I'm going to start Sawamura for tomorrow's game.
They have a lot of left-handed batters and they swing hard.
Sawamura is the best choice.
If we win tomorrow, the semifinals and finals will be back-to-back.
Our goal is to win a national title.
I expect you to win not only the Kanto tournament,
but every game we play.
Forget about your jersey number and your order in the rotation.
Show me what you can accomplish as a team!
An inside pitch for strike three!
That's three outs!
Swing through, Takuya!
The pitch that made him the ace.
Essentially, their battery's lifeline.
Hiding behind the slider, their real ultimate pitch.
Here comes another forkball.
It goes to left field!
Nice one, Haruichi!
Seido High School is the first to step on home plate!
There are still no outs, and runners are on first and second!
Up to bat is Seido's power hitter!
Kasuga Seido
Pick a pitch!
Can the Kasuga First battery take him on?
They have to. They must shut down the cleanup and get momentum on their side.
Ball!
Pick a pitch!
Ball!
He tries to paint the corner, but it misses the mark, and the count is three balls!
He's being too careful.
Or maybe he's just chicken.
Outside, outside, outside...
If the catcher keeps calling like a coward, it'll affect the pitcher.
I guess they're giving up this batter.
What choice do they have?
Ball four!
Bases loaded!
Aren't you going to watch, Kosei?
I'll let you finish watching it, Takami.
I'm not interested in a battery that chickens out in a pinch.
And if their batters can't take advantage of this situation,
then they're nothing to worry about.
That's an RBI for you.
Yeah!
I'm a powerhouse, I'm a powerhouse, I'm a powerhouse.
The Seido batters gained momentum in the third inning.
They scored again in the fourth inning, extending their lead to six runs.
National High School Baseball Tournament
Kasuga First
Seido Ichidai Third
Niogakusha Otsuki
Now it's the top of the fifth inning.
Having walked two batters and hit another, the bases are loaded with two outs.
It's the biggest chance Kasuga has had this game.
I'm sorry!
Shake it off!
Don't worry about it!
It was too soon for that pitch.
But it's important that he got to try it in an actual game.
There will be games far tougher than this.
If he can throw it then, only then will he have made it his own.
Seido has a lot of growing to do.
The bases are loaded, but there are two outs.
Let's finish this up with a fastball.
Yeah!
Three hits allowed, two walks, and seven strikeouts.
No runs allowed in five innings.
That was Sawamura's pitching record for the day.
Kasuga
Seido
Now, in the top of the sixth inning,
Seido brings their ace out to pitch.
Okay, how will the dice roll today?
Two outs!
It was three up and three down in the sixth,
and he already has two outs this inning!
Kasuga
Seido
The powerful pitcher who shone at the Invitational
is making his presence known!
He's still not putting the ball where I want it,
but he's not too far off.
His shoulder is still tense, but he's pitching well.
That jerk. I've been trying all sorts of stuff this game,
and he comes out and shuts everyone down.
I guess we rolled a good day.
Two outs, Furuya!
Two outs!
That's not all.
I can do more.
That day, I was more...
More...
Strike! Batter out!
The batter swings and misses at a high fastball for strike three!
He really has changed since Koshien Stadium.
No... after the game against Komadai.
Before that game, he bowed to his teammates
and showed he understood the weight of being the ace.
But after returning from Koshien Stadium,
he seems to be obsessing over his pitching again.
Will that change be for the better, or...
That felt good.
Hey, Furuya, don't get a big head!
They aren't going to let things end like this, either!
Here, take a drink!
Whose side are you on?
You can't relax, no matter how many runs we're up!
Did you get a hit today?
Shut up!
I-It's gone!
Seventh batter, Yuki, hits a two-run home run!
That puts Seido eight up in the seventh!
It's a walk-off! The game is called!
A first-year who just joined the team has won the game!
He wasn't timing the breaking balls, but he stuck with his swing all the way.
He got his first home run in his first start.
Just like his brother,
but four months sooner.
That jerk actually hit one!
He left a real mark!
Rumble
I wanted to get the first hit.
It's over...
Let's go line up!
Yeah!
No yeahs!
Seido 8 – 0 Kasuga First (Called in seventh inning)
Seido advances to the semifinals
A first-year won the game?
Kokubu Senior's #4, right?
Kasuga First got owned so badly?
Is it finally over?
Seido's insane!
Ichidai Third Coach Tahara Toshihiko
They used their two best pitchers, and a new first-year finished it off.
They're looking dangerous.
They're starting to win like champions.
Tokyo Spring Tournament Quarterfinals Game Two
Ichidai Third – Niogakusha Otsuki (West Tokyo) (East Tokyo)
Out!
So close!
Right to the third baseman!
A runner advanced to third this inning, but Niogakusha remain scoreless!
That was close!
The score is still 0–0, as both teams' aces deliver strong performances.
Niogakusha
Ichidai
Okay, shake it off!
Yeah!
Okay!
Niogakusha's pitcher is good.
His pitches are fast.
The Ichidai batters are swinging late.
It's just...
On the other side, Kosei Amahisa...
He hasn't given up any runs, but he isn't at the top of his game.
He looks like his mind is elsewhere.
Yeah, he's usually a better player.
He hasn't thrown any sliders.
The way things stand, the first team to score will have a big advantage.
I want you two to watch closely.
Will it be momentum,
an error, or a bad judgment?
See what decides the match.
Yeah!
Whoa, he's pitching inside a lot.
He's showing no hesitation against the Ichidai batters.
That look on his face reminds me of someone.
But this is the second half of the game.
How will the catcher call this?
If he tries to rack up the count just because it was easy in the first half...
The Ichidai batters will have adapted.
Home run!
Third batter Miyakawa blasts through the deadlock with a home run to take the lead!
Wow
Are you psychic?
Yep!
And he's got that smug look on his face!
Still, though, it may have been a fluke.
If they don't give up any more runs, they still have a chance.
Nice hit. That run must feel good.
Go, go, boys!
The most important part is what they do next.
When a game that was at a stalemate starts moving,
it's easy for the other team to give up runs, too.
If Ichidai's defense is strong this inning, they'll have seized control of the game.
Actually...
One run would have been enough.
That guy's shifted into high gear.
Niogakusha's batters fought hard to counterattack,
but Kosei Amahisa's sliders struck out batter after batter.
His perfect pitching resulted in Niogakusha never touching
second base after the fifth inning.
His slider is unbelievable.
Wh-Why are you admiring him when we're about to play them?!
I didn't want to hear that.
I just mean he's too good for a high schooler.
Amahisa-san is crazy good!
Can anyone hit that pitch?
I guess it's the first time Seido will play Ichidai since last year.
They didn't meet in the last two tournaments.
The other game is Inashiro vs Teito.
The semifinals are gonna be intense!
I'd line up to see them!
Well, Manaka-san wasn't feeling well last year.
I'm not really thinking of payback or anything.
Final April 27th (Sun)
26th (Sat) Meiji Jingu Secondary, 10:00
26th (Sat) Meiji Jingu Secondary, 12:00
The Tokyo spring tournament is down to just the semifinal and final games.
The two teams that make it to the final will participate in the Kanto tournament,
but that does not lead to a game at Koshien Stadium.
Still, of the top four teams, three are from the West Tokyo division.
Seido High School (West Tokyo) Ichidai Third High (West Tokyo)
Inashiro Industrial (West Tokyo) Teito High School (East Tokyo)
If there's a chance they'll play each other in the summer tournament,
they'll want to hide all the information and weaknesses that they can.
Hey, don't leave me out!
If they lose, there will be another chance,
but they don't plan on losing.
It's a fierce battle of their teams' pride leading up to the summer tournament!
I think the Ichidai batters will have trouble if Furuya pitches like he did today.
But his pitching is still tense.
I'm worried about him going deep like this.
The relief may be the better choice.
Y-You mean you'll start...
Unexpected
What do you want?
Hey, Koshu!
Did you eat your rice?!
Yes.
Three whole bowls?!
Yes, three bowls.
Hey!
Super extra helpings?!
You can't call it extra helpings if they're normal extra helpings!
You wimp!
Be quiet.
He really is holding a grudge!
Let's go, Sawamura-senpai.
Did you need something here?
I forget!
Seido Spirit Dorm
Furuya-san.
You haven't pitched enough for your liking today, right?
We can practice any time you like.
Yes, here it is!
I came here to watch the game tape!
I almost forgot after running into that wolf brat.
Grrrrr
Wolf brat?
I can see that.
Is he going to watch a game where he pitched?
There.
He's really got a thing for extra rice.
What's up with that?
I never thought about shaping rice as a dome or like Mt. Fuji.
Say... how come you keep picking fights with him?
I'm glad I was doing practice swings nearby in case anything happened.
No reason.
It looked like he had something to say.
Looked like?
Honestly, I'm disappointed.
I hate guys who talk in platitudes, like they're in charge.
Okay...
But I don't know about platitudes. He just has... his convictions, I guess?
Hmm? What is it?
I don't know what he was on about tonight, either.
He was cackling at the end there.
Well... I was playing soccer over spring break when I got hurt.
Soccer? What's wrong with you?
I'm really ashamed.
I had no idea it was broken.
But you're okay now, right?
My leg's healed, but I've missed too much practice to keep up.
Thanks.
You have to eat a lot, too.
I had trouble at first, too.
It still takes a while to get that third bowl down.
But it's so much pressure.
Another first-year already hit a home run.
And what's more, seeing you two perform as Seido regulars has been really exciting.
I want to be where you are soon.
Yeah, right there!
That walk was terrible!
Of course they won't swing when I miss the strike zone so obviously.
I just ran up the count for no reason.
Hey, first pitch!
He's very critical of himself.
Milk Only
How many different pitches can you throw?
It's not so much different pitches as it is different grips.
I did okay with number five today.
Number five?
But numbers six and seven...
are still hard to control.
Man, look at that hit-by-pitch!
I must be tensing up somewhere.
But where?
My shoulder? Fingertips?
He was thinking about a lot of things, despite how quickly he gets through pitches.
Maybe I should check my whole form from the ground up...
This is what it takes to pitch for a team that goes to Koshien Stadium.
Um...
What are his pitches like?
Oh, I...
I want to see...
As a fellow pitcher, I want to catch it.
"Where You Look"
"Where You Look."
I do want to pitch, but when I do, I want Miyuki-senpai to catch.
I want to feel comfortable when I pitch.
It's the worst start to the day ever!
Well, you'll learn what Sawamura is like once you catch for him.
You're pitcher and catcher, so use baseball to communicate.
I know the ace is more important...
But still...
On the next episode of Ace of the Diamond Act II:
Next Time
"Selfish"
"Selfish."
Let's win the national title!
Color illustration / Yuji Terajima