The Hitting Zone

"There's Zeke and Rhys!" Noah pointed the two out as we pulled up to the Johnson's house.

They both waved from the driveway, making it clear that they saw us too and intended to wait. Dad parked on the street and let us all out. The twins immediately cornered Rhys to talk about his experience on the mound today. That left Zeke with me and Noah.

"Making us regret not coming to last night's game instead." Noah complained.

Zeke fought back a smile. "You wouldn't have made it time anyways. Rush hour traffic would have made you too late." He looked to me. "What did you guys end up doing last night?"

"Hang out with Alisha and Kaylee." I answered. "Board games and movies."

"Get this! Kyle gave Marie a ring last night!" Noah told Zeke with glee.

Rhys overheard and looked to Kyle. "You have your girlfriend a ring already? You haven't even graduated high school yet."

"Tsk." Kyle rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "What would a bunch of singletons like you guys would know?" He took the lead to head for the front door.

"Ouch. Low blow." Rhys said while laughing.

We made our way into the house and it soon became a whirlwind of food and drinks while dodging his little cousins running around. The adults kept inside while we moved outside. The twins went to play around on Rhys's fake mound further out.

I pulled my coat tighter around me.

Rhys noticed. "Want me to go get you a blanket?"

I was about to say no, but Noah cut me off. "Yea. You probably should. Jake gets cold very easily. Won't be long until his teeth starts chattering."

Rhys laughed and headed back inside. Returning less than a minute later. He laid a heavy gray blanket on me and started to tuck it in around me, basically trapping me in my chair. "There. That'll do." He says back in his own chair.

"A better way to stay warm is working out." Zeke said, looking at me. "Keep moving and your body temp will keep you warm."

Noah laughed. "Give Jake a break. He's had a tough week of practice. Don't be scaring him by saying workout."

"Oh?"

"What have you guys been practicing all week?" Rhys asked.

Noah went on to talk about the drills we had been running for the last five days. Working on hit and runs. Stealing and sliding.

"A lot of offensive work." Rhys nodded. "Make sense. You guys have some good players, but it's too easy to pitch around them. Everyone else has to hurry and get good too."

"Shouldn't we do more work in the batting cages then?" Noah asked.

"A bit. But it would be better if they can face live pitching." Zeke spoke up. "I bet Coach will have the twins and Garret get some live action in next week."

"We have a game on Wednesday." Noah pointed out.

"Isn't league." Zeke replied back rather quickly. He must know the schedule better than me. "It wouldn't surprise me if Coach doesn't go with one of the big three." He lifted an eyebrow at Noah. "Also wouldn't surprise me if you guys hit the bench."

"Noooo." Noah dramatically laid his head down on the table.

"Aren't non league games still important?" I asked, speaking up for the first time in awhile. "Something about rankings, right?"

"They're still important." Zeke answered. "If Coach thinks it'll be a close game, you'll be in. If not, expect some time on the bench." He paused before saying, "I think Coach is hoping for a better result in the Foothill Classic this year."

Noah came back to life, slapping the table loudly in the process. "Yes! Of course! I want to win it all!"

"Foothill Classic." Rhys mused. "How did you guys do again last year?"

"Made it to the semifinals." Zeke answered.

Noah sighed dramatically. "Don't mention it. We had a lot going on. Zeke got hurt. Jake didn't get any sleep beforehand and nearly had a breakdown during the game. Had to leave early."

"So your coach doesn't want you guys to rely so much on star players this year." Rhys nodded. "Playing against bigger and better schools, everyone in the lineup has to pull their own weight. Bench and bullpen included."

I looked at Rhys. "Did your school ever go to the Foothill Classic?"

Rhys nodded. "Last year actually. I believe they were knocked out in the first round." He gave a small shrug. "They may or may not have blamed me."

"Why would they do that?" I asked, stunned. Rhys was recovering from shoulder surgery last year. He couldn't even throw a baseball yet.

Rhys waved a hand like he was trying to brush the memory away. "It's dumb. I didn't have a good team atmosphere."

"Imagine a team of Chris's." Noah told me. I shivered. "Exactly. Not every team has good chemistry like ours."

Rhys laughed. "You have an unfair advantage. Half of you guys are brothers. What a scam."

"You'll have a bigger challenge next year." Zeke spoke up, looking directly at Noah. "No twins or Garret to have your back. Plus, more players from your grade level will move up to varsity."

"I can handle it." Noah sat back in his chair, giving off a really relaxed impression.

Zeke turned to me. "Have you spoken to any of the other sophomores on your team?"

I froze.

"That's unfair." Noah answered for me. "How many people does Jake talk to in the first place?"

I nodded in agreement.

"I'm just saying, the atmosphere will be different next year."

"Next year is next year." Noah said. "This year is going to be amazing. Even without you. Repeat champions, right Jake?"

I nodded quickly.

"Let's go undefeated." Dave showed up with Kyle right behind him. "That's something Zeke hasn't done. Let's show him up."

Rhys laughed. "What are your thoughts on that, Zeke?"

"They'll have to win the Foothill Classic first." Zeke cracked a smile. "Hopefully University Prep isn't your first opponent."

"Hey! Don't jinx us!" Noah yelled.

"We have to do better this year." Dave sat down between me and Rhys. "Last year, I didn't even get one inning done before an ejection. This time, I'll get Coach to let me start game one."

"I'll be getting game one." Kyle shot him down. "We should clearly do the order that worked for the last tournament."

"Did it really work though?" Dave was skeptical. "Last game went into extra innings. It's not like we crushed them."

"It was a good team."

"But the Foothill Classic will have even better teams." Dave looked at Noah. "What school did you guys have that run-in with? You know...at the batting cages...then at the tournament?"

"Sunset Preparatory." Zeke answered. He clearly remembered. "They're local to us a bit. Their coach was friends with Mr. Williams."

"Oh yea." Noah nodded. "Haven't seen those guys since."

"They probably have their own batting cages at school now." Kyle guessed. "Fancy rich kids."

"We technically have cages at school too." I pointed out.

"We also got a brand new gym thanks to Jeremy." Dave added.

"I think private schools don't get a whole lot of advantages." Noah said. "At least, not the small ones."

"Private schools are mostly for religion."

The conversation got shifted off of baseball. We only hung outside for an extra hour before we had to split up. Zeke and Rhys needed to go back to school. Sleeping in their dorms before games would make things easier on them in the morning. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson had their hands full with their relatives while Mom and Dad took the rest of us back to the hotel.