It's just like the practice games we played.
I shoulda done way better.
It doesn't matter if I get on base if I can't hit when we need it.
I just wanna win with this team!
I want to win as much as you do,
but nobody thinks it's your fault that we lost.
We couldn't hit... We couldn't field...
But everyone regrets it and wants to do better.
The whole team is responsible, not just you.
That's... But...
Besides, you're the one who said it first.
"Let's all go to nationals together!"
She's got so many new blisters...
She's been hitting balls to us nonstop...
Right!
Speaking of which, I had a little idea.
Do you think you could hit cleanup for us?
"Pitch 6: With Hearts Full of Hope"
"Keyakidai High School"
"Team | 1" "Shin Koshigaya" "Moriya Keyakidai"
Guys! Watch for even more signs from me today!
Huh?! More than usual?!
Gosh! Could you quit complaining so much?
The summer tournament is in a month.
This is our last chance to see the progress we've made.
Let's focus, everyone!
Right!
Play!
Ball!
Foul ball!
Their pitcher normally has a bad start.
In other words, if our hitters who aren't as good as Nozomi are patient...
Ball four!
Nice!
Good job, Ibuki! Let's load up the bases and use our cleanup!
If we just foul the bad pitches...
Ball four!
We can let the balls add up.
Hell yeah! No outs and bases loaded!
Nozomi couldn't have asked for a better setup!
Smash it, Nozomi!
If we score here, she'll gain some confidence!
Just relax and swing like normal, Nozomi!
Play!
Ball!
Do you think you could hit cleanup for us?
The pitcher next game takes a while to find her groove.
We'll get runners on base for you to bring home.
It'll be fine! You're the best hitter we've got!
This one's for Yoshino who let me hit cleanup!
Woohoo!
Perfect! An RBI for Nozomi!
Nice hit!
--Nice one, Nozomi! --Nice! --Way to go!
That was Nozomi's first RBI!
Huh? Really?
I'm shocked!
Me too. You'd think she'd have tons of 'em.
Thank goodness! That should pump her up a bit.
Now then, given the situation...
It's fine to hit a sacrifice fly, so swing for the fence!
Good call.
Sweet!
Two more runs!
That's our captain! Nice, Tamaki!
--Yup! --Yay! --Nozomi!
Nozomi! You did it!
Thanks.
I hit it at the player, but the swing felt effortless.
Is that why I hit it so hard?
Thank you, Yoshino.
Play!
I can tell Ryo is itching to be part of the rally!
Hell yeah!
She's so simple.
Time to catch 'em off guard!
Safe!
Nice!
Nice hustle, Risa!
Runner on third!
We've got lots of options, but Yomi's up next, so...
Yomi, we're counting on you! Do a squeeze!
Go figure! My batting average is trash!
--Shoot! --Whoa!
Out!
This calls for special training.
I should look at the lineup again too.
But since it's Shiragiku now, let's go for a big hit!
Got it.
Play!
Strike!
Remember the basics... Remember the basics...
If a good pitch comes,
take the chance...
...and swing!
--Whoa! --It's deep!
Out!
Yeah! Six runs!
Nice sacrifice!
That was so close to a homer!
Yeah! Maybe next time!
I can wait out the pitches again.
Strike two!
She's like a whole new person!
Strike three!
--That's it, Yamada! --Good work!
I guess she found her groove.
"Team | 1 | 2 | 3" "Shin Koshigaya" "Moriya Keyakidai"
We got through the order! Great rally, guys!
Now go shut down their side!
Yeah!
All right! Time to pitch!
Yomi!
Huh? What?
Let's hold back "that" pitch.
Wha?! How come?!
I wanna see if your cutter and two-seam can get us through a game.
But I only started throwing those at training camp!
That's a nice two-seam! It's like a razor shoot!
Yeah? Isn't it lacking movement?
It moved plenty, considering it's a fastball!
It's crazy how quick you learned it!
Since it's just as fast as your four-seam, it'll come in handy!
Yeah?
Have you really never thrown a breaking ball other than "that"?
Yeah. I figured "that" pitch would be all I ever needed.
I think you know from our practice games,
but we can't win the summer tournament with just two pitches.
Yoshino is right. You need to learn at least one or two more.
Right...
Since we're way ahead, it's a good chance to practice.
Now that I'm a high schooler, it's time to grow up.
All right. As long as you lead me to victory.
You know it!
Oh, yeah. Speaking of growing up, it's almost my 16th birthday.
"Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5" "Shin Koshigaya" "Moriya Keyakidai" Could this huge lead they gave me...
It can't be. I haven't told anyone yet, but...
Play!
...it's the best present ever!
Shoot!
Don't worry!
Huh?
It curved just fine!
O-Okay.
Besides, we're testing more than pitching today.
Okay! Runner on base!
You seem happy.
'Cuz there's so many formations I wanna try!
The team we're playing really likes to hit and run.
When the runner steals and our infield covers the base,
they hit through one of the gaps to reach first and third.
Right.
So even if the runner goes, only Ryo will move to cover the base.
Mmm.
Got it!
Pitch outside.
Play!
We'll force them to hit right and secure an easy out.
There she goes!
It's all right!
First!
Out!
Nice! It went just as planned!
Now, their third and fourth batters are lefties.
Since they have a tendency to pull, we'll shift the infield towards first...
"Danger Zone" Since they have a tendency to pull, we'll shift the infield towards first...
...and move the outfield back.
They only scored because our outfield moved!
No. That was just a fluke.
In that case, stay in position!
Right down center!
Yeah! Right at me!
--Out! --Out!
Yeah! 6-4-3 double play!
Nice job! See how we can make it work?
I-I guess. It feels like I gave up hits, though.
--Still, it's all thanks to Yoshino's data and Ms. Fujii's training. --Good job, guys! Nice double play! You guys make an awesome combo!
Sure is!
"2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9" "Shin Koshigaya" "Moriya Keyakidai"
Strike!
We're really struggling to hit.
She's throwing heat, and her breaking balls are sick.
Just like Yoshino said, she's only bad at the start.
Strike three!
A sinker, huh? That was so cool!
We'll have trouble finding more runs.
It's a good thing we got six in the first.
For real.
Hopefully, we can still win!
That all depends on you.
Ugh! G-Good point.
Yomi's cutter is kinda iffy, but we can put her two-seam to use.
A bit of work will open up her potential.
Since the bats are metal,
hits are hard without good contact.
"Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8" "Shin Koshigaya" "Moriya Keyakidai" hits are hard without good contact.
But she's gaining control and giving us grounders and outs.
We're doing great keeping runs to a minimum.
Wait... How much has she thrown?
You wanna know?
"Shin Koshigaya" "Keyakidai" "IP | PIT | HA | HRA" "Details | SO | BB | ER" "4-Seam" "2-Seam" "Cutter" "'That' pitch" "?"
Ta-da! 75 pitches!
"Shin Koshigaya" "Keyakidai" "IP | PIT | HA | HRA" "Details | SO | BB | ER" "4-Seam" "2-Seam" "Cutter" "'That' pitch" "?" Three earned runs in six innings! Cool, right?
But if I used "that" pitch, couldn't it be zero?
This is practice! Practice!
Besides, it's more fun when hits come to us!
That's right! Yomi, you should do this all the time!
Wha?!
Since it's the last inning, it'd be nice to score some runs.
Strike two!
I'm behind already, yet I'm supposed to be hitting as cleanup.
I want to contribute as a hitter.
Plus, it's almost Yomi's...
You can do it, Tama! Crush the ball!
Two strikes...
This pitcher doesn't throw three in a row.
This one will be inside.
Ball!
Here comes her finisher.
There it is! A sinker!
Holy Moly! She totally nailed the sinker!
Tama's awesome!
You know it! She was her prefecture's prized catcher!
And next up is...!
Chalk up another RBI!
Nozomi!
Nice hit!
"1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R"
C'mon! Let's close 'em out for our first win!
Don't let down till it's over!
Yeah!
Yomi?
Yeah?
I know it's early, but happy birthday!
What?
You remembered?
Of course!
You used to bug me for presents a whole month in advance.
D-Did I really?
Is there anything you want?
Hmm. That double earlier was plenty.
Th-That wasn't a present.
I saw how hard you were trying. You didn't do that for me?
I didn't!
Whatever.
In that case...
Give me a win today!
All right.
Then...
Hmm?
Okay!
Out!
Nice pitch, Yomi!
Good job!
Just one more!
Close it out!
Strike!
Strike two!
One more pitch!
Last one. It's time for "that"!
Strike three!
Woohoo! My first win!
C'mon, line up!
Right!
The team's coming together.
Great job, everyone!
Now head home and try not to party too hard.
Huh? What about you?
You're not coming with us?
I'm meeting with Keyakidai's advisor for an after par--
After-game meeting.
I feel like you were about to say "after party."
I said "meeting."
"Moriya Keyakidai High School Bus Stop"
She pretty much demanded that we head home.
I'd love to celebrate though.
Yeah. 'Coz it's our first win.
First win...
I can't believe it. We really won, didn't we?
Let's do something back at home!
How about karaoke? That's not too crazy, right?
I'm in! Let's go wild and celebrate our first win!
As if you're not always wild.
Oh. There's something else to celebrate too.
Huh?
It's almost Yomi's birthday.
--Huh? --Whoa!
Happy birthday!
Our ace's birthday? Now that's cause for celebration!
Huh?
"Karaoke"
Captain! Start with a toast!
Ahem! Let's see...
To our very first victory and Yomi's birthday!
--Cheers! --Cheers!
Congrats, Yomi!
The birthday girl winner!
A double celebration!
You've grown along with your pitching!
That's right!
We'll up our batting game to help you more!
Yeah! We'll do our best!
Guys! Thank you!
It means so much to me!
Jeez, you never change. You're such a crybaby.
I can't help it!
It's crazy how we had no errors.
They even hit a lot too. We can thank training camp for that.
Once Shiragiku can hit homers, we'll be perfect!
Right! I'll do my best!
Speaking of which, you only threw "that" pitch once, right?
Tama said I couldn't use it.
But then she let me throw it for the very last pitch, and...
...that was the happiest I've ever been!
What? She's crying again?
Huh? I feel like this turned into a post-game review meeting.
That sounds so like us.
It was a really great game to prepare us for summer!
Yoshino's signs were spot on today.
And everyone came through too!
Yomi's pitching sure was something else.
Yeah. I can't wait to put her two-seam to use again.
Yoshino, did our chances of making nationals go up?
Hmm, let's see.
Here's this year's seeds.
"'S' Rank: Sakura, Ryoyukan, Misono Academy"
To win, we'll have to beat two schools "A" rank or better.
"'A' Rank: Asamadai Prefectural, Omiya University High, Murakami, Akitsu, Tsubakimine" To win, we'll have to beat two schools "A" rank or better.
"'A' Rank: Asamadai Prefectural, Omiya University High, Murakami, Akitsu, Tsubakimine" Those are the schools you always hear about.
"'B-D' Rank: Minamikurihashi Prefectural, Kawaguchi Aoki Prefectural, Yana U Kawagoe" Those are the schools you always hear about.
"'B-D' Rank: Minamikurihashi Prefectural, Kawaguchi Aoki Prefectural, Yana U Kawagoe" I can't imagine us putting up a fight, let alone beating 'em.
"'B-D' Rank: Koshigaya Prefectural, Souka Prefectural, Kumagaya Jitsugyo, Asagiri Musashino, Fukaya Higashigata" I can't imagine us putting up a fight, let alone beating 'em.
We'll never make nationals.
We won't know till we try!
That's right. If we prepare like we did for today, maybe we'll see results.
I sure hope you're right!
Let's do all we can before summer!
What's the deal, Yomi? Planning to cry forever?
I can't help it! Not only are we celebrating my birthday,
but talking about the tournament with you all makes me so happy!
Yomi...
We're excited about it too.
Yeah.
I'm so glad I picked Shin Koshigaya.
This summer, I can't wait to see how far we all go!
--Me too! --I know!
Yeah!
"Karaoke"
After party at the cages!
"Karaoke" Ooh! Good idea!
"Karaoke" Sounds like a tiring after party.
"Karaoke" Um, what are the "cages"?
"Karaoke" We're just fools for baseball.
"Karaoke" For real!
"Karaoke" What are the "cages"?!
"Next Episode: Night Sky After Rain"