Garret would be the first lefty to face the left-handed pitcher for us. Garret did get cornered quick, falling to a 1-2 count. With two strikes on him, he swung at the next closest pitch, pulling it to right field. The right fielder caught it with ease for the first out of the inning.
Noah moved to the batter's box and I got to leave the dugout for the on deck circle. Noah made early contact, hitting a hard grounder in a good spot between the third baseman and shortstop. But the shortstop made an amazing stop and an even better throw to first, just barely beating Noah out.
"Tch." Noah shook his head as he went back to the dugout. He really almost got it through. If the shortstop was just a bit slower or if his throw wasn't so on point...Noah could have gotten on.
I gave him a sympathetic look before stepping up to righty's box. I had taken one last practice swing, but before getting in, the catcher stood up and told the ump 'time'. Then he jogged up to the mound. He was joined by the rest of the infield.
Unsure, I glanced to Mr. Miller down the line. He waved me over. I hurried and jogged over. He lowered his head and voice. "Chances are, they're thinking about walking you."
"But...there's nobody on and two outs." I frowned.
Mr. Miller showed a small smile. "You hitting a homerun every game in this tournament so far is hard to get past. So even though Jason got a hit against that last guy, they're thinking about taking their chances with him instead." He looked like he wanted to say more, but the umpire came out from behind the plate to break up the meeting on the mound.
It was time for me to go back. I got in the batter's box while the catcher got behind the plate. He didn't sit back down. My jaw clenched and I resisted frowning or making an expression noticeable. Getting a free base isn't a bad deal. Four intentional balls later and I was jogging to first. Coach Luis gave me a small nod.
Jason stepped up to bat and the catcher got down into position. I started to inch off first base, eyes on the pitcher.
Unfortunately, his eyes were also on me. In an instant, he took his foot off the rubber and threw to his first baseman. I made a dive back for the bag. After touching the base, a heavy glove smacked my back.
"Safe!"
The glove stayed on me and I refused to budge. I glanced up at the ump. "Can I ask for time?"
He nodded and lifted his hands. "Time!"
The first baseman took his glove off of me and threw the ball back to the pitcher on the mound. I slowly got up and dusted myself off.
"You good?" Coach Luis got close to ask me in a whisper.
I gave a short nod. "Fine." San Marino was still San Marino. I wasn't surprised by the heavy tag. It wasn't the worst thing they've ever done.
The game resumed. I inched off the base, not trying to attempt another check throw my way. The pitcher nodded at his catcher's sign. He threw his fastball almost down the middle, Jason swung and miss. The catcher suddenly threw the ball down the first baseline.
Without thinking, I dove back to the bag. The first baseman hit me in the helmet with his gloved-hand. Hard.
"Safe!"
"That was intentional!" I heard Coach Luis. "He hit my kid in the head."
"It was a fair play." The umpire replied simply.
"Time." Coach Luis sounded annoyed. "I need to look my player over after that hard hit to his head."
"Time!" The ump called out.
Coach Luis squatted down where I was still holding the bag. "Jake?"
"I'm okay." I told him. "Just give me a minute." I stayed down, trying to calm my breathing. I wasn't in pain. Yea, it hurt to take a hard slap, but I had my helmet on. What made my heart go out of control was a simple flashback to my mom hitting me. I wasn't scared of pain, yet I was scared of getting beat. It's...unexplainable.
I swallowed a lump in my throat and slowly got up. I dusted myself off and adjusted my helmet.
"Do you need an athletic trainer to check on you?" The umpire asked.
I shook my head.
Coach Luis frown and his lips twisted in dismay. He leaned in and whispered. "Stay on the bag, run on contact." He could sense my hesitancy immediately and continued. "Don't worry. You won't get in trouble with Coach. Let's not take too many chances right now. It's still early and we have the lead."
"Okay." My shoulders relaxed a little.
The game was called to resume and Coach Luis had to back up a few steps. The first baseman stayed on the bag, as did I.
"You scared already?" He snickered.
I ignored him, eyes on Jason. With me staying literally on the bag, I would have to sprint if he made even the littlest bit on contact. But also, with my foot on the base, I didn't have to look at the pitcher.
Jason was able to make contact with a pitch on a 2-2 count, but it was a simple pop up to the shortstop to end the inning.
At the dugout, Coach stopped me. I was soon surrounded by Coach Luis, Mr. Miller, Noah, Garret, Kyle, Alisha, and a few others that I was closer too.
"How's your head?"
"Did he hurt you?"
"What are we going to do?"
I took my helmet off as if that would prove to them that I'm not hurt. "It's okay, I'm okay. Nothing hurts, it was just a rough play."
"But it took you a long time to get up." Alisha pointed out.
I felt my face heat up, no doubt turning red. "It wasn't because it hurt. At least, not physically."
Coach clapped twice. "Let's take the field for now. I'll talk it over with the other coaches." He made eye contact with me. "If something is wrong, speak up."
I nodded. Something was always wrong with me, but I knew what he meant. I wasn't going to have a breakdown like I have had before where I just freeze up. The flashback startled me, but I would be okay. I'm not the same person from last year.
I hurried to my bag to grab my hat and glove, rushing to join the others on the field. Noah kept shooting looks my way, but I gave him a subtle nod. I was fine. Really.
Top of the fourth, Dave had to face batters two, three, and four. Batter two struck out swinging, leaving Dave pumped. Batter three hit one down the first baseline, where Sean made a diving stop. I was running to cover, but it was Dave who got there first to catch Sean's throw. The runner got there second, and looked like he wouldn't slow up. Dave tagged the base and turned out of the way of the runner for out number two. Dave's eyes stayed on the runner who was going back to his dugout.
"Two outs, one to go!" Noah called out and a few of the guys echoed.
That got Dave's attention. He went back to the mound with the ball to face San Marino's cleanup hitter. Last time it was a grounder to me, this time it was a fly out to left field.