Coach Haskins had taught us to watch him when we were two-thirds of the way to third. The first part of my run was to keep low and dig to get to maximum speed. Once I was up to speed, I would look for Coach. Wolf did his job and stood tall in the box, which caused the catcher to have to first trap the ball and then look around him to make the throw. Coach Haskins gave me the slide sign, so I knew a throw was coming. I slid into third and popped up. The catcher had thrown the ball on the outside of the base. I was safe.
That is where I ‘died.’ Wolf hit a golf shot to dead center field, but it came up short. By the third inning, Lang Academy hadn’t hit a ball out of the infield. It wasn’t that Justin struck them out, it was that the defense behind him had played lights-out. The guys had taken their cues from me and we were determined we wouldn’t lose today.
Lang’s pitcher had a heck of a game. He’d let a base runner on in each inning, but we were scoreless. Justin led off in the third. I think he surprised them when he laid down a bunt to get on. Bill came up and hit a long sacrifice ball to right field to advance Justin to second. Jake hit a screamer right at the third baseman. He decided to throw out Jake, instead of holding Justin at second. I came up with two out and a runner at third. Shiggy called me back to the dugout, just before I went up.
“Ignore your signs. We think they’ve picked them up. You’re going to get the hold sign for the first pitch. I want you to hit away.”
I just nodded and hustled to the batter’s box, since the umpire had started to give us dirty looks for holding up his game. I chanted in my head, ‘quick hands, quick hands.’ Their pitcher looked over at Coach Haskins and grinned when he gave me the hold sign. I let my shoulder slump. I’d learned a thing or two about acting. I tried hard not to smile when a fastball rocketed right down the middle. I concentrated to keep my swing level, extend my arms, snap my wrists, and have good bat speed. As soon as I heard the ting of the aluminum bat, I knew I’d gotten all of it.
I ran hard to first base as I’d been taught and then looked up to see the umpire indicate I’d hit a home run. I made sure to keep good speed around the bases and not embarrass the pitcher. Nothing pissed them off more than a home-run trot. Justin waited for me at home. We acted like we did this every day and headed to the dugout after a fist bump.
We ended up winning 3–0. I went two for three with two RBIs, one stolen base, a double and a home run. Justin had faced twenty-five batters over seven innings. He had struck out three and walked one. He’d given up only three hits. I was involved in eleven plays, one of which was a double play. Mike had handled eight plays. Our defense up the middle had been solid all game.
After we had shaken Lang Academy’s hands, Moose wanted to talk to us.
“Good game today. Now go blow off some steam, but no drinking. I expect everyone to be ready to practice on Monday,” he told us and sent us on our way.
I stepped forward to get everyone’s attention. I knew if I didn’t say something, there would be a party organized.
“Monical’s at 6:30, the arcade afterwards, and parents are welcome.”
Someone needed to pay for my big plans.
HARPER HAD INSISTED I not take a shower at the school. She liked the way I smelled after I worked out. I liked that she liked it, and Mr. Happy liked that she liked it. We were both very clean and satisfied once Harper was done with us when I showered at home with her assistance.
When we got to Monical’s, the place was packed. I was glad I’d had Greg reserve the banquet room. The guys were all eating free appetizers. I noticed his favorite assistant manager had taken care of us. I was also pleased to see someone had told the JV team, because they were all there too, most with their parents.
I started to walk around the room to say hi to all the guys and their dates. I made a point to introduce Harper. She knew most of the JV guys from earlier today. I thanked them for protecting her and the cheerleaders. Mona and the rest of the cheerleaders had singled out the guys who helped them today and gave them each a hug and a kiss. I had to smile when they’d light up like a Christmas tree with huge grins on their faces. It’s not every day a freshman gets kissed by a hot varsity cheerleader!
Harper gave me a hip-bump.
“You’re not jealous, are you?”
“No,” I said, then gathered her in and gave her a kiss. “I’m the luckiest guy in the room.”
“You big goof! You keep saying things like that and I’ll fall in love with you.”
“You already love me,” I teased her.
She looked me in the eyes.
“You’re right, I do love you.”
Chapter 13 – It Sounds Bad
Friday April 10
Spring had arrived in our sleepy little town. Mom’s tulips were in full bloom and the trees were greening up. I was taking in the signs of the change of season when I saw my first robin. It was predicted to be in the low 60s this weekend. I was looking forward to the warmer weather because we had our baseball tournament.
Lincoln High had lost their first game on Wednesday. Our record stood at 7–1. I had started three games and my record was 2–0 with a 1.37 ERA. Justin was also 2–0 with a 2.43 ERA. The surprise was Bryan; working as our closer, he was 2–1. Mike started one game with no decision. Bert and Brock were our middle relievers. Coach Herndon and Shiggy prepared us for tournament play. We had played several simulated games to give our pitching staff more stamina than we had last year at this time.
Even Moose admitted that the Callahan twins were the difference. They’d had varsity experience pitching when they played in New Jersey last year. With their addition, we were now able to feel like we had enough pitching to be competitive in a tournament, where you might play as many as four games in a day.
We had solid pitching, but our defense was winning us games. Working with the players and coaches at State had made a big difference. We were just ahead of the other teams, as far as preparation was concerned. As teams played together, they were catching up. We also steadily got better as a group. I wasn’t surprised we were made the number one seed for the upcoming tournament.
AT LUNCH, PAM WANTED to eat with me, alone. She needed to talk about something and seemed nervous. We found a table at the back of the cafeteria so we could have some privacy. When people had a choice, they preferred to sit near the windows, which overlooked the school grounds.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen to Tracy?” I asked when we were settled.
“No, no, Tracy’s fine. In fact, she’s getting better. She told me they might let her out by the end of the week. She still won’t be coming back to school, but she’ll be home with her family,” Pam shared.
“If I ever see Bill Rogers again, he might not survive the encounter.”
Pam could tell I was serious. The young man really had done a number on Tracy. I was sure this wasn’t the only reason Tracy was depressed, but his abuse was a major factor in how she was doing right now. Dr. Hebert was working to get Tracy’s antidepressant medication balanced before she was sent home. They had to be careful because it took a while for it fully to take effect. They wanted her in a controlled environment while they were finding what worked for Tracy. They also wanted to help her recognize her depression for what it was and give her the tools to handle it. No one wanted Tracy to try to hurt herself again.
“I have other girl troubles,” Pam said cryptically.
“That doesn’t sound good. I sure hope the freshman cheerleaders haven’t come up with some plan to corrupt me,” I said, smirking at her.
“No, these would be older girls.”
“I can deal with Mona and her band of troublemakers,” I said more confidently than I felt.
“No, these girls would be even older girls,” she said, not looking at me.