That afternoon, Maeno dismisses practice early. In a bookstore, Mishima and Ryuo backup pitcher Oikawa talk about how unlikely it is they will get to play against Seishu. Midori visits the Tsukishima batting cages, where Aoba tells her Seishu might beat Ryuo. That evening, Akaishi reviews tapes of Ryuo's games one more time, particularly Shimano's batting, while the rest of the team prepares their equipment...