The Hitting Zone

"Hey, welcome back." The first baseman greeted me with a grin as I took my base. 

I pursed my lips together in frustration. 

"C'mon buddy, lighten up." He reached out to give me a slap on the back, but I dodged. 

"Refrain from touching our players please." Coach Luis spoke sternly, addressing the first baseman. 

"Sure, sure." He got into position. 

The pitcher checked back on Garret at second, then pitched to Jason at the plate. Jason had previously hit into a double play, where, coincidentally, Garret and I were on base. Now it was two outs so he was put into a tighter spot. On a 0-2 count, he pulled the ball down the third baseline. The third baseman scooped it up and tagged the base closest to him, ending the inning. 

I looked at Coach helplessly when I got back in the dugout. 

Coach clapped his hands to get the team's attention. "Alright boys, we're back to where we started. Tie game. Let's play some great defense and not give up the lead so easily." He looked at Garret who was putting his helmet down. "It's the best of their lineup so don't hold back. If you get tired in the last stages of the game, we still have a solid bullpen to rely on."

The starters hurried to take the field, even Garret had a pep to his step. But that made sense. He had an RBI double. I had nothing. I switched out my gear and slowly walked by Coach, hoping he would say something. 

"What's up, Jake?" Coach finally asked.

I sighed. "I don't think they're going to let me hit at all." 

Alisha let out a small laugh, surprising me. "Oops. Sorry. I didn't mean to. It's just...never mind."

Coach's lips twitched. "Don't bother about it, Jake. I don't mind you getting the free bases. Especially since I know your ankle is a little swollen. It reassures me that you probably won't do much to aggravate it. As for the offense? Leave it to the rest of the guys. You can't carry them to a win all the time with every single at-bat." 

I bit the inside of my cheek, unsure. Just because Coach said to leave it to the others doesn't mean I can just sit back and relax. I want to help my team win too. I jogged out to my position. 

Top of the fourth, Garret started with the second batter in the lineup. He was his first strikeout of the game. Garret cornered him quick, 1-2 count, when the batter was able to hit a high fly ball. So high. 

I snapped out of it and went to cover second base once I saw Noah tracking it down somewhere behind third base. Jesse was also sprinting in from left field, trying to get there. Noah called him off as he made the spectacular catch, with his back to us, catching the fly ball over his shoulder. One out. 

The next batter hit further than the previous one, hitting his fly ball towards center field. Korrey sprinted and made a good catch too for the second out. It seemed to be the pattern at the moment. The cleanup hitter who had the double in the second inning, hit a solid line drive to right field. Tanner made a diving catch, rolling on the grass and slowly getting up as the crowd cheered. 

We jogged back to the dugout. 

"Coach..." The crack in Tanner's voice drew everyone's attention. 

Coach frowned. "Have a seat. I'll ask for a trainer to come over."

Tanner held his gloved hand in his lap, grimacing in pain. "I screwed up. Something's definitely hurt."

Coach shook his head. "You can't blame yourself. That was a great dive. The landing was awkward but there wasn't much you can do mid-air." He glanced around the dugout, eyes settling on Logan Porter, a fellow sophomore. "Logan, warmup. You're going in for Tanner."

The dugout was rather quiet in the bottom of the fourth inning. We had nothing to cheer for. Korrey grounded out. Mitchell struck out swinging. Sean hit a fly ball to left field. A trainer had showed up to check out Tanner and it wasn't good news. He would have to go to the nearby hospital for x-rays. 

Logan ran out to right field, stretching and getting some static stretches in. He then threw the ball back and forth with Korrey in center field. He didn't look as nervous as I was when I first took the field. I guess this is technically his first time playing on the field but not in a game. Yesterday, he had one at-bat where he grounded into a double play. 

Top of the fifth, the batters from Branham High School were still making contact off of Garret's pitches. A fly ball to center caught by Korrey and another fly ball caught by Logan made for quick outs. Garret finished them off by getting the seventh batter in the lineup to swing and miss all three pitches. 

When we got back to the dugout, Tanner and one of the other coaches were gone. As well as the trainer. 

"Tanner is getting checked out at the hospital." Coach addressed the situation. "Hopefully it's nothing serious, but we'll know more after the game. Stay focused on what we need to accomplish here. Jesse, Logan, Noah. We need runners on base."

The three prepared for their at-bats. 

As did Garret. He stopped near me as I took off my hat. "Bored?"

I shook my head. 

He let out a small laugh. "Don't lie. I saw your face when you got walked both times. I get it. It takes a lot of fun out of the game. The other team doesn't like to do it either. God knows I'd be annoyed if I had to walk a batter every time I saw him. Just shows how good you are."

I shrugged. "They didn't seem to hate it too much. The first baseman is friendly every time I come to the base."

Garret's eyes narrowed and he turned a little serious. "Don't be fooled. That's not being friendly. He's just trying to disrupt the flow of your...our game." He took a minute to explain. "I'm not saying that some first basemen aren't friendly, because I've met talkers before. But this guy knows what he's doing. Getting inside your head, distracting you from the game. It's annoying."

I nodded in agreement. "Yea...last time he tried touching me but thankfully Coach Luis said something."

Garret pointed at me. "I bet he tries to touch you again. Just watch. He knows now that you don't want to be touched so he'll do what he can to take your mind off the game."

I groaned. "Ugh."

Garret gave me a small pat on the shoulder. "It's annoying, but there are some people like that. Just tune it out. Reset your emotions and keep your eyes on the pitcher. That'll calm you down."

Jesse struck out. Logan went to the plate and Noah moved to the on deck circle. 

"Come on, this is probably our last at-bats." Garret nodded his head to the field as he head for the dugout entrance.