Recaps

After returning to Japan with Shen Qing, Kōshū rebuilds his place in the family and discovers his talent for baseball. He joins Kinoshita Little League, develops as a pitcher, and ends the stretch meeting Narumiya Mei ahead of their teams’ upcoming matchup.

• Kōshū tried to leave after Shen Qing signed him out of detention, but she called him back and later apologized for leaving him behind in the past.
• Kōshū confronted the students bullying Lang Zhi, and the brothers began training together after joining Kinoshita Little League.
• Coach Ninomiya and the other coaches recognized Kōshū’s pitching potential, set strict training and health plans, and helped him develop his fastball and accuracy.
• Kōshū befriended Hayakawa Aki and Miyuki Kazuya while scouting games, recording opponents, and learning how pitchers handled pressure.
• Shen Qing told the family she was pregnant, and Kōshū tried to help Lang Zhi adjust while continuing his demanding baseball training.
• Kinoshita Yanagi joined as batting coach, Maeda prepared to leave, and Kōshū began working on a new batting stance as the team advanced through the tournament.
• Kinoshita Little League defeated Jonan Little League 2–0 after scouting its opponents, and Miyuki invited Kōshū to meet him the next day.
• Miyuki introduced Kōshū to Narumiya Mei, who showed off a fastball over 140 kilometers per hour and his forkball before Miyuki asked Kōshū to pitch.

Kōshū worked to become a stronger pitcher while considering Seido High School as his future, and he developed a changeup with Miyuki despite his coach’s instructions. The arc ended with Kōshū resting under Coach Ninomiya’s restrictions as Seido scout Takashima Rei began pursuing him.

• Kōshū impressed Miyuki and Narumiya with his fastballs, but Narumiya’s team later beat Kōshū’s team 1–0.
• After the third-year seniors left, Nozawa encouraged Kōshū to trust his catcher and accept whatever helped the team, and Coach Ninomiya chose him to start against Yoshinaga Club.
• Kōshū pitched Kinoshita Club to a win over Yoshinaga, then visited Seido High School with his family and began considering attending with Lang Zhi.
• Kōshū developed a changeup, improved his fastball, and showed the pitch to Coach Fujii and the other coaches after reaching 138 kilometers per hour.
• Coach Ninomiya restricted Kōshū’s throwing and ordered him to rest after learning he had trained through winter break.
• Takashima Rei watched Kinoshita Club’s scrimmage and decided to use Kōshū’s Seido alumni parents to pursue him as a recruit.
• Lang Zhi made a falling catch and throw to first during Team B’s 3–2 win, while Kōshū watched from the sidelines under his rest restrictions.

Kōshū and Lang Zhi grew closer through family upheavals and baseball challenges as Kōshū faced his first loss and helped Kinoshita Little League advance in the West Tokyo quarterfinal. The stretch ended with Kōshū visiting the Confinement Center, where a woman approached him in the library and told him to find his mother.

• Kōshū set a pitching-speed record at the baseball event, then learned Coach Ninomiya planned to select Japan’s U15 team after the summer tournament.
• Kōshū hit Luan Chuan’s Forkball for a home run, and Kinoshita Little League defeated Taiyo Little League 6–0.
• Kōshū secretly followed Lang Zhi after graduation and blurted out that Lang Zhi liked a senior, causing her to leave and Lang Zhi to cry.
• At training camp, Kōshū pitched through wins and a loss to Eimei Little League, where Eimei scored the first run and defeated his team.
• Shen Qing gave birth to twins named Yu and Qianxue as Kōshū and Lang Zhi continued training for baseball.
• Kinoshita Little League beat Myoizumi Little League 3–0 in the quarterfinal, with Kōshū, Hayakawa, and Lang Zhi contributing on the mound and at bat.
• Kōshū exchanged email addresses with Mishima, and Coach Ninomiya announced relay pitching for the team’s next two games.
• Kōshū brought soup to the Confinement Center, learned Lang Zhi could no longer visit Shen Qing, and met a woman in the library who told him to find his mother.

Kōshū led Japan through the U15 tournament, then joined Seido with Lang Zhi and proved himself among the first-year pitchers. After Kataoka promoted him to the First String and chose him for the Kanto Tournament, Kōshū entered a bases-loaded crisis against Yokohama Kohoku as Eijun questioned whether he could compete with him.

• Kōshū won the Summer Tournament with Kinoshita Little League, then joined Japan’s U15 team and helped it reach the tournament’s knockout stage.
• Japan finished third in the U15 tournament, and Kōshū returned home to learn Miyuki had been sent down to the Second String and that Lang Zhi planned to apply to Seido.
• After caring for his family and arranging Lang Zhi’s studies, Kōshū and Lang Zhi moved into Seido’s dorm and impressed Kataoka with their pitching and fielding.
• Kōshū joined Seido’s first-year class alongside Sawamura Eijun, Furuya Satoru, and Haruichi, while he helped Sawamura learn a hardball grip and urged the pitchers to build their stamina.
• Kōshū demonstrated his varied pitches and accuracy, earned Kataoka’s top ranking among the first-year pitchers, and led the rookies against the Second String in the Red and White Game.
• Kataoka assigned Kōshū to train with the First String and selected him for the Kanto Tournament, while Furuya joined the First String and Sawamura stayed with the Second String under Chris.
• In Seido’s game against Yokohama Kohoku, Kōshū replaced Tanba with the bases loaded and no outs, then impressed the watching players with a 143-kilometer-per-hour inside fastball.
• Sawamura remembered Chris’s warning that he could not become Seido’s ace with Kōshū on the team and wondered whether he could compete with him.