Game three of the tournament.
"Win here and we are automatically put into the semis." Coach reminded us as we put on our cleats. The time had come for us to prepare to warmup again as the other game before us came to an end. "Kyle will get the start, but I want the bullpen to pay attention to the pace of game. Even though Kyle is one of our best pitchers, you have to be prepared for anything."
Coach then announced the lineup.
1 1B Sean Isner
2 SS Noah Atkins
3 2B Jake Atkins
4 LF Jesse Shipman
5 CF Garret Knudsen
6 3B Jason Morris
7 RF Korrey Alvarrez
8 C Mitchell Torres
9 P Kyle Atkins
We warmed up off to the side until the game finished, then we moved our gear and equipment to the third base dugout. We were going to bat second and take the field first.
"Do you guys think it's strange that Coach put Jesse between Jake and Garret?" Jason asked me and Noah as the three of us stood near second base, practicing some fielding with Sean at first.
Noah shook his head. "Not too weird. Coach likes to keep up with the changes. Jesse had a good double in the first game. Now, it would be weird if Coach kept him there for multiple games."
Jason looked at me. "What do you think?"
I shrugged. I'm not thinking about it at all.
"Why do you even care?" Noah asked Jason. He smirked. "Is it because you got pushed down a spot in the lineup?"
Jason rolled his eyes. "I just feel like Garret batting behind Jake is the best option. If Jake gets walked, we have another valued hitter coming up right after."
Noah gave him a slap on the back. "Worry about yourself. It's not like we can change Coach's mind. It's already set."
"Yea, I guess so."
Baseballs were thrown back towards the dugout as Kyle finished his warmup pitches on the mound. Mitchell did a check throw to me at second and I pretended to tag the imaginary runner. I tossed the ball to Jason and he threw it to Noah.
Noah lightly underhanded the ball back to Kyle on the mound. "You've got this, Ky."
Kyle nodded and we all got set in our positions. Kyle came out strong and fast, getting the first batter of the game to strike out, swinging.
"Yes!"
"That's it!"
"Great pitch!"
The crowd clapped and complimented Kyle's first strikeout of the game. For the most part. I could hear a few dad's that were clearly from the other team.
"You have to watch the ball all the way through."
"You're moving your head too much."
The first batter went back to his dugout, not paying any attention to those in the stand.
I scanned the bleachers, finding my family just a few rows behind our dugout. Jeremy and Rose were sitting in between Mom and Dad. Zeke and Rhys sat in front of them, nearly blocking my view of Jeremy.
The second batter connected on Kyle's third pitch, hitting a hard grounder between me and Sean. Sean made the diving grab, then turned to throw it to Kyle, who was sprinting over to cover first base as I tried to back up the play. Kyle beat the runner to the bag for the second out.
I went back to my position as did Sean and Kyle. Kyle took an extra second on the mound to gather himself as the next batter got set in the batter's box. The third batter swung and made contact on the very first pitch, hitting a grounder to Noah at short. Noah handled it with ease, throwing him out at first. We went to the dugout with smiles, happy with the nice start.
"Only ten pitches." Alisha was telling Kyle when we got in. He must have asked for the pitch count as soon as he got in the dugout.
"You need to ask Alisha for that?" Noah scoffed. "Learn to count yourself. Plus, why would it matter? Didn't you say you wanted to pitch the whole game?"
Kyle stood tall. "There's nothing wrong with me checking in. Alisha's keeping up with the stats so I should just ask her. It's more reliable. I have to put my whole focus on pitching." He grinned.
Noah ignored him and went to his bag, taking off his hat to put on his helmet. I was doing the same. We both would get to bat in this first inning. Noah tugged on his batting gloves, tightening them before picking up his bat and heading for the dugout entrance. I trailed after him, only to stop just before exiting.
Sean was already out there, taking practice swings as the opposing pitcher did his light warmup. Sean checked with Mr. Miller before stepping into the batter's box. Mr. Miller gave him a mix of signs, but basically he had the freedom to do what he wanted. And what Sean wanted to do was swing at the first pitch, which was slightly high above the zone. Sean was able to get it to the outfield for a bloop single to start our offense. The guys in the dugout clapped and shook the fence to make some noise.
Noah moved to the batter's box and I went out to the on deck circle. With a runner on, no outs, Noah was given different instructions. Be patient.
Turned out to be a good decision as the pitcher was a little wild. He threw two fastballs high, out of the zone. Then one way outside. Then one in the dirt. Noah tossed his bat back towards our dugout and jogged to first.
I went up as a lefty, checking with Mr. Miller too. His only signal was for runners to go on contact. I've always had freedom to choose what to do. But now, I felt a little more responsibility with Zeke gone. I have to do my best to drive in some runs. Simply getting on base just isn't enough anymore.
Too bad this pitcher was having a bad start. He threw another high fastball. The catcher went up and spoke to him for a minute before coming back. Whatever he said wasn't helpful because he was still throwing outside of the zone. On a 3-0 count, I got lucky and saw a hittable pitch within reach. I wouldn't be able to knock it out of the park, but a good hit to the outfield would do.
I smacked the ball right up the middle, bouncing to the center fielder. Sean and Noah were both well on their way as I ran to first. Sean made it home under the tag and Noah slid into third safely. 1-0. Runners at the corners. And still no outs.
"Good decision." Coach Luis patted me on the shoulder, giving a head nod as well.
Unsurprisingly, the opposing team's coach came out to speak with the pitcher and the entire infield.
"Although he was wild, his coach is probably telling him to start throwing down the middle." Coach Luis told me. "You're gonna have to be able to run on contact. You'll get some leeway on the lead off with Noah on third, but be aware."
I nodded along, accepting his advice willingly. Coach Luis knew a lot when it came to the game. I'm not a great baserunner like Noah, but I wasn't the slowest on the team either. It would be ideal for our team to score some more while we're in such a position.