Ace of the Diamond (ダイヤのA)

Hey, it's just about to start.

Meiji Jingu Baseball Stadium

We made it.

While you warm up, I'll watch the game closely.

He got us good in the practice game.

At the top of the first, Seiko Academy starts the game off.

Batting first and catcher, Masu-kun.

Out of all the big hitters,

he's the one we have to be wary about.

They're much more likely to score when he gets on base.

He's their lead-off man and their central figure.

Shinichiro Masu.

But that also means, if we can get him out,

we can take the upper hand.

This inning is key.

The Courage He Gave Me

The first pitch is a high ball.

It's so fast!

It's been two weeks since he last played.

I can tell he's excited.

It's not that fast!

Let's get it!

Calm down! Don't get so excited!

Strike!

Put it away.

Far below your gut.

Deep, deep down.

Strike!

Nice pitch!

Nice, Furuya!

He got us good in the practice game,

but once his fastball starts coming in low,

he becomes unstoppable.

Ball!

He didn't swing.

That was close.

I almost swung for it out of habit.

Pitchers like him hate it when the batters don't react.

He's tough.

No wonder he's both the catcher and the lead-off man.

Ball!

And it's a full count now.

So much for two strikes.

He's not gonna swing at any close pitches.

In that case, throw it right down the middle.

Force him out!

Strike! Batter out!

And he couldn't even swing!

Furuya, nice pitch!

That was close.

It was where the first pitch was.

We're lucky it wasn't called as a ball.

We might have some luck today.

Three for three in the first inning.

Furuya is off to a good start!

Yeah!

The early game looks good!

Nice pitch, Furuya!

That's our Mr. Ace!

He usually concedes runs in the first inning.

So this is a good sign!

Furuya's doesn't give up any hits when he's in the zone.

What are you doing?

Do you think I should grow out my bangs, too?

Like him.

I really don't care.

Tsune, be ready to go any time.

We can't score much from this pitcher.

I'm sure we'll be fighting over every run.

Then let me start.d

Once you have all your eyebrows.

Huh?

Doesn't this look good?

The ball goes between right and center!

Nice! Go, Kuramochi!

Kuramochi starts off the inning with a triple!

Seido has a man on third with no outs!

Seiko is moving up to defend.

It's okay to give up a run here,

but we won't give it up for free.

Be wary of a squeeze play.

And he hits!

First base!

He's fast. He's already home?

And the third base runner goes home with a grounder.

Seido's taken the first run!

Nice!

That's our cheetah!

Seido's on fire!

Kominato hits one into center field!

With a runner on first,

their cleanup, Miyuki, is up.

You're way too tense, Ryuhei.

Did Furuya's pitch put you off your game?

The hit and run succeeds!

Kominato goes from first to third!

And Maezono hits deep into left field!

Seido scores again!

The first base runner advances to second!

Kojima-san's not pitching well today.

I should get ready.

It's going deep!

The ball was caught, but Seido is making Kojima sweat.

Seiko Seido

The batters exploded, and Seido starts off with two runs!

The Seido batters are looking good.

I'm impressed they've come so far after the defeat in summer.

Coach Kataoka always makes a strong team.

I really want to see them play at nationals!

This is the year!

I hope they get there!

Expectations are high.

We always get this far. No problem.

We just always fall one win short.

This guy's dangerous.

Strike!

What a fast pitch.

That swing, too.

They both sound so scary.

What happens when the bat makes contact?

Strike! Batter out!

The cleanup, Nagata, strikes out on a breaking ball!

It worked.

Was that a splitter?

No, it was...

It was a slider?

It was a little high,

but I knew he would swing at it the first time.

A slider?

Look at the other team's face.

They had no idea he could pitch that breaking ball.

I heard Ochiai-san taught breaking balls to Sawamura and Furuya.

Oh?

So he's already influencing the team well.

Incredible.

They're swinging at those obvious balls.

It means his fastball is putting a lot of pressure on them.

Both Sawamura-kun and Furuya-kun

learned breaking balls over just a couple games.

I wonder if they hired someone new for teaching breaking balls.

It's going high!

The left fielder catches it to end the inning.

Three for three once again.

All right!

Nice pitch.

That was close.

If you're throwing high, go even higher.

That was so high.

The fly was in the air for a while.

Seiko's swinging a lot.

That's gonna put on a lot of pressure.

They're pulling Furuya's fastballs.

Let's hope they don't get rolling.

What a thrilling lineup.

Your pitch looks good.

Keep it low, Ryuhei.

Tsune!

Be ready.

Bottom of Second

Seido puts a man on second.

And the ninth batter, Aso, is up at bat.

I'm no small fry!

Into center field!

The second base runner goes home!

Seido scores their third run!

Let's go!

Nice run, Tojo!

That was a great slide.

Yeah! Nice run!

Tojo, great job!

Nice hit.

Nice run, Tojo!

Seiko Seido

Beautiful.

Our batters are on fire!

Are you giving advice to the batters, as well?

It'd be great if they made the invitational.

Coach Ochiai would debut at nationals.

Let's hope Kataoka-san goes big before he leaves.

To be honest, I didn't expect this team to come so far.

They have many good players, but the team wasn't nationals material.

It's thanks to your coaching that they've come so far.

No.

I said a few words of advice, at best.

If I were the coach, I would've sacrificed this fall.

In order to raise Furuya as the ace, I would've sacrificed the team.

It was Coach Kataoka who raised the team to this level.

We have differing coaching styles,

so if he takes the fall tournament, I'm not needed for the team.