Original subtitles

Rei-chan,

can I catch his pitch?

You looked so sure of yourself.

That was my first impression of you.

I'm at Seido today

because I met him.

Miyuki.

Yes?

I'm putting you in charge of the pitchers tomorrow.

Moving fastballs aren't good against metal bats that make hitting easy.

Considering how strong the batters of Kiryu are,

they should be the perfect team to test out Sawamura's strength.

I don't care if they focus on the easy pitches.

Just make sure they swing.

Easier said than done, sir.

Learn today

Devote every moment

But...

If his pitch works against a top-tier team like Kiryu...

Exactly.

I will decide whether I'll use him this summer

based on his performance tomorrow.

I Hate It, But...

Right field!

Nice catch!

Um...

Shirasu.

Shirasu-senpai!

I mean, I've never seen anyone catch a ball like that!

Kiryu Seido

We somehow made it without giving up a run.

That inning was bad for my heart.

Despite everyone's fatigue,

they all seem to be well focused.

I wonder how the coach sees Sawamura-kun's pitching today.

A moving fastball...

It's not common, but some people who aren't properly taught how to throw

before high school do learn to throw like that.

It's a tricky pitch to hit for my players who hit from a pitching machine.

Kataoka-han,

could he be your real secret weapon?

A relaxed, natural stance.

Not a good sign.

You really suck.

That double play just now was pure luck.

The last out was Shirasu's amazing play.

We might not have given up any runs,

but it wasn't your doing.

If you keep throwing down the middle,

they're gonna score in no time.

No compliments...

But you're only holding the glove on the inside!

If you gave me more options, I'm sure I could—

What?

Did you say something?

Can you repeat that?

You have what it takes to throw to the outside corners?

You have breaking balls that break from strike to ball?

That's why you need to throw inside.

Are you even watching the other team's pitching?

Not even a flinch.

We can't throw to the outside like this.

We've just gotta keep throwing close calls.

To be frank, that catcher is avoiding Tetsu-san.

But the same four balls you throw

could have completely different implications,

depending on whether you throw offensively or cowardly.

Ball four!

Okay, okay!

You're throwing well today, Tachi!

This pitcher...

throws good inside strikes.

A persistent inside offense plants a seed in the next batter.

Watch Masuko-san's at-bat.

He's going to swing at an outside pitch.

I got it!

First!

Got it!

Damn! A fly to first!

The five-hole batter is horrible today!

Damn! A slider.

See?

There's more to pitching than meets the eye, huh?

You don't have anything but your energy to rely on right now,

so at least learn to pitch to the inside.

Here I am lecturing, but...

I haven't made a single hit today.

It's about time I made one,

or who knows what these guys will say to me.

I guess I'll go for it.

Scary.

In the past two at-bats, this batter just ignored the meatballs,

but he swung at the hard-breaking balls.

What is he thinking?

Let's throw some to the inside,

then finish him off with a fastball to the outside.

Tachi!

He's stealing—

Crap! He's...

completely forgotten about the runner.

Ball!

Hey, the captain ran!

That was a complete steal.

Nice run!

Nice, Tetsu!

They were going for that.

The credit for that one goes to Miyuki.

He focuses much better when there's a runner on second instead of first.

They're thinking on their own and playing freely.

This is a good team.

Tachi!

Four more innings!

Don't give them any more runs!

Coach, what are you saying?

I know you can do it.

Wow! That's quite a thing to tell him.

Not to mention, he looks happy.

Kiryu seems to be a surprisingly fun team.

Yeah, this is kind of our thing.

Wait! No, it's not!

Those two are just special!

Wow! The classic Kansai joke reaction!

Don't make me do that!

Well...

He's really calm.

The runner's on second now,

so let's give him an outside strike.

Take him down...

with your heavy pitch.

Nice outside.

Yes!

A long hit right down the right field baseline!

He's a different person when there's a runner.

Are you kidding?

He stepped hard and pulled that outside pitch?

Gotta fight power with power.

Yeah! We got a run!

Wow! He pulled that one hard.

Out!

Two outs!

I'll avenge you! Um...

Shirasu.

Shirasu-senpai!

Good luck!

Too close!

Two outs and a runner on third.

We're down seven runs.

I can do it, too.

Sawamura, keep your eyes on the ball—

Batter out!

He's got a lot to learn.

Damn.

I'll hit it next time!

I must!

Hey.

Don't let that strikeout bother you on the mound.

This is where it counts.

Throw to the inside.

Yes, sir.

You're not talking back to me anymore?

Yes, sir!

He's standing at the very front.

Did they already figure out Sawamura's pitch?

Even if it's a moving fastball, it's not very fast.

Hit it hard at the front when it comes close.

What a scary team.

You have even less elbow room now.

I'll throw it right there.

Outside!

Hit it!

Out!

Wow! He stopped it with his body!

And he's not even fazed!

One out, Sawamura-chan.

Masuko-senpai!

Saved by the fielders again.

But now, we're up against...

the 3-4-5 cleanups.

If you don't throw perfectly,

they'll make it sting.

Now then, what should we do?

Is Miyuki-kun being serious against Kiryu?

Looks like it.

What a tactician.

I told him I wanted to know if Sawamura's fastball

will be effective or not.

It's true that if his throws start collecting on the inside,

even Kiryu's batters should have trouble.

It looks like Miyuki

gives Sawamura more credit than I thought he did.

Not enough.

Left field!

Crap! It's you!

Here it comes...

It's gonna go long.

Go for second!

That was close.

Damn.

Don't stop halfway, you chicken.

You stopped him with your scary face!

Nice one, Beard-senpai!

Who's a beard?

We're in a game.

You're letting them hit too much!

Excuse me. Time out.

Time out.

Sawamura.

I hope you understand.

We're up against that guy next.

I guess I was asking too much of you,

so I won't ask you to throw to the inside anymore.

Not exactly what I wanted...

He's the ace and cleanup of one of the best schools in Osaka.

And you're standing on the mound right now.

Just put your heart into it.

Trust the fielders.

Though Furuya struck him out. Just saying.

Wh-What are you saying?

Nothing.

Is he here to cheer me up or to put pressure on me?

He's so twisted,

self-centered,

and I have no idea what he's thinking sometimes.

And I hate it.

I hate it, but...

Thank you for waiting.

I...

I...

came to this school, to Seido...

because I wanted to throw to him.

I'll make him acknowledge me!

I-Inside?

Strike!

Look at that.

I knew you had it in you.

Um... These are rice balls.

Please eat them on your way back.

Wow! Thanks!

You guys made them?

We apologize if they're not good.

You guys are so lucky.

You have four girl managers!

Not to mention, they're all cute.

He says you're cute.

Aren't you guys in camp right now?

You need to let loose more.

That last-inning offense was tough.

Shut up!

We weren't going down without a fight.

We'll get revenge next time.

Bring it on!

Hey.

You know...

Watching you play reminded me of the old days,

and it was nice.

Work hard.

Yes, sir. Thank you—

Sorry for that.

Despite how he looks, he's shy.

Shy?

I wanted to see his smile again.

We had a lot of fun today.

And thank you for letting us practice, as well.

The pleasure is ours.

I must say, I'm quite envious of you.

You have two completely different pitchers in the same year.

The kid who threw amazing fastballs at the end is something, for sure,

but the southpaw pitcher who came out halfway

is interesting, as well.

Once he gets some ball control,

he'll become a fearsome pitcher.

It's no wonder you want to keep him a secret.

One of the best coaches in Osaka acknowledges Sawamura...

He gave up three runs pitching the last four innings.

Kiryu Seido

To put it another way, he only gave up three runs with fastballs alone

against their powerful batting lineup.

They still have a lot to work on.

Oh, you're a tough coach.

Either way, I think you gave my players a run for their money, as well.

Let's play in the nationals next time.

Let's.

All right, boys!

We're going to Kanagawa tomorrow.

Don't lose energy!

Yes, sir!

Thank you very much!

Thank you very much!

He smiled.

Seido Spirit Dorm

Staring into the distance

Huh?

You guys aren't eating much.

I'm just really tired.

There's so much pressure, throwing in the first-string.

I don't want to do anything today.

Damn.

In the end, I could only throw one pitch to the inside.

Anything I threw close to center was hit into the outfield.

I made errors in fielding,

and my ball control was horrible.

As I am now, I'll only be a burden to the team.

I need better control.

I need more fielding practice.

Batting, too.

So much to do.

Damn it.

I'm physically tired, but I can't go to sleep.

Stamina, ball control.

Stamina, ball control.

Stamina roll.

Hey, good jumble.

Hey!

You little...

What are you doing on your own?

That's not fair!

Wait, was he having trouble sleeping, too?

Hold on a minute!

That's my little pal you've got there!

Can't do that.

Who cares?

I don't see your name on it.

I do have my name on it!

Right here!

Oh, where?

Is this written in pencil?

It's also in hiragana.

Shut up!

What are those two doing?

Fighting over a tire?

They just had a game today,

and they're still going to practice?

They can't sleep from all the adrenaline.

They're not playing tomorrow, so who cares?

So what do you think of Sawamura's patches after personally catching them?

The pitches he throws aren't that bad.

He got a lot of help from the fielders,

but he held the Kiryu lineup to three runs.

But ball control, fielding, etc...

He has way too much he's missing, just like Furuya.

To be honest, as it is,

I can't put my faith in him in a tight spot.

Figured.

What's important is whether he understands that.

So that means our ace this summer will be Tanba-san.

Furuya's got an stamina problem, too.

If he threw his best consistently, he would've been our ace long ago.

The coach is only hard on him because there's that much expectation.

More importantly, are you gonna be okay?

As far as I can tell, Tanba-san doesn't like you.

He's a little hard-headed,

but you're way too straightforward, despite being a year younger.

It's no surprise he doesn't like you.

Damn! He's observant.

It's unavoidable.

A battery consists of both the pitcher and the catcher.

It doesn't matter who's older.

If it means making the pitcher shine,

I'll do whatever it takes.

I'll lie if I have to,

and make myself hated if I have to.

He's...

Hey!

You two!

Just because you're not playing tomorrow doesn't mean you can sleep in!

We start early, so don't overwork yourselves!

Though you guys gave up fifteen runs between you,

so it'd be surprising if you could sleep at all!

Well, bed time for me.

Wait right there!

It was fourteen runs total!

Don't add any!

That's right!

Don't add!

No one can tell who you are without your hat and goggles, anyway!

You don't have any friends, do you?

I hate you!

We close our camp with a three-way series of practice games.

Tanba-senpai, Kawakami-senpai, show us how it's done!

Hey, I heard you've got a rookie who throws super fast?

Wh-Who are you?

Mei Narumiya.

He's the second-year ace of Inashiro Vocational High School,

the team that beat us last summer.

He's the one?

Next time on Ace of the Diamond: Fate.

Fate

Let's win the national title!