The second semifinal game of the tournament will begin shortly. The school, Sakurazawa High School, will take on the favorites from the first round, a public school, in the best-of-the-best. The narrator tells us that the school is known as a "college prep" school, but that it's actually a "miracle" that they've made it all the way to the semifinals. They're also known as one of the "most famous college prep" schools in the Tokyo area. One of the teachers tells the narrator that he's just gotten back from school and that practice is over. He tells him that the other teachers have pushed him into joining the club and that he doesn't need to come out of his way to go to practice. He's going to catch one more pitch for sure. The teacher says that the pitch is a nagao--that's the name of the pitch they're going to use in the game--and that he knows the odds are zero, but he'd still like to try it. He says that if the team keeps on like this, it'll remain a pipe dream. One year later, the team finally won their first game. The teachers say that they need to strengthen their defense in order to keep winning more games. They give each player a notebook with a specific piece of paper that they can use to record what they see on the field. They don't throw the paper directly to the player, but instead, they let the paper bounce on purpose