It’s the top of the seventh with the game tied at 4 apiece…
What They Say:
“Partnership”
Miyuki gets his ribs checked out. In the bottom of the sixth, Sawamura shows a strong performance going three for three. With the sides retired, Haruichi stands in the batter’s box with a wooden bat, and Sanada looks confident. Sanada’s shootball breaks Haruichi’s bat, and…
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
It’s the top of the seventh with Haruichi up to bat against Sanada. Miyuki’s in the back getting backed out for a possibly oblique injury during the at bat, which went quick. A broken bat and a grounder to the infield makes it one out for Seidou with Miyuki up to bat. Miyuki hits to third for the second out, and that’s two groundouts in a row. And now, Miyuki is 0-for-4 hitting today likely because of the injury. Maezono goes down on a strikeout and that’s three up, three down for Sanada.
Sawamura’s back on the mound in the bottom of the seventh against Yakushi’s two hole. He forces a groundout to second and now it’s into the cleanup batters for Yakushi. After a long at bat, Mishima manages a single to left field. It’s a man on base with one out with Todoroki up to bat, and this is a critical moment in a tie game with the best batter up. Todoroki went after a first pitch changeup, but hit it foul toward first. A second changeup goes foul and it’s an 0-2 count for Todoroki. The third pitch is a fastball and Todoroki swings just low of it for the strikeout. If that doesn’t stop Yakushi in their tracks, nothing will. The best hitter in the tournament and Sawamura gets him out on three pitches. After the home run in the first game on Sawamura’s then-best pitch, this is how far he’s come. Now it’s Sanada with a man on and two outs, and Sawamura starts with the changeup. He gets Sanada out swinging and all the momentum is in Seidou’s corner.
In Summary:
A lot of this episode was spent outside the baseball game, which is how a whole one inning passed through the duration. Everyone has something to fight for in this game. The soon-to-be third years are leaving soon and this could be their last rodeo or only chance to play in the regional finals. Todoroki is still in his first year, as is Sawamura, so this matchup will keep going for years to come, but not everyone’s like that. But everyone has one thing they’re fighting for: the right to play at the Koushien, against the best of the best. Sawamura’s on fire right now, but so is Sanada. In a show called Ace of the Diamond, of course it’s going to come down to the pitcher.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Equipment: PS3, LG 47LB5800 47” 1080p LED TV, LG NB3530A Sound Bar
