The Hitting Zone

Mahki, who came up next, didn't come up with anything. He popped out to the right fielder to end the inning, yet this time there were no sighs of disappointment since we already had the lead again. The dugout was filled with relief and excitement.

As I was heading in, most of the starters were headed out to their fielding positions. A lot of them patted me on the helmet or the back, but I didn't shy away. It was just in passing and they weren't crowding me so there was nothing to fear.

Noah waited for me by our bags, a giant smile across his face. "That was awesome! I knew you could do it!"

I took my helmet off and put on my cap, grabbing my glove too. "I wish I could run like you though. You scored from first off my double."

We moved to the field, getting ready to get in our own positions. "Hey! Don't try and steal my only talent." He fake pouted.

I tilted my head. "But you have multiple talents: running, sliding, fielding, throwing, and you know so much about baseball." I slowed down as we approached second base. "I wish I could do everything like you."

Noah dropped the fake pout as a new expression took over. He looked to be happy, but embarrassed. He readjusted his baseball hat. "You'll get there. Just follow my lead." He sprinted to the left and I jogged to the right of second base.

I would follow Noah's lead in almost anything. He was easygoing and kind. He was generous with his words to cheer others up. The only reason I would want to be good in other baseball aspects besides hitting, is because Noah's good at them. I want to be as outgoing as he is. He's friendly to almost everyone and will always stick up for any injustice like when Jason got hurt. Granted, I don't like him hurting others but isn't it a good feeling to know someone has your back?

Garret was very effective in the top of the sixth inning, getting Redwood to go three up, three down. Groundout to me. Strikeout swinging. And a groundout to Daniel at third. We ran back to the dugout to hopefully add on a few more insurance runs.

I sat down next to Noah like normal. "Do you think Zeke will tell us tonight which college he wants to visit?"

Noah nodded. "We have to know by tonight. There'll be travel plans, hotel reservations, and an itinerary schedule. I think he's already cutting it close as it is."

"Hmm."

"Mind you, he still has to call the college coach for wherever he wants to visit and try to arrange the last minute official visit. For his visit, he'll have to sit in on a college class, stay in the dorms with a player from the team, hang out and even practice with the team, then there are meetings with coaches, an athletic director, maybe someone in the main office to talk about school itself, and even a tour of the campus. There's just a lot to be done."

I gulped. "Do...uh—will a night's notice be enough to plan all this?"

Noah gave me a look that screamed 'that's a dumb question.' "Of course. Maybe not for a normal recruit. But for someone like Zeke, who is ranked nationally? Plenty of schools wouldn't mind a last minute visit if there's a chance that he might attend their school and give a boost to their baseball program."

I wanted to ask more about what we would be doing as Zeke did his college visit, but our offense ended just as quick as Redwood's. Garret grounded out to the shortstop. Julian hit a catchable fly ball to left field. And Jordan struck out swinging.

As we got ready to take the field for the seventh inning, Zeke shared a private conversation with Garret. Garret frowned, but nodded as if accepting instructions. He got on the mound and threw some practice pitches as we moved to our positions.

Top of the seventh brought up the better part of Redwood's lineup: batters two, three, and four. Garret started with a regular fastball, which the batter turned into a line drive right to Mahki for the first out. The second out came from a pop fly to Tony.

The cleanup batter smacked a double from the outfield, making me a little nervous as the fifth batter stepped up to the plate. He could possibly tie the game with a two-run home run. Garret wasn't scared though. He came right at the batter with a fastball down the middle for a called strike one. And another. On the third pitch, I thought he would have picked to go with his cutter, but instead he stuck to the fastballs down the middle. The batter wasn't fooled and was able to connect, chasing the ball to center field. Mahki tracked the hit to the warning track and jumped up to intercept its trajectory. He landed on his feet, ball in the glove for the third and final out of the game. We won!

Our team started to celebrate. The infielders and bench players rushed Garret on the mound while the other two outfielders sprinted to Mahki. I watched as the three outfielders came on in to join the rest of the team in celebrating.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Noah came to stand beside me as I was watching the team have some fun.

"Just that...the hit could have been a home run." I mumbled, taking another glance back at the outfield fence. "Another five or so feet and it could have been anyone's game for the taking."

Noah grinned. "Yep! Isn't that great?"

I frowned. "Great for who?"

"For us. At least if we were losing like that game against Durham." Noah replied. "In baseball, you almost always have a chance."

Just like in the Atkins family. I have a chance to be somebody new. I have a chance to forget about my unforgivable past. I have a chance to be happy.