Читаем Senior Year Box Set полностью

Senior Year Box Set

The splitter was an off-speed pitch thrown in the mid-to-upper-80s range. It was the ultimate strikeout pitch because hitters found it hard to lay off, let alone hit. The splitter looks precisely like a fastball but drops off the table as it reaches the plate. Technically, it probably should be considered a breaking ball and not a fastball.

When it was time for the game to start, I was on the mound, throwing heat. The scouts had their guns out, clocking the speed of my pitches. When the umpire signaled that he was ready to start the game, I threw the last pitch as hard as I could. The ball ripped through the air and made a satisfying smack as it landed in Tim’s glove. Tim fired the ball down to second, and the guys tossed it around the diamond before it was returned to me to start the game.

I took a moment to check the crowd. We had a full house with a sea of orange and blue as our fans showed their support.

I heard Tim talking to the Washington batter, complaining that my fastball came in so hard it hurt his hand.

I put on my determined face, stuck my toe on the rubber, and focused on my catcher. Tim signaled for the two-seam fastball, low and inside. I nodded and began my windup.

The batter had obviously been timing my pitches as I warmed up because he started his swing as soon as I released the ball. He all but corkscrewed himself into the dirt when his mighty swing met nothing but air.

“Strike one!”

Tim continued his banter. He must have said something funny because the umpire laughed. The batter’s face just flushed.

When I got ready to pitch, Tim indicated he wanted another two-seamer, but this time he tapped his thigh twice to signal he wanted it outside the strike zone. He was testing the batter’s eye and seeing if he would chase the pitch. Sure enough, he did for his second strike.

Tim asked for the changeup to be thrown high and down the middle. The change of pace on the ball completely fooled the batter, but he managed to clip it. It flew sky high and drifted foul. Yuri ambled over toward the dugout, tracking the ball as it moved. When the ball finally came back to earth, he was there to catch it for the first out.

I got the next two batters to ground out on first pitches.

Our hot hitting continued from the last game, and we put two up in the first. I managed a base hit that scored one of the runs.

By the third inning, Washington’s pitchers were done. They’d used them all up during the previous three games. Once we’d built our lead to six runs, Moose pulled most of our starters so the bench got some game experience. I had a no-hitter going through the fifth, so he left me in. When I finally gave up a base hit on a ground ball that skipped between the feet of one of the backups, Moose pulled Tim and me.

At the end of the game, they announced that the band would be starting in forty-five minutes. That gave everyone a chance to walk over to the park for the show.

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The team all changed into street clothes and walked as a group to the event at the park. I finally got my deep-fried Snickers and corn dogs. Cassidy and I went to the concert where a local country band was playing.

Seeing all the families having a good time was enough to make my day. This was what my hometown was all about and why I loved it. I couldn’t think of anywhere I would rather be.

I had Cassidy at my side, and our town was coming together to solve their problems. We were all having a good time on a sunny afternoon and a pleasant evening in a small-town park. It was perfect.

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Senior Year: The End

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1 – Teenage Wasteland

Chapter 2 – I Always Wanted A Daughter

Chapter 3 – Monte Carlo

Chapter 4 – Cinderella

Chapter 5 – Home-Wrecker

Chapter 6 – Complicated

Chapter 7 – Boorish Behavior

Chapter 8 – Ivanna …

Chapter 9 – A Hotel of Paris Hiltons