The Hitting Zone

Bottom of the first. Noah, Korrey, and myself would start it off. I stood beside Noah as we got our helmets on.

He tugged on his batting gloves and flexed his fingers. "Let's get on the board early, yea?"

I nodded, trying my best to be as confident as him.

He grabbed his bat and left the dugout first. Korrey wasn't far behind, getting into the on deck circle. I stood in the hole, near Coach, and Garret who was also getting ready to bat after me.

Brett, on the mound, did some practice pitches that...weren't too impressive. I couldn't tell if it was just because it was a simple warmup or maybe because I'm used to watching the twins every day, but either way I wasn't scared by it. Not even slightly nervous. If anything, it helped me relax.

Brett on the other hand, was the nervous one. Noah was called to the plate as the game officially resumed. Brett couldn't get a pitch over the plate for a strike, walking Noah on four straight balls. Noah jogged to first base and Korrey moved to the batter's box. I left the dugout after a pat on the back from Garret.

Korrey also earned a walk on four balls, heading to first and pushing Noah to second. My turn. I barely took one step to the plate before the catcher got up and jogged to the mound. I paused and waited for them to finish their small meeting. When the catcher came back, I put my feet in the righty's box, and he squatted behind the plate.

I glanced at Mr. Miller down the third baseline. He gave me the sign to 'hold' and not to swing. He probably wanted me to wait until Brett could throw a strike. If not, we'll just let him load the bases for Garret. Mr. Miller and I had worked on a special set of signs for me during the off-season given my talent in hitting. I had a 'swing freely' option. A 'hold'. And there's even a sign to tire out the pitcher by fouling off some pitches.

Mr. Miller was originally concerned that I would be offended by him assigning signals for me to follow, but I quickly let him know that I would take all suggestions. I kind of like when decisions were made for me.

Brett's first pitch to me was a ball. My first, but his ninth in a row to start the game. I wonder if Noah really got to him this morning? It does sound intimidating when you hear how many players from our team alone made it to the top 25 in the county. A county that he lives in too. And as far as I know, no players from his team made the list.

Second pitch was a borderline call, but the ump gave it to him. Strike one. 1-1. I glanced at Mr. Miller. He looked at me with some intensity before giving the swing sign. I gave a short nod. I didn't need to understand his reasoning, just follow along and do what I'm told. I did a quick scan of the field. All players were in relatively normal positions. Just got the gaps to work with or a homerun. I don't know how far I can power it out so I should aim for the holes.

Brett's pitch also mattered too. Lucky for me, he chose a fastball in the zone. Probably hoping to get back in a rhythm. I swung and made good contact, sending it down the left field line. It was a line drive that smacked into the outfield fence, perfectly bouncing back to the left fielder. I was already running, but nowhere near as fast as Noah. He sprinted from second base on contact and made it home with ease. Korrey slid into third before the tag and I reached second base without issue. I huffed a little as the surrounding spectators cheered and clapped. 1-0, we were on the board like Noah said. I grinned, happy.

Noah picked up my bat and high-fived Garret as they switched places. Garret had runners on third and second, no outs. We're in a good spot. With the pitcher's attention on Korrey at third, I took a healthy lead off second base. The third baseman had to stay near his base to keep Korrey close, but I could go out as far as the middle infielders.

Garret was given the right to swing when he wanted to, granted that it was close in the zone. It happened the very first pitch. Solid contact, just right of the second base. As I glanced back at it, I caught sight of the second baseman snatching the line drive out of the air and heading in my direction.

Oh shit.

I tried to make a dive at second base, but felt the tag beforehand.

"Out!" The nearby ump hollered for everyone to hear.

I felt my face heat up. A line drive double play. Oh no. I got up and dusted myself off lightly before jogging back to the dugout.

"My bad, Bambi." Garret told me as we got into the dugout together. "Couldn't sneak that one through."

"Jake, come here." Coach called me over before I could even answer Garret.

I sighed and went to him, still feeling some shame being caught off the bag.

"Tough break." Coach gave me a pat on the top of my helmet. "Don't let it scare you next time. You had good positioning, coming off the bag like that. You'll get used to reading situations and figuring out how to react faster." He paused. "I rather you make that kind of mistake than hugging the base for dear life. Understand?"

"You're not really good at consoling him, Coach." Alisha let out a small laugh beside him.

"It's okay." I quickly answered Coach. "I understand. Don't play scared." That was a saying I had picked up from the Atkins brothers. They were all risk-takers.

"Exactly!" Coach smiled back at me, wiping away the small anxiety I did have. "Take a seat and get some water."

I nodded and walked away. Having Alisha near Coach all the time kind of help in the sense that I wouldn't have to be nervous about what she thought of me. Even if I did get in trouble with Coach. She's a good friend and just a good person overall. Never mean to anyone.

At my spot, I checked on my bat and put my helmet away, replacing it with the team cap. I barely had a sip of water before it was time to switch back to defense. Sean had hit a fly ball to left field for the third out of the inning. That Brett guy got off easy thanks to that double play, only down by one.

Kyle took the mound again in the second inning. He kept his fastballs in hard to reach places, but all the batters he faced, still made contact. The cleanup hitter hit a hard grounder to third. Jason had it covered. He charged the ball and threw it to Sean at first for the first out. The fifth batter hit a high, but short, fly ball to Jesse in right field for out number two. Then, similar to Garret's at bat, batter six made solid contact on a pitch from Kyle. He hit a hard line drive, but right to Jason. Three outs, time to switch.

Jason grinned at Noah as we got in the dugout. "I believe that's two to one."

"Two to one?" Noah frowned.

"I'm responsible for two outs and you've only gotten one." Jason laughed. "It's not very often I get more action my way than you."

Noah rolled his eyes but still laughed. "Yea, we'll see how long that'll last."