The Hitting Zone

Noah wasn't the only one to ask Mom about this weekend. At lunchtime, Kyle came by our spot to tell us. "Hey, just so you guys know, I'm the one that told Mom that we shouldn't leave for Stanford until Saturday morning. We still have practice on Friday, and you know rush hour traffic will be a nightmare, so we'll miss most of Zeke's game. Might as well save the money on a Friday night room and just stay Saturday night. We'll still see two of the three games so it's not a big deal, right?"

I looked to Noah. "I thought you sent Mom a text."

Noah laughed. "I guess the sisters had the same idea." He waved Kyle away. "Don't worry about what we think. We planned to go to the softball game on Friday night too. They need our support."

Kyle smiled, looking relieved. "Okay. Good. Yea." He looked around. "If you can, try to invite more people. I think they'll really appreciate the support."

"Leave it to me." Noah patted his chest. "I'll make sure to have those stands packed like it was a championship game."

I shivered.

Noah looked at me. "What was that for?"

I shook my head. "Not everyone likes packed stands."

"Nah, that's just you." Noah laughed.

"Yea, but you'll have to get used to it." Kyle laughed too. "I think after this weekend, our stands will be packed every game. Home or away. You're going to be better than Zeke at the plate. Definitely one of the best players in the state if not the country."

"When does state rankings update?" Noah's leg started to bounce. "Or the national rankings? I can't wait to see how high Jake is after this tournament."

I put down my sandwich and pushed my food away, feeling a little sick. "Can we not talk about this?"

Kyle gave my head a small pat. "Alright. But you know, it's not bad. This is good news for you. This is what every baseball player wants."

I pursed my lips, unwilling to agree. I wanted to do well, yes. But winning games is good too. More focus on the team effort than the individual talent. Thankfully, Kyle didn't stick around for all of lunch. He still had to see Marie and eat with her so he left not long after.

"Getting your name high up would be great for making team USA." Noah pointed out, scrolling on his phone.

I nearly choked on my water. "You're still...interested in that?"

"Of course! The best of the best!" He flashed me his phone. "Without being on a great travel team going to Nationals, we have to take the other route: National Team Identification Series. When our region starts hosting clinics and tryouts, I'll be first to know and first to sign up. You too."

"How many regions are there?" I asked, picking at my half-eaten sandwich.

"Six: Northeast, Northwest, Midwest, Southwest, Southeast, and South. California is divided into Northwest and Southwest. But I now know that some of the first round tryouts aren't going to be too far from us. We don't have to travel to another state like some others have to."

"First round...means there's a second round?" I mumbled.

"Duh. They can't just make a judgement after one go around. We have five other states worth of kids wanting to join one team."

I sighed. "Sounds like a lot."

"Don't worry, you don't have to do anything but show up and bat like you usually do."

"Oh. Is that all?" I rolled my eyes.

"I don't get why you sound so against this. Let's give it a try? What else would we do this summer?"

I shrugged. "Last summer was fun." It was safe. We didn't have to venture too far from home. Plus. "What if...you don't make it and I do?" I frowned. The twins had said that before and I said I wouldn't go. My biggest fear was being alone.

"Then you keep going!" Noah patted the table. "I have confidence to get past the first round, but you for sure, should be representing our region. I will go to North Carolina as your personal cheerleader to get you to the big stage. Come on, this is a once in a lifetime shot. Something Zeke didn't even try for."

"Why didn't Zeke give it a try?" I asked.

Noah paused. Tilted his head and scratched. "I don't know. I'll call him and asked later." He went back to his phone. "First step is finding out those tryout dates. The Bay Area will have four of them: North, South, East, and West. We clearly fall under South, but they state that it doesn't matter which one you go to. You can actually go to multiple ones to try to get to round two."

"I'm not saying no." I told Noah. "I just won't guarantee that I'll go all the way. Even if I get selected. I think you see me in a different light and forget how bad I am at running and fielding."

Noah waved his hand freely. "Don't worry. You're a work in progress. Who isn't?"

I grinned and shook my head. Noah always seemed to have all the answers.

After lunch, we had our cooking elective with Alisha and Kaylee. Talking about this week's softball games, Alisha wanted to join as well. Kaylee's smile was bright and she happily told us about her team and how they're also at their best. It would be something special if both of our teams won CIF this year.

After school, we gathered with the rest of the team in the clubhouse, getting ready for practice. Coach made a surprise appearance. He usually met us in the dugout or out on the field.

"Take a seat." He instructed. "Let's talk about the plan for this week." He waited for everyone to settle and pause what they were doing. "I'm sure most, if not all, of you have peeked at the schedule. Only one game this week. At Santa Fe. Not in our league, but we play them every year around this time. Returners may remember winning 4-0 last year. It's a good warmup for things to come next week."

He looked to Sean. "You're on rehab recovery with Drew and Jake."

Me? I slumped in my spot.

"Jake isn't hurt like Sean." Noah came to my rescue and pointed out.

Coach looked to me. "Want to show us your back and prove that it didn't hurt?"

I thought about the discoloration that Mom had already started to see. Then shook my head.

"You'll spend the first half of this week recovering. Take Thursday off. Friday, you'll hit the ground running." Coach told me. My stomach dropped at the word 'running'. Coach looked to Sean. "We'll go off how you'll feel before starting to train to the max again. You definitely won't play Thursday either."

Sean nodded.

"Dang, Coach, are you benching all the starters?" Garret joked. "Am I on the chopping board next?"

"You and the twins." Coach confirmed. "You three won't be playing Thursday. You're going to spend this week training for next week."

Kyle jumped up. "I call Servite!"

"Golden West!" Dave jumped up too.

Garret looked to Coach with raised eyebrows. "You're not going to use me for Alisal are you? It's not even a league game."

Coach looked at his three star pitchers. Kyle. Dave. Garret. Back to Kyle. Back to Dave. Back to Garret. "Okay. We'll play it like this. Kyle gets the start next Saturday against Servite. Dave will start against Golden West on Thursday." He looked to Garret. "You'll be the relief if either of them has a problem, but I want you going in thinking about your bat."

"So I don't even get the start against Alisal?" Garret was bewildered.

"You can have it." Coach conceded. "But you have to stay under 75 pitches to get the reset before Thursday's game." He looked to the twins, grinning like idiots. "Don't think you'll get any extra leeway because you have the starts. You two look like shit, I'll pull you even if you only give up one run. These games matter."

"Yes, Coach!" The twins said simultaneously.

"You three work with Luis and Foley." Coach named one of the pitching coaches. "I want you giving 110% to practice this week. If they want you to do 200 squats, I want to hear you doing 220!"

"Yes, Coach!" All three hollered.

"Sooo." Noah looked around. "Who gets the start on the mound this Thursday then?"

Coach narrowed his eyes at Noah.

Noah straightened up. "I mean, whoever it is, I've got their back. Number one defensive player right here." He nodded at Coach.