During lunch with the team and everyone's family, I got a message from Jeremy.

Jeremy: Sorry to bail without saying anything first. You played great today! It was a good game.

I stared at the message for a second too long I guess.

Because Noah peered over my shoulder to take a look. He snorted.

"Took him long enough.

" He looked at me.

"You should ignore him.

"

My lips twitched.

"It's not like it was intentional. He went to support Carson after a tough loss. Wouldn't you guys do the same for me?

"

Noah rubbed his chin.

"Yea, yea. I know he would come to you if you had lost, but it doesn't feel right. Kind of like a traitor, you know?

"

I shook my head.

"I don't think so. Carson is probably more of a brother to him than me. Like how I think you're more of a brother, than he is, to me.

"

Noah didn't like my answer. He lounged back in his chair.

"It's different though. I just feel like he owes you. Nothing dramatic like a million dollars. But maybe a little more attention?

"

I shrugged.

"I don't have any feud with...them.

"

"Well, if you're fine with it, I'm fine with it.

" Noah took a sip of his drink.

"He'll probably stick around to watch you in the finals anyways.

"

I nodded. That was likely. I switched from my texting app to search up Zeke's game.

"You think Zeke's game is going yet?

"

"Yea. By now, definitely.

" Noah leaned closer as we watched the online updates.

"Just play the radio version out loud. No one is going to mind.

"

I hesitated. We were in a restaurant and although we had a big group, it would be rude to the other customers.

Noah clicked play, ignoring my dilemma. As soon as the broadcast could be heard, we attracted a lot of attention from our teammates.

"Are you guys listening to a spring training game?

" Jason asked.

"No. Stanford versus Grand Canyon.

" Noah said.

"Zeke's in left field. Batting third.

"

"Damn.

" Sean scooted closer.

"Hard for me to believe that there's a better player than him on the same team. I hope they make playoffs.

"

"Too soon to say.

" Garret nodded.

"Bradley Thompson isn't that much better than Zeke. He just has more experience at this level.

" Noah defended.

"Maybe halfway through the season, they'll switch it up.

"

"Just depends on who's hot.

"

Everyone was jumping in, talking about the next level, Zeke, the game we played in, and the game we were about to play in. It was a good meal. I didn't have any friends before my big move to Northern California, yet now I had a whole team. At least half the guys I knew well and could talk to on my own. I wasn't totally reliant on Noah like last season. Things were good.

***

1 SS Noah Atkins

2 2B Jake Atkins

3 CF Garret Knudsen<.com><

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4 LF Korrey Alvarrez

5 3B Jesse Shipman

6 RF Tanner Erickson

7 C Mitchell Torres

8 1B Jason Morris

9 P Joey Hendersooach gave out the lineup at lunch. He wanted to move things around a bit. Bryce and Brian were still eligible to pitch so he wanted them both back in the bullpen. We were at the furthest point in the tournament now. It was likely that the bullpen would play a role in how it ends.

Our opposition for the finals was set to be Franklin High School. Coach said they were from the Sacramento area and were formerly known as a powerhouse public school. But in the last two years they had slipped in D1 rankings because of subpar pitching performances. Now it looked like they were back to the top. Sort of. They were climbing and surprisingly their ranking for the tournament was lower than us, making us the home team for the first time this weekend.

After warmups, Coach had a small meeting before we took the field.

"Don't take anything easy. Three B's. Ball. Base. Backup.

" He looked at me.

"If we see some more bunts your way, go to first. Jason will go the ball. You don't even have to think about it.

"

I nodded.

He looked to Joey.

"Try not to be too amped up out there. Keep calm. Focus on Mitchell's mitt.

" He looked at Mitchell next.

"The game is in your hands. Try to keep the ball low. Make them work if they want that ball in the outfield. We don't care about how many pitches each batter racks up.

"

"Try to get them to hit the grounders all to me.

" Noah suggested with a grin.

"Bro, you're bound to make an error sooner or later.

" Kyle gave him a small pat on the shoulder.

"Try taking it easy and let the pitcher work.

"

"No errors for me.

" Noah waved him off.

"I don't think anyone has an error so far for this tournament. At least not on our side.

" Sean pointed out. He glanced my way and opened his mouth.

"Don't jinx it.

" I whispered.

Sean laughed. We all knew how bad of a start I had last season. Constant errors. For fielding. For baserunning. For mental mistakes that Zeke deemed an error. It was painful to look back on.

The announcer could be heard going through the intros of both teams. It was our cue to take the field. We ran out and heard the claps after every starter's name was announced.

"And on the mound, Junior, number 18, Joey Henderson.

" The guy said over the speaker system.

"Leading off for Franklin High School, number four, shortstop, Alec Nelson.

"

"Start us off strong, Alec!

"

"Get on base!

"

"You've got this.

"

The cheers for him came out clearly. Joey didn't get any words of encouragement that was specifically for him. Most of the crowd sounded like they were here for Franklin High School.

I scanned the crowded stands for Mom and Dad. They would cheer for everyone on our team at all times. I frowned the more I looked. They weren't in their normal spots like upper center or closer to our dugout. Just as I was about to give up I spotted Mom climbing the stands. She found a spot and sat alone. No Dad. I frowned. No Jeremy either? Maybe they went to meet somewhere more private. There were reporters around after all.