Episode 25: It's an Honor

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