The Hitting Zone

Garret stepped up after Sanchez finished his practice pitches. Lefty versus lefty. So far, Sanchez was winning, making Garret line out and fly out to center field. But at least Garret is connecting. Maybe I should bat lefty...I'm kind of accustomed to it now.

Nah. Don't change what's been working. I have a walk and a single for the day so it's best not to jinx it.  I haven't even attempted to hit breaking balls as fast as Sanchez can pitch. I might get in a jam.

'Ding!'

I watched the ball fly off Garret's bat and soar to center field. The center fielder had to chase it to the fence, but was still able to make the catch without jumping. One out.

"Good luck." Garret mumbled as he passed me. He was 0-3 on the day, so it wasn't a good game for him. He also didn't get to pitch.

I walked up to the plate, stepped into the box, but quickly stepped out. I had to kick the dirt around to make it even. I really want to go back to batting lefty. After fixing it to my liking, I got in and faced Sanchez.

He had sweat rolling down the side of his face. He nodded at the catcher's sign then straightened up. His first pitch bounced in the dirt for a ball. It had the speed, but lacked location. He was definitely getting tired. I let the next pitch pass for a called strike. 1-1. Foul. Foul. And then another ball in the dirt. 2-2. His next pitch looked slower than normal like it was a change-up. I waited an extra second before swinging at it, sending it down the first baseline. It got passed the first baseman and that made safely reach first for another single.

"Good one, Jake!"

"Don't be afraid to steal Bambi!"

My eyes cut to the dugout trying to find the owner. Dave was up against the fence, cheering the loudest. Before he could see my glare, he was already cheering on Zeke.

"Bring him home, Zeke!"

"Captain!"

The Servite pitching coach stepped out of his dugout to have a word with his pitcher. The pitcher was nodding energetically at whatever he had to say. I wonder if it's a motivational speech or an attack plan to take on Zeke.

The umpire went to the mound to break it up, making the coach return to his dugout. It's funny to think that the last time I saw him, he made me feel angry at my dad for not sticking around. He's the one who picked a high school coaching job to stick with his family.

Sanchez was prepared to face Zeke. Kind of. He started with a ball outside. 1-0. Then again. 2-0. Then again. 3-0. Is he going to walk him? Zeke fouled off what would have been ball four. To the outside again. Only Zeke and I have been able to handle Sanchez so it makes sense that he wouldn't want to face him head on. It's just...if you want to walk him, why not do the intentional walk?

The following pitch was another outside fastball. Just as I thought it would be ball four, the pitch curved in. It didn't fool Zeke though. He swung with power and blasted the ball high up. I watched as it soared to the outfield. Just go!

I was cringing a little bit as I saw the center fielder chase it down. Please don't catch it.

The ball went the distance and disappeared over the outfield fence. Home run!

I happily ran the bases, beaming as the crowd went wild. It almost felt like a walkoff win...except we still had another inning to go.

I tagged home plate and turned in time to see Zeke tag it too. Julian was the first to give us high fives. Then Mahki. Once in the dugout, everyone pounced on Zeke. We took the lead, 3-2.

I put away my helmet and sat down. Noah was one of the guys jumping all around Zeke, happy with this lead. And it put a dent in Sanchez mentally. This is his second blown game in less than a week. He walked Julian, but got back on track with Mahki, making him hit into a double play to end the sixth.

Sanchez walked back to the dugout with his head down.

"Don't bother feeling bad for him." Kyle told me, taking a seat nearby. "He made his choice."

"His choice?" I asked.

"To pitch to Zeke. He knew what kind of hitter Zeke is. And just look at the scorecard; only you and him have hits against Sanchez. It's not like it was a secret. He could have walked him."

"Why didn't he?" I thought about it. If I was a pitcher, I would have walked Zeke right away.

"Pride. He wanted to get the best player in the county out." Kyle shrugged. "All pitchers have that kind of mentality."

I glanced at Kyle out of the corner of my eye. Pride? I guess Kyle has that, but once he's on the mound he lacks the confidence to back it up. Yet his skill keeps him in it.

"What? Is there something on my face?" Kyle caught me looking.

I shook my head. "No. I just got distracted." I stood up with my glove and waved at him before jogging out.

As I took the field, I noticed some changes. The main one being: no Bryce. Garret was on the mound talking to Alex and Coach. I guess he was going to close it out. I scanned the outfield. Mahki was moved to left field and Tanner was in right.

Garret was allowed a few extra warmup pitches since he didnt properly warm up for pitching. I was nervous that it wasn't going to be enough, but I forgot how much frustration Garret had pent up. He came out blazing fast, getting the first guy to strike out swinging. Their cleanup hitter bounced a grounder to Julian, who ran it to first base himself. The fifth batter hit a hard grounder to Noah, but he easily handled it and threw him out to end the game.

We won, 3-2! Cutting it close but we had half an inning to spare. We high-fived one another and celebrated the win.

"Three league games left, boys." Coach told us after we calmed down and gathered for a postgame talk. "Quincy. Golden West. And then Servite again. All three can go either way. We really need more of you to pitch in on offense. We can't keep relying on Jake and Zeke. Sanchez is a good pitcher, but that doesn't mean he's unhittable. Saturday we play out of conference against Modoc. I'll be switching things up so don't be too surprised."

"Will I still get to pitch?" Dave asked.

"It's my turn." Garret frowned.

"You pitched today."

"For one inning."

"That's more than I got."

"Whoever pitches Saturday, won't be able to pitch against Quincy on Monday." Coach declared.

"Dave already called Saturday so I'll take Monday." Garret changed the narrative.

"No, no. You insisted for Saturday." Dave said.

"I can pitch Monday!" Kyle volunteered.

"What was my pitch count today?" Bryce asked. "Can I pitch Saturday?"

Coach groaned. "Listen up." The chatter among pitchers stopped. "I'll be looking over the potential matchups and statistics tonight and tomorrow. I'll make a decision Saturday so everyone should be preparing like they'll pitch this weekend. Understand?" The pitchers all nodded. "Okay, you all look beat. Get home and rest properly. Tomorrow's practice will be light. Don't be late." He dismissed us.