Original subtitles

He's relaxed and swinging his arm down all the way.

Are his pitches getting better?

This is troubling.

He's a lot more persistent than I thought.

I thought he'd break down by now.

Strike! Batter out!

The ace Furuya is persistent and diligent!

He's not fazed by the pinch at all!

Nice pitch!

Nice one, Furuya!

Furuya-kun!

He's not backing down at all.

Furuya-kun has learned to become very tenacious.

We have runs to spare.

In order to let him grow as the ace, he should pitch until the end.

He's keeping his focus, and his pitch isn't rising.

I don't know what happened,

but he's able to pitch relaxed, like I've been telling him.

Hey.

Why are you pitching so economically?

It's not like you.

Don't tell me...

...you're actually trying to pitch this game until the end!

Well, don't you forget!

Some people prepare all game only to see the game end!

And baseball isn't as easy as you think!

Sawamura, you should keep those comments to yourself.

The more he talks...

...the farther he gets from a protagonist.

Ugumori Seido

Chain Reaction

Right above center!

Nice hit, Tojo!

Finally!

A hit from a first-year, at last!

Kanemaru, you're next!

What are you doing here?

The coach sent out a pinch hitter!

You've got this, Higasa!

Ume-chan, two outs!

The fact that Coach put you in

means you still have a chance.

Strike!

Wow! It's in.

This change of pace...

I'm surprised they hit off him so easily.

Damn.

I'm not going to fall behind!

He got jammed!

But this fly could get interesting.

Translation: Hit the ground!

Two runners home!

Two more runs!

Nice one, Higasa!

That's our eighth run! We're up by five!

It's just not the first-years' day today.

Props to the upperclassmen.

The first-years suck.

Nice hit.

I jammed it.

Doesn't matter so long as it's a hit.

You don't have to give up your starting spot to a first-year.

That should've been an out.

Seido's got momentum.

They're up by five runs with two innings left?

I think this is game.

Are you serious?!

A penalty?

Where's the encouragement?

You have to run ten laps for every run.

Nao-kun shows no mercy.

You think this is funny?

He'll make it a team responsbility.

Knowing Nao-kun, that's possible.

It's like they don't care about the score.

They're laughing when they're losing.

Go back to the dugout!

Ten laps per run.

Shut up!

Way to send him back!

They were like this against us, too.

Yeah.

I found it really eerie.

Are they just stupid without any plans?

Or do they have an ace up their sleeve?

Either way, it's not easy to take five runs back.

You've got this!

There're still two innings left!

Go for it!

You can do it, Ugumori!

The game's not over yet!

Umemiya!

I'm rooting for you!

Let's see it!

Don't give up!

Give up?

Who would?

I left baseball once.

Yet I'm able to feel this tension on the field again.

Ugumori Seido

It doesn't feel good to give up hits,

but I'll never run away from a fight.

Out!

Giving up is the easiest and most boring thing to do.

Isn't that right?

Nao?

Let's go!

Yeah!

All right!

Let's take this game back!

He's a good pitcher.

I can see why the crowd's on his side.

Can you take yourself to the next level in this game?

Well, let's do this.

Coach Kataoka's keeping him in for the eighth inning.

Yeah.

This is the longest game he's ever officially pitched.

How do you feel?

Can you go one more inning?

I can even pitch until the end.

Coach, I insist!!

Whether or not you can pitch the ninth inning

will depend on your performance in the eighth.

Sawamura, can I use the bullpen?

Yes, please!

I've been getting ready since the beginning.

Anything could happen.

We got his pitch count up by abandoning his low pitches,

and we got him tired, too.

But it wasn't enough.

He's not breaking down from just that today.

In fact, we should swing at his low pitches.

We need to hit the fastball he's so confident about.

Your eyes have adjusted.

Let's get aggressive from the first pitch!

Yeah!

Top of the eighth.

Ugumori High School's first batter is

the fourth batter and pitcher, Umemiya-kun.

Let's go, Ume-chan!

If he doesn't hit, it's the game.

He hasn't hit since the home run in the first inning,

but he's the first batter, so I'm sure Ugumori wants him to get on base.

On the other hand, Seido wants to get him out,

even with their large lead.

Yeah.

Umemiya.

I don't think this battery will face you head on.

So I want you to do the opposite of everyone else.

Abandon the low balls.

Ball!

A splitter from the beginning?

It means they're afraid of him.

I'm impressed he saw through it.

Ume-chan, good eye!

Good eye!

You've got this!

Ume-chan!

Doesn't matter how.

If you can get on base,

the team will be revitalized.

Ball!

He was swinging at this pitch before.

I would usually have swung at that.

They don't want to walk the first batter here.

The next pitch is key.

If they throw a strike, swing hard.

Yeah!

I'll smack it away!

Furuya! Your pitch looks good!

We've got your back!

Ume-chan, let's go!

You've got this!

We're okay being pawns.

Years of hard training for a battle settled in a moment

We'll heed your every command.

My butt hurts.

My thighs are tight.

We still have a circuit after this.

He's the devil, I tell ya!

Such a sadist, despite his looks.

Shoot! Hurry up!

Nao-kun's already on the field.

Nao and I played on the same little league team,

and I heard he was in an accident in my second year of junior high.

Umemiya, did you hear?

Matsubara's in serious trouble.

Matsubara?

As in Nao?

Kurihara Hospital

He was full of talent,

had great leadership,

and had a promising future.

He was the one player I knew I could never beat.

After leaving baseball and wasting a lot of time,

I didn't know how to face him.

Moreover, I didn't have any words to give him.

Physical Therapy Building

Big group today.

Is this the entire Adachi Rockets team?

I'm glad.

You look well, Nao-kun.

Yeah. I'm doing well.

I finally found a goal for myself.

A goal?

I'm going to aim for nationals.

N-Nationals?

How?

Of course, I'd have to be in the managerial role.

And there aren't many schools I could attend in a wheelchair.

Nao-kun's really strong.

He was laughing, but physical therapy isn't easy.

Yeah, he's strong.

No!

He's...

It's not that easy to just accept fate.

Why...

Why...

Why...

...me?

You went through...

You went through so much to get here.

No.

You're still fighting.

We'll take you...

We'll take you to nationals with us.

Well, I'm not in any position to say that.

I'm just a chicken who left baseball

and jumped on your bandwagon.

Our role...

...is to prove how strong this team is.

In other words,

it's to prove how strong you are!

A splitter!

Did he pitch a little high because he was worried about the count?

Right down the center!

All right!

Nice one, Ume-chan!

You always exceed my expectations.

Yeah!

I couldn't ask for a better teammate.

Oh, wow!

He got a hit!

That pompadour's good!

Keep going, Ugumori!

Umemiya!

Don't give up!

One run at a time!

Let's go!

Kota, let's go!

Come on!

The fifth batter's up. Inubushi-kun.

Considering the score, they need another hit here.

No outs, and a runner on second!

Let's go, Kota!

Aim for the splitter!

Yeah!

Kota,

you have batting talent.

If you swing a lot every day,

you'll be a strong batter on the team.

Though you suck at defense, and your face is scary.

Leave my face out of this!

Those words alone kept me going.

The first pitch!

Safe!

Yeah! Home in!

The fourth and fifth batters hit to score a run!

Is he a wolf?

Let's go, Nishi-yan!

Smack the first pitch!

We still have four runs.

Your pitch is looking good.

He hit the low fastball well into right field.

Yeah.

Umemiya-kun made a good start, too.

Things are finally getting interesting.

Why don't both you teams

show me all about your strengths and weaknesses?

Steal!

Haven't they learned?

Show them up, prodigious catcher!

Hit and run?

The first pitch again?

Another hit!

Three in a row!

The first base runner went for third!

Not this time!

This is bad!

Slide for it!

Safe!

It hit the runner!

It would've been an out, otherwise!

That was close!

No outs and runners on first and third!

Shota! Nice header!

They're hitting the low balls they weren't swinging at before.

Did they change their batting strategy?

What'll they pull off next?

Maybe just a squeeze play?

Or try to steal home plate?

Give them one run.

Get the out you can get.

We're okay.

Seido's willing to give up a run here.

They really want that first out.

Yeah.

If Ugumori can score one, no, two runs with their weak batters,

this game could get interesting.

You can run for it, Nishi-yan!

Don't mind the runners.

If you don't focus on the first pitch, he'll hit it.

Ariga!

Ari, go for it!

Ari, you practice swinging at home, too. Don't you?

I can tell.

Your swing's looking better.

That kind of extra practice might save the team one day.

I was so happy Nao-kun complimented me

that I started swinging even more.

Squeeze!

Squeeze!

I saw that coming!

I wasn't forced to do it.

I was swinging of my own accord.

That simple difference made baseball so much more fun.

He hit, too!

Third runner's home!

Are they serious?!

He's sliding for first!

Safe!

Oh, wow!

Safe at first base!

Ugumori's batters are exploding.

And they show no signs of stopping.

Four hits in a row since Umemiya-kun.

Just three runs down now.

What was that?

A hit and squeeze?

That was so risky.

These guys are crazy.

They're so aggressive!

Make it even crazier!

Seido's starting to lose their cool.

Run wild, Ugumori!

The crowd's completely on Ugumori's side.

Yeah.

They want to see another upset like yesterday.

We have momentum, Mako-chan!

Just swing and pray!

Something will happen if you make contact!

I think everyone feels the same,

but no matter how many runs we're down,

we're not going to just lose.

Ugumori!

Let's go!

With Nao-kun and Ume-chan on our team,

we can make something happen.

In the top of the eighth,

Ugumori is making a comeback, hit by hit.

We're only up by three now, and haven't gotten a single out.

They have the tying runner on base now.

Pitch hard, Furuya.

Be aggressive in clutch situations!

I won't lose.

This mound is mine!

Next time on Ace of the Diamond Season 2: Shut Him Down!!

Shut Him Down!!

Let's win the national title!