I hung my head as I went back to the dugout.
"Don't be too upset about it." Coach Leroy said as soon as I stepped in the dugout. "That would have been a homerun on a high school field. Unless an outfielder climbed the fence."
I looked up at him. "Really?"
"Of course. I know my field dimensions." He grinned. "You put on more weight and gain some more muscle, you won't have to think so hard. You'll be able to hit quite a few homeruns this season. I'm sure of it." He put his hand on my shoulder and lowered his voice. "Take your time, Jake. You're already ahead of the curve for your age."
I nodded and went to my bag to grab my glove and hat. I understood that Coach's words were meant to cheer me up and assure me that I was doing well. It's just…after facing those minor league pitchers…I felt like I was lacking. I know age is a factor, but also, Jeremy…he's the same age as the guys I faced and he's playing at an even higher level.
Hmm. I had the same feeling with Zeke. The urge to catch up. Is this…how Noah feels? Constantly trying to catch up to his brothers despite the age gap.
I clenched my right hand and hit it into my glove a few times as we started the top of the seventh inning. It didn't relieve my frustration.
Our pitcher came out a little wild, walking the ninth batter. With a runner on first, the infield shifted as the first baseman had to stay on first base. Hopefully we could turn a double play.
The pitcher tried to pickoff the runner at first, but was unsuccessful on two attempts. The batter at the top of the lineup hit a high, but short, fly to right field. I tracked back to make the catch.
"I got it!" The right fielder came in sprinting. He dove for the ball and made the catch just a few feet away from me. He popped back up on his feet and threw the ball back to the infield as I awkwardly stood there. He glanced at me and then went back to his position further out.
Okay. That was weird. I walked back to my own position. With one out and one on, the double play was still an option. I didn't have the time to dwell on it with Adam stepping in the batter's box. He had previously hit a homerun of his own.
Adam was very steady in the batter's box. No extra movements like waving his bat around or kicking the dirt. He was solely focused on the pitcher. He made solid contact, hitting a line drive to center field. It bounced before the outfielder could get there. He played it on the hop and threw the ball at me, covering second. The runner from first easily made it before I caught the ball. Runners on first and second. Still one out.
I threw the ball back to the pitcher.
The pitcher didn't really settle after that. He gave up a long fly ball to center field. The runner from second base tagged up and moved to third. That brought up the cleanup hitter. Luckily, he got jammed and popped the ball up to me.
I backed up to the grass and made the catch.
Game over. We won 5-4.
Those of us on the field went to the mound to congratulate the pitcher on closing the game, even if it got a bit sketchy. The rest of our team came out of the dugout, including the coaches.
Coach Leroy asked for the other team to come out of their dugout and waited for the pitchers from the bullpens to join us too. Then he addressed the whole group. "Well done, boys. It was a good game to watch. It could have gone either way the whole time. I'm proud of the effort I saw today. Even though the game doesn't mean much, you all tried your best." He glanced back to the stands. "The scouts and recruiters watching don't matter as much as you think they do. It's your own skill and effort that will carry you to where you want to go." He grinned. "Alright, I won't keep you. Go watch the other games. Shower. Talk with one of the staff. Do whatever you want to do until lunchtime."
One of the guys from our team raised his hand.
"Yes?" Coach Leroy noticed him right away.
I recognized him as the third batter…that played right field. He stood up and stepped forward. "Can I have a minute with you? To talk about what I could have done better. How I could be better?"
Coach Leroy kept his smile. "Sure." He looked around. "If anyone else has any questions for me, I'll be happy to answer them to the best of my abilities. Just meet me in the cafeteria. I'll have a table organized so it can be a little more private."
A lot of the guys looked excited.
The group started to disperse, everyone going their own way. I went to my bag in the dugout and started to change out of my cleats.
"What are you going to do, Jake?" Landon asked, packing up his own bag.
I shrugged. "I'm not sure…" What should I do? I frowned.
Landon opened his mouth, then closed it. I raised an eyebrow and realized he wasn't looking at me. I turned around and spotted Zeke coming into the dugout and heading my way.
Zeke nodded in Landon's direction. "Good game."
"Thanks." Landon said in a low voice.
Zeke looked at me. "I'm going to go watch Noah's game. Want to go over together?"
"He's still playing?" I asked. "Will he still be playing by the time we get there?"
Zeke nodded, revealing a hint of a smile. "Rhys is already over there. He sent me a text. They're barely halfway through."
My eyes widened. "Wow. Really?" He gave another nod and I started to rush, packing up my baseball bag and stood up. I looked at Landon. "Want to come?"
Landon shook his head. "No. I'm going to go back and shower. Meet up with Coach Leroy and see who else I can talk to. Get my name out there."
"You got some nice hits today." I told him.
Landon laughed. "Thanks. I'll see you at lunch." He waved as I left with Zeke.
I walked next to Zeke to one of the practice fields slightly further away. I haven't been to this field before. "Why is his game taking so long?" I asked mainly to make conversation, but also I was curious how we could finish so far ahead of them.
"Why do you think?" Zeke asked.
I looked down at my feet, taking step by step. Then I looked up at him. "Are they in a high scoring game? Getting lots of hits?"
Zeke smiled. "They are."
That makes sense. It would take the game longer to finish if they're getting hits and not outs. But to only be halfway done after we finished…how many hits could there be?
