The Hitting Zone

My fear of seeing a division one or two champion came true. To make it worse, it was a team we knew. University Prep.

Noah and I weren't the only ones to notice their entrance. Our whole team got a lot quieter as more of our teammates realized who else was here.

"I didn't know that they won their championship too." I whispered to Noah.

Noah shrugged. "Why would we care? We're in different divisions." He folded his arms across his chest. "Who cares anyways. We're champions too. They aren't better than us just because they're in a higher division. Just means their school is bigger."

Uh, the fact that they destroyed us a couple months ago says otherwise. I kept the comment to myself.

Our Coach went up to greet theirs. As they talked to one another, our team got closer together and started to gossip.

"This is crazy." Brian said in a low tone. "I can't believe they won their division."

"I can." Bryce looked pale. "The way they destroyed us. I'm actually glad that they won their championship. Makes me look a bit better, right?"

"No way, kid." Dave rubbed his head. "Who likes saying that they like to get beaten by a champion? That's not the kind of attitude to have."

"Really?" Sean asked. "Then what kind of attitude are we supposed to have? They mercy ruled us in five innings. We-"

"We didn't have the whole team." Kyle cut him off.

Garret nodded in agreement. "I couldn't pitch. Neither could Kyle. Dave wasn't even allowed on the bench thanks to that ejection."

"Hey!" Dave said. "I wouldn't have been abled to pitch without the ejection anyways. Why you gotta bring it up?"

Garret shrugged innocently. "Because it's funny?"

Dave rolled his eyes. "Zeke didn't play either. And Jake..." He looked at me. "Sorry."

"It's okay." I shuffled my feet, looking down. "I wasn't good that game. I know."

"That's because you didn't sleep well." Noah remembered.

"Zeke." A deep, unfamiliar voice called out, breaking up our teams chatter. We looked and saw that one of the University Prep players came over.

Zeke excused himself from the coaches he was talking to and greeted the guy that called out to him. "Seth." They shook hands. "Congrats on winning your championship game."

"You too." Seth grinned. I recognized him as the pitcher that went up against us. "I read in the news that the other team tried holding you down to intentional walks. That's insane."

Zeke shrugged. "It happens." He glanced at me. "Luckily my team carried me to the win. It's a good way to end senior year."

"No kidding." Seth answered. He glanced down at me, catching Zeke's look. "Is this the freshman that had the game-winning home run?"

Zeke nodded. "This is Jake. You played against him a few months ago. In the Foothill Classic."

He stared at me, making me fidget. "Sorry, I'm not that good with faces and names."

"It's okay." I mumbled, moving closer to Noah.

Something clicked from within when he saw us so close together. "Wait! You two are the middle infielders. I remember now. You're both freshman so I think we talked about it during the game."

"In a good way or a bad way?" Noah asked, arms still crossed.

Seth's smile faltered. "Well, I can't recall the whole conversation. Either way, it doesn't matter. Talk is talk. But you guys walked the walk. CIF champions is a good title."

Noah didn't like that answer at all, frowning.

"Say Zeke, I heard you're really not entering the draft next week." Seth quickly changed topic and ignored us in favor of talking to Zeke. Not that I blame him. We're just kids to someone like him.

"I've committed to Stanford." Zeke stated.

"College is such a waste." Seth remarked. "You're just losing out on time that you could be in the big leagues."

Zeke's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Just like college isn't for everybody, playing years in the minor league system isn't for me. I rather develop my game while getting an education."

He chuckled. "Yea? Well, I hope you don't regret it when you fall behind us." He jerked a thumb to his team. "Hayden is set to go in the first round. I'm hoping for the same, but the second round wouldn't bother me."

Zeke nodded. "I wish you guys all the best in that regard." He tilt his head away from Seth, giving him a look out of the corner of his eye. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to get back to my coaches. We were having an important discussion."

"Sure, sure! I just wanted to come over and say hello. We should catch up a bit after all of this. I think all these teams will be seated near each other so it won't be too hard."

Zeke gave a nod. "Alright." He glanced down at me and Noah. "You two should follow me." He went back to the coaches without saying goodbye to Seth.

Noah and I promptly followed him back to where the coaches were chatting, wondering what could be so important for him to include us.

"What was all that about?" Mr. Miller asked.

"Just flexing." Zeke told him.

"Flexing?" Mr. Miller questioned. "What?"

I didn't understand either.

"He was bragging and showing off." Noah explained. "Throwing some shade too. What a loser."

"Ohh." Mr. Miller understood. "Stay calm, Noah. I don't want you to rile up the other guys."

"I hope he doesn't get drafted at all." Noah laughed. "Wouldn't that be great?"

"Very unlikely." Zeke said. "Highly improbable. If we're lucky though, he'll drop to the third round."

Noah relaxed as Zeke joined in on cursing that guy. "I kind of wish you would go pro just so you can overtake him in the draft. Maybe even push him down a few spots."

Zeke shook his head. "That's not how the draft works. It's all about supply and demand."

"I know." Noah pouted.

Zeke patted Noah on the shoulder. "Don't worry. It's not like he'll go pro right away. He'll have to do some time in the minor leagues. There's no guarantee in this world. Just because he entered the system before me doesn't mean he'll automatically become a pro before me."

Noah nodded. "Yea, I know. And it's not about when you become a pro, but how long you can last." He glanced back to where University Prep was standing. "As a pitcher, his career is already in jeopardy."

"Who knows." Zeke said.

"Hello everyone!" Rose was back. She stood in the center of everyone. "As the coaches know, I'm Rose and I'm with public relations. I'll be giving out the instructions on when we'll be going out onto the field. But first, some rules. One, stay with your team. Don't wander off and get stuck with the wrong team. I don't want to see any of you running around on the grass. Next, when the camera man points at you to put your team up on the jumbotron, no inappropriate signs of any kind. If you have to ask what's inappropriate, then don't do it. I won't hesitate to have you and your team removed from the stadium for offensive behavior. Third, be on your best behavior. You're a representative of your school, of your district, and are all stellar athletes. So act like it."

Rose got her coworkers to help line everyone up, thankfully keeping University Prep. away from us. I wouldn't put it past Noah to start a fight of some kind. Especially after being disrespected by that Seth guy.

I was more curious than upset by what he had said. If they talked about us during that beat down game, I wonder what was said, if it was bad. I wasn't myself at all that game and it was the absolute worst. I wonder if they just thought I was in over my head.

I was thankful for the championship game allowing me a chance to shine. And for giving my team a chance to show their pride.