28 - Path, Eijun Sawamura to the Scorching Mound

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[00:03] Sa
    The final game...
[00:05] Sa
    ...of my junior high career.
[00:17] Sa
    My last pitch meshed
    the gears of my fate.
SIGN    Path, Eijun Sawamura
    
    to the Scorching Mound
[01:58] (Flashback) Recap
    Nice to meet you.
[02:01] (Flashback) Recap
    You must be Eijun Sawamura-kun.
SIGN    Rei Takashima Seido High School Baseball
[02:06] (Flashback) Recap
    I'm the assistant director
    of the Seido High School Baseball Team.
[02:08] (Flashback) Recap
    My name is Rei Takashima.
[02:11] (Flashback) Recap
    If you are actually aiming
    to go to the nationals,
[02:15] (Flashback) Recap
    you should gain something
    from seeing a top-level practice.
[02:22] Recap
    Is it just me?
[02:24] Recap
    Or did she make fun of
    my junior high team?
[02:28] Recap
    You better be kidding me!
[02:31] Sa
    I went to Tokyo to watch the Seido
    High School Baseball Team's practice.
[02:36] (Flashback) Recap
    If you don't want to get better,
    then go back home to your mommy!
[02:39] Sa
    I couldn't stand Azuma-san
    talking trash to his teammate,
[02:45] Sa
    so I challenged him to a duel.
[02:49] Sa
    And then he showed up.
[02:51] (Flashback) Recap
    This sounds like a lot of fun.
[02:55] (Flashback) Recap
    Rei-chan,
[02:56] (Flashback) Recap
    can I catch his pitch?
[03:00] (Flashback) Recap
    Who's he?
[03:02] (Flashback) Recap
    Kazuya Miyuki, a catcher.
[03:06] Mi
    I'm Kazuya Miyuki,
    a second-year at Seido.
[03:10] Mi
    My first impression of Sawamura was...
[03:13] Mi
    Well, a guy with a big attitude
[03:16] Mi
    but not the skills to back it up.
[03:20] Mi
    But Rei-chan herself brought him here,
    so I figured he must have something.
[03:25] Mi
    That's why I volunteered as catcher.
[03:27] (Flashback) Recap
    The best pitches
[03:29] (Flashback) Recap
    are works of art produced by the pitcher
    and the catcher working as one.
[03:32] (Flashback) Recap
    Works of art?
[03:35] (Flashback) Recap
    Let's get cracking, partner.
[03:39] (Flashback) Recap
    Partner?
[03:42] Mi
    Sawamura's pitch far
    exceeded my expectations.
[03:48] Recap
    Fastballs for life? Yeah, right.
[03:50] Recap
    I'm sure he doesn't realize it,
[03:54] Recap
    but his pitch moves at the plate.
[03:57] Mi
    His pitch was a natural moving fastball
    that changed its path at random.
[04:07] Recap
    Just clear your head...
[04:09] Recap
    and give me your best shot.
[04:11] Recap
    I'll catch it with everything I have.
[04:16] Recap
    Right down the middle.
[04:19] Recap
    What is this feeling?
[04:21] Recap
    I can hear my heart
    beating loud and clear.
[04:25] Recap
    Oh, man...
[04:27] Recap
    I know I can throw my best pitch here.
[04:31] Recap
    I just gotta trust his mitt,
[04:34] Recap
    and it'll be the best ever.
[04:36] Recap
    The best pitch I've ever...
[04:39] Recap
    ever thrown!
[04:41] Recap
    I'll hit it outta the
    park, you stupid kid!
[04:55] Recap
    Nice pitch.
[04:57] (Flashback) Recap
    This moment...
[05:03] (Flashback) Recap
    ...I think I opened the
    doors to a new world.
SIGN    Seido Spirit Dorm
[05:09] (Flashback) Sa
    The pitch I threw at Miyuki-senpai
    wouldn't get out of my head,
[05:13] (Flashback) Sa
    so I decided to join the Seido
    High School Baseball Team.
[05:16] Sa
    Nice to
    meet you.
[05:18] (Flashback) Sa
    But even after I joined,
[05:21] (Flashback) Sa
    there were many obstacles in my way.
[05:25] (Flashback) Recap
    I'm Kataoka, the head coach.
[05:28] (Flashback) Recap
    Is this all the new members this year?
[05:30] (Flashback) Recap
    Yes, sir!
[05:34] (Flashback) Recap
    I can't walk out in this atmosphere.
[05:36] (Flashback) Sa
    Damn it!
[05:38] (Flashback) Recap
    He came here late, but he's
    trying to sneak into the line!
[05:51] (Flashback) Recap
    A guy who can't even apologize
    for being late to practice...
[05:55] (Flashback) Recap
    is not a member
    of the Seido Baseball Team.
[06:00] (Flashback) Recap
    If you don't like how I do things,
    then don't show up.
[06:04] (Flashback) Recap
    Ever.
[06:15] (Flashback) Recap
    I overslept because I was naive.
[06:20] (Flashback) Recap
    I have no excuse.
[06:23] (Flashback) Recap
    But I'm... I'm...
[06:28] (Flashback) Recap
    I'm...
[06:32] (Flashback) Recap
    I'm here to become the ace!
[06:35] (Flashback) Recap
    And I'm confident that
    I want it more than anyone here!
[06:49] Sa
    And then, I was forced
    to form a battery with...
[06:53] Sa
    ...someone I didn't know
    instead of Miyuki-senpai.
[06:56] (Flashback) Recap
    I'm Chris Yu Takigawa.
[07:00] (Flashback) Recap
    Nice to meet you, loser pitcher.
[07:13] (Flashback) Recap
    What is he doing?
[07:15] (Flashback) Recap
    He didn't move the mitt a single inch.
[07:20] (Flashback) Recap
    What's wrong?
[07:22] (Flashback) Recap
    This is where my...
[07:23] (Flashback) Recap
    mitt is.
[07:26] (Flashback) Recap
    A head-to-head battle of powers
    is the best part about baseball?
[07:31] (Flashback) Recap
    Maybe for your own self-satisfaction.
[07:36] (Flashback) Recap
    I would never...
[07:37] (Flashback) Recap
    want to entrust the three
    years we spent here to you.
[07:45] Sa
    I couldn't understand Chris-senpai,
[07:48] Sa
    and my urge to retaliate
    only grew larger.
[07:55] (Flashback) Recap
    Switching out Tanba-kun for
    the pitcher, Furuya-kun.
[08:28] (Flashback) Recap
    It's hard to believe he's
    a first-year like us.
[08:31] (Flashback) Recap
    One of his pitches can
     crush a batter's heart.
[08:36] (Flashback) Recap
    This is the difference between
    Furuya's talents and yours.
[08:45] (Flashback) Recap
    You...
[08:47] (Flashback) Recap
    I told you.
[08:48] (Flashback) Recap
    You'll never be the ace on this team.
[08:52] (Flashback) Recap
    As long as he's in your grade.
[09:03] (Flashback) Recap
    What about you?
[09:04] (Flashback) Recap
    You're a second-string like me.
[09:07] (Flashback) Recap
    Aren't you frustrated that
    you lost to a second-year?
[09:11] (Flashback) Recap
    You finish practice so early.
[09:16] (Flashback) Recap
    If you want to go up, don't you have
    to practice harder than anyone else?
[09:22] (Flashback) Recap
    You've just given up
    on getting better!
[09:33] (Flashback) Recap
    Give up on aiming higher?
[09:37] (Flashback) Recap
    For the idiot that
    you are, you're sharp.
[09:46] (Flashback) Recap
    Don't end up like me... Sawamura.
[09:58] Sa
    Back then,
[10:00] Sa
    I didn't know anything.
SIGN    National Training Center
[10:02] Sa
    How naive I was or anything
    about Chris-senpai.
[10:07] (Flashback) Recap
    We're here.
[10:09] (Flashback) Recap
    Next, one-hand rowing.
[10:12] (Flashback) Recap
    Ten reps.
[10:15] (Flashback) Recap
    Don't rush. Go slowly.
[10:18] (Flashback) Recap
    Go slow.
[10:21] (Flashback) Recap
    He ruptured his subscapularis
    and pronator teres muscles.
[10:28] (Flashback) Recap
    On our team, with so many players,
[10:30] (Flashback) Recap
    being away from the team for a year
[10:32] (Flashback) Recap
    is the same as quitting the team.
[10:35] (Flashback) Recap
    Even Coach Kataoka asked him
    to support the team as a manager.
[10:42] (Flashback) Recap
    However, he clung to a small chance,
[10:45] (Flashback) Recap
    and he never gave up
    on finishing as a player.
[10:51] Recap
    You're kidding.
[10:54] Recap
    Are you...
[10:57] Recap
    kidding me?
[11:00] (Flashback) Recap
    Hey, Sawamura-kun!
[11:04] (Flashback) Recap
    Why?
[11:05] (Flashback) Recap
    Why did you let a stupid first-year like me
     mouth off to you and not say anything?
[11:11] (Flashback) Recap
    Damn it!
[11:12] (Flashback) Recap
    Are you kidding me?
[11:14] (Flashback) Recap
    Damn it...
[11:16] (Flashback) Recap
    I look like...
[11:19] (Flashback) Recap
    ...a stupid moron now!
[11:30] (Flashback) Recap
    I have an impossible request.
[11:34] (Flashback) Recap
    Please...
[11:36] (Flashback) Recap
    Please...
[11:38] (Flashback) Recap
    Please teach me baseball.
[11:44] Sa
    On the Seido Baseball Team,
    there's another pitcher...
[11:48] Sa
    ...who's a first-year.
[12:03] (Flashback) Recap
    Sorry.
[12:04] (Flashback) Recap
    I threw a little too hard.
[12:07] Sa
    This... is how I met the one who
    will be my rival pitcher on the team,
[12:14] Sa
    Satoru Furuya.
[12:23] (Flashback) Recap
    What are you doing?
[12:24] (Flashback) Recap
    He's a first-year!
[12:27] (Flashback) Recap
    Don't swing at those
    high fastballs!
[12:32] Sa
    Furuya is a fastball pitcher
    who gets strikeouts by power.
[12:37] Sa
    But...
[12:38] (Flashback) Recap
    Furuya, I'm sorry.
[12:41] (Flashback) Recap
    I can't catch your pitch...
[12:44] (Flashback) Recap
    He's a monster.
[12:46] (Flashback) Recap
    Damn.
[12:48] (Flashback) Recap
    What does he want from us?
[12:51] (Flashback) Recap
    I'm sorry, Furuya.
[12:53] (Flashback) Recap
    The upperclassmen don't want
    to play baseball with you.
[12:58] Sa
    Furuya's pitch was too fast,
[13:00] Sa
    and he couldn't play baseball
    like he wanted to in junior high.
[13:05] (Flashback) Recap
    By the way, did you hear the word
     about the first-string team?
[13:09] (Flashback) Recap
    Twenty players can be registered
    for the summer Tokyo District tournament.
SIGN    Super Baseball Theory: The Logic of Batting
[13:12] (Flashback) Recap
    Basically, two second-string players
    will be moved up by the summer.
[13:17] (Flashback) Recap
    You serious?
[13:19] (Flashback) Recap
    So the scrimmages will be good
    opportunites to show off.
[13:23] (Flashback) Recap
    Two players?
[13:24] (Flashback) Recap
    Yep, two players.
[13:26] (Flashback) Recap
    So we're moving up to the first-string!
[13:29] (Flashback) Recap
    No, nothing's final yet...
[13:34] Sa
    In the practice game against Kokudokan,
[13:37] Sa
    which doubled as the last
    first-string tryout,
[13:39] Sa
    I finally got the chance to form
    a battery with Chris-senpai.
[13:45] (Flashback) Recap
    Switching out the catcher, Ono...
[13:50] (Flashback) Recap
    for Takigawa.
[13:53] Ch
    My job was to open
    the doors for Sawamura
[13:57] Ch
    with the kind of talent he has.
[14:00] Ch
    And in the duel against
    Zaizen of Kokudokan,
[14:03] Ch
    I saw how much potential he really had.
[14:12] Recap
    I've only been pitching
    for three innings,
[14:15] Recap
    but was I able to show Chris-senpai...
[14:18] Recap
    that I've improved, even a little?
[14:23] Recap
    Was I able to get even
    a little bit closer...
[14:30] Recap
    to the crown, the ace number,
    that's still miles away?
[14:42] Recap
    For now, I'll just throw
    my best pitch into his mitt!
[14:59] Ch
    The infinite possibility
    to shine as much as you polish...
[15:04] Ch
    ...like polishing a diamond in the rough.
[15:08] Sa
    And then, as the summer
    tournament closed in,
[15:11] Sa
    the members of the first-string
    team were announced.
[15:15] (Flashback) Recap
    The new first-string players...
[15:17] (Flashback) Recap
    are first-year, Haruichi Kominato,
[15:21] (Flashback) Recap
    and another first-year,
    Eijun Sawamura.
[15:26] (Flashback) Recap
    That is all.
[15:28] Recap
    Wait a minute...
[15:31] Recap
    What about Chris-senpai?
[15:34] Recap
    I have no regrets.
[15:36] Recap
    In my last moments,
[15:39] Recap
    I was able to receive the best pitch...
[15:43] Recap
    I've ever had as a player.
[15:51] (Flashback) Recap
    There's only one thing we can do.
[15:55] (Flashback) Recap
    We have to get stronger,
[15:58] (Flashback) Recap
    so we can fight for those who can't!
[16:04] (Flashback) Recap
    Now...
[16:06] (Flashback) Recap
    You don't have any time to look back.
[16:09] (Flashback) Recap
    Not just you...
[16:11] (Flashback) Recap
    Me, too.
[16:18] (Flashback) Recap
    I'm going to fight till the very end.
[16:22] (Flashback) Recap
    The fight Chris-senpai couldn't.
[16:25] (Flashback) Recap
    This goes for both of us.
[16:28] (Flashback) Recap
    So get stronger.
[16:31] (Flashback) Recap
    Stronger.
SIGN    Meiji Jingu Baseball Stadium
SIGN    National High School Baseball Championship, Tokyo Qualifier
[16:38] Sa
    Then the summer tournament began.
[16:41] Sa
    There are many strong teams
    in our West Tokyo District.
[16:47] Sa
    Ichidai Third High with
    Manaka-san as the pitcher.
[16:52] (Flashback) II
    Let's get another run!
[16:53] (Flashback) II
    Yeah!
[16:55] Sa
    And...
[16:59] Sa
    The ones who robbed us of our
    ticket to nationals last summer.
[17:06] Sa
    Inashiro Vocational School
    with Mei Narumiya as the ace.
[17:11] Sa
    But on our team, we have
    amazing upperclassmen, too.
[17:16] Sa
    The quiet, cleanup hitter
    and captain, Yuki-senpai.
[17:21] Mi
    He sucks at shogi, though.
[17:24] (Flashback) Recap
    Miyuki, let's pick up from
     where we left off yesterday.
[17:28] Sa
    The roaring three-hole and
    strong-shouldered center,
[17:31] Sa
    Isashiki-senpai.
[17:33] Mi
    Don't tell anyone,
    but his nickname's "Spitz."
[17:38] Is
    Who's a Spitz?
[17:41] Sa
    Kind to others but strict to himself,
[17:44] Sa
    a power-hitter five-hole, Masuko-senpai.
[17:47] Mi
    His family owns a liquor store.
[17:53] Sa
    One of my roommates at the Seido dorm,
[17:55] Sa
    the cheetah-legged, lead-off man,
[18:00] Sa
    Kuramochi-senpai.
[18:03] Mi
    He's a second-year like me.
[18:07] Sa
    A fellow first-year
    who made the first-string,
[18:10] Sa
    a baseball prodigy,
[18:13] Sa
    Kominato Haruichi,
    also known as Harucchi.
[18:15] Recap
    There's no easier pitch
    to hit than this.
[18:20] Sa
    His brother and second baseman,
[18:23] Sa
    Ryosuke Kominato-senpai.
[18:25] Mi
    He doesn't even come close to Ryosuke-san
    yet in terms of both fielding and batting.
[18:29] (Flashback) Recap
    Haruichi, you're in the way.
[18:33] Sa
    As for the pitchers,
[18:34] Sa
    we have our ace, Tanba-senpai,
    looking to come back from an injury,
[18:39] Sa
    and Nori-senpai, the
    second-year sidearm pitcher.
[18:43] Mi
    The reason people say we don't
    have an ace is because...
[18:48] (Flashback) Recap
    Ball four!
[18:53] Mi
    Tanba-san couldn't overcome
    his weak mentality.
[18:58] Mi
    But Tanba-san overcame
    his weakness with effort.
[19:04] (Flashback) Recap
    Yes! A fastball!
[19:11] (Flashback) Recap
    It dropped?
[19:15] Mi
    At last, we can go into the tournament
    in our best state possible.
[19:18] Mi
    Or so I thought...
[19:20] Recap
    Everything is about
    getting to the stage.
[19:24] Recap
    We're definitely going...
[19:28] Recap
    ...to nationals.
[19:50] Mi
    We were forced to go into the
    tournament without our ace.
[19:58] Mi
    Until Tanba-san comes back,
[19:59] Mi
    Furuya, Sawamura, and Nori's
    pitching are our only hope.
[20:04] (Flashback) Recap
    Strike! Batter out!
[20:07] (Flashback) Recap
    Game set!
SIGN    Akikawa Seido
[20:13] Sa
    In the fourth round
    against Akikawa Academy,
[20:16] Sa
    we're now facing our first pinch.
[20:20] (Flashback) Recap
    I asked for forkballs,
    but you couldn't relax,
[20:24] (Flashback) Recap
    and your fastballs are
    only getting higher.
[20:28] (Flashback) Recap
    Even if you keep throwing,
    you'll drag the team down.
[20:31] (Flashback) Recap
    Now hurry up and get off the mound.
[20:35] (Flashback) Recap
    Furuya.
[20:39] Recap
    I'll carry on your frustration.
[20:43] (Flashback) Recap
    Leave the rest to me!
[21:09] Recap
    We've inherited...
[21:12] Recap
    ...your spirit.
[21:18] Sa
    We can't afford to lose.
[21:21] Sa
    Not for the people
    who didn't make the team,
[21:25] Sa
    nor for the pitcher who walked off.
[21:28] Sa
    I'm here with everyone's
    will on my shoulders.
[21:33] Recap
    Give me a four-seamer to the inside.
[21:38] Recap
    You can, can't you?
[21:46] Recap
    Come!
[21:57] Recap
    Yes! Yes! Yes!
[21:59] Recap
    Yes! Yes! Yes!
[23:35] Mi
    Sawamura finally stands on the mound.
[23:38] Mi
    We enter the mid-game with Akikawa.
[23:41] R1
    Seido is definitely strong,
[23:43] R1
    but Yeung-kun has a reason
    he can't lose as well.
[23:46] R2
    Mine-san, is that because he and
    Miyuki-kun both wear glasses?
[23:51] R1
    No...
[23:53] Sa
    Next time on Ace of the Diamond:
    Neck and Neck.
SIGN    Neck and Neck
[23:56] Sa
    Let's win the national title!