The Hitting Zone

Dave swung and missed the first pitch. Not going to lie, it looked very ugly. And Garret let him hear it.

"You know why we call you window shutters?Because you're just swinging in the breeze!" Garret yelled out, drawing some laughs from our dugout and nearby spectators who heard him.

My lips twitched. "Are you cheering him on or trying to start a fight?"

Garret shrugged. "Whatever it takes to get him going."

I didn't know if it was a coincidence or not, but Dave was able to connect on the next pitch, punching it through the whole of short and third. Tanner and Jason took off sprinting once it was clear that it was a hit. Tanner made it home from second and Jason stopped at third, all on Dave's single. Dave looked to our dugout and flexed both biceps until Coach Luis hit him on top of his helmet.

Noah moved to the batter's box and I went to the on deck circle. Noah didn't let Dave outshine him that easily. He made solid contact during his at bat, hitting the ball in right-center field. Jason scored with ease, Dave made it to third, and Noah was safe at second. The score went to 6-1. It was still only the third inning.

With two on, two out, I stepped up to the plate.

Down the line, at third base, Dave was clapping his hands obnoxiously loud. He didn't even have to say anything. I knew what he wanted. A homerun. Maybe we could make a run for the mercy rule.

Regrettably, I came up short. I had tried to hit a homerun down the left field line like I had at the start of this inning, but something was off and it gave the left fielder a chance to chase it down and catch it at the fence. The spectators and team let out a collective sigh.

I picked my bat back up from the ground and went back to the dugout. Dave and Noah too.

"Can't be perfect all the time." Dave slapped my shoulder and left me behind.

"Would have been nice though." Noah commented.

"Yea, it would have been." I sighed.

"Would have been crazy if you hit two homers in one inning. No one would ever want to pitch to you again."

I laughed. "Yea." That might have been true.

We went to our bags and switched out our gear.

Bottom of the third. Dave started with the number nine batter. He had swung late and smacked a grounder my way. I fielded the ball calmly, throwing it to Jason who was at first base now, for the first out.

Dave hit another rough patch after that. A single. Another single. A great catch by Garret in center field. A third single which was able to drive in a run, making the score 6-2. Just when I thought things were about to go really south, Dave ended the inning with his first strikeout of the game.

Back in the dugout, Dave unexpectedly asked Alisha for his pitch count.

She revealed her clipboard. "Thanks to the first inning, you're only at forty."

Dave looked disgusted. He looked at Coach. "You'll let me use all 110, right?"

Coach studied Dave's expression before saying, "As long as the game isn't in jeopardy, you'll stay out on the mound. You lose too much control, I'll take you out then too. You know our motto, no walks, no free bases. Make them work for it."

Dave nodded, satisfied with his answer.

We had our shortest out of the game, going three up, three down. Garret's fly ball was caught by the right fielder. Korrey, who go Sean's spot in the lineup, struck out swinging. And Jesse who was 2-2 also had his fly ball caught by the right fielder.

"I just want to point out that I have as many hits as Garret so far this game." Dave stated proudly for all to hear before jogging out of the dugout. No doubt avoiding Garret's reply.

Garret felt some eyes on him and laughed good-naturedly. "I'm not Zeke. Or Jake for that matter. We all know my best skill is pitching. Then fielding. Batting and base running. Heck, I'm a five-tool player."

"Sounding a little defensive there, Garret." Noah laughed. "You don't have to explain yourself to us. Save it for the reporters and scouts."

There wasn't much more time to talk about it because we had to take the field for a throw around. It took me a minute to think about, but I realized that Garret hadn't done much at the plate so far today. Including the first game, he's 3-7. That wasn't bad at all, but considering all three hits were singles, it was exactly 'Garret'. No extra bases at all. Maybe some of that smack talk he was giving to Dave was also to himself. I'll point it out to Noah next time we're in the dugout.

Bottom of the fourth, Dave had his best inning of the game. Strikeout. Pop up to Noah. Strikeout. He roared after getting that third guy to miss. Inside the dugout he looked at Alisha.

"53." Alisha showed him the proof. "If you want to finish this game, you just have to do less than twenty pitches an inning."

Dave nodded with a smile. "Alright. Good pace." He looked around. "No pressure guys, but if we score six more runs, you can give me a chance to mercy them."

"Dang. You're so needy. How about you get those runs yourself." Noah hip-checked him.

Dave flexed a bicep. "Friendly reminder that this pitcher has as many hits and RBI's as you."

Noah rolled his eyes. "Friendly reminder that I have saved more potential hits this game than I did for Kyle this morning."

"You boys should be in competition with yourself and not with your teammates." Coach spoke up, probably tired of their constant chatter during this game. "All I ask, is that no one makes any silly errors. Stay focused despite the solid lead."

"Yes, Coach." Everyone echoed.

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