The Hitting Zone

Korrey was up after Garret. He also made contact on the first pitch, but it was a fly ball straight to center field. Easily caught to end our offense. We grabbed our gloves and hit the field for the bottom of the first.

"Jeremy made it." I told Noah as we warmed up near second base.

Noah found him in the stands with ease, right next to Zeke. "Wow. Could you imagine how crazy it would be if everyone here found out? I bet he'll be signing autographs all night."

I made a face.

Noah quickly added. "But of course we won't say anything. Jeremy looks like he purposely bundled up to avoid such a situation." He thought for a second. "Or maybe he hates the cold as much as you do."

I pulled at my long sleeves, silently wishing I could wear my sweatshirt. "It doesn't get this cold in Southern California."

Noah chuckled. "You'll get used to it. Remember when you first came in February? This is usually the worst of it. At least until the rain starts."

I made a face of disgust.

Garret finished with his practice pitches and the bottom of the first started. He made short work of the first two batters, striking both out, getting them to swing and miss his cutter. He hasn't thrown the slider yet. The third batter made good contact on a fastball early in the count, hitting a grounder towards Noah at short. Noah fielded the ball smoothly, throwing the third batter out at first.

We jogged back to the dugout together, passing Garret who was walking with Mitchell.

"No sliders?" Garret was asking him.

Mitchell shrugged. "Don't throw it if you don't have to. You have great command over your pitches today so don't mess with what's working."

"Eh? But I kind of wanted to try it out in a game." Garret muttered.

Mitchell stood firm. "If they can't hit your cutter, then what's the point?"

The two were on their own to talk it out. Noah and I sat near our bags, drank some water, and watched our team come up to bat. Jesse, a senior from the JV team, led us off. I had some impression of him as the winner of the JV defensive mvp. Their coach said something about him moving from center field to third base, but surprisingly he was back to the outfield with us.

Jesse followed in Korrey's footsteps, hitting a fly ball to center field. No one did any better this inning. Tanner struck out swinging, and Jason grounded out to third.

Bottom of the second. Garret took on their cleanup hitter, doing his best to work the whole strike zone. The count stayed at 2-2 while the batter fouled off a few more pitches. For the tenth pitch, Garret pulled off the slider, but the batter still made contact. He pulled it to the gap between Noah and Jason. Noah made a diving stop with his backhand, then pulled off a miraculous throw to first to get him out. The crowd and team cheered for his play.

Noah got up and dusted himself off with a smile.

Garret nodded in his direction before facing the next batter. He didn't go with the slider anymore, sticking to fastballs and the occasional cutter. He earned a strikeout, looking. And a strikeout, swing, to end the second inning. Four strikeouts in two innings? He's on fire!

Top of the third, Noah and I prepared to go up to bat. He moved out to the on deck circle directly while I waited with Sean near the coaches.

Mitchell was first up. He hurried to take off his gear and went directly to the batter's box, only taking a couple of practice swings. He attacked the pitcher early on, making solid contact on the second pitch. He smacked a line drive down the first baseline. If it wasn't for the first baseman making a spectacular diving catch to get him out, he could have had a double easily. Mitchell came back, shaking his head.

"Next time." I told him, nodding.

Mitchell cracked a smile. "I think that was my best chance. Hitting isn't really my thing."

"Don't let Coach hear you say that." Garret motioned for Mitchell to zip it. "You have to make it your thing whether you like it or not." He pointed at me. "Do you think Jake likes running? Definitely not. Yet, he still has to try his best or Coach will replace him."

I shivered. It felt even more cold than before.

Noah worked the count and the pitcher more seriously than his first at-bat. His effort paid off as the ump gave him ball four and signaled for him to take a base. He jogged to first, Sean moved to the batter's box, and I stepped into the on deck circle.

Sean made contact with a pitch early on, but hit it right to the shortstop. The shortstop threw the ball to second, who turned and threw to first.

"6-4-3 double play." I heard Mr. Miller explain to Alisha. "Just put 643DP."

I tried to hold back a sigh. I'll have to lead off in the top of the fourth.

Bottom of the third. Garret handled the bottom of the lineup with ease. He destroyed them honestly. Batters seven, eight, and nine, all went down swinging, giving Garret three more strikeouts to his stat line. He was pumped as we came back to the dugout to get ready to bat.

"Coach, I think I can pull of a perfect game." He smirked, holding his bat on his shoulder.

"Do you want to try?" Coach asked, making me pause. He looked Garret in the eyes. "We don't have the run support I would like to have. I had plans to save you for the semis, but it'll be worthless if we don't make it to the semis."

Garret turned serious. He glanced at me. "You can hit a homerun?"

I nodded.

Garret shrugged and told Coach, "Let Bryce warmup and be ready to come in the bottom half of this inning. I'm still under 50 pitches."

"Are you sure?" Coach asked.

Garret grinned. "I believe in this team too, Coach. It won't be too late for me to throw a perfect game in the semifinals."

Coach chuckled. "Alright.

Garret and I left the dugout together.

He reached out and patted me on the top of my helmet. "We need to solidify the lead and run support to give Coach and Bryce some peace of mind. Get that homer, Bambi."

I nodded obediently and moved to the batter's box. I was still a little stunned that Garret would give up his chance at claiming a perfect game. No walks, no hits, no runs. It's not something every pitcher can do. As far as I know, Garret hasn't had one yet. The twins had one each and it was something they use to make fun of Garret when they can.

I couldn't let him make the wrong choice. I said I could hit a homerun so I will. I calmed my breathing as I stepped in the righty's box. Bat back, elbow up, knees slightly bent. The pitcher got set too, nodding at the catcher and starting his windup. He threw a fastball low and outside. I stepped a little in, swinging, and connecting. I hit the ball perfectly with the barrel of my bat, sending it to right field again. This time with height. It flew over the right fielder and then the wall.