The Hitting Zone
chapter-189

After coach announced the lineup, he also informed us that we would get to be the home team since we beat the higher seeded team. That meant, batting at the bottom of the inning and we would get our dugout, the one on the third base side. We haven't played any away games so it's kind of what I'm used to.

When it got closer to warmup time, Zeke led us to the empty dugout to drop off our bags and to get our cleats on. After making sure everything was settled, we started our warmups.

Kyle was noticeably nervous as he tripped over his own feet a couple of times as he watched Durham on the other side of the field. After the fifth bad throw during tosses, Zeke finally went over and spoke to him quietly. After that, Kyle straightened up and his eyes didn't wander to see how the other team was doing.

"What do you think he said to Kyle?" Noah asked for my opinion as we moved to practice fielding.

"If you don't stop fooling around, you'll run laps." I imitated Zeke as best as I could, even staying expressionless.

Noah cracked up laughing, drawing attention to us. I nudged him. "Sorry, that was too good. I didn't think you would actually come up with an answer."

"Then why did you ask?" I mumbled, embarrassed.

Noah shrugged. "I thought you would say 'I don't know' or something and then I would tell you what I thought Zeke told Kyle."

I looked around to make sure none of our teammates were too close, then I asked. "What do you think he said?"

"I bet he threatened to replace Kyle with Dave. That's usually a good motivator to get Kyle to focus. He doesn't like to be one upped by Dave. But same with Dave. Must be hard to have a twin that plays the same position as you. I'm glad none of my brothers play shortstop."

I nodded. I was happy none of them played second. It was the only suitable position for me. I wonder what position my brother played when he was younger. Was he playing in college or trying to make the cut in the minor leagues? Did he even keep playing baseball after leaving with dad? Maybe he played in high school and stopped after graduating. I think he was seven years older than me so he should be about 21.

"Jake. Jakey. Jakeee." Noah's constant chatter pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked at him with a blank face. "Hey, where'd you go? You froze like an old computer."

I shrugged my shoulders, trying to get rid of the tension that built up. "I was just thinking."

"About?" Noah curiously eyed me.

"Freshmen!" Coach's voice could be heard clearly even though he was by home plate. "Bring it in. Focus on warming up."

We both shut up, ran to our positions, and didn't talk anymore during warmups. After an hour, the umpires showed up and the stands started to fill up with spectators. We were back in the dugout, waiting to take the field after coach exchanged the lineups with the other team's coach and the umpire.

"Dave, James, Theo, Troy, and Ryan, go to the bullpen with Jordan. You five will be on standby starting from inning one. Make sure to get up every now and then to stretch." Zeke spoke and the team started to move.

Dave bumped Kyle on his way out. "Try not to need me too soon." He laughed as Kyle pushed him out of the dugout.

Coach came back, signaling for us to take the field. We ran out to our positions and started to toss the ball around as Kyle took the mound to throw some warmup pitches.

Watching Kyle made me think that Dave was right about him...he looked shaken already and lacked confidence before the game even started. His nervousness amped up my anxiety and I made a bad throw to Julian on first.

Julian shot me a look after he had to reach to catch the ball. He sent the ball to the dugout and jogged over to me. "What was that?"

I tugged at my jersey. "Just a little nervous."

He pushed down my hat. "You're always nervous. That's why you're Bambi. Just play like you normally do. Nothing new and nothing creative. You aren't Noah so don't try to be flashy. Just one out at a time." The umpire behind the plate was calling for the batter to step up so Julian had to go back.

He was right. I'm always nervous, but I'm still able to make plays. This game isn't any different.

Kyle faced the leadoff hitter for Durham Preparatory. His first two pitches went wide, even making Kelvin get out of position to grab them. With a 2-0 count, he tried calming himself down to throw a strike down the middle. Unfortunately, that's what the batter thought he would do, and swung, connecting with the ball and sending it up the middle. Zeke fielded the grounder and threw to Noah, holding the batter at first.

The Durham dugout cheered as loud as possible, making Kyle flinch. He started to look pale like he might even throw up. He faced the second batter with shaky legs and bad aim, walking up and giving up a free base.

Before the third batter stepped up, Kelvin jumped up and ran to Kyle. They shared some words, hidden behind their gloves. Kyle's shoulders stayed tensed up, but his expression became a little more clearer. The umpire called for Kelvin to come back and he complied.

Kyle checked the runners on first and second before facing the third batter. He completed his motion and threw the ball to Kelvin, just barely catching the inside corner for a called strike one. His first real strike, excluding the one the first batter hit to the outfield. The batter was unfazed. He stepped out of the box, took a practice swing, then stepped back in. Kyle checked the runners, making sure they didn't have an overwhelming lead off the bag.

Then he turned his attention to the batter. With an aggressive step forward, he pitched a fastball, aiming for the strike zone. The batter was able to see it and swung. The sound of the aluminum bat hitting the ball made a 'ping' sound, but I hardly noticed as the ball came towards me on the hop. It was a sharp, fast grounder. I used my glove to get it out of the dirt, and using my right hand, I took it out of my glove and did an underhand toss to Noah, who was waiting on second base. He tagged the bag before the runner from first could even start his slide, then he threw to Julian with great aim, beating out the batter and converted the double play. Julian quickly stepped off the bag, ready to throw home in case the runner on third tried to score.

The runner retreated back to third and stayed there so Julian returned the ball to Kyle on the mound. Our own dugout didn't lose out in cheering, happy with our double play. A few "Bambi!" shouts made me blush.

"That was great!" Noah gave me a thumbs up and I returned the gesture. Noah really had a good arm as a freshman, making such an accurate throw with a runner in the way. I probably would have accidentally hit him in the face or something.

Kyle was the only one who didn't look happy with the double play. Instead, he was back to looking as pale as a ghost. He watched as the cleanup batter stepped up to the plate. He was the first lefty I've seen besides me and Garret. I watched as he dug his back leg in and stared down Kyle. I shivered. He gave me the same feeling as Zeke, like he would blast any pitch that came his way.

Kyle started with a ball in the dirt. Then another ball wide. His third pitch came a bit high and could have been called a ball of the batter didn't swing. But he went against logic and sent the ball flying. It zoomed well over the infield and didn't start its descent until it went over the fence. A home run. 0-2. I stared in shock. This would be the first time we would start behind the other team. As long as I've been on the team, we've always had the lead.

Granted, we didn't have a turn up to bat yet. Kyle wasn't even surprised. He just sighed and kicked the dirt after Kelvin tossed him a new ball. I worriedly check to see if Noah would say anything, but all Noah did was stare at his brother on the mound.

Kyle remained pale as he faced the fifth batter. Again with a favorable count, he hit a ball deep to left field. Garret sprinted back and was able to catch it right before the fence. A collective sigh came from the players on the field, the players in our dugout, and the parents in the stands. It would have been unbelievable for Kyle to give up back to back home runs in the first inning of the game. It was still hard for me to swallow that we were already losing by two.