449 Game @ Servite (9)

Bottom of the sixth. Coach stood with Garret for an extra second before sending him out. Garret had the same vacant look upon his face, but at least he would get to start with the bottom of their lineup. Maybe we could get another inning out of him and best case scenario, he finishes out the game. 

Garret got off to a good start, getting batter seven to hit a routine grounder to me for the first out. 

Batter eight proved to be more difficult to deal with. It was a left-handed batter that already got a single off Garret in the fourth inning. Garret's struggles with lefty's continued to show as clear as day. The lefty took advantage of his struggles, hitting a double down the left field line. He safely reached second. 

A sense of dread washed over me. 

"Next one, next one!" Noah yelled. 

I fixed my posture. Yea, there wasn't much that could be done about the past. Noah was facing forward, so should I. 

Batter nine was the new pitcher; I guess they wanted him to pitch the next inning. The...last inning. Our last chance. I shook my head trying to stay in the present. 

Garret was able to get this righty to strike out swinging, looking almost like his normal self. It was just an illusion though. As the leadoff batter came up for his fourth at-bat, Garret's pitches kept missing the strike zone. He walked him on four straight pitches. Thinking back, this guy had also gotten a hit off Garret so maybe he got nervous. 

With runners on first and second, with two outs, the second batter stepped up. He had a strikeout, groundout, and a fly out. Very diverse. I wanted to laugh to myself, but couldn't. That player chose that moment to hit a single right up the middle. Neither Noah or I could get to it, leaving it up to Zeke in center field as the Servite players took off. 

Zeke came sprinting in, not wasting any extra movements, he scooped up the ball and threw it above our heads. He was going home. I whipped my head around to look at home plate. The runner or the ball...which would arrive first?

The ball landed in Alex's mitt and he swung around to make the tag play as the runner came barreling in. I held my breath as they collided. Alex and the Servite player rolled in the dirt. 

"Safe!" The umpire pointed at the baseball in the dirt before extending his arms; he sent the crowd in a frenzy with his declaration. 

Garret quickly picked up the ball and threw the ball to Jason at third as the runner from first had advanced. Didn't matter. He was safe as well. The batter didn't move from first, satisfied with his RBI single. 

"Time, ump." Garret said before bending down to help Alex up. 

"Time!" The umpire lifted his arms in motion for everyone to see. 

Soon, Coach came out and joined Garret and Alex by home plate. The two helped Alex move around, but it was obvious for everyone to see: he was hurting. It wasn't long before Drew joined the trio. They escorted him to the dugout before there was movement in the bullpen. Coach had made the call for a catcher to come down. 

I heard Kelvin was getting back to good so I was surprised when Mitchell came out instead. We didn't interact much or at all; I only knew he was a sophomore and was previously on the JV team with Alex. He could possibly be next year's starting catcher since Kelvin and Alex would be graduating. 

Garret and Mitchell met on the mound for a few seconds before the umpire came up to break it up. Garret asked him for a few pitches with the new catcher and his request was granted. Garret was abled to use this time to calm down while Mitchell warmed up. It was a good combo. The third batter came up, only just to hit a short fly to Mahki in left field to end the inning. 3-5, down by two, what to do?

Everyone sprinted to the dugout. This would be the last inning. We're on the edge. 

Noah and I hurried to put on our helmets. He was tugging on his batting gloves as Zeke came into the dugout. 

"Listen up." Zeke commanded the dugout, grabbing everyone's attention. Tanner stopped in his tracks from leaving. He was supposed to leadoff, but how could he leave when Zeke was talking. "This is it, team." Zeke made eye contact with everyone. "We either make it a comeback or the season ends here. Let's give it one last push. Get on base, advance the runners, do your best."

Zeke lifted a clench fist. "Win!"

"Win!" The team repeated. 

Zeke let the team resumed their actions, but stopped by me and Noah. He looked at Noah. "You have to get on, understand?"

"Understood, Captain!" Noah gave a mock salute. 

Zeke looked at me. "Don't bother wasting pitches. Take your chance. Whatever feels right." I nodded and he left us alone. 

We both moved to the entrance of the dugout. I studied the boy beside me, seeing his tense shoulders, I tried patting one. "Don't let him pressure you. Just try your best like he told the rest of the team."

Noah shook his head stubbornly. "No. No way. I have to get on." He looked me in the eye. "If I don't get on, they might intentionally walk you again. We need your help the most."

I blinked in surprise. I really...hadn't thought of that...

Noah left me so he could go stand in the on deck circle. He was studying the pitcher on the mound while taking practice swings. He didn't get much to work with for timing because the pitcher on the mound actually walked Tanner with four straight balls.

He was nervous. I could tell. The pitcher was feeling the pressure like Kyle and Garret. Not every pitcher had a strong mentality like Sanchez and Dave. This could end up helping Noah and me. With a baserunner on base already, I doubt they would still walk me if Noah gets out. It'd still be best if Noah got on, because then they would have to intentionally load the bases or face me. C'mon Noah! I gripped my bat nervously in the on deck circle as he moved to the batter's box. 

Noah dug his back foot in before getting completely set in the box. The pitcher started him off with a fastball down the middle. Noah fouled it back off the catcher. 0-1. The next pitch bounced in the dirt. 1-1. The third pitch was fast, but had no movement. It was down the middle! My knuckles turned white from my grip on my bat as Noah swung. He connected! 

Both Noah and Tanner took off running as the ball dribbled to the gap between third and short. The shortstop made a dive, picking up the ball in his glove. My heart pounded as I watch him make the throw to second base. They were going to convert a double play; my heart sunk. 

Unbelievably, the throw went high. High above the second baseman, who tried to jump at the toss. The ball rolled in the right field grass. Tanner slid into second and Noah stopped at first. They were safe. They were safe!

The home crowd was groaning while ours cheered at the mis-throw by the shortstop. I knocked my bat against my cleats before making a move. With this pitcher being right handed, I was able to get into the lefty's box. Feels like it's been forever. With a more firm ground below me, my confidence soared. 

I eyed the pitcher. His complexion looked even worse after his shortstop's error. He'll want to start with a strike. I'm sure of it. 

I tried to calm down my racing heart. Be calm. Be still. Be ready. I tried my best to look as normal as possible. I didn't want to give any hint, that I would swing on the first pitch, away. The pitcher checked the runners before starting his motion. The ball left his hands. This was it! 

The pitch was a fastball, the far side of the strike zone, but reachable. I stepped forward with my right foot and started my swing. I used my whole body to carry the bat as I made contact. I pulled it to the right, blasting it above the infield. The ball was heading for a nice spot between right and center field, but it had some height to it. 

I sucked in a deep breath, watching it go. The hit had the height, did it have the distance? 

"Run, Jake!"

"Run!!"

Yelling from the dugout brought me out of my stupor. I started to run seriously seeing as Tanner and Noah both were sprinting as well. They knew an outfielder wouldn't reach my hit in time. 

Just as I rounded first and headed for second, I saw the ball hit the fence near the top before falling in the dirt of the warning track. Shoot. I sped up and stopped at second base as the ball was relayed back in with incredible speed. 

It didn't matter. Noah was the runner on first. He's one of the fastest on the team. He beat out the throw to home with ease, pumping his fists in excitement. He turned to me, giving me two thumbs-up and smiling with his whole face. His goofiness made me laugh as I caught my breath. The game was now tied at 5. The excitement of the crowd was deafening. Servite fans couldn't believe their team blew a lead and our fans were excited to be back in it.