Chapter 468 - CIF Quarterfinal Northwood HS (9) (2/2)

Noah came back with Jason. Both put their gear away and brought out gloves and baseball caps. ”If only I could get a little more air under the ball. Could have easily turned into a line drive.” Noah muttered as he slumped in his seat.

My lips twitched. ”You can't think like that.” I told him, repeating his earlier words with ease. It felt pretty good to throw that back into his face so soon.

Noah laughed and relaxed his tensed posture. ”Yea, you're right, therefore I'm right.” He watched Sean's at-bat. ”In fact, I should feel good about a groundout. I could have easily struck out with the way he was blowing that speed ball by me.”

”Dude.” Garret threw a water bottle at him. ”You grounded into a double play. That's nothing to be proud of. You got two outs with one swing instead of one out. You brat.”

The guys nearby all laughed. The dugout was in pretty good spirits. Even when Sean grounded out to end our half of the inning, most of the players took the field with a smile.

”Defense!” Noah hollered as we got into position. Julian threw the ball in the dirt at us to help warm up and keep sharp. Coach walked up to the umpire to announce a pitcher change as James came jogging in from the bullpen.

Like always, James kept his warmup light and easy. Him and Alex had a quick meeting at the mound before the umpire called for the game to resume and for the batter to step up. James got to start with the lower end of the lineup, with batter number six up first.

James pitching had always intrigued me since he stuck with straight curves for the most part, unlike other high school pitchers who rely heavy on their fastballs. James got the first man up to swing and miss three times in a row for the strikeout.

James wasn't a one at-bat star. He took down the whole side with his curveballs and ended the seventh inning in nine pitches. Noah was the first to throw up his glove after the umpire called game and declared us as the winners. Noah then sprinted to the mound and hopped onto James, making him stumble. The rest of the team wasn't far behind.

I smiled and laughed a little as I picked up Noah's glove from the ground for him. I watched from a safe distance as the team bounced around and pushed one another in excitement.

”We're moving on!!” Garret sprinted from left field and squeezed his way in the pile of players. The bullpen players weren't too far behind.

I glanced over my shoulder to right field and saw Mahki jogging in with Zeke.

”Felling happy, Bambi?” Mahki grinned down at me as they slowed up when they reached me at second base.

I nodded. ”We get to play again, don't we?”

”We do!” He pushed my cap down over my eyes before running into the pile on the mound.

I fixed my hat and peeked up at Zeke. ”Are you going to join them?”

Zeke smiled gently as he watched his team act like a bunch of little kids. ”No. I'll save the celebration for when we win it all.” His grin didn't fade as he looked at me. ”Are you really happy? Sincerely?”

I blinked. Mahki had just asked if I was happy and I nodded. Did he not see? Looking back at his meaningful expression, I suddenly understood. I nodded again. ”Yes! This is one of the happiest moments of my life!”

His expression faltered before settling on a smile. ”Don't worry, there's more to come.” He put his arm around my shoulders and walked me over to the team to celebrate in their peripheral.