Kyle stepped up to bat with the same face he uses against batters. The kind of face that says: I'm going to own you.
From the corner of my eye, I could see Noah putting on his helmet. I turned to look as he put on his batting gloves.
He caught me looking. "What?"
I shrugged. I didn't have anything in particular to say.
But that didn't stop Noah from explaining his actions. "Kyle will get on. The odds of me coming up to bat is pretty high. I need to make up for my first two at-bats." He held up his bat. "Check my grip for me?" He stood up and found some room to get in a batting stance.
"Swing halfway." I said in a low voice. "Like where your bat would meet in the strike zone."
He held his bat like I asked.
I got up and nudged his hands higher up on the handle. "Choke up on your bat and you'll have a more compact swing."
He did so. Then he pulled his bat back and swung halfway. "Feels different."
I nodded, then sat back down as he messed around with his swing. He looked up at me, "Aren't you going to get your helmet on? You'll come up too!"
I raised an eyebrow. Noah had a lot of confidence in his brother. Even if he got on, there would be Kelvin, Chris, and Noah before me. There was plenty of ways the inning could end before I even get a chance to go up.
"Stop being such a Debbie-Downer." Noah rolled his eyes. He went to my bag, grabbed my helmet and replaced my baseball cap with it. "You have to prepare yourself mentally."
The 'ding' of an aluminum bat rung in the air. Noah swiftly turned back to the field and we watched as Kyle's hit bounced off the outfield fence. He sprinted from home plate to second base, without needing to slide. The team in the dugout yelled and hollered for him, and same with the crowd. Kyle looked over at us and gave us a fist pump.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Noah whooped. He smirked at me and wiggled his eyebrows. "Always follow my lead on betting. I know how to read." He thrust my bat in my hands before grabbing his own and heading to the entrance of the dugout to wait 'in the hole.'
He knows how to read? Read what? The situation? The atmosphere? I shook my head to push aside these thoughts. One thing's for sure, I would never bet against Noah. I don't think I've seen him in a losing scenario.
I held my bat in my lap and watched on. Kelvin followed up with a single, pushing Kyle to third. Chris came up only to pop out to the second base, leaving no chance for the runners to go anywhere. Noah moved to the batters box, and I finally dragged myself to the on deck circle.
Noah was excited, swinging his bat wildly as if changing his hands positioning could allow him to hit by itself. I wonder if he knows that he has to not only see the ball too, but also get the timing of the swing as well? There was also a chance that he could hit into a double play, strikeout, pop out, and so on.
Once Noah stopped his practice swings and stepped into the batters box, he became serious. His feet were shoulders length apart, slightly bent at the knees, back elbow up, and bat steady. The pitcher threw a couple wild pitches; probably worn out already. With a 2-0 count, he sent a strike towards home. Noah didn't squander the opportunity; he stepped forward with his left, and started his swing. The ball jumped off his bat when they met over the plate. The ball soared to right-center field.
Kyle easily jogged in from third, and got Noah's bat out of the way for Kelvin, who was hustling thanks to Mr. Miller's signals. But the ball came back to the infield in a brisk manner, stopping Kelvin at third and Noah at second.
Noah raised both fists in the air as if he drove in the winning run, accepting the applause and cheers from those nearby. 4-1 in the bottom of the fourth.
Kyle took Noah's bag to the dugout and I took over the batters box. I wasn't able to foul off many pitches thanks to the pitcher getting tired and already throwing all over the place. I easily earned my walk and jogged to first base so Sean could come up.
For Sean, the Lincoln's coach came out and changed pitchers. But instead of calling someone from the bullpen, he pulled the left fielder in and sent someone from the dugout to left field. Coincidentally, the left fielder was the one to hit the home run off of Kyle. He was tall and lean, with a baby face that couldn't even grown a pre teen mustache. He warmed up and threw some excellent practice pitches to his catcher while his coach went back to their own dugout.