Here goes my "Let's Draw Nomo" Song!
Two balls came flying in.
Small balls came flying in, too.
But hold on, here's one more.
Just barely scrape the surface for a fine play.
Cross one, two, and three mountains.
The sign for "victory" is V! V! V!
Then we have ourselves another V! V! V!
And surprise! We're done!
That's game, set, and Nomo's done!
To be honest, we don't stand a chance against them the way we are now.
It's at least going to end by the mercy rule;
and I really don't want to let this chance escape without at least putting up a fight.
So...
So?
If we had a good pitcher playing for us, who knows who'll come out ahead in the game!
I don't care if it's just for one day, so please!
I won't mind having you on our bench during the game.
But strictly as an observer, okay?
If you have a problem with that—
Matsuyama-senpai!
I leave myself in your care.
All right!
That one was slow!
You're out!
What's that center fielder's name?
Oh, um...
Her name's Aoba Tsukishima; she's a tenth grader.
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
Tetsuya Takeda
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
Fukashi Higashi (TV TOKYO) Naohiko Furuichi
Producers
Osamu Sekita
Director
Shogakukan Shueisha Production
Production Studio
SUBTITLED BY ANBU
You almost had it there, Sawa.
That center fielder's getting on my nerves.
Nice, nice!
So we couldn't add to the score, eh?
Strike!
Strike two!
Strike three!
Just so you know, I tend to hold grudges.
Strike!
Strike two!
You're out!
That's quite a slider she's got, isn't it?
I did some image training for it ahead of the game.
It was with a different pitcher, though.
She's swinging too fast.
Is she in a rush or something?
No.
The slider must not have been as sharp as she thought it'd be.
Let's do it!
Just one more strike!
Put your back into it!
Safe.
We're steadily approaching having to use the mercy rule, aren't we?
After giving up another run, they've got one out with the bases loaded.
And next up on bat, is...
Time out!
Are you all right, Mina?
This is frustrating.
Don't worry about it.
Let's get over this and make a comeback!
We're really going to make a comeback, aren't we?
We are.
Can we switch pitchers, then?
The game's going to be over before our next chance if I keep pitching.
Mina!
We'll make a comeback, won't we?
Ump, we're changing our pitcher with our center fielder.
It's Ao!
What did I tell you.
So she's also a pitcher, huh?
Now she's even more annoying.
You know the signs, don't you?
Make sure not to ease up on your pitches.
Just walk her if you think you're going to give up a clean hit—
I know.
I'm counting on you.
Play ball!
Lead, lead, lead!
You're out!
That's two outs!
Strike!
You think that fastball's up to a 130km/h?
Probably.
That's quite an intimidating speed for a girl.
Poor girl.
Those are, unfortunately, Ozaki's favorite kind of pitches.
Foul!
Aoba will win, won't she?
I can't say.
That clean-up hitter's in a class of her own, after all.
But then again, she's been pitching each day against someone who's in a class of his own, too.
It's the same course!
Strike three!
A cutter?
Nice pitching!
You striking out is making things quite exciting, isn't it?
It wasn't on purpose.
It doesn't matter.
You're going to get her back on your next at-bat, aren't you?
If I can.
That pitcher really is something.
Those words don't sound all that pleasant, coming from you.
This game's become a pitching duel, hasn't it?
They should have just let Ao pitch from the beginning!
4-0 at the bottom of the third, huh?
They probably won't give up runs so easily now that Aoba's pitching...
But trailing by four runs is a lot, isn't it?
Strike!
Trailing by four is a lot.
I guess I'll just have to go for her fastballs!
Since she's throwing sinkers like that,
we're bound to keep hitting infield grounders at this rate.
Then what should we do?
Instead of going for her fastballs we should actually wait for...
Safe!
So you're going for the curves, huh?
In that case...
Strike!
Strike two!
Waiting's not going to help you.
I'm not throwing any more curve balls!
I'd just go the opposite field.
To the right!
Safe!
Don't worry, Sawa.
She just got lucky with her timing this time—
That wasn't luck.
She was waiting for a slider this whole time.
Now you've done it.
You're out!
This is frustrating!
Don't be mad, Sawa.
We're still leading by two runs.
Getting scored on twice by high schoolers is no laughing matter!
They're really awesome for a high school team, aren't they?
Especially that pitcher.
Wipe that smirk off your face and get us another run already!
You've figured out a way to beat her, haven't you?
Probably.
5-2.
Thank god that was just a solo home run.
We'll have to stop them here.
Second base, second base!
What's going on all of a sudden?
Time out!
I see now.
That catcher's been recycling that same pitching combination this whole time.
What's wrong?
Don't tell me you're out of stamina.
I'm sorry,
but do you mind if I call the pitches?
What's that supposed to mean?
Are you saying that my leading won't—
Please.
Strike!
Strike two!
Strike three!
Nice ball.
So she changed the pattern up.
That pitcher really is something.
Yeah.
But that run you got for us was a big one.
You're out!
Sorry.
Don't worry.
The game's not over yet.
That's two outs!
I won't let you get a hit this time!
A bunt?
Safe!
All right!
We'll make a comeback, won't we?
What are you planning now?
Safe!
She's good...
at getting the pitcher frustrated, at least.
It's a mind game, isn't it?
She's just got a bad personality, that's all.
Get off your high horse, will you?
Right field!
Nice run!
She'll probably throw a fastball straight down the middle on her first pitch.
Safe!
Nice at-bat!
Our fourth run!
Ball four!
Strike three!
They held them down to three batters, didn't they?
And now it's their final chance at attack.
Yeah.
They're only down by one.
Let's go, you guys!
Get on base so we can get to Aoba!
Take it easy!
You can hit this!
Strike three!
Oh my.
That's two outs already.
Strike!
She's holding us down with sheer strength, isn't she?
Looks like her control is off this inning.
Though a fastball like that shouldn't be too much
for Koganezawa to handle.
All right! The tying run's on base!
This is our last chance!
We'll make a comeback for sure!
If we can get Tsukishima up to the plate...!
First base!
Safe!
We're counting on you, Tsukishima!
Let's finish this!
Foul!
That was close!
It was such a nice at-bat, too.
Don't worry!
Aoba will definitely make that comeback happen!
She's probably only thinking about tying the game up.
Won't they go to extra innings if they tie here?
She won't be able to settle the score with that clean-up hitter unless she does that.
All right!
You're out!
She knew where the ball was going to fall from the slider last inning, but...
We would have lost if she pitched from the beginning.
Thank you for the game!
So I hear you play for Seishu?
Yes.
We're holding selection trials for the Womens National Team next March.
Come try out if you're interested.
There are batters better than her waiting for you out in the world.
Thanks to you, we put up a good fight.
Thank you, Tsukishima.
That was fun.
Let's play together again some time.
How did you like it?
Girls baseball isn't all that bad, is it?
Nice pitching!
Where are you going, Ko?
I've got practice, so I'm heading back.
You're up next, aren't you, Ko?
Huh?
The tournament's coming up soon, isn't it?
Oh, you're right.
We might be able to beat them next time.
Of course we will!
We'll definitely beat them.
Once he gets serious, he could even become the best pitcher in Japan.
I want to cherish the team we have already;
I want to cherish my last year here,
with the teammates I've been through so much with.
You're still only halfway there.
Isn't it boring just watching me pitch?
You should quit being my coach,
and change schools to one where you can play girls baseball.
You're opening up your body too much.
You're bending your arm too much.
You're holding on to the ball for too long.
Why don't you save the lectures
for when you can actually learn how to throw a proper slider, Kitamura-senpai.
Hey, Tsukishima.
It'd be dangerous if you got hit by the ball,
so I think we should use the protective net...
Who's in danger now?
Come on.
Didn't you say that those guys got better?
Yeah.
It just means that Tsukishima improved even more than they did.
We still need her baseball sense here at Seishu.
Ryuou Academy.
They're everyone's favorites to win.
We'll pull through somehow.
They've got this one amazing guy.
His name is Keitaro Mishima.
He hits just like Azuma.
We'll pull through somehow.
We'll have to get past the first game first.
We'll pull through some—
What's with those cheerleaders?
Next time, on Cross Game Episode Twenty-Four:
Don't quit, okay?
I won't forgive you if you put up a half-assed display!
Both Waka and I won't!