196 Game Two: Durham Preparatory 9 (1/2)
Bryce was a little to eager so when he came out without Kelvin, he was stuck throwing the ball around with us infielders. Noah looked as skeptical as I felt. I didn't have a justified reason as to why I felt that way, I just haven't seen him pitch before and that made me nervous since we're in a tight spot.
Soon enough, Kelvin came out and Bryce was able to start throwing some practice pitches. From the corner of my eye I could see someone warming up in our bullpen, giving me the feeling that coach didn't believe that Bryce could get all three out.
The umpire called for the game to resume, and the Durham batter to step up to the plate. Bryce would only get to face three batters, but unfortunately for him he took the mound in time to face batters three, four, and five. That's basically the core of any teams lineup.
Bryce looked to be excited and I think his excitement translated to nervousness. His pitches were all over the place, resembling Kyle's earlier performance. The third batter hit a double...and then so did the fourth batter, who drove in another run to make it 6-3, them. After giving up back to back hits, and even giving up a run, his pitches became more off-center, resulting in giving up a walk to his third opponent.
Coach didn't waste any time and came out of the dugout after Bryce's third batter. He took the baseball and sent Bryce to the dugout, head hung low. I felt a pang in my chest as I know what it's like to be a disappointment. Coach pulled James from the bullpen and handed him the baseball. No words were shared this time around, just a glance over all of our faces, then he joined Bryce in going to the dugout.
Noah and I drifted towards each other as James threw some pitches to Kelvin.
”That wasn't a good start for Bryce at all.” Noah whined. ”Why couldn't his pitching be on par with his hit?”
I tilted my head. ”I mean, it kind of was. He hit a double, and then he gave up doubles.”
Noah grabbed my shoulders and shook me, while trying to hold back a laugh. ”Jake, I'm being serious. Don't you realize how serious this is? We're even losing by more now.”
I brushed his hands off me to stop the flailing motion. ”Do you not believe in Zeke's words that an inning can change everything?”
Noah stopped his mini panic attack. ”Of course I do. In fact, he stole that from me.” Uh-huh. Sure. Who was just complaining about giving up another run? ”We're just gonna have to pull off a comeback win. It'll be a little tricky with you and Zeke getting to bat so soon, but still doable to at least tie it and go to extra innings.”
I kind of felt hesitant to burst his bubble, but felt the need to say it. ”Zeke hasn't been allowed to hit all game. It's really up to the batters after him.”
Noah stopped his chattering and looked me in the eyes. ”Jake.” He said in a very serious manner. ”Pick a side. Either be optimistic or pessimistic.”
”What? You're doing the same thing, jumping back and forth from 'oh no' and to 'we got this'.” I said back to him.