Aoba arrives at the stadium in time to see Ko's first pitch at the bottom of the first inning. On the mound, Ko tells Akaishi about Akane's surgery, and Akaishi is annoyed at being kept in the dark. Ko consistently pitches over 94 mph and retires all three batters with two strikeouts. Before batting in the second inning, Azuma tells Akaishi his only regret staying with Seishu is never getting to face Ko's pitches...