第26話: コウの貴重なピッチングとアオバの幼少期の夢が、試合後の余韻を形作る。

26

At the end of the fifth inning, after three batters fail to bunt against Ko, Sanno's coach describes Ko's pitching as the sort seen only once every ten years. When Seishu starts scoring in the sixth, Maeno attributes this to Seishu's players being too inexperienced to have consistent weaknesses or strengths. Meanwhile, at Ryuo, Mishima tells two classmates he does not mind staying away when reporters interview Shimano because he himself will ultimately have a better career. After Seishu wins 8 to 1, newspaper coverage highlights Ko's 93-mile-per-hour (150 km/h) fastball. When Mizuki comments that this was not Aoba's ideal of 100 mph, Aoba retorts that she wanted many things when she was a child. Aoba remembers Wakaba describing her last dream, which included Aoba playing center field at Koshien. When Aoba forces Ko to tidy up before meeting reporters, he comments she reminds him of Wakaba. During the interview, he claims Mishima is the Ryuo batter he worries about the most. The day before the game against Ryuo, Azuma tells Ko that they have a chance of winning if Mishima stays on the bench. (Source: Wikipedia)