The Hitting Zone

The pitcher didn't perform well against Travis or the guy after him. Both had gotten off solid hits and it was hard to tell if fielders would have been able to help get them out or not. The pitcher was changed out for a new one.

I sighed with relief. Now he has some time to rest and get his head on straight. A part of me was itching to apologize, but Noah was right, it's part of the game.

I watched as our group moved through another round. After Noah went up, I went to the back of the line and no one said anything about it. They probably overheard me when I told Noah what Coach Leroy said. Noah came to the end of the line and cut back in front of me. Travis went after him and then lined up behind me.

We repeated our actions one more time as everyone got to bat for the third time. Everyone but me.

Chandler took us back to our bags for a water break and a change in gear. We spent the rest of the morning doing fielding drills. They even had us pair up to show us turning double plays from both sides of second base. I naturally had Noah as a partner the first time around. The second time, I was stuck with someone I didn't know. The difference between knowing your partner and not knowing showed. With Noah, almost everything was instinctual. With the other guy, we had a lot of miscommunication.

Noah didn't have that problem with his second partner. They fielded each ball with ease, making the rest of us look bad.

"This is the same resentment we felt when you were in the cages." Travis told me after seeing me frown at Noah. He laughed.

I shrugged, helpless. "Hitting is all I've got."

The rest of the morning had similar fielding drills tailored to middle infielders, including second basemen covering first during bunts. There was also drills trying to catch a runner in a pickle. Another weak point of mine. By lunch time, I no longer felt guilty for my homer. I needed it. Otherwise I wouldn't even feel like I belonged here.

We took our bags with us to the cafeteria this time, placing them against the wall, near the doors. Some of us from the group stayed together after piling food on a tray, so Noah took the lead and grabbed a long table that could fit everyone.

It kind of gave me school vibes as everyone ate together and talked about their baseball teams. Halfway through, Landon and a few other guys walked by our table.

"Hey, lets sit here!" He told his buddies, gesturing to our table. "I met these two guys yesterday." Landon sat across from Noah and I. "Guys, this is Cody, Dylan, and Ansar. They were in my group this morning for evaluations. All outfielders obviously."

Noah gave them a warm smile and introduced the guys around us. How he remembers everyone's names is beyond me. "How did your evaluations go?"

"Not bad." Landon grinned. "It helped having one of the players as our counselor. He was so relaxed and had a chill personality. He's going to be a junior in the fall. Also plays outfield."

"Our counselor is a player too, but he was rather detached." Noah commented. The guys from our group nodded in agreement. "He didn't even let us do introductions. We went by our numbers."

Landon made a face. "Wow. That sucks."

"Meh. It wasn't that awful." Noah said. "It took a lot pressure off of me in the beginning."

"Same." I echoed.

Noah laughed. "As long as Zeke isn't in charge of me, I feel rather safe."

"Zeke Atkins?" One of the outfielders asked. "My roommate was in his group and he said that the guy was ruthless, even during warmups. They went from station to station and barely took any breaks. One of the first groups to finish."

Landon laughed. "I should probably warn you that these two are related to Zeke. Brothers."

The guy flushed, turning as red as a tomato. "Oh. Sorry, I-"

"No worries." Noah waved his hand back and forth. "I completely understand. Zeke doesn't believe in breaks. Or mercy. Heck, that group is lucky he didn't participate with them. Only those with a good frame of mind, or great skill, can keep up with him."

Cody sighed and shook his head. "One reason I don't like coming to such high-profile camps is seeing all these players that are better than me. I heard there was a player in the cages that was able to hit over one hundred pitches, all back to the machine. What a monster."

I froze as a few pairs of eyes shifted to me. Everyone from my group knew it was me. I blushed.

"That was Jake." Noah said simply between bites of food. "Don't worry. He's not a monster. His fielding needs work and don't even talk about his baserunning."

"Hey..." I said, offended.

"What? It's true." Noah patted me on the shoulder. "We all have our weaknesses."

"What's Zeke's?" Landon asked.

"All humans have weaknesses." Noah corrected, making the table laugh.

"Are you talking smack about your brother again?" Rhys came up from behind us, catching Noah in the act.

Noah stood and pointed at Rhys. "Everyone, this is Rhys! He's going to be a freshman pitching for Stanford. He's going to be the reason why the team wins the World Series. Not any of those dumb hitters."

Rhys laughed, yet didn't deny it. He put his hand on Noah's head. "You're a smart kid." He looked at me. "And I heard a few good things about you."

I blushed again. Why is the conversation always shifted to me?

"He's going to get full marks, right?" Noah asked. "Coach Leroy told him so during the live batting station."

"Of course!" Rhys said. "He's actually not the only one to get full marks in hitting."

"What?"

"Really?"

"Ugh. That's demoralizing."

Rhys laughed. "There were other players who got full marks in other categories too. Don't worry, no one got a perfect score."

"Why do you seem to know all the scores..?" I asked, suspicious. Wasn't the grading and evaluations for us players? I could understand the coaches needing to know our strengths and deficiencies, but Rhys knew a lot for a counselor. A freshman counselor.

Rhys grinned. "You really wanna know?"

"Are you helping with the grading too?" Noah asked.

"Nope." He shook his head. "I'm helping them put teams together."

"Teams??" Everyone seemed to say it at the same time.

"Yea. We have to balance out the teams to make it fair." Rhys told our table. "You didn't think you would be doing skills and practice all week, did you?"

"I figured there would be some scrimmages." Landon said. "But I've never heard any camps making teams. How many? Who will be the coaches?"

Rhys chuckled. "Don't bother asking me. I'm just going to be an assistant. Teams will probably be announced at dinner or after dinner."

"What are we going to do this afternoon then?" Noah asked.

"Endurance training." Rhys said. Everyone went quiet.

"Seriously?" Noah's smile dropped and his excitement died.

"Yep. Half will go on a run, while the other half gets to use the school gym. Pitchers and catchers are exempt." Rhys told us plainly, killing all earlier enthusiasm.