715 V2 ch187 (2/2)

Garret looked at me. ”You know...we haven't had a showdown in awhile. Want to stay after this ends?”

I scratched my cheek. ”Are you sure..?” I didn't want to be cocky, but I really don't think Garret stands a chance against me. I could even get a hit off Rhys.

”I'm sure.” He said confidently. ”We could ask Mr. Miller to stick around to be an umpire.” He glanced at Ethan who was moving to the on deck circle after Davin grounded out to short. ”I won't have that kid being the catcher though. I need someone better. More...professional. I'll have to ask Mitchell.”

”He would love that!” Noah nodded. ”Mitchell's been working hard all summer.”

”I've heard.” Garret said. He looked at me. ”Will you wait around so we could talk about signs to make sure we're on the same page?”

I shrugged. ”I guess. I don't think the twins would mind.” I thought for a second. ”Haven't you paired up with Mitchell a few times already?”

Garret nodded. ”Yea, but this time we're facing you.”

Oh. Okay.

After Davin's groundout, both Connor, a freshman, and Ethan struck out swinging.

Joey won't be the same pitcher we faced in the first inning. He had settled and gained more control of his pitches. That's good. I would like for more of a challenge. Noah shared my same sentiments. He was working on his swing after all.

Garret started off strong in the third inning, cornering the seventh batter on an 0-2 count before getting him to ground out to Noah. The eighth batter copied the same sequence, grounding out to Noah. I knew neither of them so it meant nothing to me. However, the next batter was Mitchell.

We were just talking about him working hard on his catching this past summer, but it wasn't the only thing he practiced. He sent Garret's first pitch to left field for a single, taking away Garret's perfect game and no-hitter with one swing.

The left fielder, Davin, threw the ball back in to Noah. Noah gave the ball back to Garret. ”Don't mind. Two outs. One on.” He looked around. ”Play's at first or second.”

The top of the lineup started with Sean again. He looked a little more serious, strictly focused on Garret. He also took advantage of the first pitch fastball, hitting a fly out to left field.

It looked catchable to me, but for some reason the ball fell out of Davin's glove, rolling in the grass.

I felt my chest tightened as Mitchell and Sean started running like crazy. Unsure of what I should be doing, I automatically moved to cover second base.

Noah went to the grass to act as the cutoff man, urging Davin to get the ball back to the infield. It was almost like he had frozen after dropping the ball. He bent over to pick the ball up and threw it back to Noah. With the ball in his glove, Noah immediately turned around to check second and third, but there was no play to make. Mitchell was clearly safe at third, while Sean had just slid into second.

Noah walked the ball to Garret on the mound, speaking to him in a low voice that I couldn't even hear.

”Woo. That was lucky.” Sean laughed as he dust himself off.

I stayed nearby just in case. Plus, Sean was easy to get along with. ”Lucky for you. And an error for Davin.”

”Freshman?” Sean asked.

I nodded. ”Yep.”

He sighed. ”Unfortunate. I hope he doesn't dwell on it too much.” He looked at me. ”Make sure you comfort him.”

I scratched under my hat. ”I think I'll leave that to Noah.”

Sean chuckled. ”Yea, he's good at that kind of stuff.”