"Keep your head in the game." Zeke told me as we lined up at the dugout entrance. He stood behind me with his own helmet on. He was tugging on his batting gloves when I turned around. "The only thing on your mind right now should be getting on base."
I swallowed hard and gave a nod. Then I swirled around to have my eyes on the game. With Kyle's pop out, I might not even have an at-bat this inning if Jason and Garret don't pull through.
The pitcher for Etna finished his warmup off the mound and the ump gave the signal for Jason to step up. The new pitcher started off strong, throwing Jason straight fastballs, blowing them right by him. He struck out swinging. Garret moved up and I stepped out of the dugout.
I was happy to put some space between me and Zeke. I wanted to take his advice seriously, yet with him being too close, I couldn't help but get distracted. It's like someone telling you to look at the stars when the sun is right next to you.
Garret didn't struggle with the fast fastball pitcher; he thrived instead. He made a solid connection and got it to the outfield for a single.
My turn. I got in the lefty's box and moved the dirt around with my cleat. Something I didn't like about Garret playing: he used the same batter's box as me. He liked to dig in his back foot and practically make a ditch at the back of the box while I liked smooth, flat ground to stand on. I think that has something to do with me practicing in the cages. There's no dirt to dig into. There's only solid concrete to stand on.
I let the first pitch pass for a called strike. He had good speed. Better than the other two. The second pitch looked like the one to hit so I started my swing, yet the ball seemed to break in, connecting with the thinner part of my bat. The ball rolled to the second baseman and I took off. One, two, one, two. Only thing I should be doing is sprinting to first.
I heard a dugout groan and the other one cheer. I glanced over to see the ball rolling forward away from the second baseman. Wait. What. I made it to first safely, Garret was also safe at second base. What happened? Did my hit just defy the laws of physics? It should have been right to him. It could have even been a double play ball.
I turned to Coach Luis for help. He wasn't the friendliest of coaches, but he didn't give me much of a hard time.
"An error." Coach Luis lowered his voice as we watch the ball be picked up and given back to the pitcher. "Went off his glove, then off his thigh."
Oh. That must suck. "Is he okay?" I stood on first base, watching him rub the spot above his knee.
"Who cares? His coach isn't worried so why are you." Coach Luis snapped at me. "Zeke is up now. Focus more on how you can score from here."
Ah, yea. I checked Mr. Miller for signs but he only told Zeke to hit the best he can and for us to run on any grounder. Zeke is 0-2 today with two groundouts, a walk, a run, and a RBI. Not exactly his best day. Possibly his worst.
Like I was taught, I started to take a lead of first base since the first baseman wasn't strictly guarding the bag. I inched my way out, almost leaving the bag as far as him, but still made sure I was closer. I knew I wasn't as fast as him so we couldn't be the same distance out.
The pitcher lined up on the rubber, checked on Garret at second, then me at first. Then he did his motion and threw to Zeke. Ball. Ball. On a 2-0 count, Zeke swung at the third pitch, a low fastball in the zone. He smashed it with the barrel of his bat and it soared like a bird. It was a goner, I know it. I started to run to second, and had the perfect view of the center fielder leaping at the outfield wall, but it was only for show. That blast easily cleared the fence for a home run. I hurried around the bases knowing that Zeke was pretty fast, even during a homerun trot. He didn't waste time.
As soon as I touched home plate, Garret slapped my back and we waited for Zeke. He held out his hand for high-fives yet his face was stoic and expressionless. Almost like the three-run homerun didn't matter to him. With it though, we took an 8-2 lead over Etna. We went back to the dugout together as Mahki moved to the batter's box.
I went back to my bag alone as Garret and Zeke accepted high-fives from the team. Noah was already on deck so it was just me alone. I put away my helmet and made sure my bat was properly put away. After my at-bats, I know it's always Noah who grabs it and puts it away for me. It's important. It's what allows me to play.
Mahki ended our offense with a strikeout of his own, but going 2-4 so far was great. He was definitely out of his slump now.
I grabbed my glove and hat and waited for Noah to come back.
He sighed as he switched his own gear. "Man, I was hoping to get in on the action too."
"You still have next inning?" I offered.
He sighed. "Yea, I know. I just want to be able to score a run or better yet, drive in some runs. But hitting towards the bottom of the lineup doesn't allow too much of an opportunity. Particularly if I lead off. Just look, Alex and Kyle are hitless today...do you want them hitting after you?"
I laughed. "But they're working hard on defense."
"Yea, yea, I know. You don't need to tell me that." Noah rolled his eyes and then led the way for us to jog out on the field. "It feels like forever since I got to touch home plate, okay? I'm just not contributing enough for my liking."
I shrugged, not knowing what to say. We split to our own positions and did the warmup with Sean.
Kyle came started hot in the bottom of the sixth inning, striking out the first batter up. Which was the ninth in the lineup so I can't really say if that's impressive.
With that, the top of the order came up once more. This would be their third time. And it showed. The first batter in the lineup worked diligently, fouling off a few of Kyle's pitches. It wasn't until the tenth pitch overall, he hit a catchable fly ball to Mahki in right field.
The second batter in the lineup was trying even harder. He would foul off obvious balls, probably because he was too tensed at the plate. It worked in our favor. He also hit a fly ball to Mahki in right.