I glanced at the other dugout again. "...can I go talk to him first..?"
Coach Leroy nodded. "Don't spend too much time on it though. You need to warm up properly no matter which team you're on."
I nodded, understanding. Then I hurried to the dugout entrance and headed for the other dugout, hoping Zeke would see me.
He did. Almost like he knew I was going to panic. He exited his dugout and met me behind home plate.
He looked down at me. "Scared?"
"Nervous." My hands drifted to my stomach, holding it. "You won't leave?"
"Why would I?" He asked.
My eyes narrowed. "I thought you or Rhys would be in my dugout..."
Zeke flashed me a small smile. "I'm still here, watching your every move. And, you know Coach Leroy. He's a great coach and a good man. He won't let anything happen to you."
I slowly nodded. "I know...I just..."
"Needed some reassurance?" Zeke asked. I blushed and looked at my feet. "Hey, that's nothing to be ashamed of. If you want, you can come to my team."
"Coach Leroy said that too." I peeked up at him. "You don't want me to do that though, right?"
Zeke chuckled. "You don't have to, if you don't want to. You've already done very well this week, with expanding your comfort zone."
I scratched my cheek and took a look back at the dugout. Coach Leroy stood just outside the dugout, waiting patiently for my decision. I looked back at Zeke. "It's okay. I'm okay. I just...freaked out for a second. But you're here. It's okay." I repeated again, trying to comfort myself.
Zeke reached out and gave me a pat on the head, pushing my hat down. "Don't beat us up too much."
I grinned and took a step back. "Noah won't be happy if I don't beat you."
Zeke laughed. "Alright. We'll see. Go and warm up."
We parted ways, heading back to our respective dugouts.
I stopped in front of Coach Leroy, feeling a little embarrassed. "I'll play for you."
Coach Leroy gave a hearty laugh. "Happy to hear it. Head to the outfield and follow Chandler through warmups."
I followed his instructions and joined the others in the outfield, sticking relatively close to Landon. When it came time to pair up to play catch, I didn't even have to ask Landon. He just assumed we would partner up and it cut my anxiety in half.
After warmups and just before game time, Coach Leroy announced the starting lineup. I was the first name called, batting first and playing second base. Landon was also in the starting lineup, but playing left field and batting seventh.
As the home team, we took the field first. The umpires and coaches allowed us some extra time to throw the ball around and let the pitchers throw a few extra balls off the mound. Coach Leroy stated that the pitchers would be changed throughout the game as he was trying to give all of them exposure.
The first pitcher was one I haven't seen before, but Coach Leroy knew how to pick them. The player was great, striking out the side, going three up, three down. It was a very dominant performance for the start of the game.
In the dugout, in the middle of the inning, I switched into a helmet and grabbed my bat.
"You don't use batting gloves?" Landon asked before I headed out.
I glanced down at my hands before shaking my head. "No."
"Do you want to borrow mine?" He offered.
"No thank you. I'm fine." I told him before leaving.
It's better not to change anything right now in a game that Coach Leroy expects us to win. I have to do my part. I stepped up to the plate, getting into the righty's box, choosing that side simply because I only used my left yesterday. I couldn't tell if this was effective training, but it made me feel at ease, knowing that I was practicing from both sides of the plate.
The starting pitcher for team two, came out wild. He was all over the place, throwing me four straight balls that weren't anywhere close to the zone. I couldn't foul the ball without looking like an idiot so I accepted the walk, dropping my bat after ball four, and jogged to first base.
The pitcher threw his first strike of the game, only for it to be hit for a single to left field. I stood on second base as the ball was thrown back.
The third batter didn't let up either, swinging at the first strike he saw, making solid contact with the pitch. He ripped it to left field. The left fielder sprint in and made a diving grab for the first out. I went back to second base. It was too late to tag up...not like I would have been abled to make it. The line drive was too shallow and I'm just not that fast.
Zeke came out for a short mound visit, probably only saying a sentence or two. Whatever he said to him gave the pitcher the strength to strike out the next two batters to end the inning.
Top of the second, our starting pitcher was sent back out to deal with the cleanup hitters. Batter number four hit a high fly ball for the first out. The fifth batter struck out for the second out.
Batter number six worked the count before making good contact, smacking a hard grounder between me and the first baseman. We had both tried our best, diving in the dirt, but came up empty-handed. It didn't matter too much because the next batter flew out to center field for the third out.
Back in the dugout.
This time it was me watching Landon get ready for his at-bat. The first thing he reached for was his batting gloves. He looked at me while putting them on. "Most important tool as a batter. Have to prevent blisters so you can focus on hitting."
My lips twitched as I showed him my hands. No blisters, but rough callouses to protect my hands.
Landon studied my hands for a second before sighing. "I guess batting prodigies are allowed to be different. It wouldn't make sense if they just followed everyone else." He glanced at my bat. "A wood bat. No gloves. Switch hit. You're pretty strange." He left to go stand in then on deck circle.
Strange? I sighed. It's not like I was doing it intentionally. Kind of. The bat will never change. I refuse to touch an aluminum bat, never mind would I swing one. I don't want to be like my mom. Even though I knew it wasn't the same thing, I just felt physically ill at the thought. As for batting gloves? I'll just wait until there's a need for it. Right now wasn't it.
The bottom of the second inning started with our sixth batter who grounded out to third, bringing Landon up. His stance was steady and his swing was very compact. He didn't go chasing the balls out of the zone so he had a good eye. On a 3-1 count, he hit the ball to the gap between left and center field. As the outfielders sprinted to get the ball rolling between them to the wall, Landon took off. He didn't hesitate to round first base and go for two. The center fielder reached the ball first, picked it up, and made an excellent throw straight to second base, skipping over the shortstop. Landon went sliding in feet first as the second baseman caught the ball.
"Safe."
Landon had the first double of the game. We officially have a man in scoring position in the second inning of the game.
Batter eight hit a long line drive to center field, making the outfielder go back to the warning track. He made the catch, and Landon decided to tag up to get to third. He came sliding in under the throw once more, safely reaching third. Our dugout made some noise for him, excited about his aggressive baserunning.
There were no first or third base coach so Landon had to make these decisions on his own. It really made him shine.
With the ninth batter going up to the plate, I had put on my helmet once more to stand in the on deck circle. Just as I was praying for him to get on base, the pitcher threw a wild pitch, hitting him. The ninth batter calmly took first base.
I stepped up to the plate. Two on, two out. I really wanted to try for a homerun like I was doing yesterday. But...Coach Leroy said we must win. It's expected of us. The best thing to do right now would be to drive Landon home for an early lead. With my decision made, I swung at the first pitch, a fastball high but still inside the zone.
The ball just got over the infield and bounced before the incoming right fielder. Landon sprinted home, and the ninth batter made it to second, while I stood at first.
1-0 lead.