunter on the team.
Good job!
The pitcher did an even better job...
You're out!
Three outs, change sides.
No worries.
Fourth batter: first baseman, Azuma.
When did we make a comeback?
Just now.
With Azuma's two consecutive home runs.
Isn't that right, Daimon?
Yes, it was perfect.
That's impressive.
Move, you're in the way.
Out!
Strike three!
Out!
Everyone's been swinging for the fences ever since you sent two flying, huh?
Yeah.
Damn it, that bastard!
Don't get so worked up, top pitcher.
Yeah, but thanks to that,
it looks like his fatigue just disappeared into thin air.
You shouldn't do that with your right hand.
Oh, yeah.
Out!
Looks like the tempo's speeding up.
Ever since they subbed in their pitcher for somebody we know, that is.
Three to four, huh.
Let's try not to fall behind until the end of the game.
You numbskull.
It doesn't matter if we win or lose this game.
We have just one goal for this game:
we need to somehow stand out in the game,
and say "adios" to the Prefab squad, pronto!
Exactly.
This is going to be our last summer, after all.
The three of you combined have no hits, though.
Way to stand out.
Out!
He doesn't really seem to be down
even after giving up two consecutive home runs to him.
He's not as composed as you think.
I bet he was raising hell on the bench.
Looks like you've got more data on that pitcher than anyone else on the team.
That's all thanks to him.
Strike three!
All right!
He gave up four runs while giving up only five hits.
Batting-wise, he's slugged a home run and a triple.
Two base hits in two at-bats.
You're standing out a little too much, tenth grader.
Leading off, center fielder, Miki.
Ball!
So you're not going to take the bait, huh?
Smack it out, Miki!
A safety bunt?
Did I hit it too hard?
Out of my way!
Out!
Nice play!
Clean-up hitter and third baseman Makihara saves the team with a beautiful play!
Great job, Nakanishi.
What was that, Miki?
I don't intend on being in charge of a game that's played like this.
I thought I told all of you to bat like you're taking batting practice.
Don't put up such a despicable front against a mediocre team like this!
I'm sorry.
A despicable front, huh?
Yeah.
One that a pitcher with shaky stamina would surely not welcome.
And at the top of the sixth,
we'll show them our best batting order once again!
I'm counting on you guys.
Work the count and have him throw as many pitches as possible
so Kitamura will have time to rest.
Three outs, change sides.
They managed to draw out five pitches between the three of them.
All right!
Let's do this, Akaishi.
Are you okay?
Don't worry.
I got plenty of rest.
I see.
Time out!
Oh my.
Looks like his stamina's run out faster than I thought it would.
If only that was true...
Ko.
I finally get why this is so tiring, Akaishi.
You've got to pick one for me; do you want speed or control?
I'm getting the feeling that both of them will tire out at this rate.
Okay.
So which one's tiring you out more?
Isn't it obvious?
Batting second, the right fielder, Onoda.
Ball!
Ball four!
Those were all near-misses from the first pitch.
This is the first time he's pitched like this against someone other than the clean-up hitter.
He's throwing them without thinking about ball control at all.
Batting third, the shortstop, Kishibe.
Don't ignore me, pitcher.
I've got the fastest legs on the team, you know.
Strike!
Out!
Just fly off somewhere!
Strike three!
Fourth batter: first baseman, Azuma.
Why didn't you swing?
A third batter getting called out on strikes is nothing short of an abomination.
Are you sure that pitcher's supposed to be "mediocre"?
I've never seen a "mediocre" pitcher throw like that.
I see.
That just means you're just another mediocre player.
It's the bottom of the sixth,
they're down by one run with the score at 3-4.
They have two outs with no runners on base.
The pitcher shouldn't have to fight this one out.
Right?
Plus he's given up two straight home runs to this guy.
Oh yeah, I forgot about that.
Strike one!
I know you're upset, but you can't beat Azuma.
Just give it up.
Isn't it your job to hold him down?
Ball!
Yeah, it's my job to hold him down.
Foul!
Yes!
Talk about pressure.
Ball!
It's not... a foul.
See that, Kishibe?
That's what a clean-up hitter looks like.
This is probably the first time Azuma's had three consecutive home runs.
That's quite a surprise.
That's because there hasn't been anyone...
Anyone who would actually pitch to Azuma in three straight at-bats, that is.
You should have used that first pitch as the closing pitch.
That last strike was the slowest one he threw.
I'm not asking for him to be perfect right now.
This is his first time actually pitching in a proper game, after all.
Stop joking.
I don't trust you at all!
Not one little bit!
He just bowed in this direction.
I just want to be able to believe in what Akaishi and Waka said.
Strike one!
Once he puts his mind to it, he could become the best pitcher in Japan!
All right!
You're out!
Damn it!
That wasn't close at all.
He broke late for the ball to make it look like a spectacular play.
It's actually painful to see how hard the twelfth graders are trying to stand out.
What are you doing?
Oh, I thought I'd keep score.
Stop it.
There's no need to log a game like this in our records.
Too bad, Kitamura.
You were doing so well, too.
But still, regardless of the fact that it was their clean-up hitter,
having given up three consecutive home runs to a single batter
means your chance of making the first string squad is...
It's the top of the seventh.
The first batter of this inning,
is clean-up hitter and third baseman, Makihara
Also known as: Makki, the change-up killer!
I figured out your pitch from my last at-bat!
You better be ready.
One, two, three.
Strike one!
One, two, and three!
Strike two!
All right, I got the timing down perfectly thanks to those two pitches.
One, two, and... three!
Get past them!
I did it!
And the first hit off the first string's top pitcher's change-up
comes off the bat of none other than clean-up hitter and third baseman, Makihara!
He'll definitely be throwing you a change-up, as well.
He's got a fast one and a slow one.
You landed a perfect hit off his best fastball on your last at-bat,
so he'll probably throw the slow one.
Makes sense.
That means all that's left is to figure out whether it'll curve in, break to the outside,
or drop to the plate.
One, two, and three!
It's a one in three chance.
Damn that numbskull!
Now my precious first hit isn't impressive anymore!
I'll just have to run it out!
Idiot.
You're out!
He's got a home run, a triple, and now a double.
He'll hit for the cycle if he gets a single next at-bat.
Didn't I tell you to not keep score?
That was some impressive batting.
Well he didn't hold the home run record at our batting center
for three consecutive years for nothing.
But I thought you couldn't practice against change-ups too well over there?
He probably just got lucky.
Damn it.
I thought it was going to curve in, but it broke to the outside.
Damn it, it's all over!
He's the one who's going to the first-string now.
There's nothing to worry about, Senpai.
No one's making the first-string, no matter how hard anyone tries out here.
What?
He apparently put out the bench roster for the regionals already.
That coach probably wasn't thinking of using any players
other than the ones he brought in to begin with.
So naturally, Ko going up to the first-string would be out of the question, since he didn't even take the selection test.
R-Really?
Serves you right, Kitamura!
Wait, doesn't that mean we're not going to either?
Of course not.
He's not going to call up someone he's already abandoned once.
Yeah, that sounds about right.
He's not going to come back and admit that he overlooked somebody's talent.
That coach has too much pride for that.
Wait, doesn't that mean I'm going to stay a fertilizer forever, too?
Damn it, old man! This wasn't what we talked about!
I didn't think things would be that way,
but I guess they are.
Don't be "guessing" here!
Strike three!
Damn it, that was unlucky.
Azuma,
other than your three home runs,
we've only been able to score one run from my pathetic sacrifice fly.
Which means that
if they had just walked you,
we'd be down 3-1 right now.
Yeah.
Make sure you save one serving of Napolitan okay, Ichiyo?
One serving?
For Ko.
But Aoba said he'd give up double digits for sure,
and that it'd be a miracle for him to hold them to five runs.
But didn't you know?
Ko's good at making miracles happen.
Don't pitch seriously if you think the batter can hit it off of you.
I didn't think he could.
Next time, on Cross Game Episode Eleven:
Wipe that Smirk off Your Face.
Who's underestimating who?