The Hitting Zone

Garret took advantage of Dave's sloppiness on the mound, pushing a single to left-center field. Kelvin hustled home and made it safely after another close call at the plate. Up 2-1.

I stepped up. Right side. I think now is an appropriate time to show the others what I've been working on. There's already two outs and this game is just for fun. So why not try for that homerun? I took a deep breath and tried to relax my shoulders. Dave's pitching doesn't have a dramatic change like Kyle, but I want to get this ball out of here, I'll need the right pitch and hit it perfectly.

Dave got set, checked on Garret at first, then started his motion. Knowing Dave...he would want to try to get ahead of the count after such a bad inning. I started my swing. Dave threw a fastball high, but still in the zone. I connected and blasted it back the way it came.

I heard a few gasps as I ran to first. I watched the ball fly to the outfield. Zeke chased it back and back, and all the way back to the short outfield fence that was recently put in. Zeke leaned on it as he reached his hand out and caught the ball.

"No way!"

"Wow!"

Tch. I stopped running and turned back to my dugout.

"Jake's starting to get some real power!" Dave said as he got off the mound. He glanced at me, grinning. "Too bad. I still got you out."

I rolled my eyes.

"Don't listen to him!" Garret joined me in the dugout as we switched out our gear. "That was well hit! If you didn't hit to center field, it would have been a homerun for sure! The short fence helped too. And Zeke is pretty great at defense so probably wasn't smart to hit anywhere near him."

I sighed. There was a lot that went into hitting a homerun. Especially if you don't have the power to just blast it out of the park like Zeke. "I'll get it next time."

Garret grinned. "I hope so. I'll get on base again so we can make Dave's heart hurt." He cheered me up as we took the field once more.

Kyle made short work of the batters in the second inning. Theo struck out swinging. Both Andy and Mitchell hit grounders on either side of me. I dealt with it in a calm manner and showed off my newfound confidence in fielding.

Dave's struggles continued. Mahki hit a fly ball to right field for the first out. Bryce got walked as Dave's pitches became erratic. Then to add pressure, Bryce stole second during Jason's at bat. Mitchell was completely caught off guard like he didn't expect anyone to steal bases during this scrimmage.

Jason smacked a short single to right field, pushing Bryce to third. James came up next.

"Better not let us down!" Bryce hollered at James, not stopping his heckling even though he was on base.

James just rolled his eyes and stepped in the box. For the first pitch, he swung and missed. A loud 'boo' could be heard from Bryce at third. On the second pitch, Jason took off as soon as Dave started his motion. Dave threw it off the plate; Mitchell caught the ball and jumped up, but didn't throw with Bryce inching off third.

Runners on second and third with a 1-1 count. James did his best to connect with the next pitch, getting under the ball. It flew to Brian in left field. He made the catch, Bryce tagged up and sprinted home. Brian skipped the cutoff man and threw straight to Mitchell at home.

"Safe!" Mr. Miller stated.

Bryce jumped up and hurried to join James on their way back to the dugout. He grinned as he elbowed him. "I just made you look good. You're welcome."

James pushed him away. "You're so annoying."

Dave walked Kelvin, his second this inning. Alex flew out to Brian in left field for the third out of the inning, getting Dave out of this mess he made with his walks.

He didn't get anytime to rest though since he was first to bat in the bottom of the third. Kyle took the mound against Dave, and blew three fastballs right by him to earn his third strikeout of the game. Dave went back to his dugout with a sigh. I could only presume that this game was no longer fun for him. I no longer looked forward to try to hit a homerun off him. Not when he looks like a sick dog.

Kyle on the other hand was getting the hang of his newfound style. He struck out Brian and Noah to end the inning, looking in control.

As we headed for our dugout, we noticed that the guys in the other dugout weren't coming out to take the field. They were all grouped together like they were having a discussion. We waited outside our own dugout, trying to see what was going on.

Zeke came out first, approaching Mr. Miller and us. "Brian is going to take over on the mound. Give him some time to warmup with Mitchell."

"Is Dave wimping out?" Kyle folded his arms across his chest.

"I just don't have my stuff today." Dave came over to admit, looking unashamed, but still a little depressed. He shrugged. "I shouldn't force it. I have to know when to stop so I don't make things worse. If I keep pushing it, maybe I'll get a blister or hurt my shoulder. This is supposed to be just for fun. Maybe this upcoming week, I'll look better."

Instead of making fun of him, Kyle slowly nodded. "Alright. Yea...take it easy. We don't need you to get hurt before the camp even begins." I was surprised. I thought that Kyle would continue to egg him on, showing off in their twin rivalry. However, he chose to take a step back. Kyle looked to Bryce. "Since Brian is pitching in the fourth, do you also want to pitch in the fourth?"

Bryce nearly jumped in excitement. "Yes, yes, yes! Most definitely yes!"

"You're going to take a step back too?" Dave asked, surprised. That seemed to be the consensus among everyone who heard him.

Kyle shrugged. "Yea, I'll end on a good note." He smirked. "This way, I don't have to face Zeke again either."

"Who cares??" Bryce grinned. "I get to pitch!!" He hopped over to Alex. "Let's start warming up!"

Garret let out a laugh. "Now? You still have to bat this inning."

"That's only if two of you get on." Bryce shrugged.

Garret threw his arm around me and leaned down so we were both facing Bryce. "Trust me...you'll come up this inning."

Bryce sighed. "Okay...I guess I can just take a little longer to warm up on the actual mound like Brian is doing right now."

While we were talking, Brian and Mitchell had started to warmup, getting Brian to throw some practice pitches off the mound. The guys from the other team all took the field slowly, talking to one another. Zeke and Dave went to join them after our own small chat.

Meanwhile, my team moved to inside the dugout and we prepared to bat.