I don't know what it is you're fighting against.
I don't know, but...
I'm going to take down the hitters in front of me.
What else does a pitcher need to do?!
Strike!
No matter the situation,
I'll be true to myself!
Strike! Batter out!
Yeah!
He finishes with an outside fastball!
You saved me.
Sorry.
Good job shutting them down.
The game's not over yet, boss!
Damn it.
Don't apologize!
Seido
Ichidai
It's the top of the sixth, and Seido High School is up to bat.
The batter is none other than the strong relief pitcher, Eijun Sawamura!
Please!
Hey, hey...
What's he doing?
There aren't any runners.
I-Is he telegraphing a drag bunt?
This guy...
Damn... Why do I feel like this?
It's like I'm confused or...
frustrated.
Please let me pitch the last inning.
Furuya.
I'm giving the last inning to you.
You're the ace. Go close it out.
If I had pitched like Furuya did today,
would he have left me in the game that long?
No, I would've been subbed out.
This guy might be starting the next game, too.
That's the difference between our numbers.
The difference between the ace and a relief pitcher.
Does the ace get that much trust?
He pulls it down the first base line!
He turns the corner to second!
Lead-off batter Sawamura has hit a double!
Whoa...
For some reason, his team's section of the stands seems surprised!
That's the wrong reaction!
Up next is the ninth batter, Kanemaru.
He's showing bunt.
Here's the first pitch!
Kanemaru, believe in yourself!
Hips! Hips!
He misses!
The pickoff throw rockets from home like an arrow!
Safe by a hair!
That was close!
That catcher's got a bullet arm!
What're you so mad about?
You think I'm just gonna let you bunt?
We're up by three runs, so I could give up one or two.
I just don't feel like making it easy for you.
Foul!
Another slider!
He's got two strikes now.
What now? Will he try to hit?
He's getting ready for a third bunt!
You can do it!
I'm not letting you outshine me at the plate, Sawamura!
I'm gonna advance you no matter what!
The third bunt fails!
The runner is unable to move from second!
Shake it off!
Go back and practice!
Amahisa's looking great!
The batter couldn't even put the ball in play!
There's one out and a runner on second.
We go back to the top of Seido's batting order.
Batting first, shortstop, Kuramochi-kun.
It'll be hard to get three runs off Amahisa in one inning.
We've got to advance the runner
to increase the chance of getting him home.
You too, Kuramochi-senpai! Hips! Hips!
Hit with your lower body!
Your pitching saved two or three runs on its own, Sawamura.
Now it's time for us to score!
And here's another guy...
with a scary face.
Did he shave off his eyebrows?
He looks like a strong fighter.
If he were in a brawl, he'd probably be doing jump kicks.
Bring it on, moon-face!
The first pitch is inside! Foul!
Here's the second!
A slow curveball just inside the outside edge!
What a time to throw that pitch.
If he throws like that anywhere, no one's gonna hit it!
Sorry, but this isn't a brawl.
Strike! Batter out!
Three swings and he's gone!
Huh? It's the seventh inning already?
What's the score?
5–2, with Third High still leading.
Oh, so they held them to five runs in the fifth.
Amahisa has settled into a rhythm and it's unreal!
The Seido batters can't get a read on his sliders anymore.
They've been striking out more often, too.
Who does Seido have pitching?
Sawamura.
The second-year southpaw, Eijun Sawamura.
An outside fastball!
With some light footwork, second baseman Kominato gets the second out!
That was only the third pitch!
Their defense is incredible!
The game's moving faster since they brought in that pitcher.
The Third High batters are struggling.
How are his pitches looking to them?
Sawamura, we'll use more of the numbers from this inning.
They'll be swinging from the first strike.
Let's try to get each batter out on the first pitch.
I'll trust you.
Trust...
A fastball!
What was that?!
A hard slider?
A cutter?
It broke when it got close, right?
The improved pitch!
Yeah, improved!
Improved...
What's with his pitches?
I can't get a read on them.
He got him to bite at the changeup!
Yes, yes, yes!
Just like the sixth inning, it was three up, three down!
Yes, yes, yes!
Sawamura has not given up a single hit to the Third High batters!
Nice pitch, Eijun-kun!
Nice pitch, Sawamura!
Yeah!
Sawamura!
Yeah!
The game's not over yet!
Sawamura's unbelievable today.
Not just his intensity, but his pitching, too.
Damn it, Sawamura!
That inning was too good!
You were so good, it was scary!
Nice pitching, Sawamura!
No matter what situation he lands in,
he pitches his best.
I prepare myself so I can do that, too.
No one's giving up on the final tomorrow.
Seido
Ichidai
It's the top of the eighth, with Seido High School up to bat.
Sawamura was walked to first base,
Hey, I'm gonna run!
and the ninth batter, Kanemaru, is at the plate.
Yeah! Good eye!
Another ball! The pitch was low!
The count is three balls, two strikes!
He's a tough one.
I'm surprised he saw where that was going.
How many pitches has Amahisa thrown?
He had to throw a lot in the first half.
Is it starting to wear on him?
Seido won't let it end like this.
He's caught looking at an outside strike!
Yeah!
Nice pitch, Kosei!
Nice pitch!
Two outs, Kosei!
Kosei-san, two outs!
Great!
Finish it off, Amahisa-senpai!
Two outs!
Your latent power is coming out, Amahisa boy.
Pitch outside?
Sure, I can pitch there.
I'm not sure you can learn to throw there just by practicing.
Honestly, my slider bends too much.
Don't you think?
It would be great if it curved just a little and struck someone out!
I've got some noise in my upper body, so I'm not pitching today.
Huh? Noise?
His behavior may be difficult for ordinary people to understand.
Even I'm not sure that I fully understand his nature.
But when the team made it through the winter camp,
Manaka boy and the other former third-years patiently practiced with them.
Genius and lucky boy.
Looking back, all those trials were to help him grow.
Strike three!
Ace Amahisa throws a mighty fastball!
Seido, the quarterfinalists
in the Invitational who attracted attention at Koshien Stadium,
are facing a potent challenge from a rival in their own division, Ichidai Third High!
It's the top of the ninth.
Shirasu's infield grounder scored a run.
Two outs and a runner on second.
Zono!
Sixth batter Maezono is at the plate.
A homer could tie the game.
Zono, we're not beat yet!
A fly ball to left field ends the game!
The first game of the Tokyo spring tournament semifinals,
a battle between division rivals, has been won by Ichidai Third High!
Satoru Furuya, after making a name for himself at the Invitational,
gave up five runs in the fifth inning!
Ace Amahisa threw 142 pitches and advances his team to the final!
Ichidai Third High has also automatically earned a spot in the Kanto Tournament in May!
Seido
Ichidai
Amahisa looked exhausted there at the end.
But Coach Tahara didn't sub him out.
He won't be pitching tomorrow.
He might be the eye of the storm this summer.
Inashiro, Teito, and Ichidai were all disappointed in the fall.
They'll be eager to perform in the summer.
And then there's Furuya.
He's nothing like how he was in the Invitational.
Is he gonna be okay? The cameras were all trained on him.
Did he burn out at Koshien Stadium?
That wouldn't be any fun.
The summer's the real tournament!
I lost the game.
But Sawamura looked good.
He could have started today.
Nah, they need their ace Furuya to be in shape.
Yeah.
You hear all the time about teams who go to the Invitational, but don't win in the summer.
And with batting like that, can they beat Inashiro?
Can they hit Narumiya's pitches?
What should the club members do?
There are a lot of spectators.
It might be best for those in the stands to go back soon.
We'll have a thorough meeting once everyone is back.
But the main players should stay and watch the next game.
Inashiro...
Very well.
I'll tell the players.
Hey, first-years! Come get the stuff that needs carrying!
Officials and Players Entrance General access is strictly prohibited
Yes, sir!
Shall I take that?
No, it's fine.
Hey, hang on!
I'm glad I ran into you!
There's something I want to ask you!
What kind of pitch was that?
A slider? Cutter?
The batters who saw it said the ball just disappeared!
I wanted to see it too, but you didn't throw it!
How do you throw it? What's the grip?
Hey, Kosei...
Excuse me...
We just lost a game.
I have nothing to say to you.
Why not?
We're just talking about baseball. It's not the same thing.
I'm just asking as a pitcher.
Tell me the grip!
No!
Why not?
The next game will begin at 1:00.
Huh? He what?
Teito High School, please begin practice.
Seido's?
I've never seen Kosei-san take an interest in another team's pitcher.
Yeah, and that pitcher's a year younger!
Okay, tell me your LINE handle!
Why would I do that?!
He started speaking like they were the same age, too.
I can't wait to get back and move around!
Yeah, we've just been watching this whole time.
Amahisa's an oddball, too.
Sawamura-senpai wanted nothing to do with him.
I get why he was interested in that pitch.
But coming from the team that just beat us...
It's inexcusable.
What are you getting mad about?
Coach Kataoka admitted he waited too long to change pitchers.
Yeah.
Those five runs they gave up in the fifth
were the deciding factor in the game.
Sawamura-kun's excellent pitching stopped the Ichidai batters' momentum cold.
If Seido had changed pitchers early like they usually do,
the game may have turned out differently.
Do you think that Coach Kataoka wanted Furuya-kun to pitch the whole game?
Hoping that he could pitch like at the Invitational?
Coach Kataoka was a pitcher himself,
and he also finished runner-up at Koshien Stadium.
I have no doubt that he is particular when it comes to the ace.
We had the means to limit the number of runs given up, including some on the bench.
My inexperience caused me to hesitate.
I will accept the result.
To play on the national stage
is to embrace a new goal.
No team will want to maintain the status quo and not reach for the heavens.
But you can only reach out after you've won.
Once you've dominated this violent battlefield.
Line up!
Tokyo Spring Tournament Semifinals
Seido 3 – 5 Ichidai Third High (West Tokyo) (West Tokyo)
Seido High School Lost
"Only After You've Won"
"Only After You've Won."
They may say I'm stuck-up and selfish,
but I've never tried to bend to others.
I have a confidence in my chest I can't explain.
I've fed that confidence by practicing more than anyone,
exploring baseball every single day.
I won't listen to anyone complain.
I'm going to pitch like the ace!
Haruichi...
Being the ace is really cool, right?
I'll only be playing baseball with them for another three months.
On the next episode of Ace of the Diamond Act II:
"Three Months."
Next Time
"Three Months"
Let's win the national title!
Color illustration / Yuji Terajima