The Hitting Zone
chapter-746

Top of the fifth, Dave got back on the mound. He worked against the bottom of the lineup: Dalton, Tanner, and Joey. He had back-to back strikeouts, getting Dalton and Tanner without a problem. Mr. Miller made a surprise move by pulling Joey, and letting Bryce pinch-hit. Joey had only gotten two innings in. I guess the same could be said about James. Maybe it had something to do with us starting at the top of the lineup in the bottom half of this inning.

Bryce had taken some time to get to the batter's box, having come from the bullpen. Clearly he had been warming up so he was definitely going to take over the mound later. Just because he had warmed up for pitching didn't mean he was prepared to bat. Dave struck him out to end the inning.

"Five." Dave said with pride, grinning. He did strike out the side so he had the right to be prideful.

Garret put his helmet on and ignored him.

Dave didn't let him off. "Remind me how many strikeouts you had this game?"

Garret scoffed. "Fine. How many hits have you given up? How many hits have you gotten at the play? If you want to compare, let's compare across the board?"

Dave grinned, unaffected. "Who cares? I beat you in strikeouts." He found a spot on the bench and sat comfortably.

Noah left the dugout first. "Garret, you seem like you're in a bad mood today. Maybe drink some iced water and cool off."

"You're in a bad mood." Garret huffed.

I headed for the on deck circle. "I think you're playing well."

Garret smiled. "That's more like it. Thanks, Jake. You're playing well too."

I let out a small laugh as I stood in the circle. Garret was so easy to please. He just needed a compliment. He wasn't truly mad at Dave for having more strikeouts; he's the type to be mad at himself because he knows he can play better. But he really did pitch well. One hit, one run. To Zeke. That's not anything to be mad about.

Bryce was on the mound as expected, going into the bottom of the fifth. The other team ran by Mr. Miller clearly had a different plan for their pitchers. They would get to face everyone in our lineup once. The twins and Garret had it good compared to them, getting three clear innings.

Noah and Bryce had a good battle. Noah was able to foul off a few pitches, while Bryce was doing his best to keep his pitches in the zone. It came to an end when Noah smacked a line drive towards Dalton. Dalton made the catch for the first out.

"Dang it." Noah muttered on his way back to the dugout. "Just a bit more."

I went up to the batter's box next, choosing to bat from the right side. Before I was even set, Kelvin was standing up and holding his arm out. Another intentional walk?

I looked back at Kelvin in disbelief.

Kelvin chuckled. "Don't look at me like that, Jake. This is just how the game goes."

Bryce threw the first ball way outside.

"No one's even on base." I mumbled.

"Don't think I don't know about all these homeruns you've been hitting this past week." Kelvin laughed. "You already have one off of Bryce from what I heard." He caught the second ball and threw it back.

"What if I promise not to hit a homerun?" I tried to bargain.

Kelvin just laughed again. "The fact that you can promise that is scary enough. Sorry. We're still trying to win here."

Balls three and four came and went. I put my bat down, depressed. Then jogged to first base.

Julian was also smiling. "How does it feel to be a recognized power hitter?"

I frowned. "Not so good."

He nodded. "Better get use to it. I'm sure not too many teams and pitchers will want to go up against you."

"Really?" My shoulders slumped as I started to feel down.

"I'm sure there'll be exceptions." Julian comforted me. "Like no one on base. Maybe if they're winning. There's a lot of scenarios to think of. For example, we have an empty base for you to go to. And it works out that we have one out. Ideally, Garret will hit into a double play."

I turned my attention to Garret who was facing Bryce. They won't pitch to me, but will pitch to Garret? That's not really fair.

I took a small lead off first, praying that Garret can hit a homerun and make them pay for walking me. Instead, Garret hit the top part of the ball, sending a grounder between third and second base. I sprinted to second the fastest I could, but my jump was late. Michael was able to field the ball and make the throw to Dalton just as I started my slide. Dalton threw to Julian at first.

"Out and out!" The umpire called it.

Ugh. Like Noah said earlier, dang it.

Garret had taken his helmet off on the way back to the dugout and was running his fingers through his hair. "Sorry, Jake. Got too excited and wasn't clear-headed."

I shrugged. "We can blame Dave."

"Hey!" Dave was coming out of the dugout with Mitchell.

Garret smiled and laughed as he threw his arm around my shoulders. "Jake knows what's up. Stop messing with our rhythm."

Dave let us go without getting mad at me.

I sighed with relief when he headed for the mound.

"He wasn't really mad." Garret said.

"I know." I nodded. "I just felt guilty for a second."

Garret laughed. "You're good kid." He left to go find his glove.

I also changed my helmet for a hat, then grabbed my glove and hit the field.

Top of the sixth, Dave was greeted with the top of the lineup. Julian hit a single just out of my reach to right field to lead it off. Mahki followed with a fast grounder towards left field. I thought it was going to go through, but Noah made a diving stop.

I was already in place, covering second, when Noah flipped the ball to me from his knees. Feeling a sense of urgency, I caught the ball with my right hand, foot on the base, then threw straight to Sean at first.

"Out and out!" The umpire declared.

"Yes!"

Julian got up from the dirt after trying to slide into second safely, then patted me on the shoulder. "That was an awesome play. Keep it up."

"Thanks!" My smile overtook my whole face, making my cheeks hurt. He went back to his dugout.

"That was so amazing!" Noah hit me with his gloved hand. "We killed that play!"

I nodded like a woodpecker. "I can't believe it. I'm in shock. I didn't think I would make it in time."

"All your hard work is paying off!" He clapped me on the shoulder and jogged back to his position. "Two outs! One to go!"

Some of the players echoed him.

***

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