Original subtitles

Oh, an intra-squad?

Tesshin sure knows how to keep practice intense

during the fall tournament.

I'm also worried...

...that this game looks like Coach Kataoka is giving Coach Ochiai

a place to communicate with the team.

It's like he's slowly preparing to leave the team.

I thought I'd stop by to see my former student, but...

C—

Coach Sakaki!

I'm here.

Demon Child

Hit it, Kominato!

Stay strong, Sawamura!

Low and outside!

He got it!

I got Harucchi!

That was well controlled.

And he didn't pitch a single change-up this time.

He's not easy to break, huh?

They only got one run.

He stopped their momentum well.

Yeah, they were going after his change-up.

Nice pitch!

Nice job, Sawamura!

This is Mr. Sakaki, who coached here before Coach Kataoka.

You're currently the head coach at Hosei University, correct?

Oh, yes! I know about him!

You guys take girls on the manager team now?

That's nice.

When I was little, I saw him on TV.

He's the coach who led Seido High School to nationals.

Eijiro Sakaki.

Well, let's watch the game.

Sit down.

I'm sure you know, but he's our ace, Furuya-kun.

Strike!

Batter out!

He's really grown as a pitcher.

Well, you'd hope so, if he's been pitching in the tournament.

You have a good fastball to use as your base.

If you don't mess up the grip and the wrist,

the ball will break on its own.

Don't try to make it break.

Strike three!

That was his new slider!

Well controlled, too!

It's all in the hips when you swing.

Like this!

Looks like he needs to improve his control,

but it's hard to believe he's just a first-year.

Nice hit, Furuya-kun!

Go! Go!

Out!

That relay was so fast!

The fielders stopped that run!

Two outs, Sawamura!

Two outs!

We're here for you!

Pitch to contact!

We've got your back!

Let's go, Sawamura!

Focus on the batter!

They're just as reliable as the first-string team.

I don't want to let them down.

I want them to acknowledge me.

He doesn't have speed,

but he pitches really well, too.

Our ace is Furuya, but Sawamura pitched all nine innings last game.

Oh?

He's a big reason we've made it so far.

Out!

That's three outs!

Nice change-up!

The basic low and away,

and then a crossfire into the chest.

After showing a lot of fastballs,

he throws the change-up.

Looks like he's slowly solidifying his new style.

This game is very interesting.

The second-string team is putting up a great fight.

Yes.

The coach set up this game

because the second-string wanted some actual game time.

Being hungry is good.

You can't make a truly strong team

without everyone having the same high motivation.

Who knew the demon child would grow up to be such a great coach.

Eh, Tesshin?

Team A Team B

Nice pitch!

Nice pitch, Furuya!

Wow! Two strikeouts again this inning.

He only gave up a run in the first inning.

Six hits and four base on balls.

He still walks a lot of batters,

but he's become more resilient.

This game was really good practice,

since he's got the hang of his slider now.

I'll go all out now.

Your time's up.

I didn't expect the second-string to play so well,

but it was good enough, since he's just coming off his injury.

I was totally ready to destroy him with my bat.

Sawamura.

Sorry we could only get one run.

You were pitching really well against the first-string,

so we wanted to score more.

Nice pitch.

Don't forget to stretch and ice.

The balls kept coming nonstop,

so it was fun fielding for you.

It really got us going.

Thank you!

You were all reliable, too!

Kaneda, are you ready?

Yes, sir!

Kawashima, you have two more innings.

Go into right field until then.

Yes, sir!

Seven hits, but no base on balls.

Sawamura pitched really well against the first-string.

Yeah.

We found his weakness, too.

Two different pitchers.

I bet it's fun for Tesshin to train them.

We have a sidearm pitcher named Kawakami next,

and he's a great pitcher, too.

He's my favorite.

That'll be exciting.

Excuse me.

Were you talking about Coach Kataoka

when you said "demon child"?

Yeah, that's right.

He always looked mad and had no respect.

When he first enrolled in the school,

he was an uncontrollable brat.

He always looked mad and had no respect.

When he first enrolled in the school,

he was an uncontrollable brat.

How old was he?

He was fifteen.

I hit him in the head so much, I'd be in trouble with the PTA if I did it now.

He'd glare at me every time, too!

What a brat!

That's no laughing matter.

The upperclassmen didn't like him, either,

so he was in trouble all the time.

However, I'll say this in his defense.

He hated losing more than anyone.

He ran more than any of my other students ever did.

He's still running.

Seriously?

The coach made him run so much during practice, too.

The ace number is yours, Tesshin Kataoka.

I grew fond of his unyielding spirit

and gave him the ace number as a first-year.

He was neither mentally nor technically fit to be the ace,

so no one acknowledged him.

But he took the criticisms head on.

Thank you for the meal.

Of course.

He changed his attitude, and his actions changed.

Maybe it was the weight of the ace number,

or his unparalleled, unyielding spirit,

but he turned into a monster.

We only made to the semifinals that fall,

but he gained the team's trust with his energetic pitching.

The next summer was his big moment.

Seido High School Wins! With 158 throws and 13 strikeouts, Seido makes nationals for the eighth time.

He took down all the strong schools,

and we went to nationals.

Hanshin Koshien Stadium

He was unstoppable and carried the team to the finals.

Kataoka from Seido makes the final

I remember watching it on TV.

After being runner-up at nationals,

he got to the quarterfinals at the spring invitational.

In his final summer, he didn't make nationals,

but he led the team well until the very end.

Meiji Jingu Stadium

National High School Baseball Tournament Tokyo Qualifications

What's wrong, Tetsu?

I'm sorry.

I've failed you.

I couldn't make you the best coach in the country.

Excuse me.

Did he really turn down an offer to play professionally?

Yeah.

It's not as strict these days,

but back in the days, pro players couldn't teach amateurs.

He said, "If I play professionally,

it'll be difficult for me to come back to this school."

"I want to give back to the high school baseball

that's changed me for the better."

Can you believe he said that as a seventeen-year-old kid?

He graduated from college, then spent eight years coaching under me.

I decided to hand over the reins

because I knew I could trust him with the team.

Wow!

Tojo scores with a hit!

The first-string isn't going easy against Kaneda.

That's the second run this inning!

Excuse me. Time-out, please.

Sorry, Kaneda.

That was my fault. I was too careful.

I got you cornered and helped them out.

Your pitch looks good.

Let's keep pitching low.

No worries!

We've got your back, Kaneda!

Strike!

It looks like Kaneda-kun is more relaxed now.

Ono shines at helping pitchers be calm.

He must've said something.

Even though Miyuki is undoubtedly the first-string catcher,

he's always finding ways to improve himself.

This kind of mentality will eventually take the team to new heights.

Out!

That's my man!

Nice, Kame-yan!

That was a good forkball.

You should pitch more of those.

Yes, sir!

We're down by two runs!

Don't give them any more runs! Hold your ground!

The game's not over yet!

Yeah!

Let's do it!

Focus on Kawakami's start!

Let's get on base, Yamaguchi!

Everyone's so serious over an intra-squad game.

I can tell everyone takes practice seriously every day.

I thought being away from nationals made them forget how to win, but...

You were close, Bro.

If you had made nationals, you might've gotten more pro offers.

I admit a part of me wants to redo that game,

but I don't regret picking Seido.

I've been able to grow so much, thanks to the team.

Nori, let's be careful against the first batter.

They're not playing around.

Let's go!

His slider's looking good.

He looks confident, too.

A slider.

Two outs!

We've got your back, Nori!

Nice.

I want to see that sinker in action.

It's in!

It's going deep down the line!

He hit that sinker hard!

That was way too high.

You can't get a strike like that.

Two outs and a runner on second!

Nakata, follow it up!

You've got this!

Sawamura and Furuya

have both fine-tuned their game.

Let's keep going, Nori.

Yeah!

There it is!

Strikeout!

That was sick!

Nice pitch, Nori.

Oh, are you done?

Yes.

I can see that everyone takes baseball seriously.

However,

if there's one thing lacking in this team,

it's offense.

A batter who surpasses my brother.

Are you implying you'll be the one?

Well, he's performed well in junior high,

so he seems to have more confidence than his brother.

Team A Team B

Impatient

Team A Team B

You didn't need to slide there.

Shut up!

I just instantly reacted.

But you almost missed the base.

Yeah, almost missed it!

No I didn't!

If you hadn't caught that, we would've scored another run.

Were you always standing there?

I was.

Seriously?

Since when?

You were lucky today.

Was I?

You were hitting a ton left-handed.

We won by a lot in the end, but the game itself was solid.

Not only were the pitchers able to make final adjustments,

the entire team's morale improved.

He's really good at making the kids feel good.

This is Coach Ochiai.

He was an assistant coach

at Kokai University's Sagara High School before coming here.

Sagara's baseball is very meticulous.

Please take good care of the team.

I think you'll bring a breath of fresh air to the team.

Very well.

He fixed his posture.

Anyway.

I didn't come here to talk about the good old days.

I came here to give you a heads-up.

I've been away from high school baseball for seven years,

but a certain school has been quite insistent that I be their coach.

I enjoy the slower pace of college baseball,

but something inside me is telling me to take it.

Yura Engineering High School.

I'll be in West Tokyo with you.

Yura's the school that merged with Senagawa!

It'll be even harder to make nationals now.

But I'm getting old.

I doubt I'll be able to stick around for long.

Don't run away, Tesshin.

I'm sorry for being so selfish.

Resignation Letter

What do you plan to do after you quit?

You're also a teacher at the school.

Even if you have another offer from a different school...

Nori conceded a run at the end,

so everyone gave up one run each.

But I think it was more about tuning today.

They were fixing things in-game.

Yeah.

I feel like they can really do it.

This is rare.

A word of approval from you.

If we win in the fall,

we'll go to the invitational.

If we make nationals,

he can't quit.

We've come this far.

We have to go all the way.

It's the semifinals.

We have to go all the way now!

We can't stop at semifinals!

In order to make up for the summer,

we have to beat Seido and win it all!

Hey, stop walking around naked!

Put a shirt on!

Next time on Ace of the Diamond Season 2: The Kings' Roar.

The Kings' Roar

Let's win the national title!