Kyle lifted his glove to smack Noah, but Noah was quick to jog back to his position. Kyle looked down at me. "You got anything else to add?"
I vehemently shook my head no and ran back to my spot. I think Noah only dragged me up there was to use me. I don't know how effective the chat was, but it was nice to see Kyle showing some emotion again. He looked lively.
Kyle faced down the sixth batter, with the bases loaded, and two outs, still the top of the first inning. It was a long beginning for a game in my opinion. Kyle's face was no longer a blank sheet of nothingness. He straightened up after getting the sign and started pitching. A called strike. A foul. An 0-2 count almost immediately. Foul. Foul. Another foul. This batter wasn't giving up. His team had a good scoring probability as long as he could get a single. On the sixth pitch, he connected and put the ball in play. It flew high and towards Zeke in center field. Noah was backing up and he was running in. I cringed, afraid they could run into each other.
Zeke didn't let that happen. He yelled out, "Mine!" Noah slowed up and watched as his eldest brother caught the ball, underhanded, for out number three. We actually made it through the inning without giving up a run.
The team jogged to the dugout to get ready for our offensive. Noah and I put on our helmets and grabbed our bats. We both stepped out of the dugout, ready to get to work. Sean was close behind, but he staying in the dugout in the hole spot.
"You think this guy would be easy to hit off of?" Noah asked as we watched the Lincoln pitcher do his warmups with his catcher.
I nodded. This guy didn't have speed and seemed to lack velocity. He was no better than a pitching machine in my eyes. We watched as he mixed in a high-to-low curve that the catcher was able to catch with ease.
Noah whistled under his breath. "That was a good pitch." He glanced at me. "Ya know, when I asked if this guy looked easy to hit off of, I meant for the normal players like me."
"Oh." I mumbled. "Maybe some difficulty..?"
"You don't know?"
I shrugged. "I don't know what you see, or how you swing. It's not easy for me to judge. I know I can hit off him. And Zeke can too."
Noah rolled his eyes. "Ridiculous. You both have perfect averages right now. Don't compare yourselves to mere mortals." He left me to head for the batters box. He took some practice swings before stepping up to the plate.
"Jake. Come here for a sec." Coach called me back to the dugout. Zeke stood next to him with his helmet on. I walked over to the both of them. "You're sticking to walks today."
Again? My excitement deflated. I looked at my cleats, wondering if I should just sit down or something. "Walks aren't very fun."
Coach laughed. "It's a free base."
"I could get on base with a hit." I mumbled.
"Do you really want the attention though?" Zeke asked. I looked up so I could see his eyes. "It's not like you'll do this for every game. We let you go crazy on Sunday night, right? You went 4-4. So how about we calm it down before we start playing the teams in our conference?"
I thought about it. I really did grab a lot of attention...both good and bad. It's probably best to blend in and not stand out so much. Hiding in Zeke's shadow would be a good cover. "But...I really want to hit." I don't even get to do batting practice with the team; I'm always stuck training with Drew.
"I'll pay for The Cages on Sunday." Zeke stayed.
I started to nod, but then thought of Noah. "Just for me? Or Noah's too?"
Zeke's lips twitched. "Fine. Noah's too."
I gave a nod and smiled, happy with the deal. I moved back to the on deck circle, but Noah was already done with his at-bat, having to pop out to the second baseman.
As we switched spots, he raised an eyebrow. "Was my pop up that funny to you?"
I stopped, still smiling. "Zeke is paying for the cages on Sunday. For the both of us." Then I continued on to the batters box. I stepped in and faced down the pitcher.
He wasn't impressive at all. Strike. Maybe a little bit taller than Noah. Strike. His speed was in the low 70's. Ball. His frame was thin like he was still growing. Foul. But I guess that's true for every boy in high school. Foul. I'm still only five foot. Ball. I'd be extremely disappointed if I stopped growing so soon. Ball. I wonder what it takes to grow as tall as the Atkins? Ball.
"Ball four. Take your base." The umpire told me.
I carefully set down my bat and jogged to first. Coach Luis was there, waiting. I wanted to ask to see if he knew, but his scowl told me that my mind shouldn't be wandering. I turned my attention to Sean at bat, and Mr. Miller near third base. I didn't want to accidentally miss a steal, especially now that I've practiced it.
