375 Game: @ Redwood HS 2 (2/2)

Kyle faced off with the fifth batter. On a 2-2 count, Kyle threw a pitch that came inside. The batter hesitated to swing or to get out of the way. The ball bounced off the thin part of the bat and came into play. Kyle sprinted off the mound to the ball, and all the runners started to move. Kyle barehanded the ball, and tossed it to Alex at the plate. He tagged the plate before the runner could slide, getting the first out. Then Alex stepped out of the base path, and threw a bullet to Julian at first. The batter had a late start so he was also out. A double play. A 1-2-3 double play. Wow.

My jaw dropped. And here I was, thinking that I had to do something, when I didn't do anything at all. I didn't even remember to backup a throw. It just happened too quickly.

”Hey, hey, whatcha thinking about?” Noah slapped my back. ”It's time to go back to the dugout.”

”I've never seen a double play like that before.” I told him.

”Yea, it's an uncommon one.” Noah explained as we got back in the dugout. ”How many times will the bases be loaded, and the batter messes up his swing?” He laughed. ”If he had just swung all the way through, it may have been difficult to defend our one run lead. A lot of that just worked out in our favor.”

I nodded.

The top of the second inning was similar to the first, except we didn't score a run. Julian got a single, his first hit since his injury. But Jason and Mahki followed it up with back to back strikeouts. Alex ended the inning by grounding out to the shortstop. Anticlimactic.

The bottom of the second, Kyle got back on the mound. The sixth batter was up. Kyle started to pitch wild again, throwing two pitches way outside. The third pitch came in for a called strike. And the fourth pitch was fouled off. At 2-2, Kyle threw a fastball in the middle of the strike zone, yet slightly high.

The batter swung and crushed it. I didn't even need to turn around to know it would be a home run. The look on Kyle's face said it all. He was kicking the dirt on the mound and had his head hung low. The batter jogged the bases and returned to his cheering dugout, happy to tie the game at one. So much for our lead.

”Focus on the next batter!” Noah clapped his glove. ”There's still a lot of game left to play.”

I nodded in agreement. There was. It was only the second inning. We still have five more innings to take back the lead once more.

Kyle lifted his head, glanced at Noah, then straightened up. He faced Alex and got a new ball from the umpire. He still had to get three outs.

The seventh batter hit a grounder right to Noah. Noah had no trouble fielding it, getting the first out. The eighth batter smacked a grounder between Jason and Noah, but Noah was able to make a stab at it, and then from his knees, threw the guy out at first. Amazing. What an arm.

As Noah dusted himself off, I couldn't help but stare at him in awe. Not only did he stop the hit, but he got the out. I don't think I could throw that fast and far from that position on the field, let alone from the knees. This is why Noah is on varsity. His fielding is next to none. I didn't see Jason even having a shot at it.

The ninth batter had only hit a short pop up to me. I didn't get to make a spectacular play like Noah, but I was able to catch the ball for the third out of the inning. That's good enough for me.