Bottom of the fourth inning brought up Quincy's core power hitters. Garret and Kelvin were able to handle them though. Batter number four lined out to Mahki in left field. Batter five hit a grounder to me, which I had no trouble fielding. Then batter six hit an easy fly that Noah was able to track down by just backing up a few feet in the outfield grass.
Top of the fifth, we didn't do much either. Couldn't even get a baserunner. Chris struck out swinging. And Tony did the same. Noah moved to the batter's box and I moved to the on deck circle. But Noah's struggles continued, as he got into a groundout to the third baseman. It's strange that he can connect sometimes, but it's always to a fielder. It was like he couldn't find any open space.
Right before the bottom of the fifth, Coach pulled Garret aside. "This will be your last outing, then I'm pulling you."
Garret frowned. "Why? I'm doing fine. I've only given up one run."
"I can't have you pitching complete games every time you start. We have to plan for the future." Coach explained. "Saturday is two days away, meaning only one day of rest. You won't be able to pitch. But if you want to start again on Tuesday, then we have to make sure the other boys get some work in."
Garret thought about it and gave a short nod. "Okay, If I have to, I will."
Coach slapped him on the shoulder. "The end of the season tournament will have games closer together so we have to make sure we have the right pitchers with us. Go finish this inning with a bang. Prove to me why you're number one."
Garret grinned and sprinted out, leaving us behind. We ran out too and started our own warmup. Garret had Kelvin come to the mound for a second and then sent him back to home plate. I didn't know what it was about, but soon it wasn't too hard to guess.
Garret went at batter seven with his cutter. Three consecutive times in the strike zone, getting him to strikeout, looking. And if that wasn't enough, he got batter eight the same way. Batter nine at least tried swinging at the first two, but then was stunned by the third. Nine cutters. All for strikes. Three strikeouts.
Garret and Kelvin were smiling as they walked back to the dugout. I followed Noah as he ran up to catch up to them.
"Wow! That was so cool Garret!" Noah bounced around him excitedly. "How's your arm? Does it hurt? Do you need ice?"
Garret shoved Noah lightly on the head. "No way. I'm good." He flexed his left. "My arm is the strongest here. It can handle anything!"
"Yea, right." Coach scoffed as soon as we got in the dugout, overhearing the conversation. "If there weren't any consequences to throwing a cut fastball, then it would be more commonly seen. Go get some ice and have Drew get a look at ya!" He hollered.
Garret didn't argue. He obediently set his glove down and walked to where Drew sat by Julian.
"Garret's such a liar." Noah shook his head. "If it hurt, he should have just mixed in a few fastballs or something."
"Why didn't he?" I asked while we moved to our own bags. I took off my hat and placed my helmet on my head.
Noah shrugged lightly. "He probably just wanted to show off. Especially since Coach already told him it was going to be his last inning."
"Well…it was pretty cool." I said as I got my bat out.
"Oh, for sure!" Noah agreed. "I wish I could pitch just so I can strikeout the side!" His shoulders sagged. "But…I'm too short to be an effective pitcher. Maybe if I restarted and worked on the freshmen and JV teams like Kyle and David did. But they've been pitching since little league so I probably couldn't reach that level."
I fell silent, unsure of what to say. I thought pitchers were cool too, but not only did I not have the strength or skill for that position, I didn't have the mentality. I'm not as confident or strong-willed like the guys on our team.
"Jake! You're up! What are you doing, dozing off?!" Coach yelled.
I jolted, gripped my bat and ran. I hurried out of the dugout and straight to the batter's box. I almost forgot that I would lead us off in the sixth inning. I didn't bother with any practice swings since the pitcher looked like had already warmed up. I stepped into the lefty's box.
Mr. Miller gave out signs, but mostly just for show. I didn't usually follow them unless Coach told me to specifically. Or Zeke.
"Strike." The ump called.
The pitcher had had thrown a fastball while I was distracted. No biggie. He threw another and I fouled it down the line. 0-2. Ball. Foul. Foul. Ball. Foul. Foul. Foul. Ball. At ten pitches, I finally got to the full count. Normally I would be eager to swing but my lineout to center field in the third inning was hanging over me. We only had two innings left before it was game over. I decided to pick the safest route: a walk.
I fouled two more pitches before getting that ball four. I dropped the bat and jogged to first, while noticing the pitcher taking off his hat in order to wipe the sweat off his forehead. Yea…being a pitcher is hard work.
Coach replaced Garret with a pinch hitter, bringing in Daniel. I didn't have much of an impression of him and John since they didn't play very many games, and in practice I felt a little isolated as I had to do extra drills with Drew. It didn't help that they were older and might feel bitter about a pair of freshmen playing their positions. Just like how Chris felt bitter about me just being on the team. I let out a sigh.
"Pay attention, kid." Coach Luis grumbled in a low tone. He always seemed to be mad or in a bad mood, but I've come to realize that winning is the most important to him. Just like the head coach.
