If I pitch well in this game,
can I become the ace?
It's not that simple.
You know that.
Why did I go and say something like that?
Am I an idiot?
Just thinking about myself...
Self-serving idiot!
Sawamura!
One at a time.
I see.
I've been given a big chance.
I've wanted him to acknowledge me...
wanted to make him acknowledge me!
Strike!
I won't waste...
one pitch or one second!
Hakuryu
Seido
Out!
Yeah, Kuramochi-senpai!
Nice, Cheetah!
We barely got him out?
These guys run fast.
Nice play!
I was trying to hit to center field but swung late.
Nice play, You-san!
His pitches don't drop as much as you'd think.
This team has really effective runners.
We don't want them to get on base.
We fielders need to get every out we can.
You...
Ball!
He's hitting fouls on purpose.
That could be trouble.
We got the first batter out with two pitches,
so I was hoping to get into a rhythm.
Their batters are better than that.
If we get mad and try to strike him out, he'll keep hitting fouls.
We need to use a slow pitch to throw off his timing...
and make him swing!
Near right field!
That's Hakuryu High School's first hit!
There's a runner on base and the third batter Mima is up!
That was high.
Sorry!
Here he is.
That's huge! That's a huge lead!
You jerk!
He's got the flexible bat control to pepper the entire field with hits,
and he runs fifty meters in 5.8 seconds.
A prodigious batter who even the pros are keeping an eye on,
his name is Soichiro Mima.
If we can't stop him, a win won't come easy.
I'm not done!
He's persistent.
Miyao can get to second in 3.3 seconds.
At the Invitational, Kazuya Miyuki's throws to second took 1.91 seconds on average.
To make up that 1.39 second difference and steal a base,
we need to use the time that the pitcher is in motion.
1.29 seconds.
Certainly not fast, but decent enough.
He wouldn't be starting against us otherwise.
Let's shake him up a bit.
Steal!
It's a hit and run!
Furuya, he's going for third!
You won't make it!
Safe!
That's what I wanna see!
They advanced to third from a hit to near left field!
Mima got to second like it was nothing!
That was reckless baserunning.
If Furuya's throw hadn't been high, he would've been toast.
It was worth the risk!
Running like that is how Hakuryu plays baseball!
Instead of pulling the ball to right field to help the team,
he went with the pitch's direction and hit it to the opposite field.
His team must really trust his batting if they let him do that.
Runners on second and third! Fourth batter Kitaooji is up!
He can hit it or go for a squeeze play!
They'll even run on a grounder!
If the ball is put in play, they'll score a run!
The defense is under a lot of pressure!
A turning point in the very first inning.
There were more than a few pitchers who couldn't handle
this team's running game in the Invitational.
How will Seido High School handle the premier small-ball team in the country?
I love the tension!
Runners on second and third.
We're at a disadvantage,
but it's nice that we can focus exclusively on the batter.
This is what I wanted.
I wanted to see how well Sawamura
could take on a national powerhouse when he gets like this.
Strike!
Ball!
Foul!
Two pitches inside, then one low and away.
Their battery likes their fastballs.
They have the audacity to throw high and inside
when any fly ball to the outfield will give us a run.
I applaud your fearlessness, Kazuya Miyuki.
He wasn't tempted by the high inside pitch,
but went after one low and away.
He's trying to hit a grounder.
His fastballs don't drop, but he can throw changeups, too.
I'd rather risk getting jammed than swing and miss.
He's the batter who follows Mima.
He'll be hard to get out.
Forcing pitches through won't work.
But we don't want to give him anything easy to hit.
This is the first time I've given a sign in the first inning.
They won't be expecting this pitch.
It doesn't need to be perfect.
Swing your arm way through!
We'll let the movement of the ball overwhelm the batter!
Right down the middle!
Strike! Batter out!
Two outs!
Nice pitch, Sawamura!
One more!
Let's stop 'em, Sawamura!
Two outs!
The improved cutter.
A fastball? Two-seamer?
I... don't know.
I thought it was a fastball,
but then it disappeared.
Low and away on the first pitch! Looking good!
He looks awfully calm when there's a runner on third.
The Hakuryu batters are just getting warmed up!
Mima's on second base!
If it gets to the outfield, we'll get two runs!
We've got two outs, but no one on first.
Don't rush things.
It's fine. Let's handle this carefully.
Yeah!
Th-They made it through unscathed!
Two runners left stranded!
Yes, yes!
Hakuryu couldn't take the lead?
Haruichi!
Eijun-kun!
Yay!
It's a cutter.
I could see it from second base.
It suddenly broke close to home plate.
He can throw to all four corners and maintain control on the mound in a pinch.
I thought he was just a reliever,
but there's more to that pitcher than meets the eye.
Their use of speed to pressurize the defense,
and their clean, efficient slides.
We can learn a lot from this game.
Now it's our turn to pressure them.
Yeah!
Let's do it!
Bottom of the First
His screwballs can bore a hole into right-handed batters,
Hakuryu High School Ace Shintaro Ono
and he's got an incredibly well-controlled low slider.
Their ace is a cool character who almost never shows any emotion on the mound.
Once a pitcher like this settles into a rhythm, he's almost untouchable.
Well, there's no point...
in waiting for a meatball!
He hit the first pitch!
That's his brand of headbutt batting!
Safe!
Hakuryu's getting upstaged at base running!
That kid's fast!
How do you like that, people of Gunma?
Our cheetah is pretty fast!
Yoichi Kuramochi! Remember that name as you make your way home!
Why's he saying that?
No idea.
This is the new team's batting order.
Now you have the chance to give us the lead, Haruichi!
Kominato-kun is batting second instead of third,
where Shirasu-kun is slotting in after his recent hot streak.
It's an aggressive order designed to score ahead of Miyuki, who teams will be wary of.
Even after losing in the spring tournament,
Coach Kataoka seems unafraid of making changes.
Foul!
That's the screwball he throws to righties!
He throws some nasty pitches with a cool look on his face!
He's swinging late.
Did he guess breaking ball?
Two inside screwballs.
Then the next one will most likely be...
I only got to show him one of this guy's pitches.
But Haruichi is a tough one!
Ball!
He calmly let it go.
Does he know our sequence?
He's got a wooden bat. There's something about this batter.
Give me one more outside fastball, just inside the strike zone.
Yes!
Caught him looking—
Down the first base line!
How did he make contact so late?
He wasn't swinging late. He was waiting for it to be right by his chest.
The second-base runner has made it home!
Second batter Kominato hits an RBI double to take the lead!
Yeah!
I'm not as tall or strong as the others,
but batting isn't just about power.
Getting big hits when they don't want me to,
fouling off strikeout pitches,
and never swinging at balls...
I want to be a batter that pitchers are afraid to face in a pinch.
Pitchers hate when you keep hitting foul balls.
Especially in the summer.
What is it?
Just thinking that you two are brothers, all right.
We haven't had a consistent two-hole,
but with Maezono-kun and Shirasu-kun improving,
this batting order may be the most balanced.
Second?
He'd been batting third for ages.
I'm sure he's not too pleased with this.
Haruichi, nice batting!
I knew you had it in you!
Second? Am I not good enough to bat third?
Is that what you're saying?
Those two have improved so quickly...
But I'm not gonna let them leave me behind!
Yeah!
Nice, Mima!
Mima! Mima!
He swung at the first pitch, too.
He caught that, eh?
The captain and cleanup, the core of their team...
First base is open.
We don't need to push too hard,
however...
we must not hesitate.
Giving up a walk because we hesitated is not the same as one when we are attacking.
It will affect the next batter as well.
Strike!
Painting the black inside and out!
Look at that precision!
He's got just as much control as the Seido pitcher!
One ball, two strikes.
We have three balls to work with.
The count favors the pitcher.
Momentum is on our side, because we were aggressive.
Will he throw low sliders?
Or will it be a waste pitch outside?
It's high. Is he baiting me?
No, it's in the zone!
He got me.
Strike! Batter out!
The best fastball he's thrown all day.
Damn, not Miyuki-senpai.
Hakuryu
Seido
Top of the Third Inning
No outs, runner on first
Strike!
That look just now...
Now a different pickoff move.
He's a skilled pitcher.
How impudent.
Kujo is one of the top two runners on our team.
I've trusted him with the green light.
His lead's smaller now.
Steal!
Out!
There's Kazuya Miyuki's rocket arm!
That was a nice throw.
1.18 seconds.
He's going through the stretch faster.
Right over the base!
That was a great throw!
You did such a good job pinning the runner down,
I had to nail him.
No more runners.
Out!
Yeah, that location was fine.
Throwing a changeup to the batter who hit one in his last at-bat...
Miyuki-kun is being unusually bold with his pitch calling, isn't he?
Two outs!
The catcher can't stop a stolen base by himself.
The pitcher needs to cooperate, too.
And he's shown he cares about his catcher.
Did you drill that into him?
Drill it in? Please.
He's still nowhere near complete!
Strike!
Ball!
And since he's incomplete,
that means he can still grow an incredible amount.
Playing this game...
will undoubtedly...
make him stronger.
Yeah!
That's how Sawamura is now!
"Incomplete"
"Incomplete."
He throws unique pitches to all four corners
and stays in control on the mound even with runners on base.
He doesn't seem to care about our base running.
Let us acknowledge his skill as a pitcher.
That's huge!
That's the biggest lead yet!
There's no reason to hold back.
It's not every day you face a batter like this.
That's why it's worth it to hit him with everything you've got!
On the next episode of Ace of the Diamond Act II:
Next Time
"Unleashed"
"Unleashed."
Let's win the national title!
Illustration / Yuji Terajima