The Hitting Zone

There wasn't much time to question Noah's plan of attack when we had to take the field for our defensive half of the inning.

Bryce was going up against the bottom of the lineup, but that didn't mean much against such a good team. The seventh batter hit a hard grounder right at me. I handled it well, throwing him out at first. The next batter made solid contact, hitting a line drive down the left field line. But Jesse was there, making a diving grab for the second out. He rolled in the grass before getting up and throwing the ball back in. His catch was even more impressive than Garret's, but it should be expected from the former defensive mvp of the JV team.

The last batter was the opposing pitcher. It was clear he wasn't a two-way player like Garret, or even like the twins. Or Bryce. Bryce can bat. This dude simply swung and missed every fastball Bryce threw, whether it was in the zone or not. He struck out and we were still tied at zero after three innings.

I hurried back to the dugout, trailing after Noah. "So? What's the plan?"

Noah grinned back at me. "You just be you. The plan for me, is to run."

We got to our bags and started to switch out our gear.

"What about me?" Sean asked, coming over with his helmet on and bat in hand. "I'm the one in between you two."

"Be ready for the fastball." Noah told him before leaving us behind.

Sean looked down at me. "What kind of shit-advice was that?"

I shrugged. "I don't know." I looked up at him. "But...are you ready for the fastball?"

Sean rolled his eyes. "As ready as I'll ever be. I'll have to go for it since the curve is too much for me. Noah's plan so far is just for individuality. Nothing really screamed team effort."

I shrugged again. I could be me. That wasn't hard. Sean and I moved to the exit. He went out to the on deck circle, while I stood in the hole.

It wasn't long before Garret approached me with his bat in his hands. "I heard Noah talking about getting on base this inning."

"He has a plan." I slowly nodded and repeated the vague explanation he gave me and Sean.

Garret laughed. "Well, we'll just have to trust him. As long as you get on and I come up, we'll score a run either way."

Garret had the confidence this inning too. I was starting to feel the energy around us. The game was still tied at zero after three innings. Things were bound to change.

The top of the fourth inning began as soon as the umpire waved for Noah to step up to the plate. The pitcher cornered him just as quickly as before, getting to the 0-2 count.

"Here comes the curve." Garret muttered as we watched the pitcher use his deciding pitch on Noah once more.

Noah swung fast, but was way too early. He then dropped his bat and took off for first base as the baseball bounced off the catcher's chest padding. I couldn't even register what was going on as I cheered for Noah running to first base. The catcher got the ball and made his throw to the first baseman, but it was too high. The right fielder was there to backup the play, and threw the ball back in before Noah could try for second base.

Our team and fans cheered for Noah.

I was happy, yet still confused so I looked up at Garret. "What was that?"

Garret grinned and pointed at Noah. "That was some smart thinking!" He glanced down at me. "It's not uncommon for those to strikeout, to try to run to first after the ball has been dropped. It is uncommon for players to plan to do it though. That was perfectly executed. He could have made it to second base if that outfielder didn't come in to backup the play. That was smart on his part too."

I nodded. Coach is always talking about how important backing up the plays were. "So what now?"

Garret chuckled and pointed at the empty circle outside our dugout. "Now you get out there and hope Sean doesn't hit into a double play."

"Oh! Yea." I hurried out of the dugout and moved into the on deck circle just as the pitcher was preparing to throw his first pitch to Sean.

He changed it into a pickoff attempt, throwing to his first baseman to try to get Noah out. Noah easily beat the tagged and got up after the ball was thrown back to the pitcher. Noah started taking his lead off of first again. The pitcher tried another pickoff attempt, but Noah still beat him back. The pitcher was either annoyed with Noah or was trying to stall for time. I would definitely believe the first one.

The pitcher finally threw towards home, a fastball that came inside on Sean. As a left-handed batter, he made contact and smacked it just between the first and second basemen. Noah and him both started running. As did the right fielder.

The right fielder got the ball back in but Noah made it to third base while Sean stayed at first.

I came up to the plate with two on and no outs. My smile started to falter when I saw the catcher get up and jogged to the mound.

"Jake." Garret called me back to the on deck circle, where he stood, waiting to go after me. I quickly went back, wanting to know what he had to say. "They're probably going to walk you."

Just kidding. I didn't want to know that. I sighed.

Garret let out a small laugh. "There's no getting around it. You're too good. If anything, I should be the one sighing. They rather face me with bases loaded and no outs than try to face you."

I looked up at Garret, not feeling as bad.

"Don't worry, we'll score no matter what." He patted my shoulder with a grin. "You take that intentional walk with pride."

I nodded.

The catcher and pitcher finished their meeting on the mound and the umpire called me to the batter's box. The catcher stayed standing as I chose to bat from the right. Sure enough, the pitcher threw four intentional balls outside the zone, sending me on my way to first base.

Sean moved to second and Garret got in the lefty's box. Garret had made solid contact before in his first at-bat so there was no need for me to be anxious for him. I just had to worry about when to run.

Garret worked the count, fouling off three straight fastballs before fouling off a curve. The pitcher tried to mix in some balls, but Garret wasn't fooled. He was locked in. Anything close and he would swing. The rest would pass by for balls. On a full count, Garret made perfect contact, smashing the ball straight to the center field fence.

I jogged out halfway to second base, watching as the center fielder tracked the fly ball down to the warning track. He jumped at the last minute and came down with Garret's hit. Shoot. I ran back to first.

Luckily, Noah was able to tag up with ease, scoring the first run of the game, 1-0. Sean also tagged up from second, advancing to third as the center fielder threw the ball back in.