Summary
The chapter opens at the top of the 6th inning with Kawakami pitching. Score is 2-6. He closes the inning with three outs and no one getting on the bases. At the bullpen, Okumura and Kaneda, as well as Yui and Furuya, takes a break from their warm-up session and heads back to the dugout.
Back in the dugout, Sawamura compliments Kawakami on his pitching. They start discussing how Yurakou’s cleanups have really sharp swings and that it wouldn’t be wise to have any runners on the bases before the 4th batter comes up. Kawakami adds that they can’t let down their guard even for a moment because that team can be quite unpredictable.
Yurakou switches their pitcher to a second-year, Oosu (大須) who wears jersey number 12. It seems that Yurakou has now revealed all their pitchers. Shirasu notes that this pitcher is a fastball type, and throws a forkball. Kominato adds that his ball speed is slower compared to their ace. Maezono ends with a note that if they can score off him, then their opponents will be out of options.
Kawakami heads up to bat. On the side, Miyuki is having a conversation with Kataoka and informs him that Kawakami’s pitches is quite stablized. As Sawamura watches everyone from the dugout – those cheering for the players, those who are in the game, and those getting ready to bat – he recalls what Miyuki said to him earlier that it is not the ace alone who shoulders the team. He thinks to himself that he wishes he could redo today. Okumura, on the side, observes Sawamura from the other end of the dugout.
Back in the game, Kuramochi gets a hit and makes it to the second base. Kominato makes a hit to the center and sends Kuramochi back home. Shirasu gets on the base with a hit-and-run and Kominato makes it to third base. Miyuki makes a sacrificial fly and Kominato makes it home. Score is now 2-8.
Despite the widening scores, Sakaki notes that Yurakou’s players are in good spirits. They respond that they can’t help but be impressed by the offense and defense power of Seidou. Playing this match with Seidou has finally made them realize what Sakaki has been after, particular with those notes that they had to read, even if the realization came a little too late. Sakaki tells them that it is never too late and they just have to do what they are able to do now, be it a single play, or a single pitch. After all, this is the point when baseball gets interesting.
However, in the 7th inning, Masahi hits a homerun for 2 RBI, ending the match with a called game.
Originally serialized in Shuukan Shounen Magazine Issue #12, 2019.
All images are copyrighted by Terajima Yuuji / Kodansha.
Scoreboard
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 計 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 由良 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 青道 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2✕ | 10 |
Thoughts
Phew. The match finally concluded, after eleven chapters. That’s enough material to fill one tankoubon (which will be the entirety of volume 17) with an overflow of one chapter.
Overall, I felt that the match was a little underwhelming, given the attention that it got. The coach showdown didn’t seem to deliver much satisfaction as the buildup to this match. However, if the focus was on the Seidou team’s current strength and resoluteness for the summer tournament, then perhaps the author did deliver something there. In the end, they won as a powerhouse school should – with a large lead.
Kawakami totally kicked ass in this match and I’m glad he was able to get some limelight even if it was at the expense of Sawamura’s lackluster performance. In an interview with Terajima-sensei in the「甲子園制覇への道」book, he stated that unlike the previous year where Seidou was forced to put two first-years on the mount in that final match to lead them to the nationals,「…今年、青道の投手力に不安はありません」(page 148). I think he managed to use this match to remind everyone that all the Seidou pitchers have indeed powered up since!
There was some room to explain why Sawamura’s performance was lack-luster in this match but the author chose not to delve into it. I hope he has plans to expound it in a post-match review session because the few panels we received in this chapter certainly does not do enough justice.
For now, I think I’m going to re-read the chapters for this match and review it as a whole. Perhaps something more may come up from that.