The center fielder had turned to sprint back, he made and awkward leap and the ball hit off his glove. He landed on his stomach and the ball kept rolling away. I was halfway to second and could see the left outfielder running over to help him. I put some more effort in my sprint and rounded second, now facing Mr. Miller.
He looked shocked as I sprinted his way. Then he started to point at the ground just left of the bag. "Slide!"
I dove head first like before, but this time I was able to remember to close my mouth. I grabbed hold of the base and slide a little over it, just as a heavy pat landed on my head.
"Safe!" The third base umpire yelled out.
I heard the crowd all around get loud and shouts of "Bambi!" came from both them in the stands, and those in the dugout. I didn't dare to move until Mr. Miller called 'time' and pulled me to my feet.
"What a blast! Noah wasn't lying when he said baseball isn't all about homeruns. Did Zeke know you could hit this well??" He helped brush the dirt and dust off my uniform and face.
I shrugged. This was all circumstantial. I wouldn't have been able to hit it so far if the pitcher wasn't fast, and I wouldn't have been able to hit it over the outfielders head if they weren't drawn in so much. This was probably a hit that I wouldn't be able to replicate unless all these conditions were met.
Zeke was up to bat next. Before he got in the box, he glanced my way and gave me a head nod. I felt warm inside at the thought of making him proud.
The ump resumed the game and Zeke stepped up to bat. The pitcher sent a glare my way, saw that I wasn't even leading off and let out a scoff. Then he faced Zeke. Zeke looked steady as always.
He didn't waste any pitches like I did. On the first pitch he saw, he must have liked it, and just smacked it away.
"Run Jake." Mr. Miller has to remind me as I was caught looking at his hit.
I jogged to home plate then turned to watch Zeke. He was taking long strides and rounding the bases way faster than I ever could. The outfielder threw to the shortstop for the relay throw. Then the shortstop threw to the third baseman, but Zeke was already standing there, catching his breath.
"Looks like captain didn't want to be shown up by a scrawny freshman." Sean came over from the on deck circle. He clapped my back and sent me towards the dugout. "Good hit Bambi!"
I stuttered step to the dugout, trying not to trip. His compliment was echoed throughout the dugout as the guys kept their distance when I got in. They really listened to Noah about how I didn't like to be crowded.
Noah jumped on me right away though. "That was too perfect. You're a machine when it comes to hitting. So perfect all the time." He dragged me back to our bags so I could take off my helmet. He spoke louder. "Take note Jordan. This is how it's done. Even if they pick up the speed, that guy is still not a match for Bambi."
"That's not even their ace right now. What are you getting so excited for?" Jordan shot back, still sitting alone.
"That's their problem for sending out such a crappy pitcher." Noah shrugged. He faced me. "I picked your bat up for you. The sound of your hit had me worried. Mom would have killed us if we broke it already."
My face lost all color and I quickly examined it, thankfully not finding any odd bumps or dents. I tried calming my racing heart.
Noah let out a light cough. "My bad. That wasn't what I meant. She would just be upset, but she wouldn't do anything crazy."
I sighed. I know. Not all moms were as crazy as mine.
The team started to cheer. We both turned our attention to the field. Sean had just hit a single, and Zeke scored another run. We clapped as well and Zeke came back to the dugout.
Zeke took off his helmet and addressed the team. "Listen up." The team quieted down and all eyes went to him. "Paradise will start to try now and put in effort. Some of you have noticed that they looked to be treating us without respect. Remain focused on our goal: to win. What others think and say is irrelevant."
"Yes!" The team agreed in unison.
Zeke, apparently, had no trouble accepting a win even if others accuse him of taking a handicap.
Julian struck out and ended our offense. We would take the field for the bottom of the fourth inning, with a 7-0 lead. Garret is back to facing the top of the lineup again, but he had more of an advantage than the other pitcher. Not only do we have a nice lead to back him up, but he was also currently under 30 pitches.
