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Sawamura Eijun
Sawamura Act 2 anime
Seidou High School - No.1
Pitcher
Bats: Left Throws: Left
Kanji 沢村栄純
Romanji Sawamura Eijun
Nickname Crazy Boy (by Jorge "Animal")

Bakamura (by teammates)
Wamura (by Kanemaru)
Kawai of Seidou [1]
Bunt Meijin
Bunt Master (バント 商売人 Banto Shōbainin)
Sawwa (サッワ) (by Kanemaru)[2]

Characteristics
Gender Male
Age 15 (Debut)

16 [3]
17 [4]

Date of birth 15 May
Place of birth Nagano
Bloodtype O
Height 175 cm (5' 9")
Weight 65 kg (143 lbs)
Family Sawamura Eitoku (Grandfather)
Status
Class 1-C

2-B [5]

Skills Cutter

2-seam Fastball
Split-finger Fastball
Circle Changeup
Palmball

First Appearance
Manga Act I - Chapter 1
Anime S1 - Episode 1
Cast
Voice Actor Ryota Ohsaka (Japanese)
If it was an average pitcher, he would have given up long before, even so he wasn't bothered by his team's errors, continued to carry his team with relentless pitching. On his back ... I feel like I saw a true ace.
Takashima Rei about Sawamura

Sawamura Eijun is the protagonist of the series. He comes from Nagano Prefecture, where he played baseball at Akagi Junior High. He is a left handed pitcher who was promoted from the second string to the first string as No. 20 for the Summer Tournament, and later on No. 18 at the start of the Fall Tournament. In Act II, he becomes Seidou's ace in his second year by the start of the Summer Regional Tournament.[6]

Appearance

Sawamura is a lean-built teenager of average height. He has dark brown hair with brown eyes that sometimes appear golden during intense moments. He is often seen with a smile. He prefers to wear his hat frontwards.

Character

Sawamura is a hotheaded and loudmouthed youth who usually comes off as obnoxious. After he arrives at Seidou, he quickly makes himself known for his stupidity, especially because of his strange antics and his mediocre knowledge about baseball. But Sawamura is eager to learn new things even after making mistakes, which he tries to realize and prevent in the future. He is a pitcher who throws with his feelings and is never ashamed to show everyone what's on his mind. His teammates often get inspired by his strong will and unwavering spirit and try to give it their all. He is also surprisingly level-headed in critical situations, but can also be swayed negatively, causing his performance to drop. As he gains experience through time, and due to the fact that he has been subbed into many difficult situations as a relief pitcher, Sawamura has learned how to maintain consistent focus and has become very capable of handling critical situations.[7]

Sawamura is the type who usually acts before he thinks, usually landing him in numerous awkward situations with his peers. He is shown to be regretful about his actions afterwards, such as his conflict with Chris when he first joined the team. Originally, Sawamura was quite boastful; however, after learning it the hard way through the defeat to Inajitsu and the yips period, he became aware of his own standing within the team and understood that it was necessary to place the team's priority over his own. He even went as far as to become a practice pitcher on Coach Ochiai's advice, at his own risk.[8] Understanding that he is viewed as a lesser pitcher than Furuya from his peers' perspective, Sawamura is always actively seeking new ways and information to improve himself so that he can one day be acknowledged by the team.[9][10]

He treats his teammates depending on how they treat him. He is respectful towards majority of his senior teammates like Chris, Yuuki, Isashiki, and Ryosuke, but he is more familiar towards his roommates Kuramochi, Masuko and Asada, as well as Miyuki. He is also shown to have no sense of personal space or respect for another person's privacy as shown when he broke into Wakana's bathroom while she was taking a bath and burst into Miyuki's room while the catcher was sleeping.[11][12]

History

Akagi.last.match
Last Match of Akagi Junior High

Sawamura was the captain of the Akagi Junior High baseball team. His team was below average, often making mistakes during critical moments and losing almost all their matches. However, Sawamura always had an extremely strong spirit which, no matter how hopeless the situation got, inspired his teammates to continue playing their best. His team mostly contained of his friends because he dragged them into baseball. Though they weren't even interested in sports to begin with, they stuck with him to the end.

After their last match, Sawamura gets scouted by Takashima Rei, the assistant director of Seidou High. She gives him the opportunity to visit and watch their practice at the high school. Rei takes the chance to introduce Sawamura to the world of high school baseball and let him team up with Miyuki Kazuya (who volunteers to form a battery with him to compete against Azuma Kiyokuni, who Sawamura publicly berated and challenged during his visit. Sawamura is totally overwhelmed with excitement by this experience, but back in his hometown he feels guilty because he thinks he would betray his former teammates.

Goodbye.2
A tearful farewell

But with the help and encouragement of his friends and family, he decides to take on his new journey. At the day of his departure, after Sawamura gets on the train, his friends reveal that they really loved playing baseball with him and secretly wanted him to stay and form a team with them anew. They never told him about their reluctant feelings before because they knew that Sawamura wouldn't go otherwise. It was a tearful farewell.

Act I

Seidou High

Not.qualified
Eijun and Miyuki meet again

On his first day of training, Sawamura oversleeps. He runs into Miyuki who is also late. Miyuki uses him as a decoy, but both get punished by Coach Kataoka along with Sawamura's roommates Kuramochi Youichi and Masuko Tooru. The next dispute follows immediately and Sawamura claims that he came to Seidou to be the ace. The coach offers him to join practice if he is able to throw the ball ninety meters. Sawamura accepts as he throws what looked like a powerful pitch that may have made it to the fence only to have the ball break downward when it comes close to it. Failing the challenge, Sawamura was not allowed to participate in practice as promised.

While the first string members head out for a match, Furuya Satoru, a fellow first year, offers Sawamura to play catch with him. Furuya reveals that he only came to Seidou because of his hopes that Miyuki can catch his pitches. In junior high nobody could do that. Sawamura, overwhelmed by Furuya's fast pitch, realizes that he has to battle Furuya for the "ace" status.

After the coach has revoked Tanba's status as the ace, a match between the first years and their upperclassmen takes place[13]. After an encounter with the coach at the bath the day before, where Sawamrua speaks openly about his feelings, he is allowed to participate in said match. It doesn't take long until the first years are double digit runs behind and some of them start to give up. But not Sawamura - when he's at bat, he barely gets on base due to an error of the catcher. Haruichi is surprised that Eijun managed to get on base and asks for a player substitution, sending himself as the pinch hitter. Together they score their first run of the game.

Ep 6 screenshot
Eijun's unwavering spirit

After the first years showed their resolution to the coach, he allows Sawamura to pitch. The upperclassmen have problems to grasp his pitching style. The first years start to get lively again and the one who created this mood is undoubtedly Sawamura. Rei says that the way he pumped up his team (composed of amateurs) in junior high, was the mark of a true ace. Sawamura's showing that off again and impresses the coach.

Second-String

Sawamura has to form a battery with Takigawa Chris Yuu, while Furuya teams up with Miyuki. The teamwork between the new formed battery isn't particularly good. Sawamura isn't happy about the training menu, while Chris is slightly pissed because of Sawamura's stupidity and inexperience.

Two.batteries
Dispute between catcher and pichter

During Furuya's pitching debut[14] Sawamura gets angry and tells Chris that he'll never become a soulless player like him. At a conversation with Takashima, Sawamura complains about Chris' apparent lack of motivation. Miyuki, who walked in on their conversation, gets angry and scolds Sawamura. A still shocked Sawamura is informed about Chris' injury and his strong will to recover. He is stunned and immediately regrets his harsh words. Sawamura confronts Chris and apologizes, asking for another chance. Sawamura then starts to observe the practice of the other members and realizes that in order to perfect a strategy, every player has their own role to perform.

After several attempts and defeats during practice matches, Chris is the one who tells him that his moving ball is the quality that defines him - his strong point. With the help of Kataoka (who has been watching over him the entire time although seemingly ignoring him for so long) Sawamura is able to polish his own special pitch in just one week. After polishing his pitch, the second string team has a practice match[15], which is the last chance for Sawamura to get into the first string. During this match Sawamura wants to show Chris his growth, but Ono can't catch his balls. The coach realizes that Chris is probably the only catcher who can play alongside Sawamura right now. For the first and last time those two form a battery and Sawamura learns firsthand what an amazing catcher Chris is.

In the end Sawamura and Haruichi are the ones chosen for the first string. This is rather a devastating blow than a happy surprise for Sawamura. It's Yuuki who tells a crying Sawamura that he shouldn't feel sorry for the guys who weren't chosen, but instead become stronger in their stead.

Training Camp

At the beginning of the training camp, Sawamura is enthusiastic and shows significant potential, but it doesn't take long to find out that fielding is his weak point, which is probably because of his little experience due to his baseball history. After four days, Sawamura is showing improvement on fielding and is finally allowed to practice in the bullpen on the fifth day.

During the practice match[16] against Osaka Kiryu High School, Furuya's on the mound first. In the top of the sixth inning, Sawamura replaces him. For the first time since the match against Azuma, Sawamura and Miyuki form a battery. Sawamura's pitching form surprise the batters. The captain of the opposing team starts to wonder if Sawamura is the real secret weapon of Seidou. In the next inning, Sawamura strikes Kiryu's Ace Hiromi Tachi out, but in the end Kiryu wins the game. Tachi tells Sawamura, Haruichi and Furuya that watching them play reminded him of his old days, then tells them to work hard.

On the final day of the training camp, a three way round robin is held between Seidou, Inashiro Industrial and Shuhoku. Sawamura gets no chance to play in one of these matches, although asking Kataoka's permission to pitch, who however declines.

West Tokyo Tournament

The Seidou team members prepare for the tournament ahead. Miyuki and Chris teach Furuya about control and pacing while Sawamura has to practice pitching with the net. One day before the opening ceremony of the 89th Tokyo Tournament the long, awaited handing over of the Jersey numbers takes place. Sawamura eagerly claims his number, 20, despite not being called yet, but grateful that he really did get a number.

Preliminaries

SawamuraE
Sawamura's official game debut

Seidou faces off against Maimon West High School in the West Tokyo qualifiers. After three innings, Furuya is out and Sawamura's on the mound. This is Sawamura's game debut and his first pitch goes straight into the batter's back. Sawamura's tense but after some difficulties, they manage to pull of a double play. Sawamura is overjoyed and he roars. Kawakami then puts it away for Seidou. At the lineup, Sawamura is congratulated by one of Maimon's players and shouts that he'll do his best and play for them as well.

Back at Seidou, Sawamura practices with the net, while Furuya is running nearby. Rei and Chris observe them. Rei says they'll need Furuya to win the Summer, calling him the "ace" until Tanba's return, shocking Sawamura. On the third round of the tournament, Seidou faces Puplic Murata East High School. The game ends after five innings and Sawamura doesn't get a chance to play.

During their next match against Akikawa, the opposing batters don't swing at Furuya's pitches and try to tire Furuya with bunts. Sawamura yells at Furuya from the bullpen saying not to get flung around by the batters' bunting stance. After Furuya walks the third batter, Kataoka calls for a pitcher substitution and Sawamura takes over. Once again the batter have problems figuring out Sawamura's pitching form and can't get the timing right. Sawamura continues to strike out Akikawa and the crowd is impressed, as well as Chris and Kataoka who compliments Sawamura. On top of the ninth, Kawakami is on the mound and Seidou wins.

Quarter-finals

In the quarter-finals Sawamura replaces Furuya on top of the third inning and faces the top of the lineup. Coach Raizou correctly assumes that Sawamura's pitch is a moving fastball. Miyuki calls for a ball for the first pitch to see how Raichi reacts. Sawamura doesn't want Raichi to hit and throws a strike just to the inside. Miyuki isn't pleased with Sawamura not following his lead and throws the ball back to Sawamura as hard as possible. Sawamura understands the message and starts pitching to Miyuki's mitt.

SawamuraE02
Sawamura is shaken

When Raichi is once again at-bat he hits the ball and it goes over the left field fence, bringing in two runs for Yakushi. Miyuki apologizes to Sawamura for the wrong lead but Sawamura is shaken and throws four balls, prompting Kataoka to sub him out with Kawakami. From the dugout Sawamura observes Yakushi's ace Sanada, who is quick to ease the worries of his teammates with his optimism, and remembers what Chris had told him about handling things after a homerun. Sawamura's enthusiasm is back and he begins to cheer for Kawakami. On top of the ninth inning Tanba and Miyuki close out the game.

Semifinals

At the bottom of the sixth inning, Sawamura, who got another chance after his performance against Yakushi because the coach believes in his unwavering spirit, takes the mound. After some difficulties Miyuki calls for a time-out but Eijun turns it down, explaining that they play baseball and allowing hits is normal. After Sensen takes back one run the team tries to lighten the mood so Sawamura can relax, but Miyuki only riles him up. He says that his qualities as a pitcher are being tested. Sawamura overcomes the difficulties during his face-off with Maki Yousuke and passes the baton to Kawakami, who successfully closes the game. After the match, Sawamura finally sees his old Junior High team again who came to cheer for him.

A few days before the finals Sawamura wants to take the next step - after watching Yakushi's Sanada, he wants to learn the cutter.

Finals

Tanba03
"You are the ace now."

Furuya is the starting pitcher and is later replaced by Tanba. After all of Seidou's batter gets striked out in the top of the seventh some players start to look dire, prompting Sawamura to yell out some words of encouragement. In the bottom of the seventh, after a cramp, Tanba's pitching is affected. Kataoka calls for a pitcher substitution. Tanba gives the ball to Sawamura and says that he's the ace now.

Sawamura faces Narumiya, who sees this as an insult. To face off against Narumiya, Miyuki gets aggressive, calling three straight fastballs to the inside that Eijun delivers to strike Narumiya out. In the bottom of the ninth Sawamura starts to feel more pressure but continues to attack. Seidou is one out away from their dream stage. Shirakawa is at bat next and battles it out with Sawamura, who starts to pitch harder.

Determined01
Sawamura can't continue pitching

One pitch hits Shirakawa's helmet, shocking everyone. While Shirakawa receives treatment in the dugout, his teammates try to encourage Sawamura but Miyuki notices his change after the dead ball, then sends a signal to their coach. Miyuki tells Sawamura that he's done well. Kataoka calls for a pitcher change. The finals end with Inashiro's win at 5-4. Only after seeing his captain crying, Sawamura realizes that they were just one out away from Koshien and he too starts to cry.

Mine Fujio later on comments to his fellow journalist that while Seidou continued to win their previous games with their pitcher relay, it was probably the lack of an absolute ace that cost Seidou the win.

Aftermath

Shortly after their loss against Inashiro, Furuya tells Sawamura that he'll be the "Ace" of the team. Sawamura realizes that he has to move on too and asks Miyuki if he could watch the finals video again. Miyuki asks Furuya if he, too, wants to watch it, but Furuya shrugs saying that he knows what his problem is. As Miyuki and Sawamura watches the video, Miyuki thinks that Sawamura is trying his best to move on.

Yips

For the scrimmage against Yakushi, Furuya is Seidou's starting pitcher and impresses the gallery by his performance and especially by overpowering Raichi with his fastballs. Sawamura too is awed and recalls Furuya telling him that he'll be the one taking the ace title. Sawamura asks Kataoka to let him pitch at the fifth inning but Kataoka declines, telling Sawamura that assessing the situation and warming up are important functions of a reliever, shocking Sawamura.

Nextstage
Sawamura's breakdown

In the bottom of the seventh Sawamura finally is allowed to pitch. But he throws way too low and he unconsciously run away from the inside corner of the zone, which was his strength. Facing Raichi, Miyuki asked for an inside Cutter to try to get Sawamura over the hump but Sawamura failed the pitch execution resulting in a HR. After that, Sawamura was completely rattled and he gives up more hits and walks another batter. Miyuki goes to Sawamura reminding him that his teammates are there for him. Sawamura throws thinking that he hasn't done anything yet, but the pitch is too high for Miyuki to catch, and goes straight to the fence. Sawamura is petrified.

Kataoka calls Furuya and pulls Sawamura out after asking Miyuki about Sawamura's condition. Furuya goes to the mound and asks for the ball, saying that there's no need for two pitchers on the mound. Sawamura laughs and apologizes for passing on the baton in a pinch. He leaves the mound crying. Kataoka tells Kanemaru to have Sawamura ice his shoulder properly. Kanemaru brings the ice and is worried about his teammate, because Sawamura didn't say anything since he got subbed and just sat silently on the bench.

Eijun.down
A deflated Sawamura

After the game during a brief meeting, it's revealed that Sawamura suffers from the yips[17]. Kataoka tells Sawamura to practice on his own and to avoid contact with the ball. Only a few days later he is allowed to join the batting and fielding practice. In Seidou's first official match for the fall, Furuya wears the ace number and shines in both pitching and batting. Sawamura is seen cheering from the dugout with the number 18. At school, students muse why Sawamura is included in the roster when he's doing so poorly at practice. Sawamura too wonders about that.

Sawamura continues to practice alone and is surprised when Chris joins him. Chris tells him that if Sawamura can't pitch to the inside then he doesn't have to, but encourages him to learn throwing low and away instead. Miyuki apologizes to Chris for asking him to help out but Chris says that it's something he always wanted to say to him and hopes that it'll help Sawamura get over his fear of throwing to the inside.

During the scrimmage against the third years, Sawamura finds out about Kataoka's resignation. Sawamura thinks that he is yet to be acknowledged by the coach. When it is his turn to pitch he gets to face Chris. Sawamura remembers all that he's learned from Chris. Chris battles Sawamura with fouls but Sawamura finally manages to throw low and away like Chris wanted him to and outs him. The rest of the third years struggle to perfectly hit Sawamura's outside pitch and the game ends in a tie.

Fall Tournament

Ochiai observes Sawamura before their game against Teito and asks if he wants to switch to sidearm pitching, thus suggesting becoming a practice pitcher for the team. When Kataoka realizes what Sawamura is trying to do, he makes him stop immediately, because it would destroy his form and orders him to practice his outside pitch.

First Round

Furuya is Seidou's starting pitcher. After performing good and receiving praise from Kataoka, the game is put into a temporary halt due to the rain. Sawamura is at the bullpen throwing pitches not wanting to just sit and do nothing after seeing how Furuya pitched. On top of the sixth, Furuya faces some difficulties and while Miyuki thinks of what he can do to fix it, Kataoka calls for a pitcher substitution and sends in Sawamura. Before he leaves the dugout, Kataoka makes sure that Sawamura is aware of the situation the team is faced with.

Sawamura throws to the outer edge for the first pitch giving Miyuki goosebumps. He continues to strike the following batters, stopping Teito's momentum. He performs stable until he faces Inui Kengo on the top of the eight. Realizing that they cannot out him with outside pitches alone, Miyuki finally calls for an inside pitch. Sawamura throws an imperfect pitch and Kengo hits over the right fielder for a Double. Sawamura, in his own way lets everyone know he's mad, but is aware of the limits of his abilities. On top of the ninth, Kawakami is on the mound and outs the batter. Seidou wins.

Second Round

DidYouJustPitch
Sawamura unconsciously throwing to the inside

At the bullpen, Sawamura warms-up with Miyuki and unknowingly throws to the inside, surprising his teammates. When Sawamura takes the mound he only throws to the outside, displeasing Ochiai who again watches from the stands. Miyuki then calls for an inside pitch but Sawamura hits the batter, resulting in an unstable performance. When Nanamori's fourth batter, Goda, is up, Miyuki wants to ask for inside pitches but decides to play it safe and calls for an outside. Sawamura shakes off the sign understanding the batter, and wants to pitch to the inside.

Miyuki approves and Sawamura successfully throws to the inside and gets over-excited. On top of the fifth, Seidou is up by eleven, hence, the game is called and they bag the win.

Third Round

Sawamura is cheering on his teammates until he is on the mound replacing Furuya, baffling Ochiai who observes from the stands. The crowd is heavily cheering for Ugumori. Sawamura admits feeling overwhelmed by the cheering audience, but both he and Miyuki get excited to silence the crowd. When Umemiya's at bat, Miyuki is aware of his influence on the team and wants Sawamura to focus on striking him out to stop Ugumori's momentum. Umemiya intimidates Sawamura with his fighting spirit while Sawamura struggles with the pressure, triggering memories of the dead ball he threw at Shirakawa last summer.

Aware of Sawamura's state of mind and at full count, Miyuki takes the time before making his call. He thinks of Kataoka's advice of not needing to throw to the inside, but still decide to call for a cutter to the inside. Determined to change and to go to Nationals, Sawamura throws the ball, constantly telling himself to not run away. Umemiya hits the pitch and the ball bounces to Sawamura's glove. Sawamura throws the ball to Kuramochi, who throws to Maezono. With Umemiya out, Ugumori lost their vigor and Sawamura then retires the 5th batter to win the game.

Quarterfinals

At game time, following Ouya's defense Sawamura, who is the starting pitcher and seemingly on a roll, strikes out Ouya's first and second batters. Miyuki then calls for a changeup, which Sawamura learnt before the quarterfinals thanks to the advices from Ochiai. Sawamura tries to execute but embarrassingly fails. Ouya starts to play mind games on Sawamura, first making him commit a balk[18] followed by a RBI. After regaining his composure, Sawamura does a good job keeping Ouya to two runs.

Zeal02
Sawamura closing the game

After facing some difficulties, Sawamura's teammates try to loosen him up by telling him that they are starting to acknowledge his abilities — Sawamura is flattered. Next up is Ouya's clean-up and Miyuki again calls for the changeup, which Sawamura successfully executes, striking the batter out. Sawamura is allowed to play the whole game and at the bottom of the eighth after a combo play from Haruichi and Kuramochi, and three strike outs, Seidou wins and move on to the semifinals.

Semifinals

Furuya is Seidou's starting pitcher and only at the top of the eighth, Sawamura is sent to the mound. After some struggles he faces Seiko's clean-up, who hits a two-run HR off Sawamura tying the game at 5-5. Despite this, Sawamura appears unfazed. Then Kanemaru makes a mistake, fumbles the ball and thus leading the batter to first. Sawamura assures Kanemaru that everything is okay and stays focused. Thinking that Sawamura isn't paying attention to him, the runner's lead on base got bigger but Sawamura unexpectedly made a pick-off throw to first, outing the runner. At the top of the ninth, a batter bunts the first pitch, but Sawamura dives for the ball, successfully catching it in the air for the out. During the top of the tenth, Kawakami is sent to the mound replacing Sawamura. Miyuki ends the game by hitting a walk-off HR.

Finals

In the fourth inning Sawamura is pitching and Yakushi takes the lead.

SawamurastrikesoutRaichi
Sawamura strikes out Raichi

During the next at bat, Sawamura faces Yakushi's clean-up. Sawamura greets Raichi with an inside fastball which jammed Raichi but the batter still managed to hit left field. Up next to bat is Sanada, while Raichi goes for a steal and succeeds. Calling for a time-out, Miyuki tells Sawamura to focus on the batter. Sanada hits Sawamura's cutter and it goes into center field. The next batter bunts, allowing Raichi to squeeze into home, putting Yakushi back into lead. Sawamura then stopped the bleeding and closed out the inning.

In the sixth inning, Sawamura is back up to pitch and strikes out all three batters getting a three for three. In the bottom of the seventh Miyuki and Sawamura prevail against Yakushi's clean-up batters, striking out Raichi on a fastball and Sanada on a changeup in succession. Kataoka then entrusts Sawamura the eighth, who manages to hold the Yakushi batters down. After asking the coach to let him pitch during the ninth, Kataoka decides to send Furuya instead. The crowd cheers and so does Sawamura, who impress both Miyuki and Furuya with his attitude. Furuya cleanly closes out the match and Seidou wins.

Act II

Spring Koshien

Sawamura embarrased
Sawamura embarrassed

First Round

Seidou led Houmei High by 4 - 1 in the 7th inning where Sawamura comes to replace Furuya. Getting too excited with pitching in the Koshien's environment for the first time, Sawamura tripped on the mound in his first pitch and his face turned red in embarrassment. Houmei High managed 2 hits in the 8th inning from Sawamura and took back 1 run. Seidou scores another run in the top of the 9th inning and maintained their lead by 5 - 2 and Sawamura closed out the game in the bottom of the 9th inning.

Second Round

Furuya is again the starting pitcher for the match. Furuya held Nihou Shouno to 1 run by the 6th inning and Seidou is up by 3 runs. Kawakami is then subbed in by the 7th inning to replace Furuya to keep him fresh as the coaches considered the possibility of the looming 3rd round match against Komadai. Kawakami lost 2 runs against Nihon Shouno but with Seidou batters repeatedly able to widen the score gap to 7 - 3 by the 9th inning, he regained composure and closed out the match. Sawamura did not pitch in the second round.

Third Round

Sawamura taking bullpen dirt
Determination after the loss

Frustrated with his first round performance, thinking that because he was not good enough, he wasn't granted any pitching time in the 2nd round. Thus, Sawamura does the towel drill and image training the night before the 3rd round match to prepare himself to contribute to the big upcoming match. However, Furuya is again selected the starting pitcher and despite losing 2 early runs, was able to bring out his best pitching to date in a pitcher duel against Hongou where both went toe to toe with each other while racking up strike outs. Hongou however was the more consistent pitcher and he delivered Seidou a complete shutout game with Komadai winning 2 - 0 over Seidou. Feeling frustrated with his own inability that he couldn't and wasn't allowed to contribute in the match, Sawamura decided to take home some of the soil from the bullpen where he stood the whole match watching his teammates instead of the soil from the mound or the dugout like common practice.

Spring Tournament

With their success and deep run in the Fall Season, Seidou was seeded for the Tournament and was bypassed to the 3rd round. Seidou's first opponent was Eigen High.

Third round

Sawamura Spring Tournament debut
Sawamura about to make a statement with his straight fastballs

Kawakami was the starting pitcher for the first match of the Tournament for Seidou while Sawamura is in reserve and Furuya playing outfield. After 6 steady innings, Kawakami held Eigen High to only 1 run and Seidou scoring a lead of 11 - 1 over their opponent. At the bottom of the 7th inning, Sawamura comes to relief Kawakami and going with Miyuki's suggestions, the battery opted to use only straight fastball pitches. One of Sawamura's fastball was clocked at 135 km/h.[19] Sawamura got 3 consecutive strike outs and quickly closed out the inning. With Seidou leading by 10 runs, the game was called after the 7th inning. Okumura notes after the match that Sawamura threw only 11 pitches in which only 2 were fouls, in other words, there were no wasted pitch thrown per batter.

Fourth round

Furuya is the only pitcher for the match. However, different from his impressive form at Senbatsu, Furuya struggled with command throughout the match and has to pitch under pressure after walking runners on base. With big help from the fielders, Furuya was able to scrap through the game with minimal loss, losing 2 runs. Seidou's batting line up continued to connect successfully throughout the game and Houdai Ichi was taken down in a called game by the 7th inning. Ichidaisan High's scouts watching from the stands reported to their team that there are weaknesses in Furuya's pitching which they can aim to exploit.

Quarterfinal

Sawamura Spring QF
Sawamura pitches 5 shut-out innings

Kataoka chooses Sawamura as the starting pitcher, for the first time in the Tournament, as he notes that Kasuga Ichi's core lineup consists mainly of left handed batters which makes Sawamura, a southpaw, a better choice. Sawamura was motivated to give his best to answer the coach's expectation. After ending the first inning 3 for 3 and establishing a strong start, Miyuki prompted to Sawamura that they should start using the "Numbers" in the later innings. On the top of the 3rd inning, Miyuki began mixing up a few of the Numbers' pitches into his lead in combination with Sawamura's straight fastball to great success and he was able to get another 3 up 3 down. On top of the 5th inning however, Sawamura's pitching started to destabilize as some of the higher Number pitches were still unstable and he ended up walking and hitting 2 batters. Miyuki started calling for Sawamura's more reliable straight fastball to get him back into shape again and he was able to close out the 5th inning with impressive stats. 3 hits, 2 walk and dead balls, 7 strike outs and 0 lost run.[20]

Furuya comes to replace Sawamura in the 6th inning and worked through 2 quick innings. On the bottom of the 7th inning, Yuki scored a 2 runs game-ending homerun earning Seidou yet another called game victory over their opponent and moving on to the Semi Final.

Semifinal

Sawamura angry
Irritated Sawamura

Seidou's opponent in the Semi Final was Ichidaisan High, one of Seidou's long time established rival in the same block. Seemingly wanting to test Furuya's resolve after reading his note, Kataoka chooses him as the starting pitcher much to the surprise of both Ochiai and Ichidai's coach Tahara. who expected Sawamura to be a more sensible starter against the left-handed batters dominated core line-up of Ichidaisan. Seidou batters opened up with 2 early runs from Amahisa in order to help ease up Furuya when he pitches. Furuya, however, could not control his breaking pitches; as a result, he walked many runners throughout the game and Miyuki had to repeatedly fall back to use his straight fastballs. After 5 innings, Amahisa's pitching started stabilizing while in contrast, Furuya was still very unstable. Ichidai mounted their come back in the bottom of the 5th after Furuya walked a couple of batters and Yuki Masashi's fielding error. Fully capitalized on the swinging momentum and Furuya's struggle to command his pitches, Ichidai continued to land hits and quickly widen up their lead to 5 - 2 over Seidou. Watching from the bullpen, Sawamura was irritated with Furuya's shocking performance.

Sawamura vs Ichidaisan
Sawamura delivering the pitch

Ochiai had to tell Kataoka that a pitcher switch is necessary in order to salvage the game and Sawamura was called in to relief after Furuya walked yet another batter. Coming to the mound, Sawamura loudly states he fully understands what is expected from him in such situation. Facing the 4th and 5th batter with bases loaded, Sawamura pitches tight to the corners and quickly scores 2 strike outs to close out the inning, effectively stopping Ichidai's momentum. Kataoka apologizes to Sawamura for making him handle such difficult situation; however, Sawamura was still frustrated and thought about how favorable the Ace is trusted over a relief pitcher like himself. Batting in the 6th inning, Sawamura hits a Double from Amahisa much to the surprise of his peers. Regardless, Amahisa prevented Seidou's sacrificial bunt and scoring attempts. Bottom of the 7th inning, Miyuki said he wants to mix in more Numbers to get batters out quickly and Sawamura complied, saying he has complete trust in Miyuki's lead. Sawamura scores a strike with Number 7, the Cutter Kai, and receives much attention from Ichidai's Ace, Amahisa. Sawamura maintains his flawless pitching up to the 8th inning, as he delivered 3.7 innings of no-hit to connect to the top of the 9th inning. Seidou scored 1 more run in the 9th. At 2 outs and with a runner on 2nd base, Zono had an opportunity to tie the score; however, his long hit was caught by an outfielder and Ichidaisan won the game. Seidou is eliminated and failed to qualify for the Kantou Tournament.

Amahisa happened to meet Sawamura in the hallway of the Stadium and began asking questions about Sawamura's new pitch, the Cutter Kai. Sawamura said that because his team has lost there's nothing to talk about which Amahisa disagrees saying that the team is besides the conversation between pitchers and carried on with his questions. Amahisa even went as far as requesting to know the grip for the pitch as well as asking for Sawamura's Line contact afterwards, much to the dismay of the latter. After witnessing the commotion, Seto notes that Amahisa seems to have changed while Okumura was annoyed saying Amahisa was rude to Sawamura.

Seidou regulars then went on to watch the remaining semifinal match between Inajitsu and Teitou while the rest of the team returned to school. On the stands, Sawamura sat away from the rest of the team to watch the game on his own. Nabe later explained that Sawamura wanted to assess the game on his own in order to improve himself so that he can understand Miyuki's reasons for his leads instead of pitching mindlessly to Miyuki's mitt like always. Sawamura believes that unless he's able to do so, no matter how much time's passed, he won't be recognized.

Post Spring Tournament - Golden Week Period

In the evening of the SF match, Seidou held a meeting to reflect on the lost where Kataoka commends Sawamura for displaying pitching that allowed the team to regroup during the bleak moments. He also announced the reset of the jersey numbers. After the meeting, while the majority of the team decided to go watch the Final of the Spring Tournament, Sawamura said he wants to stay back and practice on his batting. He also arranged a meeting with Miyuki to discuss about game calling which ended up becoming a group meeting for all pitchers and catchers within the team.

On a night practice session between Sawamura and Miyuki, Kataoka appears to watch them. After showing a variety of pitches to Kataoka, Miyuki said to the coach that despite some of the still unstable Numbers, Sawamura was able to display good pitching against Ichidai due to his high level of focus and refined pitch command and added that he would like to test how well Sawamura can fare against a top class national level team. Kataoka then orders Sawamura to stop and rest for 3 days in preparation for the match with Hakuryuu High, in which he wants Sawamura to be the starting pitcher for.

Vs. Hakuryuu High

Sawamura Hakuryu match
Sawamura pitches a complete game against Hakuryu

Sawamura is the starting and only pitcher of the match. Sawamura started off by retiring the lead-off batter; however, the 2nd batter got on base due to Sawamura's slip-up on the Changeup. Mima hits a Double on a fastball and put Hakuryu in an early scoring position. Sawamura upped his gear and proceeded to strike out the Clean-up and retire the 5th batter to avert the early crisis. With Seidou scoring 1 run in the bottom of the 1st inning, Sawamura continued to shut the opponents out and the match become a stalemate since. During the 3rd inning, Sawamura utilizes a variety of pick-off timing to pin down the runner and minimize Hakuryu's mobility advantage; and also managed to retire Mima on his 2nd at bat. On top of the 6th inning, the battery faces Mima again and uses everything within their arsenal against him while Mima was unfazed by the challenge and he continued to foul one pitch after another. At full count, Miyuki thought they need a pitch that the opponent has no information on and decided to unseal Sawamura's Splitter. However, Sawamura got tense and failed the execution of the Splitter, walking Mima on base. The 4th batter capitalized on Sawamura;'s wavering moment after the Walk and landed a long hit on the 1st pitch. Shirasu managed to preserve Seidou's lead by a well play pass to home-plate. Sawamura then raised his level again and shut-out the remaining batters, squandering yet another scoring opportunity for Hakuryu. On the bottom inning, Seidou targets Ouno's Slider and widen their lead to 3 - 0. Hakuryu scores 1 run in the 8th inning on a failed double play attempt by Seidou. With 2 outs, Sawamura retires Ouno in the 9th inning to closes the game. Sawamura's stats for the day was 110 pitches over 9 innings, 9 hits, 1 walk, 6 strike-outs and 1 lost run.[21]

Vs. Naruta Technical

Naruta Tech is a powerhouse from Chiba that visited Seidou for a practice match and the school is famous for possessing a famous "South Paw Killer" cleanup in their team. Sawamura was the starting pitcher and he pitched 4 scoreless innings while struck out 4. On top of the 5th, after Toujou and Higasa got on base and at 1 out, Sawamura was up to bat. Feinting a bunt squeeze with Toujou on 3rd, Sawamura then takes a hard swing on the first pitch and despite being jammed, he yanked the ball to the left line. The rolling ball died off before touching the left line, making it fair for Toujou to home-in safely and Sawamura records his first RBI in high school[22]. Bottom of the 7th, Sawamura faces the biggest challenge of the match after giving up a hit and a walk. With runners on bases, he faces the Cleanup batter Koyasu. The batter's hit was caught by Shirasu on right field but the runner was able to tag-in to score and Sawamura ceded a run. Still with runner on 3rd, and 2-0 down in the count, Sawamura regrouped, took the batter to full count and closed the inning with a powerful inside fastball that jammed the batter and retired him at 1st. He was then switched out with Kawakami, who closed the game. Miyuki compliments Sawamura, saying that it was thrilling to catch for him but ironically, Sawamura thought it was sarcasm from the captain.

Vs. Seihou High

Seidou vs seihou 01
Sawamura establishes a strong start

Sawamura was given the responsibility of starting and lead the non-regular members in the match vs. Seihou High, a Koshien powerhouse from Aichi Pref. The match turned out to be a tightly contested pitcher duel between Sawamura and Seihou's Ace, Akashi with both pitchers going all out from the beginning, creating a stalemate game. Pairing up with Sawamura was Okumura, whose game calling was to place emphasis on Sawamura's fastball going against Seihou's lineup. By the 4th inning, Seihou's batters made adjustments to their batting mechanics and stopped using a leg kick to counter Sawamura's moving fastballs and deceptive pitching delivery. Sawamura retired the lead-off batter Ichinose for 1 out. Sawamura faces Akashi next and jams him with a fastball inside; however, the batter brought Sawamura's pitch to center field for a Single. Sawamura walked the next batter creating the first crisis Seidou faced in the match. Okumura wants to use Sawamura's No. 7 to get out of trouble but Sawamura shakes off his sign, reminding Okumura to stick to the plan of preserving No. 7 and No. 11 for the later half of the game. They settled for an inside 2-seamer and Sawamura forced a grounder for a Double Play to close out the inning.[23] Sawamura is seen sweating rather excessively and Kawakami wonders if it was because he has been going all out since the beginning. In the 6th inning, Sawamura's fatigue catches up to him as his pitch control started to unravel. A mislocated fastball allows Ichinose to hit a Double. Sawamura then walked Akashi on base; in addition, Okumura dropped the final pitch on the ground, allowing Ichinose to steal to 3rd putting runner in scoring position for the 2nd time in the match. At 1 out, runner on 1st and 3rd, Sawamura overwhelms the 5th batter with his fastball resulting in a blooper straight to Asou's location. 3rd base runner attempted to score but was prevented by Asou's excellent throw, retiring him at home plate. In the bottom inning, Masashi's single HR punches a hole in the stalemate and the 3rd years' consecutive hits make it a 2-0 lead for Seidou.

Seidou vs seihou 05
Sawamura gets out of trouble with his fastball

On top of the 7th inning, Sawamura struggles to control his Numbers and ended up walking a runner after getting 1 out. The next batter targets the 1st pitch and put runner in scoring position again at 1st and 3rd. The next batter's RBI Single reduces Seidou's lead to 2-1. Falling back to his best weapon, the fastball, Sawamura retires the next batter with 1 pitch and proceeded to strike out the following batter in 4 pitches, averting yet another crisis.[24] Kataoka wanted to sub Sawamura in the next inning but Sawamura expresses his desire to continue pitching. Kataoka allows Sawamura to continue under 1 condition that if he were to let any runner get on base, he would be subbed out and Sawamura complied. Seidou's regular players are switched in as pinch hitters and their efforts earned Seidou another run. In the 8th inning, Sawamura presumably retired Ichinose and faces Akashi for the final time. The duel lasted 11 pitches and Akashi ended up hitting Sawamura's pitch to outfield. Sawamura was then subbed out along with Okumura. Kawakami and Yui battery comes in to relief and despite ceding 1 run, they closed out the game for a win.

The team reports Sawamura's performance to Miyuki in the evening, complimenting him for a fine game. Sawamura however was disappointed with himself that he was tired after only 115 pitches and was subbed out in the 8th inning.

Vs. Kokonoe High and becoming the Ace

Seidou was scheduled to play 4 practice matches after the Summer Training Camp in which Sawamura was slotted to start the game against Kokonoe, a powerhouse from Kanagawa. Sawamura was gearing up to pitch a complete game on his own, understanding the importance of being handed the starting role for the toughest practice game of the bunch. He suggested Miyuki to call for the Numbers inside the zone early so he can contain his pitch count in the first half of the game which should enable him to pitch a complete game. However, Miyuki says instead of being greedy, he suggests Sawamura should maintain the usual mindset and focus on the batter in front of him, to which Sawamura agreed. Sawamura finished the game pitching 8 innings with 2 lost runs and 7 hits in a 4 - 2 victory against Kokonoe.[25] During the weekday following the training camp, the coaches discuss who should be entrusted with the Ace number and despite recognizing Sawamura's stellar and consistent performances, Ochiai suggests Furuya should be entrusted with the Ace number instead as he believes stripping Furuya off his former title may prevent his future growth meanwhile arguing that Sawamura is a man who can grow under extreme pressure. Kataoka however, shut down Ochiai's suggestion stating that Sawamura has been the person pulling Seidou's team while Furuya was out of shape which the whole team should recognize. He also adds that to promote further growth from both of them, switching their status is important which is why he decided to entrust Sawamura with the Ace number instead for this Summer.[6]

Sawamura Furuya jersey
Sawamura, Ace of Seidou in Summer

On July 5th, the Opening Ceremony for the Summer Regional Tournament of Tokyo Prefecture is held. Various schools notice the Seidou team as they walk by. They started talking about how Seidou have been winning a lot of their practice matches and how strong they are looking. As the crowd notices Furuya and wonders how he would be the center of attention of the Tournament, they were surprised to realize that on his back was jersey No. 11; meanwhile Sawamura, who was walking right by him, has Seidou's jersey No. 1.[6]

Summer Regional Tournament

Third Round

Right at the start Yura's 1st batter pulls a safety bunt, but Sawamura gets the ball (before Kanemaru) and throws to 1st; but its' a wild throw and the runner gets on base. Seemingly affected by this fielding error Sawamura gives up a walk next. The third batter makes a slug bunt, despite being jammed which enables Yura to score the first run. Seidou gets out of the 1st inning with two lost runs. The first inning ends with 2 runs for Yura and 1 run for Seidou. Coach Kataoka explains that this is the result of the opponent going all out. They should switch gears and move on. He tells Sawamura that he is counting on him.

So on top of the 2nd inning Sawamura stands on the pitching mound with the determination to live up to the expectations including those of his teammates on the bench. He gets through the 2nd inning without losing any runs. However, he's still grinding and doesn't seem to have hit his stride yet. In the bottom of the inning, after Masashi and Kanemaru didn't get on base, Sawamura gets riled up for his at bat and - although he makes an unnecessarily dangerous base run whilst sliding to first - also gets retired. At the top of the 4th inning after throwing 4 balls Sawamura gets switched. Kawakami takes over and tells him that his feelings reached everyone and asks him if he can let them handle the rest. Sawamura then "charges" the ball - something Kawakami did for him during their match agains Yakushi - and handles it to Kawakami with the words: "I've charged everything into it." In the dugout Kataoka explains that he didn't want to give their opponents anymore openings to exploit. So he tells Sawamura to let the team handle the rest. After a short banter with Furuya, Sawamura cheers loudly from the dugout, delaying cool down to watch the rest of the inning.

Fifth round

At the start of the first inning Miyuki tells Sawamura to be himself and pitch like usual. He notices that Sawamura is still a little tense but his pitches are looking sharper than they did in the previous round; although they are floating a bit high. The umpire seems to be especially strict on high pitches, so Miyuki is making adjustments on the pitch calling and Sawamura finds his rhythm and he gets 3 ups 3 downs. Sawamura closes out the top of the 2nd inning cleanly with 3 ups and 3 downs. Urabe was batting 5th and was retired by Sawamura along with the other cleanups. By the top of the 4th, Sawamura gives up the first hit of the game and the runner gets advanced into scoring position. Miyuki thinks that based on the condition of the game, it should be fine to give up 2-3 runs but Sawamura is determined to prevent their opponent from scoring just a single run, although he starts to feel the pressure of Norikane's batters since it's the 2nd go around. They start to connect with his pitches but Sawamura gets out of the jam without ceding a run.

Bottom of the 4th,. Sawamura manages to send Kanemaru and Yui home, due to a Squezze play. After scoring 5 runs in the 4th inning Seidou makes substitutions to almost all of their positions beside the mid-field positions. Sawamura then puts Seidou in the quarter finals by closing out the game on the top of the 5th inning.

Semifinals

Seidou begins defense with Sawamura as the starting pitcher. With Nori out it's on him and Furuya to pitch this game. Ichidai's lead-off man, Chimaru, bats first. For the first picth, Miyuki asks for number 9- the revised splitter. Chimaru hits the first pitch with a grounder to third caught by Kanemru and easily threw to Maezono at first for the first out. The second batter, Mori swings and miss for the first pitch and it's a strike. A cutter thrown for the second pitch and it's fouled. With the batter cornered, Sawamura throws another revised splitter for the third pitch and it's a grounder to Kominato for the second out. Sawamura throws a changeup for the first pitch and Miyagawa, the third batter, lets it pass and it counts as a strike. Second pitch hits a grounder to first and it's three outs with only 6 pitches thrown.

On top of the 2nd inning, Ichidai´s fourth batter, Hoshida, leads of. After getting a strike with the splitter, the Seido battery throw a change up for the strike out. Despite his timing being off, Hoshida bats with one hand, resulting in a hit to deep cf. With no outs and runners on second, Ichidai´s fifth batter, Sasaki, bunts at the first pitch, resulting in runner on third with one out. Up next is Ichidai´s captain, Adachi. The Seido infield executes a defensive shift, drawing in closer to prevent a squeeze play. With two strikes, the Seido battery decide to bring out their fastball for the first time. Despite jamming the batter, the ball flies above the drawn in fielders. At the last second Kuramochi catches the ball near the outfield, resulting in two outs and runner on third. Sawamura jams the next batter, getting out of the pinch.

Top of the 3rd, Seidou is facing Ichidai's ace, Amahisa, who gives up two strikes wanting to hit the new pitch, number 9. But, true to their style, they strike out Amahisa with the new pitch, much to his dismay. Then comes their ninth batter, Miyamoto but Sawamura quickly strikes him out while making his beating his fastest record with a 140 km pitch. Back to the top of the line up with Chimaru who becomes the third out by failing to hit an outside corner, changeup, and strikes out on an inside corner. Kanemaru, 8-hole, with the coach's words ringing through his head cleanly hits Ichidai's pitcher's curve ball down to the left. Then comes Sawamura taking his bunting stance and after fouling the first out he manages to stop it's momentum and make it roll.

Top of the 4th, the second hole of Ichidai, Mori is quickly cornered with a 1-2 count, pops the ball which is then caught by Haruichi. Back to Miyagama, the Seidou battery brings back the count to 1-2 yet again however the fourth pitch is hit and a fielding error by Seidou's first baseman Miyagama reaches second. Agaisn't Sankou's main cannon, Hoshida, the battery manages to foul him with an inside pitch and gives him a strike with a perfectly caught low outside ball from Miyuki. Sawamura strikes Hoshida with a breaking ball to the outside corner sharing with us a bit of his thoughts on what type of ace he aims to be. Fourth to bat is Sasaki hits the outside pitch bringing home Ichida Sankou marking the first point of the game. Fifth batter is Adachi hits a grounder which is caught by Haruichi and gets him out. Sawamura probably feeling a bit pressured and starts off with 3-1 but manages to get Takami with a grounder. Amahisa and Miyamoto are also taken out by grounders to second base.

Bottom of the 5th, Seidou's righties outright ignore the outside slider and instead target the inside corner. With one out an a runner on base the inning ends with Ichidai getting Kanemaru and Sawamura out one after the other and Ichidai's pitcher reveling in the energy on the field.

Determined not to get anymore runs Sawamura strikes out the 1st and 2nd hole in the 6th Inning however Miyagawa sends a ball way back into center field allowing the main cannon to step foot onto the plate once again. With two outs and a runner on first Hoshida manages to hit a grounder but true to skill Haruichi is there to get him out.

In the 7th inning with 2 outs and no runners, putting his feelings of not wanting to see his sempais go Sawaura strikes out the third batter with a pitch on the outside corner keeping up one of the best performances of him we'd seen all summer. Bottom on the seventh, Sawamura's energy making the rest of the team wanting to answer in kind the batters step up to the plate with strengthened resolve.

In the 8th inning Seidou's mood is brought back out by their resident loud mouth and ace and Kawakami showing his support by shadow pitching in the bullpen. Sawamura fueled by Nori enters the 'mode' for the first time in this tournament to Miyuki's greatest pleasure and strikes out Ichidai's ace showing off his new back-door pitch. Miyamoto and Chimaru step onto and then off the plate after being struck out by multiple Seidou soul infused balls by Sawamura. Bottom on the 8th, we've got a little comment from Amahisa on the heat wich is nothing to laugh at especially since the glares coming from Seidou's dug out make it make it feel like it's a few degrees hotter. After striking out Sawamura, Kuramochi is up and after a few balls and fouls he hits center field getting to first base.

In the 9th inning Sawamura energetically entering the field as always and steps onto the mound entrusted with pitching this game till the end. Ichidai however like any team who plays to win will not let up. Catching the ball flying back towards him Sawamura gets one out bringing Miyagawa to bat. Getting riled up from the battle of spirit going on Sawamura pitches a dead ball walking Miyagawa to first base. Hoshida come to the plate as his ace steps up to the bullpen wanting to go up to the mound one last time, the bitterness of that last point weighing heavy. Having taken a timeout Sawamura pitches a ball that turns into a foul, a strike and finally gets hit. The keystone combo has their pitcher's back once more with Kuramochi sending the ball to Haruichi who sends it to first base getting the teams third out and closing the inning.

Seidou advances to the Finals, while Ichichai's summer comes to a close.

Relationships

Miyuki Kazuya

Miyuki.eijun.battery
Miyuki calling Eijun Partner

Sawamura witnesses Miyuki's clever game calling firsthand when he visits to watch Seidou's practice and is overwhelmed, secretly wishing to play baseball with someone as incredible as Miyuki in the future. But because of Miyuki's nasty personality and never ending teasing, Sawamura never shows him the same respect as the other senpais, instead treating him as someone of his own age. Despite how hard Miyuki may be to deal with, Sawamura highly respects him and often does as he is told by Miyuki (despite resisting). The only time in which he shakes off Miyuki's sign is in their match against Nanamori Gakuen. [26]

Miyuki is good at exploiting Sawamura's potential, giving out aggressive calls that draw out the pitcher's instinct and fighting spirit; on the other hand, Sawamura is able to fearlessly respond to such calls and throw pitches that exceed expectations. This shows the battery has complete trust in one another. In the Final of the Fall Tournament, the battery pulled off one of their greatest achievements so far. They struck out Todoroki Raichi and Sanada Shunpei back to back.

During the off-season, with Miyuki's help, Sawamura developed his own repertoire of pitches, the Numbers. In his 2nd year, Sawamura is looking to learn more about game calling to have a better understanding of Miyuki's call in order to improve himself. Other 1st string pitchers and catchers also took interest in this and gather altogether at Miyuki's room, as such Miyuki has been holding a "cram school" in the evening to pass down his expertise and experiences not only for Sawamura but other other pitchers and catchers as well.[27]

Takigawa Chris Yuu

Chris and Sawamura had an unpleasant first encounter when Sawamura was left under Chris's care, both not being particularly fond of each other. Sawamura believed to be Chris uncommitted to the team and unhelpful to him, while Chris only saw Eijun as an immature and annoying underclassman. This eventually changed after Sawamura found out that Chris was leaving practice early not because he had given up, but for rehab due to an injury. He confronted Chris and apologized, asking for another chance. They started working together to slowly polish Sawamura's skills. Chris was the one who made Sawamura think about his weapon – his moving ball – and told him to polish it. He was surprised when Sawamura achieved this within one week with the help of Coach Kataoka. He then ordered Sawamura to pay more attention to his grips and how they influence the pitch.

Sawamura calls Chris "master" because of the many things he learned from him, but it wasn't only Sawamura who gained something from this match-up. Chris too became affected by Sawamura's optimism and passion and started to regain his former mentality during in the short time they formed a battery. Chris has a high opinion of Sawamura, both as a teammate and as a pitcher. When he found out that Sawamura was suffering from the yips, he was sure that Sawamura would get over it and become stronger from it. Chris then taught him how to pitch low outside, telling him that this was the pitch he always wanted him to learn. He is later seen watching the quarterfinals of the fall tournament, and he smiles when he sees Sawamura's outstanding pitching.

Kuramochi Youichi

Kuramochi, next to Miyuki, is the person who always teases Sawamura. Kuramochi often practices his wrestling moves on him, and because of Sawamura's flexible body Kuramochi does not have to worry about hurting him much. It has become a habit that whenever Sawamura does well on the mound, Kuramochi kicks him to display his appreciation. Despite his outer attitude towards Sawamura, he has displayed at more concerned side to him, such as when Sawamura had the yips.

The two have a kind of big-brother little-brother kind of relationship. During Eijun's running punishment for being tardy on his first day, Kuramochi helped him understand that he's not the only one suffering. He also provided Eijun with some important insights on Chris's early training methods to strengthen his core prior to pitching training. At times, he fills in as Sawamura's grandfather Eitoku, becoming Eijun's on-campus reality check when it comes to helping him put his feelings in perspective.

Furuya Satoru

Furuya is Sawamura's rival within Seidou. The two often fight for the mound and who Miyuki will catch for, much to the catcher's distaste. They have the habit of checking each other's faults and even openly commenting on it. With regards to performance, they recognize each other's abilities, though they both rarely admit it. Furuya and Sawamura both desire each other's qualities -- Furuya wants to raise the team's morale while on the mound, while Sawamura wants to be trusted and acknowledged by his teammates. Despite their differences, the two are important pitchers of the team who constantly challenge each other's abilities. As the story progresses, they become friendlier with each other and even exchange advice on how to throw breaking balls. Following Seidou's win over Yakushi High in the Fall, Sawamura openly challenged Furuya for the ace title, and the latter accepted it.

Kominato Haruichi

Haruichi is Sawamura's close friend. Third member of the Ichinen Trio, Haruichi keeps Sawamura's manners and words in check. After Miyuki, Haruichi was the next person in the team to recognize Sawamura's abilities. From nearly the first day they met, Sawamura called him "Harucchi," a sign of him being familiar and comfortable around him. During the summer tournament, Sawamura would always ask Haruichi to catch for him to warm up. Despite Sawamura's endless antics, Haruichi has full respect towards him, especially for his boundless optimism and perseverance.

In Act II, after Sawamura's repeated pestering about Haruichi's new haircut, Haruichi started acting colder towards him and would usually ignore him except when they were on the field together. Luckily, their relationship was repaired and they are back to being friends again.

Kanemaru Shinji

Kanemaru is Sawamura's classmate who at first refused to acknowledge him, believing Sawamura was all talk. Since Kanemaru was Chris's roommate, he was often asked by the third year to take care of Sawamura. He helps Sawamura with his classwork (because the latter needs constant cramming in order to pass his exams) and often stands in the batter's box when Sawamura practices pitching. Due to this practice, Kanemaru isn't scared of getting hit by wild pitches anymore. Although it appears that the two don't get along, Kanemaru admires Sawamura for his tenacity. When Sawamura had the yips, Kanemaru was the first one to ask Chris to help Sawamura, implying he was worried about him. On the field, Kanemaru surprisingly has a nickname for Sawamura whenever he's doing well - "Wamura."

Yoshikawa Haruno

At first, Haruno, thought that she was only a nuisance to others, namely the other managers. But when she witnesses a quarrel between Sawamura and a teacher during class, Haruno is inspired by him. Because even though he got laughed at, he stated his goal confidently in front of everyone. She says that she really likes people who are as "stupid" as him. She also reveals that there's one thing she has always wanted to do: to support the players who are working their hardest to reach their goal. She wishes Sawamura good luck on becoming the ace and says that she is cheering for him.

Wakana Aotsuki

Eijun.wakana
Eijun and Wakana at the shrine.

Wakana is Sawamura's childhood friend who cares deeply about him. She is often mistaken (usually by Kuramochi) to be Sawamura's girlfriend, but Sawamura insists they are just childhood friends. However, she has been shown to have feelings for him after he left for Seidou. Later on, Wakana confesses that she wanted to watch Sawamura on his great development as a pitcher more closely. [28] She often comes to watch his decisive games (together with their friends or with Sawamura's father and grandfather).

Skills

A southpaw pitcher with unique timing.
Umemiya about Sawamura's pitching style.

Sawamura's strengths are his infallible spirit, bunting, infield defense, and his idiosyncratic pitches. His weaknesses at the beginning were batting, outfield defense, and his pitching control. Since his 2nd year, Sawamura has considerably improved the speed of his pitch, his control and can connect with the ball now – if he does it from the bunting stance. [29]

Batting

Perhaps Sawamura's most noticable weakness. He was very bad at batting and was almost hit-less during the first year of his high school career. The reason Sawamura's batting is so poor is because instead of trying to watch the ball closely and decide to swing or not, he would always swing at every pitch and for the majority of the time, missing spectacularly. Since the Winter training camp, Sawamura started to make contact with the ball while using the bunting stance and bragged about overcoming his weakness.[30] However, he still misses a lot so naturally his peers were doubtful. After the loss to Ichidaisan High in Spring, Sawamura is determined to "complete himself" and said that he would practice swinging until his hands have blisters.[31]

Bunting

Dubbed as the "Bunting Master" by his teammates, Sawamura is a gifted bunter, being able to effortlessly bunt any pitch, even that with a speed of 150 km/h. Kawakami has said that it's probably because he's not afraid of the pitch that he's so good at it. [32] Sawamura however, is almost always seen scowling after bunting because he wishes to hit instead but immediately jumps at the opportunity to lecture and teach his teammates a more perfect technique whenever they attempt to bunt.

Defense

When he first joined Seidou, Sawamura's defensive skills were poor due to the facts that he did not play in any position beside pitcher in his middle school and that his knowledge about baseball were very limited. Sawamura could not even catch a fly ball to outfield that landed near his position properly and would always commit errors on defense. In addition, his throws to bases were erratic since his pitch would break close to the target and would even end up hitting the runner instead. Thanks to Chris' guidance, Sawamura learned the pick-off techniques and how to watch out for runners when pitching. Sawamura has a habit of throwing to check the runner rather excessively before he pitches whenever he sees the lead of the runner is too big. After he familiarizes himself with the defensive responsibilities and techniques, Sawamura has been gradually solidifying his defensive skills throughout the course of his 1st year. In his 2nd year, Sawamura is capable of varying his runner pick-off patterns and increasing the pace of his slide-step which improves his synergy with Miyuki, allowing the later to pick-off a stealing runner easier.[33]

Pitching

To pitch a ball that moves before reaching the bat is a natural talent.
— Masumoto evaluates Sawamura's pitch. [34]

Sawamura specializes in throwing idiosyncratic pitches or commonly known to Western fans as "breaking fastball pitches". Originally, Sawamura has extremely erratic throwing motions. His body is naturally flexible with supple joints, allowing him to immediately change the pitch's direction. Due to having played baseball for so long without proper instruction, Sawamura did not know about pitching grips and often grips the ball very randomly and coupled with his flexible hand result in pitches that change direction right before the batter hits the ball. However, this makes catching the ball difficult, as most catchers cannot predict where the ball will end up as well as making a challenge for Sawamura himself to properly control his pitches.

Sawamura hidden arm
Sawamura's hidden arm from a batter's point of view

After enrolling at Seidou, he develops a new pitching form with the help of coach Kataoka and Chris. By being conscious of his right hand creating a wall, his body becomes closed, thus concealing the ball's trajectory, and increasing his speed. This form causes his throwing arm to come out much later and causes the ball to move more. He soon learns to point his leading foot towards home-base improving his form. After combining his original form of raising his knee high and his new wall form, he was finally able to complete his new style. [35] Sawamura's pitching form makes it difficult for batters to correctly time their swing while it also makes his pitch seem deceptively faster than it actually is. His crossfire pitches (from left batter's box pitching into a right hander's low inside corner) also look more deceptive and effective.

Ochiai originally thought that - because each pitcher is differently skilled with their hand and fingers - Sawamura may be limited to only throw a changeup, an off-pace pitch, instead of conventional breaking pitches. This turned out to be incorrect however, perhaps due to Ochiai thinking that Sawamura is unable to naturally produce breaking pitches as Sawamura's pitches stopped breaking irregularly during the time he had the yips where he relies more heavily on his 4-seam fastball. Learning the changeup actually helped unseal Sawamura's breaking pitch potential. [36] This prompts Ochiai to have to re-evaluate Sawamura's value as a pitcher. [37] By his 2nd year, Sawamura worked with Miyuki throughout Spring break to "thoroughly" try out numerous grips. After eliminating those that were unstable, they have come up with the Numbers which consist of at least 11 types of different pitches.

Since the start of his 2nd year Sawamura's control over his breaking fastballs has shown considerable improvements as Sawamura is now capable of making his pitches break as he desire and precisely locate his pitches to where Miyuki wants it. [38][39] This is further affirmed by Sawamura being able to consistently hit the same location of Okumura's mitt when the two do warm up before practice. [40] Asada notes that Sawamura is a pitcher who can throw accurately to the chest every time regardless of how far away he is. [40] Sawamura's accurate control allows him to get strike on the corners more reliably compared to his first year and, when coupled with the rich variety of pitches he possesses, gives batters a difficult time predicting what type of pitch he may throw next.

4-seam Fastball

Due to the lack of proper baseball knowledge earlier in his career, Sawamura did not know about pitching grips and used to grip the ball randomly producing erratic fastball pitches. Also due the very same reason, Sawamura found it difficult to channel his power to the pitch. However, after learning the proper pitching grip for the 4-seam fastball, Sawamura's fastball stabilized and stopped breaking irregularly.

After learning the changeup grips and understanding how different grips can effect the speed of a pitch, Sawamura fastball's velocity began to improve as he gained more feels on his fingertips and that he could transfer the power to the pitch much better. [41] This results in one of Sawamura's iconic pitch, a high speed fastball that appears to accelerate as it comes close to the plate. This pitch doesn't break irregularly while also appears to accelerate due to the lack of height drop and deceleration thanks to the high amount of spin Sawamura put on the ball. Coupled with his late release form, Sawamura's fastball appears faster to the batter. Thus, it can make batters swing late and comfortably strikes them out despite its average velocity. Sawamura's fastball velocity has been recorded at 135 km/h.[38] During the training camp before the Summer Tournament, Sawamura's velocity was measured to be 138 km/h. Miyuki thinks Sawamura's velocity may get over the 140 km/h mark during the course of the Summer Tournament[42] and Sawamura reached the 140 km/h mark in the SF game against Ichidaisan High.[43]

Cutter

A fastball that breaks into the chest of a right-handed batter.
— The Cutter described by Miyuki. [38]

The cutter is the first breaking fastball that Sawamura properly learned. Sawamura unknowingly threw a cutter to strike out Sensen's Ace, Maki. [44] Before the Final match with Inashiro, Sawamura became consciously aware his pitch lacks power, thus he has to learn a breaking pitch to limit outfield hits. Sawamura suggests this idea to Miyuki and Chris who immediately ignore him only to come back later to ask what type of pitch Sawamura's looking to learn, which he suggests the cutter. [45] Miyuki then reveals that the crossfire Sawamura has thrown in the previous match was in fact a cutter and asks Azuma to help them practice the new pitch.[46]

Sawamura's cutter has a sharp breaking motion when coming close to the plate. Since Sawamura is a left-handed pitcher, his Cutter breaks into the body of a right-handed batter, frequently able to induce jams and ground balls. This gives Sawamura a notable advantage against right-handed batters, which is the more common type of player in baseball compared to left-handers. The cutter has became one of the key pitches within Sawamura's repertoire as Sawamura develops his reputation as a gutsy pitcher that fearlessly targets the inside part of the zone.

Revised Cutter

Sawamura has developed his cutter into what is referred to as the "Revised Cutter" by his 2nd year. [47] This pitch is thrown with an alternated cutter's grip and the Cross-step technique which Sawamura used to throw the cutter. The "Revised Cutter" has as much speed as his straight fastball while also breaks sharply as it comes near the plate, as a result, the pitch appears like it suddenly vanishes from the batter's eyes.[48][49]

2-seam Fastball

A sinking moving fastball thrown with a 2-seam grip or by grapping the ball with 5 fingers.
Miyuki's description of Sawamura's 2-seamer. [38]

Sawamura tried out the 2-seam fastball within the Fall Tournament and displayed it to the coaches and his team mates before the match against Yakushi. [50] However, his peers' feedback wasn't encouraging, pointing out that the pitch's break was too subtle and that it was too similar to Sawamura's normal fastball; hence, the pitch required more refinements. As a result, the 2-seam fastball was not used in the Final match against Yakushi.

After honing his pitches with Miyuki throughout the off-season, Sawamura's 2-seam fastball now has a visibly similar breaking movement to that of a shuuto, as noted by Miyuki, and is now a part of Sawamura's arsenal. Sawamura's 2-seam fastball breaks down and away from right-handed batters as it comes close to the plate.

Changeup

A conventional circle changeup taught to Sawamura by coach Ochiai before the match against Ouya. [37] Known to most in-universe characters as Sawamura's winning or strike-out pitch. Since Sawamura is a left-handed pitcher, his circle changeup breaks down and away from a right handed batter, making it an effective pitch against right-handed players; however, due to the very same reason, it is a disadvantage when used against a left-handed batter unless Sawamura can precisely nail his control. [51]

Sawamura's pitching motion of this pitch was noted by Sanada to have "the exactly same arm motion as his fastball"[51] making it very effective when used in combination with his high speed fastball. When coupled with Miyuki's smart game calling, Sawamura was able to strike out notable batters including Todoroki Raichi and Sanada Shunpei through the use of the Changeup - Fastball Combination. [51]

Palmball

Sawamura also possesses another type of changeup known as the Palmball, while Miyuki refers to this pitch as Sawamura's "high speed changeup". [41] His Palmball is noted to be faster than his circle changeup; however, it has much sharper breaking motion than the later counterpart and appears to be "very similar to his original idiosyncratic pitch" in the beginning of the series. [37]

Slider

Sawamura tested out the breaking pitches, the Slider and the Curveball during the Winter off-season; however, Miyuki note that because when he pitches the breaking pitches, his elbow drops a bit as he's trying too hard to make the ball bends. This may adversely affect his straight fastball if he continues to hone the pitch so he sealed it away to avoid that risk ever since until Sawamura demonstrated it to Okumura before the Semi Final of the Tokyo Prefecture Summer Tournament. Sawamura's Slider has a big break on it but he admitted he cannot control the pitch yet.[52]

Splitter

Originally unveiled in the practice game against Hakuryu, Sawamura's Splitter is a supplementary off-pace pitch for his Changeup and it's purpose is to get the batter to chase it as the Splitter is more difficult to differentiate from a fastball than a changeup due to the similar kind of spin it has to a straight fastball. Sawamura's Splitter has been relatively unstable, being on and off at times and rarely sees much usage within a game compare to the remaining pitches. However, before the SF match with Ichidaisan, Sawamura was trying to come up with a way to force the very disciplined Sankou's lineup to swing for the pitches they wouldn't want to and beat them in the zone. Sawamura tested out a new revised Splitter grip and by having one finger on the seam and one off the seam instead of staying away from the seams completely like a normal Splitter grip, he was able to get behind the ball more and transfer more force into it, giving it more velocity and the pithch also has both the sinking action of a Splitter as well has a tailing action of a 2-seamer/sinker and is akin to a hybrid pitch between the two.[53] Throwing up in the zone, he can force grounders while throwing it low will produce swing and misses and it has became a much more solid pitch for Sawamura.

Numbers

The Numbers are various grips that Sawamura and Miyuki have tested. The grips with stable pitching became official numbers. The total amount of the Numbers are unknown, but there are at least 11. Sawamura said during the Spring Tournament that he can pitch up to No. 5 comfortably but his control on pitch No. 7 and beyond is still unstable. [54]

Numbers
Number Type of Pitch
01 Cutter
02 Two-seam fastball
03 unknown
04 Four-seam fastball
05 Circle-changeup
06 unknown
07 Revised Cutter
08 unknown
09 Revised Splitter
10 unknown
11 Splitter

Unknown Number Position:

  • Vulcan-grip changeup
  • Palmball

Pitcher's Data

Pitcher's data

Note that this data is based on the official guidebook!
You are free to write about the characters improvements in the Skills section above!

Speed
 
2/5
Control
 
3/5
Stamina
 
4/5
Cutter
 
4/5
Changeup
 
3/5

Player Statistics

Player Statistics

Note that this data is based on the official guidebook!
You are free to write about the characters improvements in the Skills section above!

Defense
 
2/5
Shoulder
 
4/5
Running
 
3/5
Physical Strength
 
4/5
Mental Strength
 
4/5
Batting
 
2/5
Contact
 
2/5
Power
 
2/5

Trivia

  • Sawamura's rank is 2nd for both the Primary Official Poll and the Final Official Poll. He trails behind Miyuki in first place by only 112 votes. [55]
  • Sawamura takes great interests in Sanada Shunpei's pitches as he learned both the Cutter and the 2-seamer after seeing Sanada throw them. His teammates teased him at one point, saying that Sanada is like the upgraded version of Sawamura due to the similarities in their pitching style.
  • He has pitched 3 full games. [56][7]
  • Favorite food: Anything except natto [57]
  • Favorite subject: Sports [57]
  • The person he respects: His grandfather - Sawamura Eitoku [57]
  • Hobbies/Special Skill: Catching beetles, watching sumo, and fishing [57]
  • Because Sawamura often reads old books like "The Book of Five Rings", he tends to call his superiors old Japanese military ranks and switch his speech pattern to flowery old language from time to time. He calls Coach Kataoka "shogun" (which means "general") and Coach Ochiai "gunsou" (which means "sergeant"). [58]
  • As of the Spring Tournament of his second year, Sawamura's fastballs now reach a speed of 135 km/hr. [38]
  • Rankings from the official guidebook: [57]
    • Physical Ability: Ranks fifth in stamina - His time for 10 km is 38 min 01.98 seconds.
    • Batting: He is the best "bunter" in the series.
    • Pitching: Ranks fourth when it comes to having the best 'guts' on the mound.
  • According to Terajima's twitter:
  • As of the practice game against Hakuryu High School, Sawamura, on average, takes 1.29 seconds to complete his pitching delivery and for the pitch to reach the plate.[59] His slide-step timing however, is quicker and it only takes 1.18 seconds for Sawamura's pitch to reach Miyuki and for Miyuki to pick-off to reach 2nd base.[33]
  • He has the habit of pulling a catcher in the bullpen to help him warm up, but he usually get distracted by the game in the field; Miyauchi gets irritated by this while Ono leaves him behind and goes back to the dugout.
  • Miyauchi hates it when Sawamura is too loud in the bullpen

Name Etymology

  • Sawamura (沢村) - Swamp Village
  • Eijun (栄純) - Prospering Purity


Quotes

  • "I will be fine. Because if you have a ball and a bat, you can play baseball." - to his middle school coach [60]
  • "To abuse the friends who take the time to practice with you? Hell, even if the entire world thinks it's okay, I'll never accept it." - to Azuma [60]
  • "You can't play baseball by yourself! Has this school that's known for baseball forgotten the importance of that?" - to Azuma [60]
  • "No bitching if you get hit." - to Azuma [60]
  • "I'm here to become the ace!" - to Kataoka [61]
  • "I won't lose to the substitute treatment!" [62]
  • "I told you, didn't I? That baseball is not that easy!" - to Furuya [63]
  • "Don't get so damn flustered over a one point difference! If you have the ace number on your back, then take that one out and get back to the dugout!" - to Furuya [63]
  • "Just now, it really felt like I managed to transfer my power to the ball!" - to Miyuki [64]
  • "I don't know what you are battling with right now, Furuya. But isn't taking down the batter in front of you the sole duty of a pitcher?!" [65]
  • "No matter what kind of situation, I will carry out my duty!" [65]
  • "Both the pitcher and the catcher comes together as one to create a 'work of art.' It's the best kind of pitching." [55]
  • "I want him to acknowledge me. I'm going to make him acknowledge me. I won't waste even one pitch, one second."[66]
  • "There he goes! He won't let you leave even one grain of rice in your bowl, for he is a supervisor from hell." - about Kanemaru
  • "In the first place, you look like a thug and you speak like a thug. Your very existence is scary. And there's no hiding that you're an ex-delinquent, so rooming with you is like living in a cage with a wild animal, you know! Boy, anyone would be scared out of their mind!" - to Kuramochi

  • "If he is able to improve his control, he would become an impressive pitcher." - Osaka Kiryu's coach [67]
  • "If he didn't have the will to advance forward, he wouldn't have raised his head. After all, his own determination is what matters the most." - Kataoka [68]
  • "Right now, you are still only a sprout of a great big eye-catching flower. That flower is small for now, but very strong. What kind of flower will bloom in the future is up to you." - Miyuki [69]
  • "The spice called motivation gives birth to good synergy. With such a kid on the team, the team is bound to get stronger." - Ugai Kazuyoshi [70]
  • "I am always amazed by his growth. If someday at another place I'm able to catch his pitches ..." - Chris[57]
  • "Because he's always surprising us like that, he's standing on the mound." - Kanemaru [71]
  • "His attitude of moving forward is his best weapon." - Chris
  • "He is wasted as a reserve pitcher." - Seto [72]
  • "I was sure to watch over Sawamura's hard work along the way, his positive and proactive personality is something that I can honestly respect, although he can be annoying from time to time; but have I expected him to be able to shoulder the ace number this quickly? His image on the mound today, was exactly that of an ace. - Miyuki [12]
  • "Flawless! Back in the fall, we, too, got our butts kicked because of the devil's own guts that boy has." - Teitou High School's Coach
  • "This guy is a great deal more dangerous than we pegged him to be." - Sasaki Shinsuke
  • "The ability to cleanly pitch to the corners of the zone and calm judgement on the mound in a crisis. I thought he was nothing more than just your run-of-the-mill relief pitcher, but I can't fathom him." - Hakuryuu's coach
  • "His pitches don't even reach 140km/h, no? Yet the little bastard sure throws some really sharp and lively stuff. Add to that a strong will that's written all over his mug, excellent pitch control and the mysterious breaking balls he shows every now and then ... I can't believe they had a pitcher that good hidden in Furuya Satoru's shadow." - Naruta Technical's Coach

Gallery

References

  1. This nickname is a reference to Masahiro Kawai a former player for the Yomuri Giants who was known for his defense and bunting skills
  2. Act II - Chapter 70
  3. Act I - Chapter 25
  4. Act II - Chapter 88
  5. Act II - Chapter 11
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Act II - Chapter 141
  7. 7.0 7.1 Act II - Chapter 75
  8. Act I - Chapter 239
  9. Act II - Chapter 49
  10. Act II - Chapter 50
  11. Act I - Chapter 3
  12. 12.0 12.1 Act II - Chapter 49
  13. Act I - Chapter 9-26
  14. Act I - Chapter 20
  15. Act I - Chapter 27-36
  16. Act I - Chapter 44-53
  17. Yips is the loss of fine motor skills in athletes. In baseball, the yips usually manifests itself as a sudden inability to throw the baseball accurately.
  18. Is the pitcher pretending to pitch, with one or more runners on base, when he has no intention of doing so an umpire may call a balk.
  19. Act II - Chapter 14
  20. Act II - Chapter 29
  21. Act II - Vol. 09
  22. Act II - Chapter 84
  23. Act II - Chapter 123
  24. Act II - Chapter 128
  25. Act II - Chapter 140
  26. Act I - Chapter 263
  27. Act II - Chapter 60
  28. Act I - Chapter 398
  29. Act II - Chapter 21
  30. Act I - Chapter 412.4
  31. Act II - Chapter 50
  32. S1 - Episode 49
  33. 33.0 33.1 Act II - Chapter 70
  34. Act I - Chapter 51
  35. Act I - Chapter 35
  36. Act I - Chapter 299
  37. 37.0 37.1 37.2 Act I - Chapter 300
  38. 38.0 38.1 38.2 38.3 38.4 Act II - Chapter 14
  39. Act II - Chapter 43
  40. 40.0 40.1 Act II - Chapter 34
  41. 41.0 41.1 Act I - Chapter 301
  42. Act II - Chapter 135
  43. Act II - Chapter 230
  44. Act I - Chapter 132
  45. Act I - Chapter 144
  46. Act I - Chapter 145
  47. Act II - Chapter 36
  48. Act II - Chapter 46
  49. Act II - Chapter 63
  50. Act I - Chapter 367
  51. 51.0 51.1 51.2 S2 - Episode 47
  52. Act II - Chapter 219
  53. Act II - Chapter 225
  54. Act II - Chapter 32
  55. 55.0 55.1 Act II - Chapter 51
  56. Nanamori Academy vs. Seidou and Ouya Metropolitan vs. Seidou
  57. 57.0 57.1 57.2 57.3 57.4 57.5 Official Guide Book - Omote
  58. The reason could be that the player, whom he is based on joined the Japanese imperial army which could also explain why he calls his superior "general" etc.
  59. Act II - Chapter 67
  60. 60.0 60.1 60.2 60.3 Act I - Chapter 1
  61. Act I - Chapter 5
  62. Act I - Chapter 247
  63. 63.0 63.1 Act I - Chapter 285
  64. Act I - Chapter 368
  65. 65.0 65.1 Act II - Chapter 42
  66. Act II - Chapter 75
  67. Act I - Chapter 53
  68. Act I - Chapter 221
  69. Act I - Chapter 264
  70. Act I - Chapter 311
  71. After Sawamura overcomes his yips
  72. Act II - Chapter 27

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