The replacement for Fujinami Jintaro is the third-year Nakano Yuu — the players from Waseda Jitsugyo have also faced him. Although his performance was average in the practice match against Waseda Jitsugyo, in most other teams, he would still be considered a star player.
What no one expected was that this forced pitching change turned into a nightmare that the Osaka Tsubaki players would never forget:
The consecutive comeback experience fueled the morale of Higashi Osaka Daikashiwara greatly. Their offensive wave after wave, even if they couldn't hit the ball out, they would fight the pitcher relentlessly, trying to rip off a piece from him.
Under such fierce batting waves, Nakano Yuu crumbled.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, he gave away the most crucial one run of the game, allowing Higashi Osaka Daikashiwara, who had been almost suffocated in the previous innings, to tie the score.
