Ryuō's coach apologizes to one of his players, Mishima, for benching him during the tournament because his star batter Shimano insists on keeping attention on himself while being scouted. A scout for Seishū's next opponent, Sannō, overhears Akaishi and Nakahara discuss their own team's weaknesses during practice. While studying Shimano's batting, Kō thanks Azuma because no batter can surprise him now. During practice, another Sannō scout overhears Aoba tease Kō about his weak fielding of bunts. That evening, Kō remembers Wakaba telling him that all he has to do to get Aoba to like him is pitch 160 km/hr. The next day, during the first two innings against Sannō, Seishū has trouble handling Sannō's bunting, but with Kō's fielding they hold Sannō to only one run. During the bottom of the second, Akaishi tells Kō to stop practicing fielding, and he begins pitching with his full power. Sannō's coach admits their data about Kō may be faulty, but tells his players that with their current strategy they still have the advantage.
