The Hitting Zone

Monday night was a rush of showers, homework, a fulfilling dinner, and then more homework before going to bed. It wasn't so bad to be busy. It kept my mind off the fact that my brother couldn't even admit my existence. I caught Noah looking up more information on Jeremy Patterson, but seeing as he didn't say anything, it must mean that he didn't find anything important to me.

Tuesday, classes were back to normal. All our classmates knew of Noah's stand on Patterson so it wasn't brought up. It's not like they could argue it was okay for him to brush off a victim of attempted murder.

After classes, we went to the field and prepared for the game. Kelvin helped Dave with some treatment that Drew suggested. He was dipping his hand in some kind of salve that would help harden the skin. Drew told him to keep away from ointments and lotions that would soften the skin, otherwise it was more likely that he would keep having blisters.

"Dave's a bit unlucky this year." Garret said as we were conducting batting practice before the game. He and Mahki were standing by me in line as Zeke warmed up. "Last year, he never had these kind of problems."

"He must be trying something new, subtly." Mahki glanced at Dave and Kelvin. "You're a pitcher. You should know. If he's changing the way he throws, even if it's minuscule, it'll have an effect on his fingers. He's throwing harder and not thinking about the consequences."

Garret shook his head lightly and sighed. "That's a gamble to try in the middle of the season. I mean, it's working. He's doing a lot better. But...he really needs to take care of his fingertips."

I stood by and listened. I had no opinion on the matter since I knew nothing about pitching, but I was worried for Dave. He started the season down on himself because of Kyle's success, yet now he's been hurt twice.

"He needs to talk with the coaching staff before changing anything." Garret continued. "He could hurt something more serious like his elbow or shoulder at this pace."

"Nah." Mahki disagreed. "Dave wouldn't do something dumb like that. Zeke is friends with Rhys Johnson, who had surgery recently. I'm sure Dave knows clearly what could happen if he messes up."

Garret shrugged.

I remember Rhys. He was at Zeke's announcement party. He had Tommy John surgery.

I glanced worriedly after Dave. It's probably best that he sits out with a blister injury. That's not as bad as elbow surgery.

Zeke was done with his batting warmup and switched places with Mahki. The conversation about Dave stopped and we focused more on the upcoming game.

Liberty Christian was a small private school nearby so they had families and friends come to cheer them on. The stands were filling up for a non-conference game. The Atkins were already in the stands, talking with some parents that sat near them. It was reassuring seeing the pair here. It's funny to think that two months ago, their presence made me nervous and almost sick to my stomach. I was also jealous. Jealous that the boys had a pair of parents to cheer for them. Yet, now I'm the same. They cheered for me just as loud as they do for their own sons.

The game went smoothly for us.

Bryce took the mound with the same energy he always has. He went for five innings, giving up three hits, one walk, but held them at zero runs. He also racked up four strikeouts, showing that he had some skill in placement. Coach replaced him in the sixth to give some of the other guys an opportunity. Troy came in and did the sixth inning. One hit given up, zero runs and zero walks, with one strikeout. Ryan was almost the same. He completed the seventh inning, no hits or runs, but one walk, and two strikeouts. Our pitching today was solid.

Our offense didn't slack too far behind. Zeke went 3-3 at the plate with a homerun, three RBI's, and two runs scored. Noah went 1-3...only a single. I was somewhere between the two, going 2-4 at the plate. It was only a .500 percentage, but both hits were doubles that I didn't need to slide for. I was getting stronger and faster. Doing the ab workout with Noah everyday seemed to be helping with everything overall.

We won 8-0, nearly crushing Liberty Christian.

"Good work." Coach told us afterwards. "You all put in max effort and we earned good results. I'm going to give everyone tomorrow off."

"But we have Golden West on Thursday!" Kyle blurted out. "Shouldn't we have some kind of practice?"

Coach smiled. "Yes, it's important to practice, but it's also beneficial to rest. You guys played two games in a row. Rest up."

"Not everyone got to play two games in two days." Sean mumbled.

"I trust those that haven't played much, will practice on their own." Coach spoke a tad bit louder, answering Sean indirectly. "Everyone is a high schooler. You're approaching adulthood. If you want to continue baseball after the high school level, whether that's college ball or going pro, you have to have accountability. You're getting to the level that organized practices isn't enough. I can only keep you boys for so many hours a week."

Sean turned red with embarrassment.

Coach looked at Zeke. "Anything else to add?"

Zeke nodded. "I want to tell everyone to not do anything stupid. Yes, coach said to practice on your own if you feel like you need it. But don't do it mindlessly. We have an important game on Thursday. Keep it light. We don't know who will start, who will get to pinch hit, or who will pitch relief."

"Do we know who will start?" Garret asked, clenching his fist.

Coach looked at him, staring for a second longer than normal. "I'll let you start. But, be smart out there. Don't lose your cool like before."

Garret nodded, looking serious.

Coach looked at Kyle. "You might go in if Garret needs a relief. I won't hesitate to use the whole bullpen since we have three days before we face Servite."

Kyle nodded, keeping a neutral expression.

"Okay, head home boys." Coach clapped his hands. "Get some rest, hydrate, do your homework, and eat some carbs. I want everyone ready for Thursday. Like Zeke said, I won't know who will need to come in." He glanced at Bryce. "You won't be able to pitch, but your bat is still an option. Get some practice swings in tomorrow just in case."

Bryce nodded.

Coach waved as he walked away with the other coaches. Zeke led us in a team chant before everyone headed their own way.