It sank... at that speed?
The speed... No.
The pressure is so intense.
And that's strike three!
He takes down Seido's top three batters in an incredible start!
He has yet to allow a run at Koshien Stadium!
A strong hit between third base and shortstop!
After giving up two runs in the first,
Seido's ace Satoru Furuya has been showing real tenacity.
But two runs...
Those will be hard to get back.
Have you ever seen...
a white ball flying across the snow?
Have you ever seen...
a demon of a man who has sold his soul to baseball?
We didn't come from Hokkaido to enjoy baseball.
We came to take the championship banner.
And that's what we'll do!
Strike!
Batter out!
As if you big-city pansies could ever stop us!
Hongo is on a roll today.
His splitters are too sharp!
Now it's time for cleanup Miyuki's third at-bat!
Pick your pitch!
Start playing like you're representing Tokyo!
Miyuki connects!
Yeah!
Yes, our first hit! That's our captain!
We won't let it end like this.
Our ace is pitching just as well as you.
Can they make use of this opportunity?
You can do it, Shirasu!
You're on target!
Yeah!
It dropped away!
He swings and it's strike three!
Komadai's Hongo again leaves Seido scoreless!
We're just getting started!
Hold them off and go again in the next inning!
It's the fourth game of the Spring Invitational quarterfinals.
The score has remained 0-2 since the first inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, Komadai Fujimaki is now up to bat.
Seido Komadai
This is our inning!
Masamune!
Let's get another run!
Keep it going, Furuya!
Focus on the lead-off batter!
Up at bat is their ace, Masamune Hongo!
He has a sharp swing.
Be careful on the height.
Swing and a miss on an outside pitch!
No more runs.
Bring it.
Not a single one.
You won't even get on base!
Bring it on!
And it's caught!
Right to the left fielder!
This round of the ace battle goes to Furuya!
Those two are crazy!
They're on fire!
I don't want this game to end!
Two in a row!
That's his tenth strikeout!
Whoa! I wanna hit that!
What kind of game is this?
They're too good!
With his form improving,
he's pitched the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings perfectly!
Looking at this, it's hard to tell who's winning the game.
That pitcher's good.
Nice pitching, Furuya-kun!
Nice pitch!
Masamune.
You're the relief pitcher tomorrow.
Start warming up in the bullpen in the first inning.
Getting all worked up facing the bottom of the order.
Idiot.
Your prospects look grim.
8 9
Yeah!
Masamune, let's go!
Top of the eighth inning, Seido High School is up to bat.
Batting seventh, third baseman Kanemaru-kun.
Two innings left. How will they take him out of his game?
It's the ninth day of the Spring Invitational!
Only two innings remain in the fourth game of the quarterfinals!
Can Seido High School catch up?
We...
We have to do something to support Furuya.
It's a high fly ball!
Second baseman Nishi makes the catch for one out.
Replacing Yamaguchi-kun, Maezono-kun.
Now batting, Maezono-kun.
A pinch hitter.
He can launch one into the stands.
They're hoping he can give them a breakthrough.
They just haven't been able to get a run.
Yeah!
Will the pinch hitter, Maezono, be able to start a rally for his team?
Bring it!
Go!
It goes right to the left fielder!
Pinch hitter Maezono flies out to left field,
and Seido now has two outs!
We're not done yet!
Hit, Aso!
You're just warming up!
Ninth batter Aso is up to bat.
Can he set things up for the top of the order?
I'm not going to go down easy!
Strike three!
Komadai's ace, Hongo, has been pitching stupendously!
He's only allowed one hit this entire game!
Incredible!
Is he going into an even higher gear?
Once again, Hongo gives Seido High School
another 0 for the scoreboard!
Seido Komadai
Nice pitching, Masamune!
You're doing great!
Nice pitching, Masamune!
You're the best!
Seido High School is unable to mount a comeback against Hongo!
The next inning is our last.
If we don't catch up in the ninth,
there won't be any more pitching.
I wanna hurry up and take that mound already!
Tomorrow, for sure... I wanna help the team with my pitching!
Can you do it?
Please let me pitch.
We're nearing the end of the quarterfinal between Seido and Komadai Fujimaki.
After giving up two runs,
Seido High School will be looking to hold Komadai scoreless
as they go into the ninth inning from the top of their order.
There he is again.
I guess they can't swap him out.
They have no reason to swap him out.
Taking the mound in the bottom of the eighth to great fanfare
is Satoru Furuya!
Furuya!
You're just as good as him!
We still have the ninth inning.
Furuya is pitching so well.
We won't let it end yet.
The number 9's up next!
Pitch well and get this first guy out, Furuya!
Everyone else, have his back!
Yeah, we know!
We've got this.
That guy...
This is it, guys!
We're in the lead, but we've been routed the whole second half!
Let's get another run and put them down for good!
Yeah!
Let's go, Sasaki!
Sock it to ‘em!
He's thrown over 120 pitches,
but Furuya keeps getting better, like he's responding to Hongo.
Furuya, just how far...
will you go?
There it is!
His fastest pitch of the day, 154 km/h!
That's what I like to see!
Incredible!
Wow.
Oh, man.
Strike!
Strike three!
The last pitch was a slider!
So you've got some good breaking balls, too!
Did you see how far it broke?
Was that a slider?
How many strikeouts was that?
Eleven!
He's looking better than ever!
Nice pitch, Furuya!
Strike!
Batter out!
Another strikeout!
That's twelve!
Who is this guy?!
He really is a monster!
He's going toe-to-toe with Hongo!
I bet you could throw 160 km/h!
Furuya-kun!
I'm tired.
You don't see games this good every day.
I want to hit.
I want to play.
That was unbelievable, huh?
No...
It's not over yet.
I'll make something happen...
and get Miyuki-senpai up to bat!
Both Hongo-kun and Furuya-kun
pitched complete games,
and the only runs were the two in the first inning.
Seido only had the one hit from Miyuki-kun,
but Komadai Fujimaki was also outmatched by Furuya-kun in the second half.
If it wasn't for those two runs, the outcome may have been different.
Both teams have used pitcher relays to get to this round,
and then let their ace play the whole game.
That was the quality of the pitching in this game.
You got us good.
We couldn't even touch the ball in the last inning.
But our ace isn't bad, right?
He's way better than not bad.
He just needs to improve his attitude.
I can tell.
Don't go losing to anyone else until we meet again.
Yeah, and we'll kick your butts again.
Hey, Masamune.
He's trying to shake hands.
Sorry.
You beat us! Congratulations!
Good luck!
Hey, Sawamura!
Furuya-kun!
Furuya!
That was some great pitching!
Make sure you come back again!
Koshien Stadium will be waiting!
Furuya!
They let you take some Koshien dirt home, right?
I guess so...
But not many people do it in the spring.
There's still the summer.
If you took it now, it's like you wouldn't be coming back.
Still want some?
Eijun-kun...
Sawamura?
I need to do something.
Where are you going?
If you're gonna take some, take it from near the benches!
There was no room for me in that game.
Damn it.
So much for "tomorrow."
Reflecting, preparing...
If you don't perform when you need to,
you won't get any chances.
All you can do is watch from here.
Dirt from the bullpen?
I won't forget how much this hurt...
Because I want to stand on that mound again!
Facing the towering wall before him,
and seeing and experiencing his situation,
served to strengthen his resolve.
He clasped a handful of dirt on this, they day it began.
Give the grounds your respect!
Thank you!
Koshien Stadium Spring Invitational
Quarterfinals
Seido 0 – 2 Komadai Fujimaki (Western Tokyo) (Southern Hokkaido)
"The Day It Began"
"The Day It Began."
Those who shone at Koshien Stadium and those who didn't
both want to return.
I think they feel it strongly.
What changes will the new first-years bring?
Hey, hurry up!
We need to do it before he comes!
I've waited so long for this day!
I wonder what new challenges these guys will bring.
On the next episode of Ace of the Diamond Act II: "Joining."
Next Time
"Joining"
Let's win the national title!