The Hitting Zone

"Are you sure?" Mom asked me after I told her about not coming today. "You boys come first, no matter if you only play an inning."

I gave a small smile. "Yea, I know. But it's really no big deal. Coach doesn't plan on playing me for long and it's such a long drive for such little action. I rather you guys get your work done and not be so busy tonight."

She smiled and rubbed the top of my head. "Okay, Jake. As the only player of the day, what would you like for dinner?"

"Can we have grilled cheese and tomato soup?" I asked. "It's warming up and soup weather is almost gone."

"Yes, we can." She thought about it. "I'll be adding a salad to the menu. Maybe some rolls or baguettes." She started to talk to herself as she came up with ideas. 

Noah did eventually come home, dripping of sweat. He showered just in time for lunch. Mom and Dad were still busy, but had food delivered. Kyle showed up as we prepared to eat. Most of the meal was the twins talking about the mess made at Marie's and Jason's. They also talked about prime suspects. 

I was on edge all throughout. Even getting to school to load the bus wasn't any relief because everyone was talking about. They wanted to know who did it and would they continue. Who would be next?

I have Noah a look as we sat on our bench in the front of the bus. 

Noah elbowed me. "Stop looking so guilty. Put in your headphones and tune it out."

"Good idea." I started to dig for my headphones in the small backpack we brought. It was mostly full of snacks and a couple of drinks that Mom wanted me to bring in case I felt hungry. 

"Jake cave yet?" Kaylee spoke low and fast that it took me a minute to process what I heard yet. 

"Nah. He's hanging in there." Noah grinned. "So far, so good."

She nodded and headed for the back of the bus. 

"Did they-" I wanted to ask about Austin's house, but it was hard as the bus started to fill up. 

Noah caught on though. He gave a subtle nod. "I'll show you later. When it's just us."

I turned my music on and put my headphones in for the rest of the ride. We reached Redwood High School and separated from the girls. Today, we would be playing at the same time on our respective fields. It would be a little lonely in the stands. Or so I thought. By warmups, the stands were surprisingly mostly full. On a Saturday afternoon. 

"I think they're all here for you, kid." Garret laughed as he caught me glancing at the stands a time or two. Or three or four. 

I pursed my lips together. "Even against a team like Redwood?" They weren't known to be very competitive in our league. Earlier this year, Kyle crushed them, only giving up one hit and no runs over a full seven innings. He also had tied Garret's strikeout record that game at twelve. I had a good game that day too; going 4-4 at the plate with a homer. 

"You're a star." He winked. 

"Pretty sure some are here for you too, Captain." Noah interjected. "Climbing the projection list for the draft I heard. Better invite us to your draft party." That was true. Garret was right behind me in county rankings still, but had climbed to seventh in the state and 96th in the nation. Just slightly better than Kyle. And it had to do a lot with him being a duel player. And a lefty, I guess. They supposedly get more attention. 

Garret laughed. "Yea, it'll be more exciting than Zeke's college signing. My parents are already talking about catering and having a watch party at home. You guys are more than welcomed to come, but Kyle might want to do a watch party at his own house."

Noah shrugged. "I'll keep an eye on projections. If you go on day one in rounds one or two, then it'll be watch party days. As in plural. Three to ten the next day. Eleven to twenty on the last. Kyle is looking at the fifth round ideally. You're much closer to getting taken in the second."

"Thanks, man. I hope so."

Soon, it was time for warmups. We had to leave Noah behind with the coaches and Alisha. Garret led us through the group stuff. When it was time to pair up, Dalton found me first, putting a baseball in my glove before backing up. 

As game time got closer, Coach gave out the lineup. 

1 SS Dalton Nelson

2 2B Jake Atkins 

3 1B Sean Isner

4 CF Garret Knudsen

5 3B Jason Morris

6 LF Korrey Alvarrez 

7 RF Jesse Shipman

8 C Mitchell Torres

9 P Joey Henderson

Coach was done using Bryce and Brian in the lineup for now I guess. Jesse was in the lineup against these guys before, but Korrey wasn't. He didn't even come in as a pinch hitter in that 8-0 win. 

"Lineup will change throughout the game according to the score." Coach announced. "We take an early lead and I hope to switch it up. I want Jake on the bench, giving more plate appearances to others. I would like to see Jason at first, maybe even Oscar behind the plate for an inning or two. We'll see what we can work with."

"Five more games to go." Garret spoke up. "Let's make some school history and finish strong."

"We'll go down as the best team this school has ever had." Noah added. 

"Yeah!!" A lot of the team agreed in excitement. 

"Dalton. Jake. Sean. Start us off strong." Coach instructed. 

The three of us prepared for our at bats while Coach moved on to talk to the starting pitcher today, Joey. It had been a long time since his last start. I would say about a month. It was hard to squeeze in with Garret and the twins. Even Bryce and Brian struggled and they were on the team last year. With how hot the big three have been, it's been rare to see relief pitchers too. Heck, Kyle was Dave's relief just two days ago. They really hogged the mound. 

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