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!
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry, Mishima,
but please put up with being the pinch hitter just for this summer.
Why are you apologizing?
The decision of whether to use a player or not lies with you, Coach.
I'd use you in a heartbeat if I could!
It's just that...
Shimano, right?
He said he wouldn't play if you were on the first string.
I promise I'll form a team around you as soon as this summer's over!
So please just bear with it until then.
It's hard being the coach of a team which has a player with the potential of going pro, isn't it?
He's just afraid all of the attention might end up going to you instead;
to the point it makes you wonder why a player of his caliber would even be so worried.
I'm honored.
Either way,
I haven't made any contributions to the team that made it to the top eight of last year's tournament
or to the final four of this year's invitational,
so I'll respect whatever your decision is,
regardless of where you want to play me.
I'm sorry.
If you'll excuse me, then.
Azuma...
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
Say,
if you were San'nou's coach,
how would you play against us?
I'd walk Azuma on every at-bat for one.
Right?
Then I'd form an offense centered on bunts in the first half of the game.
We really don't have anyone to take over on the mound once Ko's worn out, huh?
Not to mention a third baseman who's a little slow on his feet.
I'd have the pitcher throw slow balls against Ko, and pound you inside.
And I'd probably throw breaking balls against me.
I see.
Hi there.
Who was that?
Beats me.
Is Ao coming back late today, too?
Looks like it.
She sure is trying hard,
despite knowing better than anyone that she won't be able to play.
Now that you mention it,
didn't she say something about not playing baseball anymore back in middle school?
Wouldn't it be nice if you were able to take someone's place
and play baseball when you get into high school, too?
I don't know if I'll be able keep playing baseball when I'm in high school, though.
She did!
Though I guess it's a bit of a pity that she's playing baseball since she's good at all sports...
I'm starving! Let's eat first!
Yeah.
What about you, Mizuki?
Oh, I'm still good.
I'll just eat when Aoba gets back.
Mizuki sure is a nice guy.
Ao sure is taking her time.
I'm home!
Boy am I tired.
I'm all sweaty and gross.
Welcome back, Ao.
Welcome back.
Do you want your dinner right away?
It can wait a bit. I'll eat it after I get out of the shower.
I had some express udon on my way back home.
Come in.
Hello there.
I'm sorry about earlier.
By the way, about today's homework...
Here you go.
Impressive!
As expected from my cousin!
Thanks a bunch!
I'll treat you to some express udon next time, okay?
Why don't you hurry up and get to copying instead?
Why, thank you.
A slugger with over fifty home runs over his high school career.
Ryuou's clean-up hitter, Shimano, huh?
What about him?
San'nou is our next opponent, you know.
I know.
But we have almost no data on them.
All you have to do is pitch like you usually do.
Just let Akaishi call the game.
Yeah.
I've got to thank you, Azuma.
After meeting you, none of these batters surprise me anymore.
Hey, Aoba.
Did you decide to keep playing baseball in high school because of...
Could you get that, Kitamura?
Here you go, Miya-senpai!
Thanks!
Shouldn't fielding be a cinch for you by now, Kitamura-senpai ?
Come on!
If only I had a glove, that wouldn't have...
Pitching isn't the only duty of a pitcher, you know.
You also have bunt defense to take care of.
That's why I said that if I had a glove, I could have gotten that no problem!
Really?
But shouldn't you be able to catch balls like that even without a glove?
What did you say?
There he is again.
Didn't I tell you to be a little more respectful to your upperclassmen?
There's one over there, too.
Hello.
Stop rubbing in the senpai part!
Oh, I'm so sorry about that, Kitamura-senpai !
There you go again!
All right, nice going, boys.
We should be able to win with this.
Good job, you two.
Yes, sir.
Tsukishima gave you an earful, didn't she?
I'm used to it.
Well she's right about your fielding not being as good as your pitching.
An earful, huh?
Here you go.
This is the training regimen that Aoba follows daily.
She does this daily?
No way!
It's okay!
You can do it, Ko!
Weren't you frustrated about losing to Aoba?
She wouldn't keep her mouth shut about it!
She said you had horrible form,
that you had no power at all,
and that you throw like a girl!
In any case, she really ran her mouth off about you!
You're starting to sound more frustrated than I am.
You can do it, Ko!
Make Aoba swallow her words!
Wakaba used to say that all the time.
You can do it, Ko!
And...
strangely enough, she was right about most of the things she said.
That's a little out of my league.
But why do you think Aoba hates me so much?
It's not that hard to get Aoba to like you.
All you have to do is be able to throw a 160km/h fastball.
I guess it's not hard to understand if you put it that way.
Don't worry!
You can do it, Ko!
They said it'll stop raining by the end of the day.
Yeah.
It's just sprinkling now.
Then think about the day you have ahead and go to sleep.
Got it.
I'm pitching, with you as the catcher,
while playing in front of a jam-packed Koshien, huh?
Don't worry about it.
I'm turning off the light.
Oh, sure.
Good night, Wakaba.
I'm off, then!
Go root your heart out for Ko, okay?
I'm going to root for the team , not him!
Whatever you say.
Bye.
Did Aoba leave already?
Aren't you going to go root for the team, Mizuki?
You guys have the day off for exams, don't you?
I'm more of a soccer fan than a baseball fan...
What a pity.
That'd be one big wall to overcome if you wanted to go out with Aoba.
Oh no,
I meant to say that I like it less, not that I don't like it at all.
So, where are they playing?
Play ball!
You're out!
Strike three!
You're out!
They're attacking as if they know our weaknesses.
Yeah.
They've been sending scouts over to spy on us these last few days.
Strike!
I see.
So they're going to center their offense around bunts for the first half.
We don't have anyone to take over on the mound once Ko's worn out.
Plus...
we have that third baseman who's slow on his feet!
Don't take me for a chump!
Let it roll!
Safe.
Oh, just throw it next time if you get it.
It would have been a foul if you hadn't gotten it.
Oh, I see.
I think we're in for a great game.
They have no outs with a runner on first base.
Of course he's going to...
Unlucky for you, it dropped right in front of the pitcher!
Nice fielding there.
Don't tell me you're under the weather from yesterday.
That was just an error.
Calm down.
They have no outs with runners on first and second.
Of course it's going to be...
Oh, no you don't!
First base!
You're out!
I could've gotten the out at third!
It was too close to call.
There's no need for us to take risks in the first inning.
That's one out with runners on second and third.
With their clean-up hitter at the plate,
a giant who's over 190cm tall.
Strike!
Overswinging from the first pitch, eh?
He does seem like he's got some power behind him.
But of course...
Right?
He missed the mark?
Yup.
With all his might.
How hard did you have to throw that ball?
I figured he'd be able to reach it unless I threw it way off course, so...
We gave up one run,
and they still have one out with the bases loaded.
And of course...
Squeeze!
That's enough of that!
Akaishi!
Got it!
You're out!
That coach thinks I got lucky, didn't he?
Come on!
We've been playing first inning defense forever now, dumbass!
And now, our offense is...
Ball four!
They sure are bringing the fight to us, aren't they?
Indeed.
You're out!
We have one out with a runner on second, thanks to Azuma's walk.
All right.
Don't get stumped by his slow balls, okay?
Just leave it to me.
Come on!
You're out!
What did you say about slow balls again?
Our seventh batter: Takada, second baseman.
You're out!
What's going on?
They scored a run on us already?
Why are you here?
Why, you ask?
This is the rooting section, isn't it?
He has very little experience on the mound
and not a great variety of pitches in his arsenal.
You're out!
He has good control, with A-class speed.
Strike!
But he's a little shaky in the stamina department.
We need to shake him and make him throw as many pitches as possible before the second half.
You're out!
I see.
Now I know that his fielding ability isn't as bad as it is on paper.
Though I must say I'm a little disappointed with his pitching.
That kind of a fastball just won't cut it.
Don't you think that's enough?
Yeah.
I wanted to get a little more used to it, though.
It's a little early for this, but we've got no choice.
They did score a run on us.
Oh, really?
Is our ace having a bad day or something?
Not really.
Why?
He gave up a run,
and he's been giving up easy hits.
They scored a run on us because of the pitcher's error and his wild pitches.
It is his fault,
but it's not like he actually gave up hits.
Then what about that hit just now?
Strike!
He just wanted more fielding practice.
Strike two!
Strike three!
I see now.
That straight ball is indeed on the fast side,
but he can't keep throwing those forever.
We'll wear him out with bunts.
We have data on our side.
If we play based on our scouting, we can't lose this one.
You got that?
Yes, sir!
We're in the lead right now.
Besides, we have ways to ensure that we don't give up easy runs.
We'll be the ones who will challenge Ryuou after this game, Seishu.
Where should I hit it?
To the right, the left, or down the middle?
Do you really think I threw 150km/h?
Don't worry about it.
The fact that you convinced me to stay with this team should make you more than confident.
The back of your head is still sticking up from sleeping!
It's springing up!
What?
Oh, nothing.
I just thought you sounded like Wakaba just now.
Next time, on Cross Game Episode Twenty-Six:
I know.
Summer's here again, Waka,