Episode 17: That's Tough

After the scrimmage, Shido and Daimon are fired and most of Daimon's varsity players follow him to another school. Yuhei Azuma stays and begins living with the Kitamuras because the baseball dorm is closed down. Because Ko's stamina flags during the fall prefectural tournament, Azuma makes Ko begin jogging to school instead of taking the train. A boy asks Ko for an introduction to Aoba, and Ko congratulates him as the 100th person to do so. When Azuma asks Ko about a photograph of Wakaba, Ko admits that he was in love with her, and Azuma responds that "you guys" have it tough. To get the five most persistent boys to stop asking her out, Aoba goes on a date with all five at once. When Junpei asks about his pitching form, Ko is surprised but says that he based it on Aoba's. Aoba explains to Ko that Junpei's promising career as a pitcher was ended by an injury before he could go to Koshien, and that Yuhei is trying to reach Koshien in his place. Ko tells Aoba he is also serious about going to Koshien, to make Wakaba's last dream come true.