The Hitting Zone

Noah and Dave found our group and came over. Noah was easiest the loudest person in the stands, cheering for KJ as she faced the opposing team's batters. She didn't strike out the side, but she did go three up, three down. The team went back to the dugout and with Noah's lead, we all clapped for them.

"Hey, pull up the roster on the school's website." Noah nudged Dave.

"Why?" Dave asked, yet still got to work.

"How am I supposed to cheer for all their at bats if I don't know their name?" Noah rolled his eyes. "You can't just half-ass these kinds of things."

I don't think Noah ever did anything without full effort. Even when he complained about our summer workouts with Zeke, he always pushed himself to the max.

With Noah's lead, the cheers and chants for our school's softball team got noticeably louder. The twins, Garret, and Sean all joined in, taking turns to holler out compliments. I don't know what the game was like before, but our girls started to get hits and run up the score.

When Kaylee came up to the plate, Noah nudged me. "C'mon. Aren't you going to join?"

I frowned. "I'm not really...loud." I'm more of a clapper, where I could blend in.

"You know her though." Noah prodded.

"You know her too."

"Yea, but not gonna lie, I want to say something mean."

My lips twitched.

Kaylee fouled the first pitch down the line.

"Tell her to straighten it out." Noah pulled me up to stand.

I cleared my throat as I looked around. Seeing that everyone's attention was on the game and not on us, I took a deep breath. "Straighten it out, Kaylee! You've got this!" I plopped back down before anyone could look at me.

Noah laughed. "Why do you look so guilty? It's just cheering on the girls team. They did so for us during CIF."

"I think you've pushed him far enough out of his comfort zone." Kyle laughed too. "He probably has to decompress if you want him to do it again on Friday."

Kaylee did straighten out the next ball, earning a standup double to left field. Everyone clapped and hollered.

We casually talked about the girls and their game during the short breaks as it went on. Then we talked about our own game tomorrow, but only for a second. Out of the six of us, only Noah could play. Noah was eager but Kyle simply moved on, talking about the softball game Friday night. Garret suggested the whole baseball team to come out and support. We could make it a team-bonding event of sorts.

After the girl's team won, Garret and Sean said goodbye and left us. We hung around so Kyle could talk to Marie.

Noah was a little unwilling. "It's not like he won't see her tomorrow." He grumbled.

Dave sighed. "Well, not too much. We leave at noon for the game. By the time we get back, it's dinner, homework, bed."

"There's still Friday." Noah pointed out.

As we three stayed where we were, some of the softball players passed by.

"Hey, Noah!"

"Thanks for cheering for us!"

"You plan to come Friday, right?"

"Of course!" Noah patted his chest and stood tall. "I'm going to get the whole baseball team to come. We can't lose as a home team!"

The girls laughed and waved.

"Why didn't they thank me?" Dave asked, confused.

"Because you weren't loud enough." Kaylee stopped to talk to us. KJ right beside her. "All of us could hear Noah. He had something to say all the time." She looked at Noah, impressed. "I thought for sure you would yell until you were hoarse."

Noah grinned and put his hands up. "What can I say? I can talk a mile a minute all week. Yelling a couple of cheers for a couple of innings is nothing."

Kaylee looked at me. "I'm more surprised that I was able to hear you, Jake."

I felt my face heat up. "You did well. Good game." I looked to KJ. "You too. Your pitching looks better."

KJ looked stunned. Then she beamed. "Yea? You really think so?! I'm trying to add a drop ball and it seems to be working, earning me some more groundouts."

I nodded.

"Have you been in contact with some colleges now?" Noah asked her. She did share her worries with us and Zeke last summer about not getting any attention as she was on the JV team.

KJ's smile only got bigger. "I have! Before making the varsity roster, I filled out a few inquiries and signed up for this recruiting website. Just the free version, of course. But it let me upload some stats and highlights."

"I asked my parents to record KJ's pitching today." Kaylee cut in. "We'll edit out some of the filler and the few hits that she gave up. Save most of the space for her strikeouts."

"Good idea!" Noah looked at me. "I think I want a highlight reel. All my great catches. Show off my reflexes. The way I can steal bases."

"You guys get so much attention as it is." Kaylee nodded my way. "With Jake already set to pass up Zeke's home run record the very season after he had set it...bound to catch a lot of looks."

I forcefully swallowed a lump forming in my throat.

"Don't mention it." Noah waved Kaylee away. "You'll make him get sick. Jake still doesn't do well when the attention is all on him."

Kaylee reached out to hold my shoulder. She looked me in the eyes. "Just think. The next time you make an error, everyone will already know your name." She laughed at my terror-stricken face. "I'm kidding, Jake. Well, not really because there is some truth in that. But it's no biggie. In the majors, you don't have to field. Your hitting is so superior already. You keep it up and every team will want you to be their designated hitter."

I sighed. Mostly with relief, but also a little sad for myself. I frowned. "College level allows for a DH too, right?"

Kaylee was surprised. "You're thinking about going to college?"

I shrugged.

"Jake is keeping his options open." Noah answered for me. "But yes, Jake, you can DH in college."

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