The Hitting Zone

Zeke wasn't surprised to see Willie sitting in front of us. He just sat on the other side of Noah and started to pass out the hotdogs. Noah pulled water bottles out of his bag and passed them out too.

"So who do you think will win, Zeke?" Willie asked.

"Both teams are sending out good pitchers today." Zeke said diplomatically. "It's anyone's game."

"I didn't expect you would care enough to come down and watch." Willie said. "Heard you suffered your first league loss this season on Wednesday to Golden West. Brady wasn't pitching, so what happened?"

Zeke shrugged. "Guess you should have been there."

Willie laughed. "I can't make it to all your games. I cover a wide area. Only big games like this can upend my schedule. Two excellent pitchers in one game. Can't wait to see how each team handles the pressure."

"It's because we didn't have Jake on Wednesday." Noah pointed out to the man. He patted my shoulder. "He was sick and I'll be the first to admit that put a hole in our lineup."

Willie looked my way and I quickly focused on my hotdog. It was an embarrassment that Noah is always complimenting my batting. I'm afraid that I'll let him down like against University Prep. No hits.

"Are you feeling better?" Willie asked, surprising me.

I nodded.

"That's good." He added. "The most important thing to an athlete and to any person really, is their health."

"He's all good. We beat down Trinity yesterday so he's back to normal." Noah told him. "Zeke smacked another home run and Kyle pitched all five innings of the called game. It was fun."

"Oh? I'm glad you guys bounced back. Once a team loses, they sometimes crumble under the stress. But you know, losses are inevitable. There's never been a MLB team that went undefeated." Willie told us.

"Now introducing..." The broadcaster started to announce the starting lineups as Servite players took the field first.

"So are you just focusing on the pitchers today?" Noah asked, leaning forward to get a glimpse at Willie's notes. "Would you say that they're better than Zeke?"

"I'm watching them while knowing their backgrounds, but I keep an eye on everyone. You never know when you come across a future star." Willie explained. "I, personally, would say Zeke is one of the best players I've seen at the high school level. But my job is to be objective and fair so my employer doesn't pick the wrong player."

"You can't go wrong with Zeke." Noah said confidently.

"Okay, enough." Zeke bopped him on top of the head. "Eat your hotdog and watch the game. We came to scout out the competition."

Noah rolled his eyes, but didn't talk back. He just started working on his hotdog.

I had already finished mine and watched as the first batter for Golden West stepped up to bat. Sanchez, on the mound, looked like a pro already. He even had a mustache.

"Doesn't he look a little too old to be a senior?" Noah asked aloud.

"He's a senior like me." Zeke said. He rubbed his chin. "I could also grow a beard...if I had darker hair."

Noah snorted, almost choking on his hotdog.

Sanchez got the first batter out by blowing three straight fastballs by him. He's definitely the fastest pitcher I've ever seen. He's a lefty too. Just as I was wondering if he could throw a perfect game, a ball was ripped down the third baseline. It stayed fair and the batter had already taken off.

"He got a hit off Garret too." Noah mumbled to me as half the crowd was cheering. We watched as the batter made it to second base for the double just as the ball came back to the infield.

"He shouldn't throw another fastball to him." Zeke spoke up. "Garret learned that the hard way as well. The batter was fast and can connect on a straight ball. As soon as Garret had thrown the cutter, he missed. Some batters are like that." He glanced at us. "That's why it's good to do some scouting beforehand."

Noah nodded in agreement. "I'd like it if we could see all opponents beforehand. That way you don't go in blind."

We watched as Sanchez stranded the runner on second, getting the third batter to pop out to the second baseman and the cleanup hitter to groundout to the second baseman. No runs scored. That's always a good start.

The teams switched, and Golden West came out to defend, with their pitcher taking the mound. The submarine pitcher named Brady. I leaned forward to watch him warmup. After a quick stretch, he got set. Then it got weird.

He stretched out his planting foot (left) and started his throw...except it almost looked underhanded. I looked to Noah for help.

"That's what it's like for a submarine pitcher." Noah said. "It's when they throw less than a ninety degree angle. It's hard to hit."

"It's only hard because you're not use to it." Zeke cut in. "Don't spout the wrong information to Jake. It's hard to hit because the spin angle is different, the spot of release is different, and the style can really throw you off."

"Zeke's correct." Willie added. "If you faced a submarine pitcher more often, you wouldn't feel so cornered or surprised. It's like facing off against a left handed pitcher. If it's new to you, you would struggle to get the timing right."

"Jake wouldn't have trouble with that. He's just too good at the plate." Noah shrugged.

Zeke raised an eyebrow making me feel put on the spot. I poked Noah. "Don't say that. I've never even seen a submarine pitcher before this. It looks difficult."

Noah grinned and patted my shoulder. "I know that. I just trust that you'll be able to figure something out before the game is over. I think you're a better batter than Zeke and you're only a freshman."

I turned scarlet. Just being compared to Zeke is enough; he didn't have to say that I was better. I don't think I could measure up against the best player in the county. Top ten in the state.

"He's right." Zeke looked me in the eye. I sat up straighter. "Your batting average and on base percentage are comparable to mine. The only batting statistics I beat you in is slugging, extra base hits, and home runs."

I think the word 'only' should be used if there's one statistic. Not three. That's not even including base running and fielding.

"Jake's got time." Noah nodded. "He's three years younger than you. Three and a half if we want to get technical." Noah paused, then looked up at Zeke. "Are we doing anything for your birthday on Monday?"

It's going to be Zeke's birthday? I looked up at him as well, waiting to see what he would say.

"Yes, we're going to beat OLU." Zeke said firmly like he didn't even need to think about it.

Typical Zeke answer.

"That's not..." Noah trailed off. "Fine. That's a good gift too." He turned to the game.

I was still looking at Zeke so I was able to see a smile flash across his face before he also turned to watch the game. He's not as cold as Noah thinks. I could only wish to have a brother like him.