The Hitting Zone

Mitchell, at the bottom of our lineup, would start us off in the seventh. He's been doing really well behind the plate, calling a good game, but it took a toll on his batting. He had a nice line drive in the third, but it was caught. Then a grounder to the second baseman. His third at-bat wasn't any better, hitting a routine grounder to short. At least he's making contact. It's only a matter of time before he sneaks one to the outfield.

Noah stepped up next, Sean to on deck circle, and I stood in the hole with Garret right beside me.

"This is a good start to the season." Garret commented, smiling. "A solid win in a big tournament that we don't normally participate in."

I nodded.

Noah smacked another single to short right field. Sean moved up and I moved to the on deck circle. Unfortunately I wouldn't get the chance to have a fourth at-bat. Even with a fast runner like Noah on first, Sean hit into another double play.

I let out a sigh and headed back to my bag.

Coach clapped his hands loudly, getting everyone's attention. "One more inning, boys. Stay awake out there. We've played a good game so far, offensively and defensively. Don't give up anything easy in this last half inning."

I nodded along with the rest of the team, picked up my glove and jogged onto the field.

Bryce, on the mound, took some practice pitches before facing the top of the lineup once more. The leadoff batter worked the count a little bit better, fouling a couple pitches off before smacking a line drive. Noah jumped up and snatched it out of the air and the crowd gasped and applauded his great play.

"One out, two to go." Noah threw the ball back and waved two fingers.

The second batter did a step better, getting the ball to the outfield. Garret, in center field, got underneath it and made the catch for out number two.

Third batter showed some impatience, swinging early and connecting on a high fastball. The ball was above the infielders heads but looked like it was going to drop in no-man's land. However, Garret was in center field. He came sprinting in, laid out and made a diving catch before the ball could hit the grass. He slid for an extra second, then popped up, holding his gloved hand high in the air.

"Out!" The umpire gave the official call.

The batter went back to his dugout with his head down while me and my team gathered in the infield and started to high-five one another.

We did the usual end of the game stuff, talking about the game as we changed out of our cleats and packed our gear.

"The first game tomorrow is going to be 9am." Coach told us as we packed. "Same field, but other dugout. Be here by 8am, and make sure to eat a good breakfast. I don't need your focus to drift to food during the game." He glanced at Dave. "You'll get the start."

Dave grinned and nodded with confidence. "I'll be ready." He paused for a second. "Are we going to worry about pitch count for me and even Kyle? To stay under 50 so we can pitch during the finals?"

Coach rubbed his chin. "We'll see. Alisha will keep track of the pitch count and when you get close, we'll look how the game is playing out. We can't assume that Jake will get a homerun whenever wherever."

Dave nodded again, understanding that every game is different. We knew very little about our opponents too. All we had was last year's records to go off of.

Coach looked to Bryce. "Bryce, you stayed under 75 pitches, so after two full days of rest, you could possibly be on the mound on Monday, if we make it that far. Don't mess around in the bullpen or anything. Focus on recovery."

Bryce nodded solemnly, taking Coach's words seriously. Coach had a few more words to say before letting us go find our parents and family to either go to the hotel or go all the way back home.

"Coach?" I heard Sean stop Coach from leaving as the dugout emptied.

"What is it?" He looked at Sean.

Sean glanced around and made eye contact with me. "Uhh, well, it's not like I want to say this, but I don't think I should be batting between Noah and Jake."

I nudged Noah.

Noah heard his name and got the signal from me. He immediately made a move to join Sean and Coach. "Why? What's the problem of batting between us?"

Coach lifted an eyebrow at Sean too.

Sean shrugged, helpless. "I hit into two double plays. It's a bit demoralizing, isn't it? The only time I got on base was when the pitcher threw a ball at me. I just feel like Jake needs someone with a high on-base percentage to bat before him."

"And that can't be you?" Coach asked.

Sean was hesitant. "I know you want me to say that I can do it, but it'll only make me feel worse if I can't."

Coach stared at him for an extra second, waiting to see if he had anything more to say. "Okay. Tomorrow you'll bat first instead of Noah." Sean tensed up. "I expect to see an improvement." Coach gave him a pat on the shoulder then walked away.

Noah looked at Sean, curious. "When did you get a fear of being in the top of the lineup?"

Sean shrugged. "It's not a fear. Realistically, my numbers aren't good in the top four spots. There's less pressure when you're at the bottom and not expected to make it on base."

Noah laughed. "Coach expects everyone to get on base regardless of the batting order." He threw his arm around Sean's shoulders. "All that pressure is in your head. Think about it, once the game starts, everyone has a chance to lead off the inning."

Seeing that Noah was busy talking with Sean, I followed the twins to the stands.

"Great game." Jeremy met me halfway, like he was prepared to leave too.

"Thanks." I smiled. "I'm glad you could make it."

He smiled too. "It helps that it's nearby. Tomorrow, I'll bring Rose. I already spoke with Wayne and Mary. I'll treat your team to a team lunch at a nearby restaurant."

I thought of the expensive place he took me and Noah to before and shook my head. "Nah, you-"

"It's already a done deal, Jake." He cut me off with a small laugh. "Seriously, don't worry about things like money. You just play baseball and continue doing well in school. I'll handle everything in between."

I rubbed the back of my neck, a little embarrassed. "Thanks, Jeremy. I know the team will be happy. Do you think I should tell them beforehand for motivational purposes?"

He chuckled. "Sure, if you want." He glanced around. "I've got to hit the road and get some sleep if I want to make it to the morning game."

I nodded. "Sure, I'll let you go. See you tomorrow."

He lifted his hand and gave a small wave as he headed for the parking lot.