The Hitting Zone

Top of the second. Dave had to face the core of their lineup. He looked sharp, but San Marino was still able to make contact. First a grounder to me, but it was basic and easy to field for the first out. Then a short fly ball to right field. I hesitated for a second too long on whether I should chase it back like Noah usually does. Luckily, Jesse had a good read on it and had the speed to come sprinting forward to make a diving catch for the second out.

Batter six in the lineup had the best at bat so far, working a full count and fouling off a couple extra. On the twelfth pitch during his at bat, he pulled one to left field. Korrey ran back to the fence, but it was useless. The ball was gone. A solo shot to make the score 2-1.

You could hear their fans cheering all around. It was a little disheartening, but Noah wasn't the type to be bothered by outside noise.

"Don't mind. We still have the lead." Noah clapped with his glove, looking specifically at Dave. "Just get it back with a strikeout."

Dave grinned and gave a small shake of his head.

My lips were also pulling into a small smile. Noah had no scruples about picking on the opposing team while picking on his older brother. He basically told Dave that he can only redeem himself was with a strikeout. Dave came through though, getting the next batter to strikeout on a pitch that nearly fell in the dirt.

Dave pumped his fists and turned to show Noah a smirk. "How's that?"

"I like it!" Noah laughed and gave a thumbs up.

Bottom of the second, our team didn't have the same kind of production as in the first. There were no hits, and certainly no runs scored. The San Marino kept a lot of his pitches inside and it didn't help that we had three righty's going up. Jesse got jammed and sent a grounder right to short. Mitch couldn't connect and struck out. Dave also got jammed and pulled a grounder right to third to end the inning.

"Damn, his pitches are tight." Noah sighed and complained. "It's annoying when a good pitcher can throw right at you for a strike in the zone. Makes it even more stressful and difficult."

"At least we're making contact so it's not all bad." Jason said as we took the field. We had a little extra time before we started the third inning considering our catcher and pitcher duo had to switch out their batting gear.

"You can say that because you got a hit." Noah rolled his eyes.

Jason laughed. "If you want me to claim that it's a fluke, that'll be impossible. On the score sheet, it's a hit. I need every one I can get."

The two chatted and I drifted over to Sean who was on my side of the field. I lowered my voice and kept my body facing the outfield. "Did you get any inside pitches during your at bat?"

Sean raised an eyebrow at my actions and answered, also in a low voice. "I don't think. Nothing to what he can do to righty's."

I slowly nodded and glanced up at him.

Sean smiled at my look. He covered his mouth with his glove. "Are you trying to tell me to ignore any chance of him throwing inside to us on the left side?"

I shrugged. "I think it'll improve your chances of a hit if you can eliminate a location. Especially if it's one-third of a strike zone."

Sean grinned and winked. "I hear you."

We had to separate and get into position for the top of the third inning. Dave shut down the bottom of the lineup with back to back strikeouts. Then it was back to the top. The first batter had been Dave's first strikeout victim. This time he was able to connect and hit a hard grounder right back up the middle.

Noah beat me to it, making a sliding stop, popped up back on his feet and threw a fast one to Sean. I hurried to cover second just in case.

"Out!" The umpire pumped his fist and gave the signal. Noah's throw had beat the runner. Thanks to a long stretch by Sean too. We went back to the dugout, upbeat from the clean inning.

The top of our lineup got ready to bat. Sean, Garret, and Noah were guaranteed to get their chance. I would need one of them to reach to get mine.

I saw Sean talking with Mr. Miller before he headed for the batter's box. Mr. Miller had covered his mouth to say something, gave Sean a pat on the shoulder, and then went to his spot down the third baseline.

I checked over my backup bat before moving to stand beside Noah and Coach near the dugout entrance. It was good to go, no worries.

The pitcher was set and ready. The umpire called for Sean to step in. On the very first pitch, Sean started his swing and made perfect contact. Our whole team rushed to push up against the fence.

"Go! Go! Go!" Noah chanted as the ball soared over the infield and then the outfield before clearing the fence. It was gone!

We shouted and cheered as Sean rounded the bases and tagged home plate, making the score 3-1, us. Sean grinned as he came back to the dugout and accepted a round of compliments. He gave me a slap on the helmet. "Good read on him, Bambi." And gave me a small shake.

"What was that about?" Noah asked me when he should have been leaving the dugout.

I looked to Garret outside instead, hoping to share with him what I had shared with Sean. But soon realized it would be useless. The San Marino Coach had come out of their dugout and signaled for a pitcher change while heading to the mound. Garret took a few steps back, retreating towards us.

Noah nudged me, probably still wanting an answer.

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter now. There's a new pitcher." At least I was now able to get up this inning too, thanks to Sean's solo shot.

Noah left the dugout and stood near Garret. They shared a few sentences before spreading out and taking some practice swings. The new pitcher looked average, but slightly special in the sense that he was a lefty. We hadn't faced very many lefty's on the mound as a team.

Thanks to Garret being on our team, I knew that they had a slight advantage just because they were rare and their delivery was different.

"Boys, pay attention." Coach told everyone in the dugout. Only a few of the guys were chatting about Sean's homer, but I guess he wanted everyone to look at this pitcher.

He got closer to me. "When you get up there, pick the right-handed box. I think they chose the lefty to come out of the bullpen to combat against our own lefty's. You, Garret, and Sean account for most of our offense so far."

"Oh. Okay." I didn't understand very much pitching strategy, but Coach hasn't led me astray before.