The batter behind me came out swinging, making contact, hitting the ball to the third baseman. He threw him out at first for the third and final out of the inning. I jogged back to the dugout and received some smiles and congratulations on my RBI single.
I thought Coach Leroy would be happy with what I was abled to do, but on my way out to take the field, he made eye contact with me. "Let's talk when you get back."
I gulped. My movements became sluggish as I head to my position. Talk? Talk about what? Did I do something wrong?
With a pitching change, our warmup was slightly longer than usual, giving me extra time to overthink.
From the bottom of the lineup, batter number eight led off. He struck out swinging, bringing up the ninth. I was still stuck in my head but a 'ding' of the bat got my attention. The ball soared to the corner of left field, landing fair. Landon chased it and picked it up, throwing the ball to the shortstop as I covered second. The batter easily reached without having to slide.
Dang it. That's right. The pitcher would be replaced with a pinch hitter. This isn't the time to have wandering thoughts.
We came back to the top of the lineup. The new pitcher was just as shaken as I was by the double. He threw a wild pitch, hitting the leadoff batter near the knee. The batter went down, in pain. The coaches from his team, including Zeke, came out to check on him.
The pitcher took off his hat and looked at the player apologetically. The first baseman made a move to the mound, signaling for the rest of us infielders to follow.
The catcher also came, speaking up first. "Hey, don't panic. You'll just make things worse for yourself."
"Don't say that." The first baseman scolded him before looking at the pitcher. "Stay calm. Take a few extra breaths. You only get to face so many batters so make the most of it."
The pitcher nodded and took a deep breath, slowly letting it out. We stayed with him as the coaches checked out the injured batter. He was soon escorted off the field towards an athletic trainer. Team two replaced him with a pinch runner. He must be hurting pretty bad.
With the change made, everyone went back to their positions and batter two stepped up. He missed the first two pitches, getting stuck in an 0-2 count. He held back from swinging at a ball just outside the zone, 1-2. He got under the next pitch, popping it up to the first baseman. Infield fly rule, automatic out, the runners stayed on first and second.
(AN: reminder: the rule exists to prevent the defense from executing a double or triple play by deliberately failing to catch a ball that an infielder could catch with ordinary effort.)
The pitcher was more confident with two outs. He focused on the batter, throwing his best and got the third batter to strike out, swinging. We headed back to the dugout, with batter's three, four, and five coming up in the bottom of the third inning.
"Jake." Coach Leroy greeted, making me freeze in place. "Come here for a second." He waved for me to follow him.
I dragged my feet amidst the stares from my teammates.
Coach Leroy took me to the little hallway that led to the club room of Stanford's baseball team. The area had been marked as off-limits but with the head coach here, it's not like I could get in trouble. We stopped in the middle of the tunnel. "Let's talk about your at-bat."
I gulped. "W-w-what about it..?" My voice cracked, making me blush with embarrassment.
"You're not in trouble, Jake." Coach Leroy assured me. "I just want to talk about it. Get your thoughts on why you did what you did."
"Why I did what I did..?" I repeated, confused. "...I hit the ball...and drove in a run..?"
He chuckled. "I know what you did. But why? I heard from Coach Nate and Rhys yesterday, that you were interested in trying to hit homeruns?"
I nodded.
"Then why not go for it?"
"I thought about it." I admitted. "But, there was two outs, a runner on third. You said that we should win this game. I didn't want to mess up and hit a fly out or something, so I played it safe. Get a hit to score the run." I pinched my fingers together, nervous.
Coach Leroy nodded, thoughtfully. "I see. Your thinking isn't wrong, but it's not exactly right either. If we were losing by one, that might make sense. However, it's a tie game. Most importantly, it's early. It's better to take chances early on in a game. Especially for someone as good as yourself."
Oh. I started to nod.
"And a friendly reminder, this is a showcase game, show off your skills. Yes, I said we should win, but I said that mostly to see how you boys would react." He grinned. "And now I see that you took my words to heart. Putting the score in front of your personal goals makes you a team player. Thank you."
I blushed, not understanding why he was thanking me. "Okay...so next time...I can try to hit a homerun?"
He grinned. "Of course. I would like to see you in action. I still remember your first homerun in this very stadium. Then your second during the evaluations. You haven't let me down once. I believe you can succeed if you put in your full effort."
"Thanks." I cracked a smile, relieved.
"Coach!" Chandler called from where the dugout was. "The inning is over. Fly out to center. Pop up foul to the catcher. Strikeout. They're taking the field. Are you sending Jake back out there or replacing him?"
"He's coming." Coach Leroy told him. He grinned down at me. "You might only have one at-bat left if they keep that pace."
My grip on my glove tightened. "I'll be abled to do it." I nodded once more before hurrying my way back to the dugout. I passed by Chandler and took the field. I jogged behind the pitcher to get to my spot.
Top of the fourth. The pitcher stayed the same. He made quick work of the first two guys up, earning another strikeout and getting a groundout to short.
That brought up the sixth batter for the second time. Recalling how he snuck a hit between me and the first baseman, I shifted over a little more, hoping for a repeat. But this time, I would be able to make the play.
Of course, that would only work if he had hit into the same gap as before. He didn't. He blasted the ball into the air. The right fielder chased the ball back to the warning track, and then could only watch as it soared over the fence for a homerun. 1-1. Lost our lead in a blink of an eye.
I could only think that if I had hit a homerun in the second inning, we would have scored three runs. We would have still been winning. Ugh. Dang it. I should have consulted Coach Leroy about my hitting before the game.
Batter number seven for the opposing team was a pinch hitter, yet he still made the last out of the inning just like the guy he replaced. Except it was a groundout to third this time instead of a fly out.
Back inside the dugout, preparing for our offensive, Landon put on his helmet and batting gloves.
"What did Coach Leroy want from you?" He asked me in a low whisper.
"He was just making some suggestions." I said. "Coaching me in better decision making."
He sighed. "I wish I could be coached too."
"Make a mistake?" I offered up.
He laughed and headed for the on deck circle.
He probably thought I was kidding, but I wasn't. Coach Leroy was dedicated to making everyone a better player. Even now, he was speaking with the pitcher who just finished the inning. I'm sure it's just as informative as the speech I had received.
Bottom of the fourth, starting with the sixth batter. Everyone was caught by surprise as the batter crushed the very first pitch to center field. It cleared the wall and flew into the trees for a solo shot. The batter pumped his fists as he jogged the bases. He high fived Landon after tagging home, making the score 2-1.
Most of the team congratulated him once he came back in the dugout.
"Nice swing." He even got a compliment out of Chandler.
Landon stepped up to bat next. If he got on, I might have a chance to come up to bat this inning. I got my helmet out and set it down beside me. Landon had previously gotten a double so I had some faith in him.