Bryce was an excellent batter. I mean, he has to be in order to make the varsity team as a sophomore. But also, I feel like he had proven himself against Durham Prep. As for his performance against University? I couldn't hold it against him when I couldn't do any better.

Against the Lassen Union relief pitcher, he showed off more of his energy, swinging violently at anything close. On a 1-2 count, he connected and sent a hard grounder between third and short, safely making it to first base. The team clapped for him as it was our first hit against this pitcher.

Noah was quick to follow up with a single of his own, pushing Bryce to second.

I came up to the plate with two on and no outs. I should avoid grounders to avoid any double play balls. I need to get this ball to the outfield. I stepped into the batter's box and faced the pitcher. He wasn't as fast as Ricky, but he had more control over his pitches, aiming for difficult spots.

As my at-bat progressed, I was slightly amazed that Bryce and Noah were both abled to get hits. Not that I think I'm completely superior to them, but I had more practice when it came to batting. I could hit every pitch in a batting cage.

On a fastball down the middle, but came inside to the lefty's box, I swung, struggling to get the timing right. My back shoulder dipped as I swung through, messing up my steady swing. I popped the ball up, high in the air. The shortstop came in, called for it, and caught it with ease, keeping the runners at first and second. Shoot.

I dragged my bat and my feet back to the dugout, disappointed in, what could be, my last at-bat for the game.

"Don't get so down on yourself, Jake.

" Coach reminded me as I walked back in.

"You already had two good hits today, you should hold your head up high.

"

I nodded, and tried to comfort myself with my own thoughts as well. We still had the lead. I didn't make any official errors. I was able to drive in one run.

"Just think: it could be worse.

" Dave plopped down right next to me as I put my bat and helmet away.

"Right!

" Kyle snatched my hat and tried to put it on my head, but ended up covering my eyes.

I fixed my hat and sat down properly.

"I know.

"

Mahki was quick to follow in my steps, sending a high pop up to the second baseman.

"At least you're doing better than Mahki.

" Dave shook his head in a way that let me know he was feeling sorry for him.

"Yep.

" Kyle agreed.

"This will be two games in a row that he hasn't gotten a hit.

"

I frowned.

"But, that happens. Noah and Coach talked to me about this before. He's just in a slump, right?

"

"It's a bad time for him to be in a slump.

" Dave mumbled to me as Mahki came back in the dugout. He waited for him to pass by and go to his own spot before whispering,

"He's already signed a letter of intent with San Francisco University, but wanted to negotiate for a higher paying scholarship. Being on a winning team won't be enough for him. He has to produce some astounding numbers. Like when Zeke homered a couple of times in one game. Attention-grabbing statistics like that.

"

Oh. That's tough. Yet...somehow...that made my worries even smaller. I didn't have to impress a college for any reason. All I had to do was make sure that the Atkins, Coach, and the team were satisfied with my playing. Even then, Mr. Atkins said I wouldn't let them down if I made one bad play or had a bad game. They would still accept me.

"Out!

" The home plate ump did the motion, signaling that Garret struck out. What a waste of baserunners again.

The bottom of the seventh brought a new pitcher for our side as we took the field. Troy jogged to the mound to meet with Coach and Kelvin. They spent a few seconds in a discussion before breaking up so Troy could throw some pitches off the real mound.

I saw Troy only pitch once so far this season, but it stuck with me. He was the curveball specialist. I only saw him face one batter and he threw nothing but curves. At the time, Noah told me that he wouldn't throw more than 30 serious pitches a day in case of a shoulder injury. He was aggressive, but cautious. Noah just calls him picky.

Troy was true to his style today, throwing three straight curves before allowing the first batter up to hit a single to left field. Garret was quick to get the ball back to the infield, ensuring that the runner couldn't make it to second.

Even after giving up the hit, he didn't change, and stuck with the curveballs. I was slightly nervous, but Troy had good control and could move the placement of the curves around the strike zone.

The following batter caught one with the edge of his bat as it hit the outer edge of the zone. He couldn't get much power behind the swing and was stuck with a slow dribbler heading towards me. I ran up to greet the ball like I was taught, fielder it, then sent an under handed toss to Noah at second base. He tagged the base and threw to first just as the runner collided with him.

"Out!

" The second base umpire called out.

"Out!

" The first base umpire was quick to repeat.

A double play.

I ran to Noah at second base and helped him to his feet.

"Are you okay?

"

Noah patted the dirt off his uniform and fixed his cap.

"I'm fine! All good!

"

I looked him up and down and couldn't see any reason to argue.

He tapped my chest with his glove.

"That was a good play. Way to be proactive and go to the ball instead of waiting. If you were just a second late, we would have lost the double play.

"

I smiled at the compliment and headed back to my position as he did the same. We still had one more out to go. As Troy started to face off with his next batter, a sudden thought came to me. If I was a second late, we would have missed out on the double play. But...maybe if I was a second faster, there wouldn't have been a collision between Noah and the runner? Maybe he would have had another second to get out of the way.

These thoughts solidified my commitment to train harder this upcoming week. Coach did his best to teach me during official practices, but I felt most of my time was spent with Drew, just working on my endurance or strength. I needed more practical work to do.

"Out! End of game!

" The home plate called out after Troy got the guy to strike out.

Our team rushed to gather at the mound to congratulate him and one another on a good game. Afterwards we met with the other team to shake their hands for a show of good sportsmanship. A 3-1 win against a private school had our team talking on the ride home about how we must be the favorites to win league.

I zoned out, not very interested in the topic at hand. My first thought was if Zeke had finished his testing yet; followed up with wondering if he and his mom would leave tonight or tomorrow.

"They only won 3-1, I don't know how that gives them the confidence to win league.

" A quiet scoff reached my ears, drawing me out of my thoughts. A few rows back were the lower level teams having discussions of their own. One, apparently, about our team.

I glanced to Noah to see if he heard, but he was too distracted talking to Jason one row over. I wanted to interrupt to ask how the other two levels did in their games, but I didn't want to bring about a fight. And knowing Noah? He would fight. Which would be bad since we all go to the same school and it might create a rift between him and his old friends. I couldn't understand what they were thinking and why they had phrased that comment like they did. Maybe it's something I can ask Dr. Moore about since he understands weird situations like this.