The Hitting Zone

The umpire had to break up the meeting on the mound to get the game to resume. All the players went back to their positions and Garret was called to the plate. He left me in the circle and casually got set in the batter's box. Mr. Miller signed for everyone to wait and see.

Cody got set. Checked the runners then threw his first pitch to Garret. A fastball inside for a ball. 1-0. The catcher threw the ball back. Cody repeatedly looked around to check Bryce and Noah at second and first.

Mr. Miller gave the sign for Garret to swing only after he has seen a strike. The pitcher may be wild or tired. Pitch two fell in for a called strike to clear that up. Garret had the green light to swing. The runners have to pay attention if it's in the air or on the ground.

With the count at 1-1, Garret swung at the next fastball he saw, blasting it dead center.

"Go, go, go!"

"It's gone!"

"It's short!"

"Catch it!"

Everyone was yelling all at once as the center fielder raced back to the warning track. Bryce and Noah retreated back to their bases and held a foot on the bag. As soon as the ball fell into the outfielder's glove, the two of them took off. The center fielder threw the ball back in to the shortstop. He turned around as Noah slid into second base and Bryce was already standing safely at third.

Servite's pitching coach came out of their dugout and called for time.

Garret came back with his bat, motioning for me to follow him back towards the dugout. Sean and Coach were nearby. "Too bad I couldn't get it to leave the park. I'll definitely be hitting the gym this week while we're off."

"You did your job to advance the runners." Coach nodded. He looked at me. "Chances are, they're going to walk you." He looked to Sean. "Bases loaded, one out. You know what you have to do right?"

"Hit it as far as Garret did." Sean said.

"But what if they only throw you curves?" I asked.

Sean grinned. "I switch hit too, Jake, remember? Just not as perfect as you. I just need that one fastball for one chance." He looked to Coach. "You don't think they'll replace the pitcher after loading the bases?"

Coach shook his head. "They're looking for a double play. Expect the pitches to be low." He looked at me again. "You need to take a big lead off of first. As far as the first baseman. With bases loaded, you should be nearly one-third of the way to second. Take off on a grounder, retreat if it's a fly ball."

I nodded and tried not to recall getting picked off just a couple innings ago.

The umpire broke up the mound meeting again for the second time this inning. Next time a coach comes out of the Servite dugout, that would be it for Cody on the mound. Everyone got back to their positions and I stepped up to the plate as a lefty. Only for a second before the catcher informed the umpire that they were going to intentionally walk me. As expected. I dropped my bat and jogged to first.

Sean came up to the plate next. He tapped his bat against the plate before pulling it back and getting set. Cody on the mound did a pick throw to third base, making Bryce retreat. The third baseman returned the ball to his pitcher and stayed on the base, trying to hold Bryce there. With the third baseman playing stationary, the rest of the infield was shifted, making the first baseman play nearly ten feet away from first.

I took a deep breath and started to lead off the bag. One step at a time. The first baseman glanced at me. As did Cody. But no move was made. Cody got set and did a quick motion to pitch to Sean.

A fastball. But not as fast as it had been before. Sean swung, connected, and sent the ball to right-center field. I retreated back to my base, as did the other two. The ball went far but it had so much under it that the center fielder had enough time to get there and make the catch. Bryce and Noah took off. I pretended to, but as soon as that ball was thrown, I stayed at first. Bryce scored the first run of the game. 1-0. And Noah was safe at third.

The stadium felt a little quieter as I could only hear cheers for our team, Bryce, and Sean. The two of them went back to the dugout and celebrated with the rest of the guys as Jason came up to the plate. Servite didn't do any mound meeting or pitcher change and just let Cody continue.

With two outs, Noah and I had easy jobs: run on contact. Jason go to a 1-1 count before hitting a fly ball to left field. As soon as the catch was made and the inning was over, I circled back to go back to the dugout.

"Alright, alright!" Coach tried calming down our dugout so he could talk to us. "Two more innings to go. Six outs. Don't slack off."

"I've got this, Coach!" Kyle took the lead to take the field. Mitchell hurried after him.

Noah, Jason, and I, took an extra second to switch our gear and hurried to take the field too. Kyle got plenty of time to warmup this go around and he came out smoking hot against the seventh batter. Three straight swing-and-misses for his fifth strikeout of the game.

Batter eight was replaced with a pinch hitter. It didn't amount to anything; just a grounder to Noah for the second out. Batter nine, formerly the pitcher Cody, was replaced with a pinch hitter too. I didn't know how to feel about that just yet. He was tough to beat for the team, but he was getting tired and we started to make some moves. Now there'll be someone new on the mound for the seventh inning.

The pinch hitter for the nine spot ripped one of Kyle's fastballs down the right field corner, sending Bryce on a long sprint. Bryce got the ball back in to me, however the batter made it to second already. No play. I threw the ball to Kyle, hesitating on what to say as the fans roared to life for Servite. They had a runner in scoring position and we were back to the top of the order.

"Two outs! Play is still at first!" Noah hollered for everyone to hear.

"Two outs!" Guys echoed. I did as well, trying to show support for Kyle.

Kyle had his toughest battle yet with the leadoff batter. Mixing in a couple of check throws to Noah at second, Kyle was finally stuck at a full count. He threw a strike in the upper corner and the batter hit it up the middle. I was late, however Noah was already playing close to the base for those check throws. He caught the ball and made the transfer to his throwing hand as he spun around, then threw a strike to Sean at first.

"Out!"

One more inning to go!