The Hitting Zone
chapter-332

Coach went back to the dugout, as us fielders left James on the mound so he could warmup with Bryce. The umpire gave him a few minutes starting with regular throwing and then working his way up to pitching.

Noah spoke with Jason about some MLB teams as the season was about to start this weekend, while my eyes wandered around. The fans in the stands were 90% parents and the rest looked to be friends or classmates. I wonder if that would have been me if Noah didn't force me to tryout for the team. Would I still watch? I don't think I would have been able to cut it on the freshmen or JV team. The Atkins had to take care of me so much, stand up for me, comfort me, so without them, I wouldn't be playing again. Not like I played in the first place.

I looked to the outfield. Zeke stood in position with his arms folded across his chest. Mahki and Tony had both went in to join him in center field, probably chatting like we do for the infield.

I felt a heavy hand land on my shoulder, causing me to jump. I looked over my right shoulder to see Sean smiling down at me. "They're ready to start. Let's get back in place."

I looked around and saw that Noah and Jason had already gotten back in position. With a glance to the outfield, I saw the two running back to their corners.

"Okay." I moved as well. It was still the bottom of the sixth with no outs. It's like we were standing still, yet worse because we gave up a run.

The third batter stepped up and James started the showdown. Unlike Garret and Dave, James didn't use a fastball. He started with a curve, and got the batter to chase it outside. Then threw one that the batter was able to foul back. The third pitch was smacked down the third baseline but went foul as well. This batter was ready to score a run. I watched as he launched the fourth pitch to left field. Mahki chased it to the wall, jumped, but came down empty-handed. A homerun. For them. The two runs scored made it 5-4.

Noah was the first to react. With positivity, of course. He just clapped with his glove a few times. "Don't mind it. Still ahead. Just think of starting this inning all over again." He raised his voice for everyone to hear. "No outs! Play is at first!"

James, as a senior, didn't look bothered at all. Not about giving up a run or two, and he didn't bother with Noah's talk. He just got a new ball from Bryce and focused on the next batter. The cleanup hitter had previously lineout to left field and had a walk. This time he hit a single to left field by squeezing a grounder down the line. Mahki was super fast with a sprint in, barehanded it, and threw immediately to Noah. Noah turned and saw me alone at second. The runner had stayed. I guess since they were only one run down, they didn't want to take too many risks.

I sighed and moved back to my position.

James faced batter five. Someone who had singled and had a groundout. So 1-2. The runner on first took a pretty big lead even though Sean was on the bag, looking ready for a pickoff.

I looked to the dugout, but Coach didn't give any signs. Not even for a pickoff attempt.

James didn't even look. He was solely focused on his pitching actions and not concerned about the runner. He pitched a curve that looked to be coming at the batter but broke inside. The batter didn't flinch as he swung through it, connecting with the ball before taking off to first. The grounder was hit between Jason and Noah. Jason missed, but Noah got to it before the ball could reach the outfield grass. I was already at second base, covering, but it was too late. The runner on first was already here after getting such a good jump.

Noah reacted quickly and threw the ball to first to beat out the hitter for the first out. Thankfully.

"One out!" Noah hollered.

James didn't mind it. He ended up wasting a couple of pitches on the next batter, who fought hard for a walk. We were back to two on, one out, and James pitch count was climbing. James just continued to challenge the next batter. Luckily, we caught a break with him hitting a grounder straight to Jason, who then threw the ball to Noah on second, and then Noah to Sean to get the batter out at first. A 5-6-3 double play. Not one we see often but good enough to get out of the inning.

It felt like the whole team had let out a collective sigh once everyone was back to the dugout.

Top of the seventh. We would start with Noah.

We both got our helmets on, grabbed our bats, and left the dugout. After a glance behind, we saw that James had also put on a helmet.

"Looks like Coach wants him to finish the game." Noah remarked as Quincy warmed up.

"Can he do it?" I asked in a low voice. "Not to sound mean, but he looked oddly calm even when giving up baserunners."

Noah shrugged, just as clueless as me. "Every pitcher has their quirk. We've already made it this far. Why complicate things further with bringing in another pitcher. Heck, we don't even have a proper catcher right now. I say, we should score some more and give ourselves some breathing room again."

I nodded in agreement.

The ump called for Noah to step up and he did so, leaving me alone in the on deck circle. Quincy had put in a new pitcher of their own, who started off with some bad pitches in the dirt. He walked Noah on all four balls.

I stepped up, happy for my friend. Now if I can just get a good hit, I'm sure he'd be able to run all the way home. Sadly, things didn't go to plan. I had let a couple of balls pass before deciding to swing on something close, hitting a grounder up the middle. The shortstop dove, getting a glove on it. He flipped it up to his second baseman, and he tagged the base before throwing to first. A 6-4-3 double play. Crap.

I dragged my bat and myself back to the dugout. Noah wasn't too far behind.

James didn't do any better by flying out to center field. We were stuck with our one run lead.

We took the field for one last go at defense. James got on the mound, still looking the same. Bryce did his best to catch the curves, not letting his focus drop at all. And it paid off. James got the batter to strikeout swinging, but Bryce had dropped the ball so the batter was able to run for first. Bryce found the ball, then threw to Sean at first, ensuring the out.

James curves seemed to be more effective on the bottom of the lineup. Batter nine could only hit a high but short fly to center for the second out.

The leadoff batter was up once again. The crowd all stood up and started to clap for him, hoping for something to happen. Meanwhile, I was hoping for nothing. No action please. And James delivered; he was able to strike him out as well to end the game. The crowd let out groans of disappointment, while we went back to the dugout in better spirits. It really wasn't looking good for a second there.

"Listen up." Coach demanded our attention when we all got inside the dugout. "I won't take too much of your time tonight. Pack up, get on the bus, and let's get you all home. It'll be late, so you all better go to bed once you get home. I don't want to see any red eyes in the morning."

"We're having practice tomorrow morning?" Bryce asked, shrugging off all the catcher gear. "Shouldn't we make it later? Like after lunch? It's the last day of spring break."

Coach's eyes narrowed. "We barely escaped with that win. We have problems that need addressing before Saturday's game. Be at the school field at 8am tomorrow. If you're not there, then I'll take that as your resignation from the team."

A heavy silence followed. Some eyes were cast to Jordan at the end of the dugout, but no one spoke up.