Original subtitles

That's not the swing of a first-year.

Who is he?

I caused you guys trouble again.

I'm sorry.

But we're in this together as one.

We're going to nationals again.

With every single one of us here.

Summers

Ichidai Yakushi

We don't have...

...the time to be...

...messing around here!

Don't get in our way!

Yes!

Nice throw!

Manaka-san!

Nice, Manaka!

Nice pitch, Manaka!

Manaka! Manaka! Manaka!

Listen to the crowd cheering for one strikeout.

Be careful, Raichi.

He's not the same guy from the first inning.

I can't stop shaking!

Look at them showing off their pride as champions.

Sanada, you're going in next inning.

I hope you're ready.

You couldn't use me sooner, Coach?

You're the trick up my sleeve.

But... we're losing.

Champions' pride?

Smash it away, Raichi.

With your bat.

Okay, Manaka boy.

That's the pitch.

That is your winning pitch.

If you throw there, no one can hit it.

Throw with confidence.

Two strikes.

Amazing!

He's not throwing any easy pitches.

The batter must be a monster.

Can they strike out the man who hit a homer in the first inning,

and turn the momentum of the game into their favor?

Awesome!

Let's go, Kaname.

Take him out...

...with force!

Nice.

After making him swing at a breaking ball outside the zone,

they're finishing him off with a fastball.

There's no way he has timing for that.

We're...

...Ichidai Third High who went to the Spring Invitational.

We don't have...

We don't have...

...the time to be...

...messing around here!

That stage is waiting...

...for us!

M-Manaka-san!

Didn't that hit him?

Was it his glove?

Manaka boy!

Manaka!

Manaka-san!

Where did it hit you?

Your shoulder? Your arm?

Manaka-san!

That was a clean hit.

Is he all right?

Ishikawa boy, warm up right now!

Right now!

Y-Yes, sir!

Hurry up!

This is bad.

Very bad.

Go see the trainer.

I'm fine.

Manaka.

I've already used two pitchers

while Manaka boy was in the outfield.

If he steps down from the mound now...

- Hachioji Municipal Stadium -

Narumiya-kun!

Narumiya, nice pitch!

Go all the way to the finals!

Hey.

You're still sore about that?

You're such a small man.

I can't believe you switched me out again!

If I'd pitched until the end, I could've pitched a no-hitter!

Who cares?

We were up by a lot.

The coach did it so you could rest.

I wasn't tired!

I could've finished it!

Unbelievable!

You're making me want to strangle you.

Three more until nationals.

If we lose, we're done for good, Mei.

You need to have strength in reserve

for all the upcoming hellish matches.

I know.

C-Coach!

What happened?

You look concerned.

How was the game in the other stadium?

Ichidai...

Ichidai Third High lost to Yakushi.

In the bottom of seventh, Yakushi cleanup batter...

...hit the ball right at the ace, Manaka.

He tenaciously managed to get the out at first base,

but the injury forced him to step down.

Ichidai showed great strengths, even without their ace,

and finished the inning without giving away any runs,

but Yakushi, with the momentum, slowly closed in on them.

Yakushi took the game with a walk-off RBI in the bottom of the ninth.

Murakami, stand up.

We need to line up.

Stand up.

Stand up, Manaka boy.

Ichidai Yakushi

N-No way...

Ichidai lost a hitting game.

Everyone on the starting line-up hit, and no one bunted.

Seventeen hits and thirteen runs.

Manaka-kun's accident played a big role,

but in the end, they outhit the Spring Invitational team.

Thank you!

Everyone thought this bracket would be taken by Ichidai or Seido,

but here's a dark horse no one saw coming.

H-Hey.

Ichidai lost!

Y-Yeah.

Todoroki-kun was amazing.

He's not a true cleanup yet, though.

He's way too inconsistent.

So you see him as your rival.

It's a good thing we were all here for this.

B-Boss!

We can figure out how to beat them before the next game.

He threw a fastball to the inside,

after making the batter focus on a breaking ball.

There was nothing wrong with his pitching.

But instead of swinging late for the fastball,

he managed to hit it back at the pitcher.

His swing speed is fearsome.

Let's go, Tanba.

Kacchan, I think I'll go to Seido.

Why?

You were invited to Ichidai, too, right?

I-I can't just...

...keep walking behind you, Kacchan.

I want...

...to be a pitcher who can walk beside you.

I want to change at Seido.

Wait! Where's our bus?

This way.

This way.

Which way?

If we don't hurry, they'll leave us behind.

Knowing our boss, he'll really do it!

Don't call him "boss."

Water...

This isn't a desert, Furuya!

It's Raichi Car!

It's read "Todoroki"!

He's already swinging right after the game?

Another hundred.

Make sure the batting you did today completely sinks into your body.

You're running home after you're done.

Seeing his swing up close is really scary.

He's not even that big.

I wonder how much he's been practicing to get to where he is.

Hey! No slacking!

The pitcher today...

...had so much energy.

That pitcher had so much aggression,

and there are a lot more like him in this country, right?

I want to hit and hit and hit and hit.

I want to play against every pitcher in the country!

I want to blow them all away!

You want to be a pro, right, Raichi?

If you become a pro, you can do that every day.

Wow! He talks real big.

And he's only a first-year.

Well, you took down Manaka who went to the invitational.

The only other pitcher who's worth your time in West Tokyo...

...is Mei Narumiya from Inashiro.

That's probably it.

If you beat Inashiro and do well at nationals,

you'll be a star overnight.

If you do that,

you can get a huge offer in the draft in two years,

and I can say good-bye to my debt.

Narumiya...

Mei Narumiya.

Inashiro Narumiya!

Inashiro Narumiya!

Blow him away!

W-Wait a minute.

They face us before Inashiro.

Do they think we're not worth their time?

Okay.

Is everyone here?

Oh, the first-year trio isn't back yet.

Sawamura!

Him again?

I can't believe we have to wait for measly first-years!

Gonna have to teach him a big lesson.

Are you busy...

...picturing our game against Yakushi?

Oh, yeah.

Like...

I'm really glad we got to see them.

If we had faced them before Ichidai...

Their batters managed to hit off the Ichidai pitchers.

How we stop them will be the key to our victory.

Seido Spirit Dorm

Invitational Quarter-finalist Ichidai Falls

Hey, there's a huge article in the paper.

With a picture, too.

Well, of course.

The favorite disappeared in the third round.

This is what's so scary about a single-elimination tournament.

Inashiro got another shutout.

Sensen's winning, too.

Kokudokan 2 - 5 Hakuyo

Zaizen.

Raichi Todoroki!

No way in hell I'm losing to him!

We'll teach you not to take our pitchers lightly!

We're gonna win!

Win! Win!

Th-Those guys are looking super motivated.

I guess yesterday's game had a huge impact on them.

Since Todoroki's also a first-year.

I told them to do a light practice today.

Why don't they ever listen?

Well, yesterday...

Seido Practice Field

Are you kidding me?

Those two seriously said all that?

That we're not even worth playing against?

No, not directly.

But they did!

They're forgetting about our shiny head!

I'm so glad he wasn't there.

Let me go!

It was hard enough holding Eijun-kun back.

And?

You didn't come back without giving them a beating, right?

SMILE

Brother?

Bring it on, Yakushi.

Don't show your anger with your stomach!

Be it Ichidai or Yakushi,

whoever stands in our way is the opponent we have to beat.

Let's show them the answer on the field.

Tetsu!

Something completely out of this world is coming out of you.

The only team worth playing is Inashiro, huh?

That's a bold statement...

...against our pitchers.

Stop resting in the shade!

Tetsu.

Isashiki.

Masuko.

These three days we have until the game,

can you bat against me in a simulated batting practice?

I want to get the feeling of a game back.

You want to pitch against us?

You've got some guts!

I'm totally down!

But I don't know how to hold back!

And this guy, too!

Yeah, I know.

Go all out.

All right!

We have an hour until practice!

Let's do this right now!

Whoever's free, get on defense!

Yes, sir!

I was worried about Tanba-san's motivation

as he's been working toward playing against Ichidai,

but it looks like it'll be fine.

I just hope his pitching is good.

If you want a simulated practice, you want a runner, too.

Leave the fielding to us!

Feel free to let them hit, Tanba!

I'll be in the left field!

Tanba-san, first pitch.

Let's go carefully.

Hey, what's happening?

If you're having fun, I want in, too!

Sawamura!

If you want to stand on the mound, I'll take you on.

Though I'll turn you both into ground meat!

G-Ground meat?

Let's go, Tanba!

No outs, runner on first!

Your pickoff is looking as good as ever!

Though in my case,

I can run without a lead!

You idiot!

Hit and run?

H-How can they do that without any sign exchange?

Yakushi's not gonna bunt!

If you throw anything funny, they're going to take it all!

You'd better listen up, too!

Y-Yes, sir.

No outs, runners on first and third.

Th-These guys seriously don't know how to hold back.

Ground meat...

You guys want to pitch next?

You could learn a lot.

Tanba-san!

Be careful, Tanba!

Tetsu's not holding back.

Tanba-san!

You've got this!

Tanba! Don't lose spirit!

A simulated batting practice to help Tanba-kun

get his instincts back.

Yakushi High School beat Ichidai...

We have very little information on them, so they're quite a scary opponent.

The key to this game will be whether Tanba-kun can make a comeback or not.

Looks like he's ready to go.

KLANK

Whoa! A three-run homer!

No one asked for that, Tetsu!

Tanba!

Don't worry about it!

Tanba-san, focus on the next batter!

Tanba-san!

Tanba-san! Let's not look back!

You fiends.

Yakushi beat Ichidai Third High.

We don't know anything about them.

Raichi Todoroki!

He doesn't think we're worth his time?

There's no way I can lose to him!

Yeah. Can't lose.

The secret of Yakushi High School becomes disclosed through the media,

and, at last, the game begins!

Next time on Ace of the Diamond: Money Tree.

Money Tree

Let's win the national title!