The Hitting Zone
chapter-684

The field only had bleachers behind home plate and it was rather full. Especially for a game between two teams ranked five and six. As the higher ranked team, Noah would be the home team. I looked for him as soon as we got close enough.

"Zeke! Jake! Over here!" I heard Rhys calling for us. I scanned the bleachers and found him near the front, towards the home dugout side.

Zeke led the way, sitting next to Rhys and leaving me a spot on the end. "What inning is it?"

"Top of the fourth, two outs." Rhys answered.

I dropped my bag on the ground and sat beside Zeke, feeling a little uneasy with being in the crowded stand. They were a mix of players and coaches. Maybe a few scouts. I couldn't tell.

"How was your game, Jake?" Rhys peeked over to ask.

"Fine." I shrugged. Then frowned. "Well...I could have done better."

Rhys grinned. Before he could say anything else, we heard the 'ding' of a bat making contact with a pitch. Instinctively, we turned to the field just in time to see Noah making a diving grab to snatch a line drive out of the air.

"Wow!" Rhys clapped. "What a catch!"

Zeke clapped too, but didn't say anything about it.

I clapped too, copying their movements.

A few of those around us could be heard complimenting Noah's grab, and mourning the stolen hit from the batter.

"What's the score now?" Zeke asked.

I leaned in, wanting to know as well.

Rhys chuckled. "14-6, Noah's team is winning. It's been brutal on the pitchers. None have lasted an inning. The coaches have been rotating through them because of how hot the bats have been." He pointed at the field and sure enough, a new pitcher came jogging from a makeshift bullpen beyond the outfield. "Noah should be second up this inning as long as he doesn't get pulled."

"Why would he get pulled?" I asked.

Rhys fixed the baseball hat he was wearing. "He has already bat three times. Got a hit all three times. It's only fair to give other players a chance to show their stuff. In a blowout game like this, that doesn't even matter, there probably isn't any point for him to keep going."

"Oh." I replied, thinking back to Coach Nate who never took me out this week. I guess not all coaches would be the same.

"I see him." Zeke spoke up. "He's going to bat."

Noah was in the on deck circle, swinging his bat around.

"He's a homerun away from hitting for the cycle." Rhys lowered his voice. "He got a triple first. Then singled and doubled. Knowing Noah, he'll definitely want to aim for the homerun to get a cycle."

"Do you think he can do it?" I asked, hopeful and happy for Noah. Yesterday's good batting has carried over. I bet he's excited.

"No." Zeke said before Rhys could speak up. "Noah doesn't have the strength or skill to hit a homerun. Especially on a college-leveled field. If he's smart, he won't be aiming for the fences, but for the gaps instead."

I sighed.

"This is also a new pitcher." Rhys reminded me. "With this big of a lead, he should really be working on getting a solid hit."

"You were the one that thought he would try for a homerun." I accused.

Rhys shrugged. "That's really what I think. Noah is just that kind of kid."

The first batter hit into a groundout to short. One out and Noah was up. He took one more practice swing before stepping into the batter's box. The pitcher started off with a ball low and away; Noah didn't swing. Another pitch low, but a little more in the strike zone for strike one.

On the 1-1 count, the pitcher threw high and inside. Noah started to swing and I started to cringe. Unexpectedly, Noah changed his swing to make perfect contact, sending the ball between center and right field. Then he bolted.

The ball bounced in the gap and rolled to the fence before the outfielders could get to it. The center fielder was the one to pick it up and turned to make the throw to the cutoff man. Noah didn't stop at second and was sprinting to third. I clenched my fists, anxious. The cutoff man caught the ball, turned all the way around to throw to the third baseman. Just as Noah was sliding into third, the third baseman brought down the tag.

"Safe!" A coach acting as an umpire declared.

Rhys stood up and clapped like crazy. Seeing him show support to Noah made me jump up and do the same.

"Yea, Noah! Great hit!" Rhys hollered.

I clapped in unison.

The two of us garnered attention from those around us. Most of the players and coaches here were impartial and didn't cheer for one team over the other. Just as I was feeling self-conscious and had an urge to sit back down, Zeke stood up and clapped as well.

The three of us making noise caused Noah to look over at us. Recognizing us, he started to wave from third base, completely ignoring the fact that he was in the middle of a game.

We three sat back down as the next batter stepped up to the plate.

"Wow. Noah has really matured." Rhys commented. "I really thought he was going to try for the homerun."

"He swung at a ball not in the zone." Zeke's lips twitched. "I wouldn't call that mature. But, it does look like he's using his head more. If he hits like this next week, then I'm sure Coach will be excited." He glanced down at me. "Especially if he pairs it with your newfound power."

I blushed.

Noah ended up scoring on a sacrifice fly. Sadly, that was it for him in the game. Top of the fifth, his coach had pulled him out completely, letting someone new play shortstop. We watched the last couple of innings and waited for the coaches to speak with the players after the game.

Noah hurried over to us once he was done. "Hey! Guys! How long have you been watching?? Did you get to see all of my hits?" He paused. "Oh wait. You couldn't have." He looked sad for only a second before a grin covered most of his face. "Let me tell you about it! So-"

Rhys waved his hand in front of Noah's face. "Cool it, kid. I was here. I told them all about it. I really thought you were going for the cycle."

Noah sighed, looking a little distressed. "I wish! That would have been an awesome way to end this camp. I rather have a perfect stat sheet today instead so I was aiming for open space." He looked at me. "What did you think?"

"What did I think?" I repeated back at him.

Noah nodded. "Yea, what did you think of my swing?"

"You swung at a pitch above the strike zone." I said, unsure of what he wanted to hear.

"Yea. I did that intentionally." Noah nodded, smiling. He pulled out his phone and showed us a video of a major league game. The batter also swung at a pitch high above the zone. It fell in right field. "I've been watching batting videos in my free time to see if I could find something that would help me."