第16話: 大魔が雇用の安定を確認し、小が戦略的なピッチングでゲームを支配する

16

Before the scrimmage Daimon tells Azuma that Shido will not fire him even if the varsity team loses, and Shido confirms this. However, during the first inning, Tubby's grandfather, who is the school's chairman, tells Shido and Daimon he is ratifying the wager with Maeno. During the first two innings, Ko allows the bases to get loaded before striking out the next three batters, and to focus him, Akaishi tells Ko to pitch as if it were late in the game. In the sixth inning, the game still scoreless, Daimon asks Azuma who were the prefab team's opponents in their practice matches; Azuma says they played top teams from the prefectural tournament, and that Ko pitched easily the first six innings to give his team fielding practice. In the seventh inning, Aoba hits a single and then scores on Senda's sacrifice fly. During the final innings, Azuma asks Daimon if he wishes he had better hitters in his lineup, such as Miki, and as Ko strikes out the final three batters, Azuma says Ko is now the best pitcher they have played against all year. As the prefab team celebrates their win, Aoba silently tells Wakaba that Ko did it. (Source: Wikipedia)