396 Golden West @ Servite (6) (1/2)

Noah's jaw dropped. Mine too. We looked at Zeke in a whole new light. There's someone he hasn't scored on? But then I remembered what was said before, Zeke had trouble against Servite. A slump. Because they had really good pitchers.

"If he's so good, why doesn't he pitch the whole game?" Noah folded his arms across his chest.

"He was a starter last year." Zeke said. "Now, as a senior, he wants to stick with being a closer. That's what he has set his sights on. And it seems to be working."

"But why?"

Zeke shrugged. "Maybe he's afraid of doing too much and injuring himself. Look at Rhys. He lost a years worth of baseball. Not everyone thinks that high school ball is important." Zeke looked to me. "Go down and get a better look. Try and get to stand right behind the fence."

I stood up and started to do what he asked.

Noah stood up as well. "I'll go with. Just in case someone tries to yell at you."

"Thanks." I smiled lightly.

We went down the bleacher and got close to the fence. Noah found a spot for us to stand, just to the right of the umpire.

"Let's go E.J.!" From our spot, we could hear the Servite dugout clearly. "Shut them out and shut them down!"

That's exactly what he did. It was three up, three down for Golden West. Ernest only used nine pitches, all in the zone. It was like his pitch could avoid any swing and could move on its own.

"Why the frown?" Noah nudged me. "Is he formidable in your eyes?"

I looked at him. "Anyone that can make Zeke struggle, scares me. And.." I frowned. "Something about his pitching bugs me. Was it the ball movement? Or the way he threw?

Noah patted my shoulder as we turned around to go back up the bleacher. "We play them Thursday. That'll give you a few days to think it over."

I don't think that's enough time. As soon as we got back to Zeke, he was looking at me expectantly. I was helpless though. "It was weird."

"Yea, I think so too." He agreed so easily, surprising me. "What did you think?"

I shrugged as I sat down. "I'm not too sure. I guess, nothing. It's more of a feeling. A feeling that something isn't right." His speed was high, but not high enough to make me worry.

"Don't think about it too much." Zeke knocked me on the head. "I just wanted you to get a feel for it before Thursday. It's not like he'll pitch the whole game. We'll have to settle on getting an early lead and then holding it."

I nodded in agreement. Ernest only faced the last three batters of Golden West's lineup, but I felt like he could do it to any three.

Brady came onto the mound for the bottom of the seventh. Just three outs away from winning the game. He stayed consistent and tight, not letting any wild pitches happen by mistake. Groundout to short. A swinging strikeout. Then a short fly out to center. They won. Golden West won the away game at Servite. They had also beaten us at home. They definitely had the advantage in the standings now.

Zeke had us wait in our seats until the crowd started to disperse.

Willie was also staying in his seat. Same with a few others.

"Are they also scouts?" Noah asked Willie.

He nodded. "Yep. Common for big games like this. Especially with well known players like Brady, Sanchez, and Williamson."

"Are you staying to talk to any of them?" Noah questioned, wanting to know more.

"Not me." Willie shook his head. "It's enough that I got to watch them in person. I'll send my report in to my boss, but all of today's significant players were pitchers. We currently have good pitchers coming up in the system so it's not our main focus." He eyes Zeke. "I'll see you next week to see how you boys fair against Servite."

"We'll be crushing it." Noah boasted.

Zeke just nodded in response.