"Batter up." The umpire waved for me to step up.
Out of habit, I almost walked to the lefty's box, but quickly corrected myself. The righty box was soft and the dirt was uneven. I took the time to kick the dirt away and find firm ground before officially stepping in.
Sanchez started me off with a fastball down the middle. I let it pass for a called strike. 0-1. The next was a curve that started outside, but it had the movement to come in. I swung and fouled it back, hitting the catcher in the mask.
"Dang it!" The catcher cursed as he readjusted his mask.
My heart pounded almost out of my chest. I took a breath to calm myself, before speaking out. "Sorry." I whispered.
The catcher looked down at me in surprise. He gave a short nod. "It's all good." The umpire gave the baseball to him to give to the pitcher and we resumed my at-bat.
So awkward. I tried to calm myself down before getting set in the box again. I haven't fouled a ball back since my first tournament. It's easier to foul it back than purposely down the line, but I really don't like the idea of hitting the catcher. Mostly because, what if he gets mad and hits me?
I shivered. The next pitch was a fastball outside. 1-2. Sanchez threw a slider next. From a lefty to a righty, it came inside. Too much inside. I jumped back to avoid being hit. 2-2.
"Hey!"
"Watch it!"
"He's aiming for our guy ump!"
My team was getting riled up in the dugout even though the ball didn't hit me. Their yelling encouraged the crowd to join in and get mad at the pitcher for the close call. The umpire shot them a look and they quieted down.
I got back in the box. I was feeling a little nervous from the attention and just in general. Maybe I shouldn't foul any extra pitches and go for a hit right away? It's not like Sanchez has poor endurance anyway and maybe I'm feeling a little anxious with us being down by two runs.
Okay, if it's in the zone and looks good, I'm going to go for it. I made my decision.
Sanchez nodded at his catcher and got set, completed his motion, and then threw a pitch my way. It was a fastball. I started my swing and watched closely, hoping to connect with the thickest part of my bat. The speed of my swing and the speed of the ball caused it to fly off the bat. It shot over the jumping second baseman. I sprinted to first and watched as the center fielder sprint to try and make the play. He hesitated for too long and the line drive dropped for a bounce a few feet in front of him. He threw the ball back in to the second baseman as I stayed on first.
"Way to go, Jake!"
Claps and cheers surrounded me. It was odd to hear so much just for a single so I looked to Coach Luis for help.
He caught me staring at him and stepped closer. He lowered his voice. "You just broke up the no hitter the pitcher had going."
Oh. I nodded slowly. I guess that was true. He had only given up a walk and that was to me in the first inning.
"Pay attention." He patted my helmet before stepping away. "Sanchez is a lefty." He warned.
I nodded. He is. So he would be facing me when he prepares to pitch to Zeke. I faced him as I started to inch off the mound. I didn't dare to go too far. Not only is Sanchez a left-handed pitcher, but he's fast.
Sanchez looked directly at me, making me want to go back immediately, but I know that's not how you should play so I stayed firm. Seeing that I wasn't going anywhere at the moment, he turned to Zeke, who had stepped in the batter's box.
Zeke stood tall. He was even taller than the umpire, and looked even taller when the umpire and catcher would squat into position. A strange thought crossed my mind: is my brother that tall? Didn't he look like a giant in high school like Zeke? Will I grow up to be that tall by my senior year?
Zeke fouled the first pitch down the third baseline. The second pitch was put into play, finding the gap between first base and the second baseman. With the first baseman playing stationary on the line, the low line drive easily pass between the two. I took off.
I glanced to my right to see the ball going to the gap between center and right field, so I tagged second base and continued to third after making sure that Mr. Miller was waving me on. As I got closer to third, he lowered his hands and started pointing at the base aggressively. He wanted me to slide, more on the right.
I swallowed my fear and once I got close, I made the dive, head first. Then I felt a heavy pat on the back of my shoulder. I looked up at the nearby umpire. He extended his arms. "Safe!"
"To second!" Someone yelled.
The third baseman quickly made the throw after noticing Zeke was already halfway there. Zeke slid into second base feet first and popped up before the shortstop could make the tag. Safe again!
Now the crowd really had something to celebrate. Two on and in scoring position with no outs.
Julian stepped up to bat next as I got up and dusted myself off. Sanchez glanced over his shoulder to look at me, but I wasn't worried. The third baseman was more than a few feet away from the base. They obviously weren't worried about giving up one run. Or they think that Julian will hit another grounder to third.
Either way, it let me take a good lead off the base and head a little closer to home.