694 V2 ch166 (1/2)

Garret took advantage of Dave's sloppiness on the mound, pushing a single to left-center field. Kelvin hustled home and made it safely after another close call at the plate. Up 2-1.

I stepped up. Right side. I think now is an appropriate time to show the others what I've been working on. There's already two outs and this game is just for fun. So why not try for that homerun? I took a deep breath and tried to relax my shoulders. Dave's pitching doesn't have a dramatic change like Kyle, but I want to get this ball out of here, I'll need the right pitch and hit it perfectly.

Dave got set, checked on Garret at first, then started his motion. Knowing Dave...he would want to try to get ahead of the count after such a bad inning. I started my swing. Dave threw a fastball high, but still in the zone. I connected and blasted it back the way it came.

I heard a few gasps as I ran to first. I watched the ball fly to the outfield. Zeke chased it back and back, and all the way back to the short outfield fence that was recently put in. Zeke leaned on it as he reached his hand out and caught the ball.

”No way!”

”Wow!”

Tch. I stopped running and turned back to my dugout.

”Jake's starting to get some real power!” Dave said as he got off the mound. He glanced at me, grinning. ”Too bad. I still got you out.”

I rolled my eyes.

”Don't listen to him!” Garret joined me in the dugout as we switched out our gear. ”That was well hit! If you didn't hit to center field, it would have been a homerun for sure! The short fence helped too. And Zeke is pretty great at defense so probably wasn't smart to hit anywhere near him.”

I sighed. There was a lot that went into hitting a homerun. Especially if you don't have the power to just blast it out of the park like Zeke. ”I'll get it next time.”

Garret grinned. ”I hope so. I'll get on base again so we can make Dave's heart hurt.” He cheered me up as we took the field once more.

Kyle made short work of the batters in the second inning. Theo struck out swinging. Both Andy and Mitchell hit grounders on either side of me. I dealt with it in a calm manner and showed off my newfound confidence in fielding.

Dave's struggles continued. Mahki hit a fly ball to right field for the first out. Bryce got walked as Dave's pitches became erratic. Then to add pressure, Bryce stole second during Jason's at bat. Mitchell was completely caught off guard like he didn't expect anyone to steal bases during this scrimmage.

Jason smacked a short single to right field, pushing Bryce to third. James came up next.

”Better not let us down!” Bryce hollered at James, not stopping his heckling even though he was on base.

Runners on second and third with a 1-1 count. James did his best to connect with the next pitch, getting under the ball. It flew to Brian in left field. He made the catch, Bryce tagged up and sprinted home. Brian skipped the cutoff man and threw straight to Mitchell at home.

”Safe!” Mr. Miller stated.

Bryce jumped up and hurried to join James on their way back to the dugout. He grinned as he elbowed him. ”I just made you look good. You're welcome.”