Original subtitles

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.

Wait! Are you saying...

Yes, I would be the one to leave.

Yeah!

Kuramochi fights for a walk.

One out and with runners on first and second.

He has speed, but he has no control.

Before we lose any more runs, we may have to switch early.

Didn't you know?

I can warm up with three pitches.

I'm no small fry!

Fourth run!

Seido is on fire!

Don't ignore me!

Seiko Academy has announced a change in players.

This is an early switch.

Kojima-kun, pitcher, will play center field.

Replacing Kojima-kun as pitcher

will be Ogawa-kun.

Run!

Batting seventh and pitcher, Ogawa-kun.

He's so huge!

Seiko Seido

It's the three-hole with runners on base.

It's a tough situation, but I'm counting on you.

It doesn't matter who the batter is.

I'll just throw like I always do.

That's it!

Nice pitch!

He's tall, so he pitches from a high angle.

Ball three!

The fastballs look heavy, but they're all balls.

I wonder if he's not warmed up yet because of the early switch.

He's got no control!

Go after his fastball!

We have the momentum.

Don't give him an easy time, Kominato.

Don't worry about the batter. Just pitch like always.

So give me one right here!

Come on, Tsunematsu!

Break his wooden bat!

It's a ball again!

The bases are loaded now.

Ogawa seems to be off his game.

Nice, Harucchi!

You have great eyes!

You're right! The batter doesn't matter!

You can only throw balls!

Well said.

Don't be impressed!

This is the worst man to have at-bat with the bases loaded.

This doesn't look good.

He's good against lefties, but this is tough.

If he doesn't pull through, it's game over.

I don't like pitchers without control because I can't read them.

Let's hope he tries to get an easy strike.

I don't think he'll pass up an easy pitch.

The bases are loaded, but we've gotta pitch to the boundaries.

I know.

If I can't run,

then I have to go forward!

Ow!

He hits the batter!

Seido scores!

Fifth run!

It's only the second inning!

I was so excited to watch today.

Why is he pitching again?

He's the first-year pitcher

who ruined the summer with multiple bases on balls, right?

You were pitching offensively. Don't let it get to you.

Couldn't he have dodged that?

Sounds like you have a good mindset.

But don't say that when you hit him!

The bases are still loaded with just one out.

Can Masu and Ogawa pull through for Seiko?

The pitcher's lost it!

Let's get it, Zono!

If you ever lose confidence

and feel like you're gonna cry,

just think about the happy, happy,

happy things.

Strike!

Yeah! Nice pitch!

You got this, Tsunematsu!

Zono leaned back.

He's pitching to the inside right after he hit me.

What a thick battery.

He's a first-year, but he replaced their ace pitcher.

Let's shut him down before he gets rolling, Zono.

Fly over the sea and through the sky.

Is he... singing?

Run free like the wind.

With dreams and love,

leap over Earth.

You are Anpanman.

Have energy.

You are Anpanman.

You are strong.

See? You're glowing.

You are a generous hero.

A double play!

Ogawa pulls through with just one run.

You were singing again.

Though I don't care so long as you get the outs.

I was able to change because I met him.

I couldn't feel anything after the summer tournament,

but when I heard that song on TV...

Just think about the happy, happy, happy things.

There he is!

Stop skipping practice here!

You are a generous hero.

I was in tears when I noticed.

He's incredible.

He's a god! I have so much respect!

Don't talk about Anpanman like that!

He got us good.

Yeah, it was beyond imaginable.

He's not consistent, but once he gets that pitch going,

he becomes unstoppable.

Was that a change-up?

It's a screwball.

It drops away from right-handed batters.

It's Ogawa's best pitch.

Screwball.

I'm tearing up again.

Top of Fourth

His highs and lows are obvious.

The first batter, Masu, is up at bat.

We're not gonna just stand and watch anymore.

If it comes in even close to what I want...

Two sliders...

...in a row?

Give it to me!

Safe!

What a fearsome slide!

That's Seiko's first hit!

Let's go!

That's it, Masu!

That's our captain, Shinichiro!

You're the man!

Honestly, it'd be faster if he ran through.

How will Seiko use this important runner?

It's still early in the game, so maybe a sacrifice bunt?

He swings hard!

It's a grounder to the pitcher, and the runner advances to second!

Wow! That's incredibly difficult!

He swung for it without hesitation.

Yeah.

Strike!

This is Seiko's baseball.

Those runs are my fault.

Seiko Seido

Into left field!

But the hit was so fast, the runner can't go home.

One out and runners on first and third!

And next up is the cleanup, Nagata!

He's the cleanup

of the scary batting lineup!

They're hitting Furuya from the second go around.

It's better to push with fastballs than the incomplete slider.

Strike!

It's coming in too high.

Lower!

It's going super wide!

Time out, please!

What's wrong?

You're tense.

Pitch lower.

Against batters like him, control is more important than power.

Did you forget

the home run you gave to Umemiya?

Top of the fourth, one out and runners on first and third!

Seido's looking to make a double play here.

Seiko's down by five runs.

Can their cleanup take some runs back?

After seeing him swing like that,

I'd be scared, too.

But you're not alone.

Look at me!

We'll score no matter what.

So pitch without giving up.

Okay.

This chain of events seems to lead to me hitting the game-changing home run.

What?

Furuya might grow to become a true ace in this game.

So it's my job as the cleanup to let him pitch like always.

Next time on Ace of the Diamond Season 2: The Resolve for Responsibility.

Happy, happy, happy things.

The Resolve for Responsibility

Let's win the national title!