Chapter Summaries

Seidou’s seniors played their final exhibition games with the younger players before leaving the team, and Tetsu entrusted Sendou with leading the current squad. At the autumn tournament drawing, Seidou received a brutal first-round matchup against Teitou, with Inajitsu also in their bracket.

• Sendou left the exhibition game after Isashiki-senpai and Coach Kataoka drove him off, and the seniors eventually won after the game stretched to fourteen innings.
• Tetsu thanked Sendou and entrusted him with leading the team before the third-year seniors left the field.
• Sendou joined the seniors for weekend practice matches, where he and Tetsu repeatedly beat the first- and second-years.
• Before the drawing, Sendou warned Miyuki, Kuramochi, and Maezono that a difficult bracket could drain the team’s stamina even if they won each game.
• Miyuki drew lot 49 for Seidou, placing them against Teitou in the first round and in a bracket that also included Inajitsu.

After Seidou drew Teitou as its first opponent and Inajitsu in the third round, the team studied Teitou and prepared for a difficult opening game. Coach Kataoka called Sendou to the Supervisor’s Room to ask for his opinion on several proposed batting orders, leaving Sendou to give his verdict.

• After the drawing, Miyuki chatted with Yang Shunchen and Sanada about their teams and Sendou’s language skills.
• Miyuki returned to Seidou with a bracket showing Teitou in the first round and Inajitsu in the third, prompting the Second Years to worry about the difficult draw.
• At the War Council, Rei-chan presented information on Teitou, and Miyuki and the others discussed its strong battery and the challenges posed by its left-handed pitcher.
• Coach Kataoka told the team to prepare for a close game by sharpening its batting and baserunning, then summoned Sendou to the Supervisor’s Room after dinner.
• Coach Kataoka gave Sendou several proposed batting orders and asked what he thought.

Sendou argued for Haruichi to bat second and Shirazu third, but Coach Kataoka emphasized the need to concentrate the team’s strongest hitters and kept Maezono in the lower lineup. The coaches settled on following their original plan for the opening game, leaving room to adjust later.

• Sendou tried to ask to bat second, but Coach Kataoka insisted the cleanup spot needed an absolute hitter and the team needed Sendou to drive runners in.
• Rei-chan revealed that Yuuki had told her Sendou was interested in leadoff and second-batter roles, prompting Sendou to grumble about Yuuki.
• Sendou recommended Haruichi as second batter and said he could barely accept Shirazu as third, explaining the value of a powerful hitter in the second spot.
• Coach Kataoka ended the discussion and, after Sendou left, decided to follow the original plan while keeping Maezono in the lower batting lineup.
• Coach Ochiai and Rei-chan left the meeting to check on the players and return to their duties.

Coach Ochiai watched Sawamura practice and saw him discover how to focus his power at his fingertips, improving his control and outside-corner pitches. Sawamura then asked Ochiai to umpire for him and Kariba, giving Ochiai an opening to offer his own advice.

• Coach Ochiai heard Sawamura practicing with Kariba and secretly watched from the Indoor Practice Field entrance.
• Sawamura relaxed his body and focused his power at his fingertips, throwing a pitch that impressed Kariba.
• Sawamura repeated the technique and began finding the feeling he had shown in the Practice Match with the upperclassmen.
• Coach Ochiai assessed Sawamura's improving control and considered how targeted help might speed his progress.
• Sawamura asked Coach Ochiai to umpire, teased him about being a stranger to the team, and Ochiai entered the field saying he had something to discuss.

Coach Ochiai helped Sawamura steady his pitching and recommended that Sendou teach him control. Sawamura rushed to the dorms to bring Sendou back, while Coach Ochiai learned about their close history from Kariba.

• Sawamura asked Coach Ochiai for advice, then struggled to keep his pitches from drifting while Kariba caught.
• After Sawamura relaxed and threw several better pitches, Coach Ochiai told him to ask Sendou for help controlling the ball.
• Sawamura remembered Sendou's pitching and hurried off to find him.
• Kariba explained to Coach Ochiai that Sawamura and Sendou had been childhood friends since fourth grade and that Sawamura had helped Sendou continue playing baseball.
• Sawamura found Sendou reading manga in Room Seven and urged him to come along.

Sawamura dragged Sendou to the Indoor Practice Field and asked him to teach him how to control his pitches. Sendou explained how to guide the ball with his fingertips and left Sawamura ready to practice the release technique with Kariba catching.

• Sawamura dragged Sendou from his dorm to the Indoor Practice Field, still wearing pajamas, and demanded that Sendou teach him control.
• Sendou asked Sawamura to recall his pitching sensations, and Sawamura threw a pitch that Kariba praised while Sawamura called it luck.
• Sendou examined Sawamura’s finger placement and explained that his forceful, two-joint release made his control unstable.
• Sendou demonstrated guiding the ball with the front of the fingertips and the angle of the arm instead of trying to forcefully control it.
• Sawamura agreed to try the technique, and Sendou warned Kariba to watch out for his first pitch.

Sendou taught Sawamura a detailed way to adjust his fastball control by changing fingertip force and angle. Sawamura practiced late into the night, steadily improving and discovering how conscious corrections could help him compensate when his condition was poor.

• Coach Ochiai realized Sendou could explain pitching mechanics because of his exceptional ability to adjust.
• Sendou demonstrated how fingertip movements controlled a fastball’s direction, and Sawamura began testing the technique.
• Sendou called out corrections as Sawamura adjusted his force and angles, bringing his pitches closer to the Strike Zone.
• Coach Ochiai concluded that Sendou’s stability came from quickly correcting errors rather than always being in perfect condition.
• Sawamura practiced until late at night, and his fastballs grew more accurate.

Seidou began combat practice for its game against Teitou, and Sawamura tested the control improvements he had gained from practicing with Sendou. Sendou pushed his teammates through batting drills while Kataoka prepared to build the lineup around his ability to challenge Teitou's ace, Mukai Taiyou.

• Sawamura and Furuya raced down the slope toward practice, while Miyuki learned that Sendou had stayed up practicing with Sawamura and Kariba until midnight.
• Kataoka started Seidou's Teitou-focused drills, and Sawamura showed steadier control while practicing with runners on base.
• Kuramochi, Kanemaru, and Tojo discussed Mukai's difficult sidearm angles, and Kataoka warned the batters to avoid bad pitches.
• Sendou criticized Kuramochi and urged the team to improve its hitting, prompting Kuramochi to take out his frustration on Sawamura.
• Kataoka observed the batters and decided to rely on Sendou's ability to pressure Mukai as he planned Seidou's lineup for the game two days later.

Seidou’s coaches prepared the team for its game against Mukou, while Coach Kataoka corrected Maezono’s batting and Coach Ochiai identified Sendou’s reliance on his Dynamic Vision as a weakness against the left-side pitcher. The chapter ended with Kawakami, Sawamura, and Furuya throwing in the bullpen as Sendou rested.

• Rei-chan and Head Manager Oota watched the players practice against Mukou and discussed Sendou’s training and improving bunting.
• Coach Kataoka told Maezono to stop forcing hits to the right and focus on hitting hard over the shortstop; Maezono followed the advice and drove powerful balls.
• Rei-chan and Coach Ochiai discussed how Mukou’s unusual angle would disrupt Sendou’s timing, and Ochiai explained that Sendou depended too much on his Dynamic Vision and could not quickly change ingrained habits.
• Coach Kataoka sent the exhausted Sendou to rest in the bullpen before batting practice.
• Kawakami and Sawamura threw with renewed intensity while Furuya pitched, and Miyuki teased Sawamura about smiling on the mound.

Sendou practiced batting against a simulation of Mukai’s pitches and discovered how difficult their unusual trajectory was to handle. Coach Kataoka identified Sendou’s overreliance on his exceptional vision and reflexes as his batting bottleneck, then told him to discard the shortcut he had devised.

• Sawamura believed Sendou’s denial that Furuhashi Fumino had recorded him smiling before a pitch, while Miyuki gave up trying to expose the truth.
• Coach Kataoka made Sendou imagine Mukai’s inside-corner fastball, then had him face varied pitches from a pitching machine.
• Sendou hit two pitches poorly and swung through a simulated spiral ball, realizing that Mukai’s pitches disappeared from view and disrupted his timing.
• Sendou devised an angled batting stance to track the ball’s trajectory, and Coach Kataoka recognized that the adjustment might help him handle Mukai.
• Coach Kataoka explained that Sendou’s reliance on dynamic vision and reflexes caused hesitation against fast or deceptive pitches, and Sendou asked how to improve.
• Coach Kataoka told Sendou to abandon his shortcut and address the weakness behind his batting struggles.

Sendou followed Coach Kataoka’s advice to rebuild his batting technique, then joined Seidou as they faced Teitou in the rain with Furuya starting on the mound. Furuya escaped a shaky opening inning without allowing a hit, and Teitou’s Mukai prepared to challenge Seidou’s cleanup hitter.

• Coach Kataoka told Sendou to abandon his shortcut and practice from the front of the Batter’s Box, where Sendou began making occasional hits within twenty minutes.
• On the eve of the Teitou game, Coach Kataoka named Furuya the starter and urged the team to trust its preparation.
• On October 2, Seidou learned the game would proceed in heavy rain, and Miyuki lost the choice of who would bat first.
• Furuya walked the leadoff batter and allowed the runner to reach third, but struck out the third batter and retired the cleanup hitter to finish the inning without a hit.
• Mukai asked Qian about Furuya’s powerful pitching, then declared he would shut down Seidou’s cleanup hitter.

Seidou began its Autumn Tournament game against Teitou, and Coach Ochiai watched to assess Kataoka’s ability to manage an inexperienced team. Mukai’s precise, deceptive pitching struck out Kuramochi in the first inning, leaving Seidou to adapt as the matchup began.

• Coach Kataoka told Seidou’s batters to target pitches they could drive and avoid low balls early in the count.
• Sendou changed out of his compression shirt while Miyuki and the others discussed Teitou’s manager and Mukai’s aggressive pitching style.
• Kuramochi batted right-handed against Mukai, who mixed a close inside pitch with precise low outside fastballs to distort the strike zone.
• Mukai’s screwball fooled Kuramochi into swinging at a bad pitch, and Kenken Ken secured the strikeout.
• Sendou and Miyuki watched Kenken Ken’s pitch-calling as Sendou prepared to take the field.

Seidou’s batters struggled against Mukai Taiyou’s precise pitches, and Sendou studied the Teitou battery before coming to bat in the second inning. As heavy rain fell, Sendou took an unusual stance at the back of the batter’s box, leaving Kenken Ken unsure whether he could react to a pitch.

• Kuramochi described Mukai’s spiral ball to Sendou, while Kominato crowded the plate but grounded out to first and Shirazu later flew out, ending Seidou’s first inning without a hit.
• Mukai struck out Seidou’s first three batters using carefully varied fastballs, and Sendou studied Kenken Ken’s pitch selection from the on-deck circle.
• Furuya allowed an infield hit in the top of the second but improved and got through the inning safely.
• Sendou came to bat as Seidou’s cleanup hitter amid loud cheers from the stands.
• Sendou stood at the back of the batter’s box with his front foot set behind his body, and Kenken Ken prepared to pitch while wondering how he could hit from that stance.

Sendou faced Mukai Taiyou in the rain and drove a fastball deep, but wind and weather kept it in the park. After Miyuki and Furuya were retired, Seidou prepared to defend again, aware that Teitou’s catcher Kenken Ken could influence the umpire with his receiving.

• Kenken Ken and Mukai Taiyou tested Sendou with pitches around the strike zone, and Sendou fouled off several while adjusting to the rain.
• Sendou hit Mukai’s low-inside fastball deep to center, but the ball fell short of the fence as rain and wind affected its flight.
• Sendou explained to Miyuki that he had aimed for both the fastball and spiral ball, using a vertical swing that could adjust to either pitch.
• Mukai struck Miyuki out on a screwball, and Sendou teased him about failing to get a hit with the bases empty.
• Furuya was called out on strikes, and Miyuki noted that Kenken Ken’s receiving skills could be swaying the umpire toward low pitches.

Furuya and Miyuki battled Teitou’s lineup through heavy rain, relying on fastballs and bold Fast Forkballs to escape dangerous situations. After Seidou’s offense failed to produce a hit, Furuya finished the fourth inning with renewed concentration, leaving the scoreless game poised for the next turn at bat.

• Mukai struck out swinging against Furuya’s fastball before a weak hit became an out, and the rain grew heavier.
• After Teitou singled, Miyuki read a hit-and-run play, caught Furuya’s errant pitch, and helped throw out the runner at second.
• Maezono and Tojo were retired in the bottom of the third, leaving Seidou hitless.
• In the fourth, Teitou’s cleanup hitter singled and Sumida reached two strikes after Miyuki called for two Fast Forkballs with a runner on second.
• Furuya retired the next batter, then struck out Teitou’s sixth batter to end the inning.

Seidou’s game against Teitou was suspended by heavy rain after Furuya struck out the side, then resumed with Mukai continuing to dominate. Seidou remained hitless through four innings as Sendou prepared to face Mukai in the next inning.

• Furuya finished his outing with a strikeout, but heavy rain suspended the game and cut off Seidou’s momentum.
• During the delay, Sendou encouraged Miyuki and discussed exploiting any change in Mukai’s rhythm after the interruption.
• The game resumed, and Kuramochi struck out before Kominato grounded out against Mukai.
• Mukai struck out Shirazu with a screwball, completing four hitless innings and leaving Sendou as the batter he most wanted to face.

In the top of the fifth, Furuya lost control in the rain as Teitou loaded the bases, but he recovered enough to induce a bunt fly for the first out. After a wild pitch let Teitou’s runners advance, Miyuki encouraged Furuya to focus on the batter, leaving the bases loaded and the crisis unresolved.

• Coach Kataoka urged Furuya to focus on getting one out at a time as Seidou returned to the field.
• Teitou’s leadoff batter reached first with a bunt that the rain stopped on the foul line.
• Furuya struggled with wet hands and threw four straight balls to Teitou’s eighth batter, putting runners on first and second with no outs.
• Mukai tried to bunt Furuya’s pitch but popped it up, giving Seidou the first out without advancing the runners.
• Kajiyama hit Furuya’s wild pitch to center field, loading the bases with one out as the runners advanced safely.
• Miyuki called time and reassured Furuya, who nodded and prepared to face the next batter.

Teitou scored one run after Furuya failed to cover first, then threatened to score more when his next pitch got away from Miyuki. Sendou’s bold fake slip and throw to home produced a force out and ended the inning, leaving Seidou with the crisis contained and Furuya still on the mound.

• Miyuki prepared Furuya to allow a run against Teitou’s squeeze play, but Furuya’s wild pitch and failure to cover first let a runner score and the batter reach safely.
• Furuya continued to struggle with his focus and movement, while Miyuki and Sawamura tried to calm and encourage him.
• Furuya’s next pitch got away toward right field, but Sendou sprinted in and caught it before Teitou’s runners could advance.
• Sendou appeared to slip as he turned, prompting Teitou’s runners to charge, but he had faked the slip and threw to Miyuki at home.
• Miyuki caught Sendou’s throw and tagged the runner for a force out, ending the inning with Seidou having allowed only one run.

Sendou’s daring feint prevented Teitou from scoring more runs, but Mukai struck him out in the bottom of the fifth. Miyuki followed with a double, giving Seidou a runner on base as the inning continued.

• Sendou’s feigned slip lured Teitou’s runner at third toward home, allowing Seidou to turn the fly ball into a double play and limit the damage to two runs.
• Sendou returned to the dugout to cheers, and Coach Kataoka warned Furuya to regain his focus or be replaced.
• Sendou came to bat against Mukai, fouled off two pitches, then struck out swinging at a spiral ball that Mukai had missed his spot on.
• Sendou left the field unfazed and encouraged Miyuki as the next batter.
• Miyuki hit a double, drawing cheers from Seidou’s dugout and stands.

Seidou struggled to score against Mukai as Furuya ignored the bunt signal and made an out, then allowed a double after taking the mound again. Coach Kataoka replaced him with Sawamura, who entered with a runner on second and no outs as Teitou prepared to attack.

• Mine Fujio and Coach Ochiai recognized that Sendou had read Mukai’s pitch but had been fooled by the catcher’s unexpected Rebound Ball.
• Furuya ignored Coach Kataoka’s bunt signal, popped up on the first pitch, and was scolded for losing track of the change from defense to offense.
• Maezono followed Kataoka’s advice to wait for his pitch but struck out, leaving Seidou with one hit through five innings.
• Furuya’s pitches weakened, and Kenken Ken hit a double to right-center, prompting Kataoka to call Sawamura from the bullpen.
• Kataoka told Sawamura that Teitou might not know about his Outside Corner Ball, and Sawamura bowed to the field before taking the mound with a runner on second and no outs.