Todoroki, knock it flying!
Hit it hard, Raichi!
Their bench looks pretty relaxed.
Are they not afraid of us?
But once the game begins,
we'll see which team is made up of champions.
I wanna get to hitting soon!
Meiji Jingu Secondary Stadium
It's the third round of the spring tournament.
Game 1 10:00 Start Time Third Base Side First Base Side Inashiro Industrial – Yakushi Game 2 12:30 Start Time Third Base Side First Base Side Kumode – Shadai
Two powerhouse schools are facing off!
Yakushi High School made the semifinals in the spring invitational,
while Inashiro Industrial was the runner-up at Koshien Stadium last summer.
Wow, the stands are full for a third-round game.
It's a really interesting match-up.
Miyuki was wondering how Narumiya would pitch against Todoroki.
Thank you for waiting.
We will now begin today's first game,
between Inashiro Industrial and Yakushi High School.
Inashiro
Yakushi
Top of the first inning.
Inashiro Industrial is up to bat.
Batting first, center fielder Kamiya-kun.
Play!
Carlo!
They got the lead-off batter Carlos out!
He jammed him inside!
Nice pitch, Nada-senpai!
Man, he's looking good.
One out!
That's the shootball he used to shut down all those sluggers at Koshien Stadium.
One out!
Was that over 140 km/h?
It's not just the speed.
He's not using the plate the same way he did last fall.
Almost every pitcher stands on the third-base side,
but he's standing as far to the first-base side as he can when he pitches.
That puts an angle on the shootball, making it a more powerful weapon.
We'll need to deal with this pitch
to get past this pitcher.
An outside pitch for a strike!
That pitch was quite effective for him during the Invitational, too.
Press Box
Yeah.
He seems to have improved it in the time since then.
The better the pitcher's shootball,
the more the batter will focus on inside pitches,
making the outside pitches more effective.
Foul!
Out!
A ground ball to third!
He shut down Inashiro's top two batters!
Wow.
It's like he's looking down on the Inashiro batters when he throws.
Sanada-kun's more intense than last year.
Yeah.
He's gotten stronger since the fall.
Those hips and thighs...
His lower body is much thicker than before!
The strict lower-body training between tournaments
and experience against powerhouse schools
from around the country in a major venue like Koshien Stadium
have honed his body, mind, and pitching skills.
Shunpei Sanada has developed as a pitcher.
It sank?
Damn it! Was that a two-seam fastball?
Out!
The ace Sanada starts off by taking down Inashiro's first three batters!
He's got the same rhythm he did at Koshien Stadium!
Not bad.
Jeez, he could have just basked in the afterglow of Koshien Stadium a little longer.
Yeah! Nice pitch, Sanada!
He's enjoying this.
Yeah, Sanada-senpai!
We just came back from the Invitational.
I'd like him to rest, but not against this team.
If we took things easy against them, we could get hurt before the summer.
We'll hit you with the passion and intensity we have
after playing at Koshien Stadium, Kunitomo-san.
Inashiro
Yakushi
Sorry to rain on your parade.
When will you realize you only got into the Invitational out of sheer luck?
Strike! Batter out!
If you've forgotten, allow me to remind you...
I'm the king.
Inashiro
Yakushi
Inashiro was the runner-up at last year's summer tournament,
but was unexpectedly knocked out in the second round in the fall.
Their southpaw pitcher in his last year of high school is being eyed by the pro league.
Let's see how he's improved over the winter,
with over five thousand fans watching!
Swing and a miss for strike three!
He takes down a second batter with an outside fastball!
Ace Narumiya is in the groove in the first inning!
Oh, man!
He's incredible to watch.
Now come the cleanups!
The third batter is Mishima.
He's starting off tense.
Mei-san's pitching is still stiff.
It's fast but not sharp.
I'd like to end the inning now.
I've been waiting for this!
A chance to face this guy!
He's number one on my list of guys at other schools to take down!
I actually...
somewhat respect him.
Two pitches, two strikes!
With a solid tempo, here's the third pitch!
This is Mei Narumiya!
Mad respect!
Plop
Whoa!
A routine fly ball drops in between the fielders!
Third batter Yuta Mishima hits a Texas Leaguer off Mei Narumiya!
Yeah!
Discussed Beforehand
Timeout.
Up to bat is Yakushi's best hitter, Raichi Todoroki!
His powerful full swing attracted attention at Koshien Stadium.
Up against Tokyo's, no,
this generation's best southpaw, Mei Narumiya, how will he fare?
Oh, man! They're facing each other in the first inning!
I'm starting to like Mishima!
He'll go right at him, right?
Narumiya? Yeah, of course!
Who's gonna win?
That pitch was a little too high.
His ball control is still unstable.
Mei-san, Mei-san...
What do you want?!
The baseball world is making a new rule for players.
High school baseball players should go nighty-night by nine.
Nine. Nighty-night.
Is that a gag or something?
Try saying it now.
High shool basheball plaers should go nighy-ni by nine.
Your face is pretty funny.
I'm glad I could help you relax!
I really wanted you to smile.
Now, let's focus on the game!
How am I supposed to do that?!
The next time you call a timeout, you'd better have a funny joke!
Yes, sir! I've been saving a few.
No timeouts for you! Stay away from the mound!
They're at it again.
That battery is unbelievable.
He took all night to come up with that? What an idiot.
It's my job as catcher to get him to relax when he throws.
If Mei-san can pitch as well as he's capable of,
it doesn't matter what batter he's facing.
Itsuki, it's not that I don't like your calls,
or that I want to do things on my own.
I want to stand on the mound and throw the pitches I want to.
I want to feel free, selfish...
The king of the mound.
I know that makes me sound like a terrible pitcher and upperclassman.
Can you keep up with me?
I'm the catcher! I can't wimp out and give the batter any chances!
Call a game that makes Mei-san shine!
It's the bottom of the first with a runner on first and two outs.
Up to bat is the cleanup, Todoroki!
I'm gonna run!
Show them how outmatched they are.
Raichi!
Knock it flying!
Shut them up.
This is the time to get a hit.
He hasn't settled into a rhythm.
This is your chance, Raichi.
Here's the first pitch!
It's a high inside pitch! Foul!
Second pitch!
Far out.
It goes wide outside. Ball.
Third pitch!
An outside slider goes wide. Ball.
The count is 2-1.
Even farther out.
Too close!
Strike two!
Yeah!
Okay, let's get to running!
The count is now 2-2.
An inside fastball gets the second strike for Mei Narumiya!
Nice pitch!
It's looking sharper.
An inside pitch to Todoroki?
That first pitch high and inside was trouble, too.
Trying to beat him at his own game?
The Inashiro battery sure is aggressive.
Raichi let a pitch go by?
What will the last pitch be?
Maybe a changeup!
Todoroki, get an awesome hit!
Mei-kun!
I saw a lot of different pitchers at Koshien Stadium,
but he's incredible!
Better than all of them!
Incredible!
This is Mei Narumiya!
He's incredible!
Incredible!
It's a pop fly to left field!
The first round of Narumiya versus Todoroki goes to Narumiya!
That was nerve-racking.
I thought he had it for a moment.
That was right where he wanted it.
You're enjoying yourself.
He used both sides of the strike zone, and pitched one slider.
Press Box
He looked a little reckless,
but he finished things nicely.
That tenacity is part of Narumiya-kun's personality,
but still, he took down Todoroki, who shone at Koshien Stadium
using nearly all fastballs.
This battery is looking beyond him, far into the future...
He's a monster of a pitcher.
We're the same age.
It's scary.
Inashiro
Yakushi
I can't believe he's shutting down Inashiro's batters.
Yeah, that shootball isn't easy to hit.
Strike three!
That's three outs!
Yeah!
Ace Sanada used his powerful shootball
Inashiro
Yakushi
to hold Inashiro's batters scoreless past the second inning, too.
Seeing the Yakushi underdogs hold their own against Inashiro
sent strong waves of excitement through the crowd.
But...
Narumiya's pitching got sharper with every inning.
Todoroki struck out.
Yakushi hasn't had a runner on base since the first inning.
Yakushi
Inashiro
And...
Little by little...
It's gone!
Carlo!
Inashiro Industrial has broken the stalemate.
And now, they have a runner on second with only one out!
This is another chance for them!
It's a hit to near-left field!
Shirakawa rounds third base!
Safe!
Inashiro Industrial gets their second run!
After Carlos hit the inside shootball he was waiting for,
the cleanup Yamaoka got an RBI single.
Everything they'd kept pent-up in between tournaments has exploded all at once.
Now we'll turn up the pressure!
Yeah!
Inashiro
Yakushi
Yeah!
Strike! Batter out!
Just like last year,
I had them repeat a basic routine.
For better or worse, we're a team of individuals.
Each had his own motivations,
and there wasn't as much time as we wanted.
Being unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel wore down their spirits
and made their bodies scream.
But still, the determination in their eyes never wavered.
I have only one goal.
The boys didn't let it go to waste...
Their loss to Ugumori last fall.
There is a reason for every loss.
You must accept your shortcomings...
...address the challenges...
...and take action!
So that we can find
what it takes to be the best!
The best in Japan!
Strike! Batter out!
He finishes with a high inside fastball!
Raichi Todoroki has struck out twice in a row!
Narumiya's perfect pitching hasn't allowed a runner on base since the first inning!
Yakushi High School, one of the Invitational semifinalists, is being overpowered
by Inashiro Industrial's ace, Mei Narumiya!
"King."
What pitches? When and where to throw them?
Their running turned into a sprint! Remember when we did that?
Yeah.
I suddenly feel like running, too!
Let's go, Furuya!
No.
Isn't this why you only registered eighteen spots
Wait... Weren't you expecting me to succeed...
for the spring when you're allowed twenty?
I've prepared a list of first-years I feel are ready to be on the bench.
On the next episode of Ace of the Diamond Act II:
"Camphor."
Next Time
"Camphor"
Let's win the national title!