"Hey! Not bad.

" Noah told me as I rejoined him and the group.

I sighed.

"I only got three out of five. It's certainly not good.

"

"That last one was tough.

" Noah comforted me.

"If this was a real game, with other players, then you wouldn't even track back that far. Zeke would have called you off a long time ago.

"

"Not everyone is Zeke.

" I pointed out.

"So pessimistic!

" Noah exclaimed. He threw his arm around my shoulders.

"Stop stressing. It's just preliminary grading. Plus, you might have a second chance if we can get done in time. Don't even worry about it. Hitting is more your thing than catching fly balls.

"

I frowned.

"Yea...but catching fly balls is required in almost all games.

"

Noah spoke more words of comfort, but...they weren't comforting me anymore. I don't know what it is, but I don't feel like my hitting can keep compensating for my fielding. I'm not as bad as I was in the beginning, but...

I sighed. I have a lot of 'buts'.

The group finished in good time like Chandler said we would. He asked the group who wanted to try again. I raised my hand, however so did Noah. I glanced at him. I wasn't the only one.

"What?

" Noah grinned.

"No one said I couldn't do it again even if I was satisfied.

" He looked at Chandler.

"I want to do it again.

"

"Alright.

" He noted down Noah's number. And mine. And then three others who also had mediocre performances like me.

"The rest of you step aside.

"

This time I made sure to get in front of Noah. He gave me a look like I was being weird, but I consider this as strategy. There was only one guy before me and he had also gotten a three out of five. He did his second round and improved to four out of five. Good. I can do that too.

Coach Jason started to hit high fly balls to me again. This time it wasn't a wide variety in location. Three were straight and in front of me. Easy. The fourth one was over my right shoulder again. I turned to run and kept my head over my shoulder, trying to track the ball the best I could. At the last second, I knew I wasn't going to make it, so I dove. I could feel the ball in my glove, yet saw it bounced out when I hit the ground. Ugh. I clenched my teeth, picked the ball up, and threw it back.

Ball five went high into the air, and looked like it was going over me. I jogged backwards, got under it, and made the catch. Four out of five. It's an improvement too. I went back to the group as Noah came running out.

After two good catches, he caught a hard-to-reach fly ball over his shoulder, earning some claps from the coaches.

"Is he trying to show off to get a better score?

" One of the guys mumbled.

I swallowed a nervous lump in my throat, yet stood up for my best friend.

"Noah just likes to play...

"

Travis laughed.

"Yea, I see that too. That kid looked energetic after warmups, and then during sprints, he looked like he wanted to do more.

"

Some of the other guys agreed and I sighed with relief. I didn't want them to see Noah in a bad light. He just likes playing around.

Noah came back after making the last catch, grinning like he was in a good mood.

"Man, I wish we can just play instead of doing this evaluation thingy. It's not as fun as I thought it would be.

"

Adam chuckled.

"It's not supposed to be fun. It's like a test. You get graded and maybe they'll help you improve.

"

"Have you been to camps before?

" Noah asked.

"Of course.

" He nodded.

"I'm going to be a senior in the fall so I've been going to a few camps this summer. If I'm lucky, I can sneak into a D1 program. If not, I'll accept a scholarship to a D2 school near my home.

"

"Very cool.

" Noah nodded.

"This is mine and Jake's first college camp.

"

"Oh are you going to be freshmen in the fall?

" Travis asked.

"No, we'll be sophomores.

" Noah said.

"Back to the bags!

" Chandler commanded. Everyone who had wanted to, had done their second round. We obediently followed him back and got a sip of water.

"Bring your batting gear. Whatever you would normally wear during an at-bat. We're going to be doing two different stations that involves hitting so don't forget a batting glove or an elbow guard.

"

He gave us a second to grab our gear. Noah had pulled his hat off and put his helmet on so I copied him. He grabbed the same aluminum bat he's been using since I've known him, and then a pair of batting gloves.

I simply held the wooden bat that Jeremy had given me. Rhys hadn't said anything yet, about helping me get some cheaper wooden bats for practice so I was stuck using the only one I had left after that showdown with Rhys. I sighed at the thought of another broken bat.

Noah knew what I was sighing about with just a glance.

"Ah, I forgot. Well, maybe Rhys did too. We can ask him at lunch.

"

I nodded.

"Ready?

" Chandler glanced at us.

"Alright, lets go. First stop, the batting cages.

"

A weight had been taken off my shoulders. The cages. My happy place.

Noah laughed at my face.

"Looks like your confidence will be restored soon.

"

"I think everyone feels that way.

" Travis pointed out.

"I don't know one baseball player that doesn't like hitting practice or playing in the batting cages.

" He laughed.

"Maybe a few pitchers but even they like to practice hitting.

"

"You don't understand.

" Noah explained.

"Jake didn't get to play baseball as a kid. He only got to play in the cages.

"

"That's too bad.

" Adam joined in.

"Games are the best. Winning them is an even better feeling.

"

Noah smirked.

"We win all the time.

" A few of the guys looked his way.

"We were state champions in our division.

"

"No way! That's awesome.

" Travis said.

"I could only dream about being a state champion. My school isn't that good so it's usually a long shot to even be league champions.

"

"My team is bad.

" Adam said.

"But our school was just pushed into division three so it's been different this past year.

"

"We play in division three of the northern section. You?

" Noah looked at Adam, excited to see a potential rival.

"Same!

" He smiled.

"What league are you in?

"

"Bay Counties League!

" Noah deflated after he said that.

"But there's no new team in our league.

"

Adam nodded.

"Yea, I didn't think so. I would remember if any of the schools we played against became state champions.

" He laughed.

"You two must have made varsity to claim to be champions. Did you get any playing time as freshmen?

"

Noah smirked.

"We're starters. I play short and Jake plays second.

" That caught the attention of others who weren't interested in the beginning.

"Lineup by numerical order of your sticker.

" Chandler broke up the conversation as we reached the batting cages by the main field. The cages that I've been in before.