The Hitting Zone

All three of them climbed up to join us, not bothered by Noah's demanding tone. They sat in the row below us and faced our way, creating a mini huddle of our own.

"What are you guys talking to each other about?" Noah asked, curious as to why they all came even though he only summoned Kyle.

"Pitching. Coach will definitely pick one of us as the starter." Kyle said.

"He didn't give any hints on Friday?" Noah asked.

Garret sighed. "Practice was canceled, remember? He hasn't even give any hints on the bus either. He just told all the pitchers to warm up properly. He'll announce the bullpen after normal warmups."

"A certain somebody just had to say any pitcher." Dave groaned, sending a glare at Noah. "At least if it was one of us three, I would feel more assured."

Noah scrunched up his nose. Then rubbed it. "Well. It's gotta be one of you, right? Garret had already done his three day rest, and both of you are set in the rotation. Plus, how good can she really be?"

The three juniors went quiet. "Dude. You really don't pay attention to school announcements, do you?"

Noah shrugged. "Jake and I just talk. It's the same thing all the time. Community service hours. Tutoring. Boring stuff."

Kyle smacked Noah's knee. "You dope. They announce sports stuff too like scores, tryouts, and most importantly personal achievements. They have even spoke about us the day after every game. They do the same for every sport. I swear...Mom would be so upset if she knew you two weren't paying attention in class."

I looked away, guilty. I vaguely remember some announcements, especially when the say something about the baseball team. But, that's just embarrassing, to hear someone compliment you to the whole school.

"What does this have to do with the softball team?" Noah asked, exasperated.

"If you just listened to the announcements, you would know that the softball team is undefeated. They haven't lost a game yet. Not even in their preseason tournaments." Garret explained. "Marie is not only their captain, ace pitcher, and cleanup hitter, she's ranked third in our county. Basically a female Zeke, if you will."

"Beating her in pitching stats will be damn near impossible." David sighed.

"She doesn't always pitch the full game though." Kyle said. "If her coach pulls her out after two or three innings and if we can last longer, there's a chance. As for batting stats?" He looked to me. "Jake's will be doubled. So I'm positive we can beat them in that aspect."

A bat connected with a ball, sending a ringing sound around the field. The three juniors turned to look as we watched the softball team's lead off hitter reach safely.

"Please don't tell me that Porterville's softball team is one of the worst." Garret sighed.

"More like our school is one of the best." Dave snorted. He clapped Kyle on the back. "If you're starting, come out strong and try to picture another perfect game."

Kyle shoved his hand away. "I don't need you to tell me that."

The three of them fully turned their bodies to watch the game. In the first inning alone, the girls scored three runs off five hits. No one spoke, but I could feel the depression spreading about. After they switched sides, Marie stood in their pitchers circle and started to warmup. Unlike in PE softball, the pitcher for a real competitive team did the full one and a half rotations to help blast the ball to the catcher. And with such a big ball, it was a lot more intimidating than a baseball pitcher if you ask me.

They're also so much closer. Marie was true to the juniors descriptions, a total beast. She overpowered the first three hitters, getting all three to pop out foul along the first baseline. That should be because they're swinging too late.

"Ahh. Why aren't they swinging all the way through?" Noah complained as they were switching sides.

"It's too fast." Garret sighed.

"What?!" Noah leaned forward. "Is that fast for girls softball? It looks slow from up here."

"A 65mph softball pitch at 40 feet, gives the batter almost the same reaction time as a baseball pitcher throwing a 90mph pitch at you." Garret replied, watching on as the softball team continued their onslaught in the top of the second. "You can't even hit a 90mph pitch. Heck, most of the team might struggle with that."

"No way." Noah's jaw dropped. And mine did too. I knew I wouldn't like facing someone up so close, but it never occurred to me how that could be similar to a fast pitch from someone off a mound.

"Don't worry. I told you guys, she doesn't always pitch the full game." Kyle stated, for once showing some real confidence. He waved his phone at us. "I just looked up their schedule. They have a home game on Wednesday. For Marie to pitch in that game, she's only allowed 50 pitches."

Dave looked to his twin, stunned. "You're so dumb."

"What? That's a good assumption. Marie is their only good pitcher after all. If they want to stay undefeated, they would want to use her for almost every game right?"

Garret smacked his forehead. "Kyle...high school softball doesn't have pitching limits. At all. They aren't like us. Their motion is more natural."

"She could pitch every game without having to worry about rest days." Dave rolled his eyes at his brother's stupidity. "The only thing that could stop her is if she gets tired or hurt. Or they score a ten run lead by the fifth inning. That'll be a mercy rule."

The atmosphere wasn't upbeat at all. Noah was the only one who refused to be put down. "That's fine. We can do it too. We'll also mercy rule Porterville. It'll have to come down to your guys pitching. Kyle, you did a whole game without giving up a run, walk, or hit. You can easily do it again. Garret, you're the ace, so why are you looking down on yourself? Have some pride. Dave,"

"I can do it too." Dave cut him off. "I don't need some pipsqueak to tell me I can beat Marie. This would be a great opportunity to show off." He flexed his bicep.

Noah and Garret laughed, yet Kyle's eyes remained on the field. He watched the game intently, studying every pitch and play.