Senior Year Box Set

When Phil started his motion towards home, Brock, at second, moved to cover first base. I charged forward to take Brock’s vacated spot on the diamond.

The hitter squared up to bunt and then pulled his bat back to swat Phil’s pitch. It would have been a good play if I hadn’t moved to where Brock had been because he hit it right to where our second baseman had just moved from.

I quickly scooped it up and fired to first for the out. In my pulled-up position, I fielded another ball from the next batter that would have been a base hit. Phil managed to strike out the third Pekin player to end the top half of the inning.

When I came up in our half of the first, we had Ty on third with Wolf at first and one out. The crowd reacted to my name being announced as I stepped into the box. I ran through my ritual as I dug in to hit. I visualized my hitting steps and settled my mind so I would drop into the zone where it was just the pitcher and me.

All the crowd noise faded from my perception, and my focus narrowed in on the ball as it came out of the pitcher’s hand. It was a fastball down the center of the plate and rising. I straightened my knees to get the right level for the head of my bat as I ripped it through the zone.

I heard the satisfying crack of the bat as the ball rocketed up the middle of the field. When the ball hit the pitcher square in the solar plexus, I winced. The impact sounded like a sledgehammer hitting wet cement. The poor kid collapsed as I ran to first.

Ty scored, and Wolf made it to third. The umpire called time, even though the ball hadn’t been fielded yet, because the pitcher’s safety was paramount. The crowd became unnervingly quiet as the training staff from both Lincoln and Pekin rushed onto the field.

I got concerned when I saw he wasn’t moving. Then his body went into survival mode, and he took in a deep breath. You could see the relief on the trainers’ faces. I walked over and looked over their shoulders as his eyes fluttered open.

“Crap!” he said as he touched his chest.

I knew exactly how he felt.

“That might have left a mark,” I commented.

He gave me a ‘go to hell’ look. I was sure he would be okay, so I trotted back to first.

Pekin hadn’t had anyone warming up in the bullpen, so the umpire gave them time to get a pitcher ready.

◊◊◊

The game went according to plan. We were aggressive when Pekin inserted their replacement pitcher. He wasn’t nearly as good as their original starter, nor were the next two they trotted out. After Pekin batted in the top of the fifth, they called the game with us leading 13–0.

As we finished up, Tim and Wolf stopped me.

“We want to go to Monical’s to celebrate. What do you say?” Wolf asked.

“Let me do my autograph signing, and I’ll meet you there.”

The good thing about a home game was our crowd knew the postgame drill. Everyone who wanted an autograph began to line up. It looked like I would be there for a while, so I jumped in and got started.

Lexi and Tami joined me on the field with Manaia. He had a box of pre-signed baseball cards; I had new ones this year. The three of them handed the cards out to the people who just wanted a souvenir.

My dad came to the fence.

“Hey, we’re all going to Monical’s afterward,” I shared with him.

“I just came over to tell you we reserved the banquet room there. We’ll see you in a few.”

With my three helpers, we cleared the crowd, and I left to go take a shower.

Once I was dressed, I found Moose and Coach Haskins waiting for me.

“We wanted to share something with you before you take off,” Moose said.

They both had their poker faces on, so I assumed this wasn’t anything terrible. If it had been, Moose’s face would have let me know; he didn’t usually hide his displeasure very well. I did a Dawson and stared at them.

“When the season ends, we’re both retiring,” Moose said.

I didn’t know what to say.

“That means we want to go out by winning state,” Coach Haskins explained.

“Good,” I said. “We all want the same thing. I say we make it happen.”

It was funny to watch their reaction as I hugged them both.

“I can’t thank you two enough,” I said.

“Yeah, well … you’re welcome,” Coach Haskins said.

“Now, go have fun …” Moose stated.

“… just not too much fun,” I responded, mimicking Moose’s voice.

“Get out of here,” Moose grumped.

◊◊◊

Monical’s was packed with well-wishers, the team, and their families. Monical’s wasn’t prepared for our onslaught because it wasn’t yet dinnertime when their full crew came in, so they were shorthanded. I caught the manager’s eye.

“How about you make an assortment of pitchers of soda, and I’ll send some guys up to take it back to the banquet room. Take care of the front of the house first, then come see me about our order,” I suggested.

When I got to the back, I sent Phil, Roc, and Yuri to get the drinks. I figured that when they were seniors, they could put the younger guys to work.

I whistled to get everyone’s attention. The conversation stopped, and all eyes turned to me.

“Seniors, we need to show our appreciation and go talk to all our fans.”