Chapter 142

Short Summary
Tokuchi pitches for the final inning of the first game against the Mariners. It ends in a tie.

Long Summary
The Lycaons have just tied the game with the Mariners. Pitcher Kawanaka gets up and kicks a box full of balls over, accusing the batters of erasing his win.

Tokuchi pitches for the ninth inning, to the Mariners dismay. Brooklyn laughs and boasts he’ll get a home run. On his first pitch, Tokuchi throws a 110km/h fastball to Brooklyn. It’s so unexpectedly slow that he swings too early and gets a strike. He pitches at a similar speed to the next two batters, but neither of them manage to hit it properly either. The commentators call the pitches something even an amateur could hit.

At the top of the 10th inning, the Lycaons have no outs and runners on first and second base. Manager Imawano finally swallows his pride and puts Mizuhashi on the mound. Mizuhashi saves the situation and gets out the next three batters.

At the top of the 12th, the teams are still tied. The Mariners have two outs and no runners on base. The batter, Thomas, has already had two strikes but thinks he’ll definitely hit the next pitch. Tokuchi appears to see his thought process and laughs. He tells Tomas his pride won’t allow him ‘to lose to a puny team like the Lycaons’ and warns him with this mentality he definitely won’t be able to get a hit. He pitches and Thomas misses.

The game ends with a draw. In the meeting room, Tokuchi shows the team their estimations for how many points they would lose by. They respond it must be because the Mariners had an off day, but Tokuchi says no, it’s because they’ve become stronger players. He says the purpose of today’s game was to make them realise their own strength and the purpose of the next two are to win.

Characters

 * Tokuchi Toua
 * Kawanaka
 * Brooklyn
 * Thoma
 * Manager Imawano
 * Mizuhashi