Kyle stood on top of the mound like a king sitting on his throne. He oozed confidence and was nowhere as anxious as the rest of us. Wait. Maybe

"the rest of us

" wasn't a correct portrayal. All the Atkins boys looked relaxed in their own skin like winning was the only outcome for today's game. Yesterday, Zeke mentioned that Lincoln wasn't in our league so it wouldn't affect our conference record, but he still wanted the win. He wanted all the games to be wins.

The team was quick to agree, but in my mind, I think only Zeke felt the urgency to win every game, be great at every at bat, and to have full concentration for every play. He was at a whole different tier.

"Play ball!

" The umpire, behind home plate, announced. He knelt down behind the catcher, ready to start judging the game.

Kyle stepped on the rubber and Lincoln's leadoff hitter stepped up to the plate. The batter let the first pitch pass by for a called strike. He turned to look at where it landed in the strike zone, nodded to himself, and stepped out of the batters box for a few practice swings. His actions put me on edge. Something about the way he looked at Kelvin's mitt, made me feel uneasy, as if he was just confirming something.

Kyle got the ball back and got set on the rubber once more. He stared down the batter until he got back in the batters box. Kyle went through his motion and pitched a fastball. The batter wasted no time and swung, connecting with the ball and sending it into the outfield.

Noah moved to the grass to be the cutoff man and I moved to cover second base in case the throw would beat out the runner. Mahki chased the ball down to the outfield fence, grabbed it, and immediately threw to Noah. Noah caught it and turned to me, ready to throw, but the batter was already standing beside me on the base. A stand-up double.

Lincoln's dugout was cheering for their guy, but the silence from the stands was more deafening. Kyle threw a perfect game in his first outing this season, and now he already gave up a hit to the first batter in his second outing. A rather big hit too. This guy was now already halfway to home.

Everyone got back into position for batter number two. Noah didn't go as far out as usual, trying to hold the runner to second base. I watched as Kyle toed the rubber, looking furious. He gave up his first hit of the season. For some reason it felt more dramatic and severe compared to any other hits our team has given up. Which was ridiculous, since even Garret gave up hits and he's considered our best pitcher.

Batter two stepped up to the plate and Kyle glared. He got set, completed his motion, and threw his fastball as hard as he could. Which was a mistake. The pitch went wide and Kelvin was unable to catch it or even to stop it. He jumped up and flicked off his mask in search of the ball.

"To third!

" Noah yelled out. He was following the runner from second base to third base. Chris was already standing on the base, waiting for Kelvin to throw to him. Kelvin found the ball and threw to Chris, he reached out and tagged the runner who slid into third.

"Safe!

" The third base umpire yelled out.

The Lincoln dugout went crazy. On the other hand, ours was silent. The fans, friends, and family were no longer quiet. There were murmurs of talk that I couldn't hear, but no one looked happy.

"Jake.

" Noah waved me over as he walked to the mound. He wasn't the only one heading to the mound; Kelvin, Chris, and Julian were going up there as well for an infield meeting.

I jogged up and joined them just as Chris handed Kyle the ball.

"Stay focused on the batter.

"

Kyle glared at him.

"Excuse me? Are you saying I wasn't?

"

Chris sneered.

"Can you say in good conscience that you weren't worried about the hit that you gave up?

"

"Of course I'd be concerned.

" Kyle shot back.

"I wouldn't want to do it twice.

"

Chris was about to continue, but Kelvin smacked him on the head with his glove.

"Shut it. You're snide comments aren't helping. Pay attention to the task at hand. That what Coach always says so that's what we're going to do.

"

Noah nodded. He put a hand on his older brothers shoulder.

"Wake up, Kyle. You already gave up a hit. What's another one? They score a run? Big deal. Zeke would score more on his own than what that team will score in total.

"

Kyle's glare vanished and his lips twitched as if fighting off a laugh.

"Yea, yea. I know. I just need to loosen up.

" He wiggled his arms and shook them around.

He accidentally hit Julian with his 'loose' arms. Julian took a step back.

"Damn. Can't you be normal for once? Stop doing weird stuff on the mound. Everyone is looking.

"

Noah rolled his eyes.

"Kyle, just focus on the batter. We've got your back.

"

Kelvin nodded.

"What he said. Now, let's go.

"

"I said the exact same thing!

" Chris grumbled.

"It's the way you said it.

" Kelvin pushed him back towards third.

"Now do your job and get on third.

" He raised his voice as he walked back to home plate,

"No outs! Runner on third! Play is at first! Let's go!

"

"Yea!

" Julian and Noah yelled back, and also headed back to their positions.

I just nodded to myself and went back to where I belonged. I didn't really understand why we went up to the mound, when not much was said. I guess that's something to ask Noah when we get some time in the dugout.