The Hitting Zone

I had forty tries from each side of the plate, but came up empty on clearing the outfield fence. It was actually only accomplished by Sean and Brian. Which made sense with how strong they were. I could only hope that they could do it again during the game.

After our batting practice ended, Branham took their turn. It was during this time that the stands started to fill up. Mom, Dad, and Grampa were one of the first to show up, sitting behind our dugout.

I immediately relaxed, losing some of the tension in my shoulders. I wasn't particularly nervous about the game; just in general.

"This is it boys." Coach gathered us in the dugout as the field started to be cleaned up and prepared. "It's been a long road to get here. We've fought off some injuries and kept the team relatively healthy towards the end. I'm proud of the work that was put in. By everyone." He looked around. "I know some of you might think we've relied a lot on Jake, but guess what. I think we would have made it here without him."

Some of the guys looked unsure. But Noah wasn't. He grinned. "Heck yea, Coach. It was a team effort."

"Exactly." Coach smiled, happy that Noah understood his meaning so quickly. "It took every single one of you to get to where we are today. Every hit, every run, every win…led to this. No one player did it alone. We each have our own personal battles, but together, we are undefeated." He grinned. "Let's keep it that way."

"YEAH!!" The guys shouted together. Me included. Coach was right. Some of us may have played small or big roles, but no one did it alone.

"Here's the starting lineup I came up with." Coach stated once we've simmered down.

1 CF Bryce Finn

2 SS Noah Atkins

3 2B Jake Atkins

4 P Garret Knudsen

5 RF Brian Swoope

6 1B Sean Isner

7 3B Jason Morris

8 C Mitchell Torres

9 LF Logan Porter

There was a small surprise at the end that most, if not all, of us didn't expect. Logan was in the outfield with Bryce and Brian. I would have guessed Korrey for his hitting or even Jesse for his fielding. But Coach had picked the sophomore.

Coach paused to look at Logan. "You ready? I don't want to see you freeze up out there."

Logan snapped out of his dazed state and stood up. "Of course. I've been preparing all season."

Coach nodded before looking at the rest of us. "As always, I won't be afraid to use subs when and where I can. You're not connecting at the plate? Okay, pinch hitter will give someone else a shot. You're not running at full speed around the bases? I can put in a pinch runner. This is not the game to take lightly. This is the end for us, one way or another."

Garret stood up and faced us on the bench. "I've never loved another team more than this one right here. I'm going to go out there and give it all I've got. On the mound and at the plate. Let me finish out on top."

"Anything for you captain!" Noah shouted as he jumped up.

The dugout was a little sentimental on it being the last game of the season, but there was also this amped up energy like everyone was ready to sprint to the finish line.

Someone in charge came to our dugout and started to prep us for the pregame ceremony. Everyone's name would be announced and we would line up on the edge of the dirt. We stayed out there for the national anthem and then it was time to shake the hands of the other team.

I cringed and muttered. "Do we have to?"

"Just slap their hands and say good luck." Noah told me. He smirked. "They're going to need it."

Everything went smoother than I thought. No one said anything out of line and we went back to our dugout at the end of it all. Coach sent the relief pitchers to the bullpen with a couple of coaches as the game was almost ready to start.

"Win on three." Garret told the huddle with our hands in the middle. "One, two-"

"WIN!" Everyone shouted together.

The starters jogged out onto the field to our respective positions while the rest went back to the bench.

I looked at the fresh dirt under my feet, only to be messed up by my cleats. It was starting to feel a little unreal, being in such a big stadium. I glanced at the stands again, seeing it just full on the lower level, from behind the visitors dugout to behind ours. A couple hundred people that included families, friends, and classmates. Maybe a few scouts and coaches. And…Jeremy's family. I found them sitting behind home plate, towards the back of the section.

"Jake!" Sean hollered, rolling a baseball to me.

I reflexively got low to field it back to him.

"Good." Sean acknowledged and rolled a fast grounder to Noah.

After a few minutes of giving Garret time to throw practice pitches off the mound, the umpire called for the balls back and for the game to start. "Play ball!"

The first batter was announced and stepped up to the righty's box. Garret threw his fastest pitch down the middle for a called strike one. His second pitch was the cutter inside; the batter swung and missed for strike two. The third pitch, Garret threw outside, getting the batter to chase, swing and missed. His first strikeout of the game.

"Good one!"

"Nice, Garret!"

"Do it again!"

A lot of the students from our school cheered for him.

The second batter was announced and stepped up as another righty. He made contact on Garret's first pitch fastball, hitting a fast grounder to short. Noah handled it easily, fielding the ball and throwing him out at first.

Noah lifted his arm in the air with two fingers raised. "Two outs. One to go!"

"Two outs!" We echoed.

I was already thinking of my at bat in the bottom half of the inning when Garret gave up a hit to the third batter. I was taken aback, watching Logan field the ball on a hop and get it back in to keep the runner from advancing to second.

"Don't mind." Noah said to Garret, throwing him the ball back.

Garret got set again, ready to face the cleanup hitter. He was someone I had a better memory of from the Christmas tournament. He was the talkative first baseman that was good at throwing off our rhythm. I frowned and focused on him as Garret started him off with a low fastball for ball one.

Garret's next pitch was another low fastball.

"Runner!"

"To second!"

I snapped into action and ran to cover behind second where Noah was already on the base. Mitchell had to get the ball out of the dirt and then jumped up to get the throw off. The runner slid into the bag and into Noah as Noah caught the ball and brought the tag down.

"Safe!" The umpire declared.

Noah took the ball out of his glove and tossed it to Garret. "Two outs." He had repeated. "Focus on the batter." He motioned for me to get back into position.

I jogged back, feeling a little shaken. We weren't expecting a steal at all. Definitely got caught flat-footed.

I glanced at the runner at second and saw him taking a good size lead off second. He was zoned in at the action at home plate. He dusted off the front of his jersey with just his right hand, making me feel like something was off. I frowned.

Garret's third pitch on a 2-0 count was his cutter, coming inside. The batter swung and made solid contact, ripping a line drive to the left field corner. Logan chased it down, Noah moved to be the cutoff man, and I went to cover second base.

The runner from second scored and the batter slid into second base as the ball was just relayed back to me.

The guy looked up at me with a grin. "Hey, Jake, right? Long time, no see."

I gave a small nod of acknowledgement and headed for the mound.

Noah called 'time' and jogged in to join me. "What did he say to you?"

I shook my head. "Just greeted me." I handed the ball to Garret as he joined us at the back of the mound. I pursed my lips unsure of how to put my feeling into words. "Something is off."

Garret and Noah looked surprised.

Garret covered his mouth with his glove. "Don't worry. I'm just getting warmed up. It might look a little shaky at first since they've seen me pitch before, but soon I'll get into the rhythm."

I shook my head. "No. Not you." I frowned and lift my glove to cover my mouth. "That last guy on second. He looked weird before you pitched."

"Wrap it up." The home plate umpire said as he started to walk our way.

"We'll talk in the dugout later." Garret assured me as he waved me and Noah off the mound.