"I can't let the twins down.

" I said proudly. I can't wait to see them and have them compliment me on a job well done. Garret may be the better pitcher, but he's still on the same level as the twins if he can't strike me out.

Garret pulled me into a headlock and patted my helmet loudly, trying to give me a headache.

"You're starting to sound more and more like those Atkins. Now that you have brothers, you don't care about friends, do you?

"

I laughed as I tried to get out of his grasp.

"There's always next week.

" Coach reminded him.

Garret let me go.

"You think I can change anything in the next week, Coach? It took me forever to learn that pitch as it is.

" He sighed dramatically.

"All that work just to have one pitch hit to the outfield.

"

I looked to Mitchell.

"Does that mean you'll pair up with other pitchers next week?

" Because he only worked with Garret today.

Mitchell nodded.

"Yea, I already promised a few of the other guys I would pair up with more pitchers next week. Don't know if it'll change the outcome for anyone though.

" He laughed.

"You really killed it today. Great job.

"

"Thanks.

" I accepted his compliment.

"You three clean up here for me.

" Coach instructed.

"There isn't any reason for you boys to join in the scrimmages so late. Take it easy and collect all the baseballs, then you can head home.

" He headed to Alisha.

Garret pointed at the bucket of balls near the first base dugout.

"Mitchell, you can stay over here and collect the balls that we throw in.

" He nodded at me.

"You don't need your glove. Just leave your bat here and let's work on getting all the baseballs you hit back to Mitchell.

"

It was my turn to sigh. If I knew I had to clean up, I wouldn't have hit the baseballs everywhere. I would have tried condensing where the balls would go. Garret and I jogged out to the grass and picked up the balls, throwing them towards Mitchell, who was in charge of putting them in the bucket. It didn't actually take that long since Garret did a lot of sprinting for the far ones, and his throws were really accurate.

We cleaned up, put everything away, and packed our bags. As we headed for the parking lot, we ran into some players coming up from the lower fields.

Dave started to laugh obnoxiously.

"Let me guess. Jake still kicked your butt?

"

Garret rolled his eyes.

"At least I gave it a shot.

"

Dave reached for me, putting an arm around my shoulders and leaned down.

"Did you strike out at all, Jake?

"

I shook my head.

"I came close a few times, but no.

"

Dave grinned.

"I got him to a 1-2 count.

" Garret defended himself.

"What was the deciding pitch?

" Noah joined us.

"A slider.

" I told him. I looked up at Dave.

"I hit to right field. Definitely would be a hit.

"

Dave shook me around.

"What a champ! A new pitch can't even throw you off. You and Noah have made me proud today!

"

I looked to Noah.

Noah beamed and straightened up.

"I got two hits off Kyle. And Dave pitched three scoreless innings with me as a catcher.

"

"You can play catcher?

" Mitchell asked.

"Should I be worried I'm going to lose my chance to start on varsity?

"

Noah laughed.

"No way. I still prefer shortstop. That's where all the action is. Catching is okay because you get to touch the ball a lot, but it's not that exciting.

"

We talk some more about their scrimmage and my challengers until Kyle showed up in the car, honking at us to hurry it up. We said goodbye to Garret and Mitchell before heading to the car.

"Dang, so impatient.

" Dave muttered as he climbed into the front passenger seat.

"Someone's a sore loser.

" Noah wiggled his eyebrows.

"I'm in a hurry not because I'm in a bad mood.

" Kyle stated as he started to drive us home.

"I have a date with Marie tonight and need to shower.

" He glanced at me using the rear view mirror.

"How'd it go?

"

"No strikeouts.

" Dave answered for me.

"Not even to Garret. Apparently his new pitch is a slider.

"

Kyle was skeptical.

"Why would he pick a slider? It's so similar to the cutter.

"

Dave had an answer to that too.

"Probably because it's so similar.

"

I nodded in agreement.

"Yea, I think so too. If batters are expecting the cutter and he throws the slider, there's bound to be a lot more strikeouts.

" I scratched my cheek, a little embarrassed.

"He almost got me too. If it wasn't for Rhys, I would have expected it. Luckily I switched from lefty to righty at the end of the at-bat.

"

"How did it go against that Robbie guy?

" Noah asked.

"Didn't the twins tell you to watch out for him and his freshman catcher?

"

I turned red from embarrassment.

"Uh, he almost got me.

" I took a minute to explain his pitching sequence, the appearance of the knuckleball, and how Oscar dropped the foul tip.

"Wow.

" Dave mumbled.

"That's pretty lucky.

"

"If he struck Jake out, would that make him a better pitcher than us?

" Kyle squinted at the road.

"Jake, what's your plan for next week?

"

"Coach said he probably won't try again next week.

" I told him what was said earlier.

"Coach said it was a one time thing.

"

"The element of surprise is off the table.

" Noah nodded.

"Same goes for Garret. That freshman though is probably kicking himself, thinking about what could have been.

"

"It's not like I got a good hit off the next pitch.

" I told them about the pop out.

"That might factor into Coach's decision on whether they make the team. He told Alisha to write it down. Same for Matt and...Joey.

"

"Joey didn't throw anywhere near you, right?

" Dave turned all the way around to make eye contact with me.

I shook my head.

"No. He was fine. I guess. He threw nothing but two-seamers. Got me cornered to an 0-2 count thanks to Coach.

" I told them about Coach's lenient call.

The three continued to ask me about the pitchers until we got home. Then Kyle broke away, racing upstairs, in a hurry to take a shower and get dressed. He left just as Mom and Dad got home with a couple of pizzas.

"Home by eleven!

" Dad called out just as the door slammed shut.

"Do you think we should have Dave go with him?

" Mom asked Dad as we set the table.

Dave made a face of disgust.

"No way. I'm not his babysitter, Mom. You can go check on him if you want. He's just going to the mall to watch Marie try on clothes. He doesn't even think they'll watch a movie. So lame.

"

Noah laughed.

"That would be the worst kind of third wheel. I could never.

" He looked at Dad with excitement.

"Guess what I did today?

"

"What?

" Dad asked.

Noah started to tell him about our whole practice.

After dinner, we all showered and got in our pajamas. Without any baseball to watch, Noah and Dave settled on playing movies I haven't seen before. It was fun for me because it was just so new, but I couldn't understand how they could rewatch a movie they had already seen. It made me appreciate them even more.