Chapter 14

Short Summary
After Yoshida gets kicked off the pitch, the Lycaons are determined not to let it hinder their defence and field better than ever before.

Long Summary
The stadium boos Tokuchi for kicking Yoshida off the field. The owner is pleased and thinks Tokuchi will owe them money by the end of the day. The secretary tells Oikawa that whenever the Lycaons fall behind by more than 5 runs, they never catch up, and have thus already lost. The owner agrees with what Tokuchi said in his interview about his team-mates having no sense of urgency since they’re so accustomed to losing.

Manager Mihara is urged to switch Tokuchi off, but he’s already used up all his pitchers and so has no one to replace him. The Lycaons gather at the mound to criticise Tokuchi, but he says he won’t take criticism from players who let the other team score 11 runs. When he asks them if this is the best they can do, they insist to him they can play better than this. Tokuchi agrees and says he sent Yoshida off because they don’t need all 9 players to beat the other team. The Eagles overhear this and Tokuchi provokes them further.

With a player missing, the Lycaons end up with bases loaded and no outs. The Eagles laugh at them, angering the whole team, and they become determined to defend better. Tokuchi pitches to the next batter, who hits it, but it’s caught by third baseman, Imai, who then also gets out the runners at third and second base, making it a triple play.

Runners reach base at every single inning, but after after five more innings no more points have been scored against them.

The Lycaons are especially tired after defending the sixth inning. They realise they’ve never felt so passionately about fielding before and Tokuchi tells them this is the urgency they need to win. Tokuchi suggests they now turn their 11 runs around and the team agree enthusiastically.