Bottom of the first inning, James stepped on the mound, and we took our respective positions. James pitching style was interesting in an unusual way. He throws, what Noah calls, junk. Noah said before that he compensated his slow fastball by learning to throw a slider, curve, splitter, and a sinker. None of those stood out by itself, but he was proficient in throwing each and could switch among them to confuse the batter.
I knew the basics of what each pitch should look like from the help of the internet, but since James threw so many different types of pitches, it was hard to to tell which was actually thrown. Especially compared to someone who only had a curve and a fastball. If a pitcher only had two different types of pitches, I wouldn't even worry. If I faced someone like James, I might struggle even with such good vision and timing. I probably should look up more ways to tell the difference between the different kinds of pitches.
The first batter up for University Preparatory didn't have any trouble with James pitching. He swung on the first pitch, sending a line drive to right field. Sean caught it on a bounce and threw it in without aim. Julian was still close to first, so I prepped myself to catch the ball.
"To second!" Noah called out. After I caught the ball, I turned all the way around and threw to second base, where Noah was waiting. He caught my throw and eyed the runner, but the runner safely retreated back to first.
Wow. My first relay throw. How exciting. My heart pounded with excitement instead of the usual anxiety. Maybe I could be the relay man now? My endurance has improved and my arm strength is no longer pathetic like it used to be.
Noah returned the call to James on the mound. He didn't look upset or depressed like either of the twins would. Nor did he give off a feeling of superiority like Garret. It was more like...indifference.
James stepped on the rubber and faced off with the second batter. This batter took the first pitch, watching it fall into the catcher's glove for a called strike one. The second pitch looked slightly different from my angle, yet the batter didn't hesitate. He swung and blasted the ball faster than my eyes could keep up with. By the time I turned and located the ball, it was sailing over Garret's head in left field, and it didn't stop til it was over the outfield fence. A home run. 2-0, them. The cheer of the crowd was so loud, it made me think that University Preparatory was a local school. Maybe they're nearby...I should ask Noah when we get to the dugout.
I gulped and peeked at James on the mound to see if he would have a reaction now that we were already losing without getting a single out. I caught him looking towards the direction the ball was hit, but he didn't stare for long. He looked back to Kelvin behind home plate and asked for a new ball. The umpire handed one to Kelvin, who threw to James.
Both the runner and hitter made it back to their dugout, letting the third batter take center stage. James was able to stick him in a corner with an 0-2 count, getting him to swing and miss on his junk pitches. The batter connected with the following pitch, sending a soft roller up the third baseline. Daniel sprinted forward, grabbed the ball barehanded, then threw to Julian at first. Unfortunately, he threw over Julian's reach, practically throwing the ball to our dugout. Luckily it hit off the fence and rolled back to Julian. Julian reacted quickly, following the ball and picking it up. He turned to find the batter safe at first, without an intention moving to second. Oh boy.
Julian threw the ball back to James. "Don't mind. Focus on the next batter."
James shook his head for a second, glancing at Daniel, who kicked at the dirt. He looked at the next batter, the cleanup hitter...for the number one team in this tournament. After a glance at the runner, he focused on his pitches. A curveball was hit foul down the left field line. Slider for a ball. Splitter for a ball. The connection came on a 2-1 count. It came...and it went. It seemed to have the same trajectory as the previous home run, soaring over the left field fence, making the score 4-0. The cheers were like surround sound, just drowning us in disbelief. Did we even have a fan in the stand?
My jaw clenched. Are we going to lose this game in the first inning by the mercy rule? At the rate we're going, we'll be done for by the time they get to the first home run batter.
"Bring it in!" Noah's command pulled me out of my thoughts. He was running to the mound while waving at the rest of us infielders. Kelvin got up and joined us as well. We made a circle around the rubber, with Noah stepping a little in the center.
"No more." He declared. "No more runs."
"It's not like I can help it." James spat out, showing some dissatisfaction.
"I don't mind giving up hits." Noah said. "At least we can try and make plays off them. But you know what you can't defend against? Home runs. And walks. But you're ball is finding the strike zone so keep it up; just keep it in hard to hit places."
James stared him down. "It's not like you guys saved the other two hits."
"That was an error by Daniel. Whatever." Julian shrugged. "You can also blame me for not jumping high enough. But you know, we could have tried for a double play."
"No ifs." Noah cut in. "Let's just put some more effort in what we can do. James, just stay away from the middle of the strike zone, Okay? I'll try my best for any ball coming on my way. More effort equals more results."
"Ten more seconds, kids." The ump had came up to warn us.
Noah gave us one last look. "No more runs. That's all I ask. Keep us in the game." We parted ways, and went back to our own positions.
James showed a little more energy on the mound as he prepared to face the fifth batter. He took Noah's advice, throwing pitches inside and outside, avoiding dead center. On a curve away and low, he got the batter to swing for strike three. Our first out! What a relief. Now we're on pace to at least get up to bat for the second inning. Supposedly.
The sixth batter got lucky, by jamming an inside pitch, hitting a bloop single over my head, equally between me and Sean. Sean was coming in so he called me off, caught the ball on the bounce, then threw it in to Noah, keeping the runner to a single.
The seventh batter also tried swinging at inside pitch, but his was a fast grounder to third. Daniel fielded it, and threw the ball to me as I raced to second. I tagged the base, beating out the baserunner, and tried to throw the ball to first before the hitter. I had to throw at an awkward angle and my arm strength still wasn't sufficient. It bounced before Julian, who dug it out of the dirt, but still lost out to the batter. No double play, but at least we got the force out at second. Two outs.
The eighth batter showed patience, fouling off any close pitches of James, and letting the outside pitches pass for balls, earning himself a walk. But it didn't matter since the ninth batter sent a high fly right to Mahki in center field to end the inning. Finally.
I let out a sigh of relief as we jogged back to the dugout.
A smack on the back pushed me forward a few extra steps. "Don't be so down. It was only one inning." Noah smiled at me.
I let out a hollow laugh. "I was just relieved that we didn't get mercy ruled in the first inning."
Noah rolled his eyes. "That would have been highly improbable. Coach would have switched pitchers sooner than later."
"I don't know." I lowered my voice as we sat down by our bags. "He let James give up four runs and didn't even come out to say anything."
Noah looked past me. "Sneak a glance. He's talking to him now. And, if you were paying attention to your surroundings, you would have noticed that Bryce started to warmup in the bullpen."
I briefly looked down the dugout and saw Coach leaning over James, who sat on the bench with a sullen expression.
"He's done for the day." Noah stated. "He just didn't have the energy on the mound. So moody." He huffed.
I agreed. He just didn't look alive out there.