The Hitting Zone

"I'll convince him, Coach!" Noah came over and started to drag me away. "That was a tough collision. Did he only you get you on the helmet?" He asked as I sat on the bench.

I nodded. "Yep. Didn't feel much than a push."

"Hold out your hands." Noah instructed and I listened. He unscrewed a water bottle and poured some on my hands. "Rub them together and it'll be cleaner."

It stung but I did what I had to do.

"Does it hurt?" Dave came over to ask. "Need me to get the first aid kit?"

"Its not bleeding." I dried my hands with my jersey.

"You've got to protect those hands, kid." Dave said with a smile. "They're made of gold, ya know."

"They're doing a pitcher change." I ignored his comments about my hands and watched what was going on at the mound.

The opposing coach had come out of their dugout and went to the mound. The pitcher handed over the baseball and left to go back to his dugout. A very short appearance, facing only four batters. A new pitcher came jogging in from their bullpen. Their coach handed him the baseball and left the mound to say a few words to the umpire.

"This is probably their main guy for this game." Dave said, watching. "Too bad no one is allowed their phone. We could probably go to the tournament website and see if he pitched in any of the earlier games."

"You didn't put your phone in your bag?" Noah asked him.

Dave shook his head. "And get in trouble with Coach? No way. I like my job as a starter."

"Lame." Noah scanned the dugout, pausing to stare at someone. "I think I know who can look it up."

,m "Who?"

"Alisha!" Noah called out and left us.

Dave rubbed his chin. "Not a bad thought. Alisha can definitely check and won't be in trouble."

"Does it matter if we look or not?" I asked, unconvinced of its usefulness.

"In the grand scheme of things, probably not." Dave answered. "We have the lead. If the guy is good, then so what? Garret will have to be better. If he's not good, even better news. Though, with you around, looking at his pitch count might be helpful." He grinned at me. "If his pitch count is high enough, you can knock him out with a couple of foul balls."

My spirits rose for just a minute before remembering Coach's pregame talk. "I think...if their pitch count is a concern...they'll just give me an intentional walk. The kind where they won't even have to throw a pitch."

"Oh...yea." Dave let out a heavy sigh. "I forgot." Then he cheered himself up. "But! They did pitch to you the first time around. So that's a good sign!"

"I thought so too..." I took off my hat to brush some hair out of the way. "But I think...if they're bringing in someone who cares about pitch count...I might not get another chance."

"Tsk." Dave let out a puff of air. "Annoying. Even Zeke didn't see this many intentional walks."

I shrugged, helpless.

The game was called to resume after the pitcher got his practice pitches in. Jason hit a routine grounder to short and Garret was unable to move up. Mitch struck out swinging then Jesse ended the inning with a fly out to left field. We still had our solid 3-0 lead, but the way that the pitcher came in and got three outs right away just didn't feel good.

Top of the second. Garret went three up, three down too. With a lot of help from the outfield. Jesse caught a fly ball at the warning track, Tanner caught one near the foul line, and then Korrey made another great diving grab, stopping a line drive from becoming a base hit. Unfortunately these balls weren't put into play on the first pitch. They all came after the batters got to nearly full counts. It made Garret frown and even let out a frustrated curse when we got back to the dugout.

"Alright. Don't lose your cool." Noah was the one to actually speak up and give Garret a pat on the back.

"Easier said than done." Garret sounded annoyed. "They're clearly aiming on racking up my pitch count. Fouling easy pitches. And that ump...giving them an extra inch on all these ball calls."

"Then we'll do the same." Noah said. He nodded towards the pitcher on the mound. "The dude did exactly thirty pitches yesterday. He stayed there to be eligible to pitch on no rest. That means he's basically on par with you. 80 pitches allowed this game. We can do our best to foul anything close. We may not be experts like Jake, but unlike those guys, we have a lead."

Coach nodded. "Noah's got the right idea. If they want to make the pitcher work and get knocked out, we'll do the same. Let's see who has the deeper bullpen." He looked at Garret. "Trust your team. Go hard and stop worrying about getting a complete game in. You aren't like the twins who have to sit the bench. You'll have a spot in the batting order waiting for you to get your revenge."

Garret let out a small laugh. "Okay, Coach. I know."

Bottom of the second, our lineup changed tactics. Instead of attacking early like we did with that last guy, we were told to take our time. And our pitches. Be less concerned about the results of the at bat and more worried about accumulating pitches.

Tanner did his best, getting to a 2-2 count. He tried to foul a pitch down the third baseline but instead it was a fly ball. Our dugout made noise, yelling 'drop!' Hoping for the best. Instead, it was the left fielder to make a spectacular play, sprinting beyond the foul line and catching the ball before it hit the grass. Out. Korrey used up eight pitches before getting the green light from Mr. Miller to swing freely. He smacked a hard drive right back up the middle. The center fielder got his turn to make an amazing dive and catch, then rolled in the grass. Out number two.

Back to the top of the lineup, Sean stepped up to the plate. Noah stood in the on deck circle and I was just inside the dugout, not expecting much. The purpose was set: try to get the pitcher to throw more. Everyone did their part even though they all got out. Sean worked a full count for a little before grounding out to short. The pitcher had done well over twenty pitches; he won't last long.

And like Noah said, we aren't the ones under pressure to score. Garret took the mound top of the third. His pitches got fouled off a little more than normal, but the other guys weren't able to make much of it. Two fly outs to Korrey in left field, then a swinging strikeout. Not bad at all.

"These guys hit to the outfield too much." Noah grumbled as we switched our gear. He hadn't been able to touch the ball yet. After three innings, it was definitely an uncommon experience for him. "Maybe I can get moved to left field. Just for today."

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my bat.

"What?" Noah saw me and questioned. "I just feel a little stifled. Korrey's getting all the action. You would think they could switch it up."

I smiled and just shook my head. There was no saving Noah. He wanted all the action, all the time. I just couldn't relate.

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