All is peaceful and quiet in the SOS Brigade clubroom until Haruhi arrives proclaiming that they have entered the baseball tournament. By the way, the time interval between this episode and the last is quite substantial, where there are new characters that would have been introduced in this interval. There is a new member, Koizumi Itsuki, and Kyon has also accepted Nagato as an alien. Mikuru has also been revealed as not from this timeline (though the audience wouldn’t have known that yet). Kyon also knows that Koizumi is actually an esper.

 

Haruhi then forces the baseball team to let the SOS Brigade practice. Haruhi plays against the baseball team and is (not surprisingly) very good. By the time she decides to call it a day, all the baseball team members are on the verge of collapsing. Kyon asks Nagato to make it rain on the day of the match. Nagato says that if she does, the alteration in the ecosystem would affect the life on earth. These effects would show up from several centuries to ten millennia in the future, so Kyon decides to scrap that idea.

 

On the day of the game, Mikuru’s friend, Tsuruya, is introduced. Haruhi still thinks they will crush the other team, even though Kyon’s 11-year-old sister is playing as well. They then find out that their opponent is a college team who are expected to win. Haruhi has no chance of winning right?

 

Haruhi fares pretty well and is able to get on second base. Mikuru doesn’t even attempt to hit the ball and gets a strike-out. The same thing happens with Nagato. Kyon actually tries to hit it but also gets a strike-out. Then they switch. Haruhi manages to get the first batter out with a solid but straight pitch. The first batter warns the second and he easily manages to hit the ball. The next inning Haruhi’s team gets no runs again. Haruhi then forces Mikuru into a cheerleader uniform, which motivates her next batsman (Kyon’s friend). However, he gets a strike-out as well. Haruhi gets to third base on her first hit. It is Miuru’s turn, and Haruhi tries to give her a sign. Mikuru stands wondering about this and does not even notice that she has been bowled out.

 

Suddenly, closed space has appeared due to Haruhi’s foul mood. They must stop this or the closed space will continue to expand, unleashing monsters into the world. The baseball match has suddenly turned into a battle to save the world. Nagato then ‘enchants’ the bat to hit the ball by itself. Nagato hits a home run with the bat. So does Kyon, Kyon’s sister, Koizumi, Tsuruya and everyone else on the team. So the tides have turned!

 

 Haruhi then changes her pitching position with Kyon. Nagato becomes the backstop. Each time Kyon pitches the ball, Nagato alters its data to make it fall into her glove. Everyone gets bowled out and they win the game. Thankfully for the other team, they forfeit and allow the college team to progress to the next round.

 

The next day, Haruhi barges into the clubroom with two flyers, asking whether the club wanted to play soccer or rugby.