Junior Year Box Set

We were at the Urban Youth Academy to play our last game. I was glad we were playing in the morning before it got hot out. At least someone was using their head when they planned this. I pulled the four guys at risk together before the game.

“I talked to Coach, and he said you were all on the bubble. They’re looking at eight guys to fill the last three spots. You’re all going to get one last opportunity to show what you can do today.”

“What, I’m not a lock?” Dave complained.

“From what I heard, you made an ass of yourself last night. Remember when we had the talk about fitting in and being a team player? If I were you, I would be the biggest cheerleader you can be today.”

Dave didn’t look happy.

“Snap out of it,” I ordered. “I want M.E. to be our batgirl in Mexico. I’ll be disappointed if she isn’t there because you couldn’t get with the program.”

That seemed to shock him because he just nodded and walked off to think. When he came back, he was a new man. I hoped it would be enough to get him on the team.

◊◊◊

Austin was getting the start today. He was a right-hander who hailed from Florida. He told us he lived in an area called the Nature Coast, north of Tampa. It was noted for not having the urban sprawl that had taken over south Florida. They had sea cows called manatees that loved the warm water from the springs in the rivers.

I was fired-up to win this game. I felt like I did before a football game, and I actually had to go to the locker room and throw up prior to the start. When I got back, we took the field, and every player had his game face on. At the beginning of the week, it was more about fun. Now? We were ready to dominate since we wanted to get those three remaining slots. Somehow word had gotten out that we needed to support our teammates. Who would ever do something like that?

Austin threw well in warm-ups. Their first man up was their speedy center fielder. Austin hung a curveball, and he slapped it up the middle. On contact, Logan Greene, our second baseman, and Mitch Underwood, our shortstop, exploded out of their stances and made an all-out effort to get to the ball. We’d practiced where Logan would go deep, and Mitch would go in front if they ever crossed. They did that because the shortstop had a better chance to throw out the runner since he was running towards first base. Mitch snagged the ball just behind second base and threw a rocket to Dave, covering first. I think he caught it out of self-defense.

Mitch ended up handling all three balls in the first inning. Two of them would have been base hits if he hadn’t been focused and hustled. Austin swatted him on the butt when he came into the dugout. Coach Kingwood looked at me, and our expressions agreed that the message had been delivered. Mitch planned to be one of the three.

“Way to hustle,” I congratulated him.

I could see him relax some. He was showing he would do what it took, and I knew everyone that mattered had seen it too.

I was up fourth in the first inning. Logan walked, and then both Mitch and Dave hit the ball right at someone and were out. I stepped into the batter’s box and Coach Way signaled for me to take the first pitch. So, I dug in and watched a fastball catch the outside corner for strike one. I stepped out of the box and visualized hitting the ball over the first baseman’s head. On the second pitch, I saw the ball well as it came out of the pitcher’s hand. It was a hanging changeup, right in the zone. I held my hands back to keep from overswinging and then punched the ball over the first baseman.

We’d worked to run full speed to first base because good things happened when you hustled. The right fielder charged in to get the ball. I was surprised when I didn’t see anyone cover second base. I didn’t even look at Coach Nautilus at first, but just rounded the bag, not breaking stride. Their second baseman had gone out to cut off the throw, but the shortstop hadn’t paid attention. I guess he assumed I would settle for a single. When he finally looked up, it was too late.

The only problem was that Logan hadn’t been paying attention and held up at second. Coach Way finally got his attention, and he ran for third. Their second baseman was frustrated with the shortstop and didn’t pay attention to Logan running down the line. When he finally figured it out, it was too late, even though the play was close.

“That’s the way to steal an extra base,” Coach Way boomed from third as he clapped his hands.

Our dugout was on their feet, with Dave leading the cheer. Coach Kingwood had preached W.I.N. to us to keep our heads in the game and to be more aggressive on the basepaths. The more pressure we could put on them, the better we would do.