I was disappointed when everyone in Team 1 couldn't compete in the previous book, so I was really happy when they came back to finish the game.
This is the only book that Hiroshi strikes Shiro out (and with all straights too!) and I savored it. I loved that part, and then I burst out laughing when I found out why.
The way Kuro found to hit the ball was obvious. I already was wondering why he wouldn't do it that way from a few books before, so instead of being surprised or impressed that he figured it out, I was more like "finally you get it!"