The Hitting Zone

Dave was out, but our spirits weren't down. Noah, Sean, and Jason kept the conversation light with a couple of jokes while Bryce warmed up. He didn't do a full pre-game warmup, but the umpire did allow him quite a bit of time because of the unexpected injury to Dave.

I scanned the crowd and saw that both Mom and Zeke had left their seats. Presumably to take Dave to a nearby hospital.

Once Bryce was ready, the umpire called for the second batter to step into the batter's box, and for the game to resume. The rest of our team was in position, ready to get going again.

Bryce started the batter off with a fastball outside. The batter swung and got a piece of it, hitting a hard grounder to Sean's right. Both runners took off. Sean made a diving stop, jumped up and threw to Noah, who was covering second base, to get the first out. Noah threw the ball back to Sean, who hurried to cover first base. The batter was out as well. A 3-6-3 double play.

Sean threw the ball back in and dusted himself off. He grinned as some of the crowd clapped for their excellent play. I was happy as well. Dave's baserunner was out as well as batter number two. We're back to a clean slate.

The third batter stepped up. Bryce gave himself some time to reset. He did his complete windup and motion, throwing his fastest fastball right down the middle. The batter had the timing and speed down, and sent a solid line drive to center field.

I turned back just in time to see Garret sprinting in and making the diving grab on his right side. He jumped up with the ball in glove.

"Out!" The nearby umpire gave the signal.

Garret tossed the ball in and followed after it.

In the dugout, Coach quickly addressed the team. "Dave is out with a dislocated finger. He'll be fine. For now, we'll stick with Bryce. I've already let the bullpen know what's going on." He looked at Garret. "Get your helmet on. Let's try to spark a fire on offense."

"Yes, sir!" Garret mocked saluted and hurried to his bag.

Jason and Bryce were also going to come up this inning.

I sat next to Noah on the bench. "How's the back?"

Noah grinned at me. "Let's just say, I'm thankful that tomorrow is an off day. No extra workout for me."

I frowned. That...doesn't sound like Noah. Usually he's always on the move.

Noah laughed. "I'm good for now. Really. This is nothing." He glanced at my ankle. "You good?"

I shook both of my ankles, proving that I was in good shape.

"A bunch of wrecks you kids are." Coach said, surprising me by how close he was to us. He paused near us, looking us both up and down before nodding to himself. "Next tournament, I'll have to ask if Drew can just come along with us. I can't keep having you boys falling apart."

Noah laughed. "We'll be fine by the next tournament. Tulare Invitational again, right?"

Coach nodded. "In February. Give me time to get you boys healthy and back in shape. I'll still be talking with Drew though." He shook his head a little before moving on to Mitchell. He had a short conversation with him as well, but most likely it was pertaining to Bryce and the current game.

Garret fouled off a couple of pitches before hitting a line drive right to the shortstop. Jason struck out, swinging. Bryce, who was concerned about his lack of batting practice lately, actually got a good piece of a pitch, launching it to the right field corner. Unfortunately it had too much air underneath it, giving the right fielder plenty of time to get underneath to make the final out.

Bottom of the second inning. Bryce was the last out so he was literally the last one out of the dugout to take the field. I think it was good for him to take some time to calm down and transition to pitching. Especially since the first inning went so fast for him. At least his pitch count was low, letting him conserve some stamina.

Facing their cleanup hitter, Bryce threw a low fastball almost in the dirt. The batter swung aggressively and missed miserably. He missed the next pitch, a high fastball out of reach. This team was really aggressive at the plate, swinging at anything. I can guess what Coach had to say to Mitchell now. Probably telling him to ask for more pitches outside of the zone. The cleanup hitter struck out, swinging at another low fastball.

"That's the way!" Noah clapped his glove, cheering Bryce on.

The fifth batter didn't swing at the low stuff, but Bryce was able to jam him on an inside pitch. The ball rolled slowly towards Noah. He charged it and made a barehanded play to get the second out.

"Aye, keep 'em coming!" Noah grinned at Bryce.

Bryce grinned back and pointed at Noah. The next batter hit a harder grounder within Noah's reach. Noah scooped it up and threw the ball to Sean at first. Sean stretched and made the catch while keeping his foot on the base.

"Out."

Third out to end the inning.

"Great fielding." Coach nodded at Noah as we entered the dugout.

Noah grinned. "If only Bryce could make them hit it all my way."

Bryce laughed. "If I had a choice, I would."

Top of the third, Korrey led off. He struck out on three pitches. Mitchell did better, connecting, hitting a grounder to the first baseman. He flipped the ball back to the pitcher who came sprinting over to cover first base, beating Mitchell by a millisecond.

"We've got to do something to tire this guy out." Sean muttered as the two of us stood near the dugout entrance.

Jesse had taken over Dave's spot in the lineup and was up to bat. Noah stood in the on deck circle.

"I'll foul off more pitches." I said quietly.

"That's not a bad idea, but it's not sustainable." Coach jumped in from the side. "If we want something to happen on offense, we can't just rely solely on you. Everyone has to exercise patience at the plate while being aggressive at the same time. It's not easy, but it's still early in the game."

Jesse pulled a fastball down the third baseline. The third baseman made a great stop and then an even better throw to get him out at first.

"Next at-bats we start over." Coach said, looking at me and Sean, then Noah who just came back in the dugout. "Don't get anxious just yet. We can get to this guy."

Noah nodded. "Yea, I think so too."

I was surprised. I looked at Noah, questioning his confidence.

"The guy likes to throw curveballs into the dirt when he has two strikes against us." Noah pointed out. "I was hoping to do something this inning, but it can wait. Probably for the best since there won't be any outs when I start off the fourth inning."

To do something? To do what? Not swing?