The Hitting Zone

Jeremy really did walk us to our dugout, where Mr. Miller was waiting for me again. Jeremy didn't hang around knowing that I had to warmup with the team. He pointed to the center stand. "I'll be there cheering for you. Good luck!" He looked at Noah. "Good luck to you as well, brat."

Noah snorted. "Luck is for losers. I'll win on pure skill, thanks."

Jeremy chuckled as he walked away.

"He seems like he's in a good mood." Noah commented as we got our cleats on.

"I thought so too." I nodded. Jeremy had been down for the past few weeks due to an unsaid family emergency, so it was nice to see him being more relaxed. I glanced at Noah. "I saw some other sophomores getting his autograph. Does that bother you that he signed it for them?"

Noah scoffed. "No way. They can have as many autographs they want. I'm not so petty where I would prevent Jeremy from doing his duty to the fans."

I gave him a look, skeptical. Noah is always petty.

"Okay, okay." He chuckled. "I've been reminding myself that I get to see Jeremy more often than them. Plus, I can bully him. Can they say that?"

I laughed. "When have you bullied him?"

"Okay, so I can make fun of him." Noah conceded again.

We stopped talking about Jeremy as we went through warmups, but the same couldn't be said about the others. The freshmen were especially excited, constantly talking about Jeremy's presence.  When we got inside the dugout, I could feel the majority looking in my direction.

"Yes, yes." Noah raised his voice and his hands. "I know a lot of you are very curious. If you didn't know, Jeremy is Jake's brother. Please don't ask Jake insensitive questions or even ask him to get you autographs. When Jeremy is present, you can ask him yourself. As you can see, Jeremy is very compliant."

"Okay, now that that is out of the way." Mr. Miller chuckled. "I want you boys to go out there and show off what you got. Bryce is a great pitcher so don't get down on yourselves if you happen to strike out."

Noah and I got ready for our at-bats, knowing we were up first.

"What do you think the first pitch will be?" Noah whispered to me as we stepped outside the dugout for practice swings.

I glanced at Bryce on the mound, warming up quite seriously. "You're going to attack the very first pitch?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. I feel like Bryce knows I've been aiming for high pitches. I've seen him quite a lot this week. Either on my team or against me."

"He'll go low then, right?" I scratched my neck, not totally sure of myself.

"I think so too." He said. "I was just seeing if we had the same thought. So I'm going to go ahead and commit to a low fastball. Just need to get a piece of it and then I can count on you to bring me home."

I glanced at him.

"What? You could hit a homer off Brian."

"I also hit a fly ball that was caught." I reminded him. I wasn't perfect against Brian. Or Dave for that matter. "All I can guarantee is not striking out."

He thought for a second. "Can you bat left against Bryce?"

I shrugged. "I guess. Why?"

He leaned in close to my ear. "If I make it on base, it's likely just a single. If you stand in the lefty's box, you can obstruct the catcher from throwing to second, giving me an extra millisecond to steal. With me on second, I can score as long as you get it rolling."

I wanted to try for homeruns, but Noah had a good idea in mind. Bryce isn't always steady when he first comes out. This would be a good time to show our attack plan to the coaches and establish that we don't just rely on power. I nodded. I'll just try for a homer in my second at-bat.

Noah was soon called up to the batter's box, setting up as usual. As he stepped in, I noted that the catcher was Ethan. The sophomore from the first scrimmage. Noah used to play with him and knew him best. That's probably why he said he could steal second if I stand in the lefty's box.

Noah worries a lot about being a future captain as of late, saying that he might not be mature enough. But with how much thought he puts into the game and into his own actions, I really think he's a good candidate. I might be a little biased though.

Bryce shook his head at Ethan a few times, reminding me the trouble Ethan had with Garret. He just doesn't have the talent to be a catcher. Never on the same page. Bryce finally nodded at a pitch, and unsurprisingly Noah was right: a low fastball. Noah had already started his swing early and perfectly met the pitch, looping it over the first baseman's head. Noah made it to first base with ease as the right fielder threw the ball back in.

I was up next. I nodded 'hello' to Ethan and the umpire before stepping up into the lefty's box. I glanced at Noah down the first baseline and saw him staying pretty close to the base. He must not be running right away.

I decided to be patient, holding my pose, not swinging at any of Bryce's pitches. On a 2-1 count, I took a fastball inside for a called strike two, but it was worth it as I saw Noah sprinting for second. Ethan was stuck in an awkward spot, catching an inside pitch against a lefty, then getting up and throwing to second, all without hitting me.

Noah slid into second way before the tag came down. Safe. Runner on second with a 2-2 count. Some might feel cornered, but I had a good eye, great swing, and a little intuition telling me where the next pitch was going to be.

Ethan wasn't a good catcher. His pitch selection wasn't in tune with his pitchers. This helped my process of elimination. With a mediocre catcher, Bryce is going to want to pitch away, try to get me to chase. It might be a borderline pitch though, so I have to commit. With outside pitches, it's easier for me to just hit to the opposite field.

Sure enough, Bryce shook his head at Ethan's first signal. My guess is that he wanted something right down the middle. Bryce nodded, straightened up, checked on Noah at second, then threw his pitch. He went with his fastest pitch. It could be a ball, but I didn't take the chance. I swung. Connected. Dropped my bat. Then took off sprinting.

As I ran, I watched my hit go straight down the left field line, fall in, then roll to the fence. Noah had rounded third as the left fielder got the ball and threw it in. The shortstop relayed the throw to home just as Noah came sliding in. I reached second safely and turned to see the result of the play.

"Safe!" The umpire extended his arms.

Noah jumped up and pointed at me. I waved. He picked up my bat on his way back into the dugout, high-fiving those who wanted to celebrate.

Subconsciously, I glanced to the stands and found that Jeremy and Zeke were sitting together, clapping. I smiled.