On one summer day, Wakaba leaves for camp after making a promise to Ko. A few days later, Ko happens to turn on the television, and a high school baseball game is on. During the exchange, a news report comes on, and Ko can't believe what he hears.

Wakaba asks Aoba what kind of boys she likes, Aoba says, "One who can throw a 100 mph fastball." Wakaba says that Ko may one day be able to throw that fast. Ko and Nakanishi's team faces Aoba's pitching in a sandlot baseball game. Aoba wins, but...

Ko and Nakanishi organize a sandlot game with some old friends from elementary school. Ko stands on the pitcher's mound with Nakanishi as catcher. But after Ko throws a few practice pitches...

An unfriendly man comes to hit at the Tsukishima Batting Center. He hits homerun and homerun, and the other patrons are astonished. When a group of students come check out the high school, the homerun hitter is among them.

Ko, Akaishi and Nakanishi are starting high school, but under the new coach, only a few players make varsity. So Ko and the others join the Portables, the JV team who use a portable for a clubhouse. At the Jr. High, Aoba is the team’s new captain.

The coach invites Aoba to the team’s batting practice. When Ko, Akaishi and Nakanishi hear of it, they go over to confront Daimon. Aoba is getting warmed up when she starts striking out the varsity batters. But when Azuma steps up, she may be too tired...

It’s the Portables vs. varsity! Ko takes the mound in the bottom of the first. He uses Aoba’s notes to his advantage and strikes out the first two batters, but later in the game, Azuma hits a home run off of him. And Senda...

Ko hits a triple off of Kamikawa's fastball, but he’s getting more and more exhausted. With his fatigue at its peak, Ko tells Akaishi that he’s going to forget about control and focus on speed.

The seniors on the Portables start sulking when they realize they have no shot at joining varsity, and their unmotivated playing drags the whole team down in the scrimmage against the varsity team.

Ko and Senda visit the junior high to watch the scrimmage game. Aoba is pitching, and she’s so in control she purposely lets the batters get a few hits.

The district tournament begins, and the varsity team sweeps their first opponent. Azuma’s getting a lot of attention from the media, but he and Miki start to have misgivings about Coach Daimon.

Daimon's irrational coaching leads to a loss for the varsity team in the district tournament. Aoba meets Azuma’s brother Junpei at the game and takes him home with her, where he immediately falls in love with Ichiyo.

The Portables' not-so-stellar record has the principal thinking it's the perfect chance to get rid of the Portables and fire Coach Maeno. But Coach Maeno challenges Daimon's team to a scrimmage...

The varsity team and the Portables face off in a critical match. Ko gets off to a shaky start on the pitcher’s mound, loading the bases with the first three batters. The two coaches have bet their jobs on the outcome.

Risa has stayed at Seishu Gakuen even though her father, the former interim principal, left the school. She causes some confusion when she practices for a movie audition.

The Kitamura and Tsukishima families visit Wakaba's grandparents, the Asamis. Ko and Aoba look through photo albums and reminisce about Wakaba.