Great, Blake had thought. Even more people to bear witness if I blow it.
Now he took a deep breath, exhaled, and got into his proper position on the field.
“You ready?” Austin asked. He looked over at Blake from his spot at shortstop.
“Yeah,” Blake replied. He began to sweat as the game started. He wished it was from the heat of the sun, not his nerves.
Phillip, the Mega-Middies backup pitcher, was on the mound to start. The Eagles batter swung at the first pitch and hit a line drive to right field. He rounded first base and jogged back to the bag.
The next Eagles batter took the first pitch as well. He hit a foul ball that was within reach of the catcher.
“OUT!” yelled the umpire.
“One down!” Austin hollered to his teammates.
“Try to turn two, guys!” Coach Sweatt yelled from the dugout.
The next batter got into a long battle with Phillip. No matter which pitch was thrown, the batter kept hitting foul ball after foul ball, wearing Phillip down.
Finally the batter hit a line drive straight toward Blake. Before he could get his glove down, the ball bounced off his cleat. By the time Blake was finally able to regain control, the lead runner had made it to third base. Thankfully the batter only made it to first.
Blake shook his head in disappointment. He’d already made one error. The last thing he wanted to do in his first-ever start was blow the game for his team and embarrass himself in front of his friends.
“Hey! Don’t you put your head down, shake it off! You got this, Blake!” Kyle shouted from the dugout.
“We all make mistakes! Move on from it and get ready for the next play!” Coach Sweatt shouted.
Blake looked over and shook his head. As upset as he was, Kyle and Coach Sweatt were right. He’d only be letting his team down if he gave up. He had to focus.
Blake got back into position, smacked his glove with his hand, and waited for the clean-up hitter to swing.
“Hit it at the second baseman!” one of the Eagles players shouted. “He’s scared!”
“Yeah, keep the pressure on him, and we’ll get easy runs all day!” another Eagles player jeered.
Blake tried his best to block out the insults, watching as the batter swung. The batter hit a sizzling ground ball right toward Blake!
This time Blake stayed focused and on his toes. He got in front of the ball, put his glove on the ground, and scooped it. He whirled and tossed it to Austin, turning a fantastic double play and preventing the Eagles from scoring.
“That’s how you shake it off!” Austin cheered. He tapped gloves with Blake as the Mega-Middies ran to the dugout.
Blake exhaled. He was glad they’d been able to get out of that jam, but he knew the game was far from over.
CHAPTER 9
LOOK FOR THE SIGN
At the bottom of the fifth inning, the Mega-Middies trailed 2–1. Austin was up to bat, and Blake was on deck.
Blake watched closely, waiting for his chance to help his team. He had grounded out during his first at-bat and struck out during his second.
This is my last chance to prove myself, he thought.
Austin waited patiently for his pitch. After four consecutive balls from the Eagles pitcher, Austin drew a walk and jogged to first base.
Blake took a couple more practice swings, then headed to the batter’s box. His teammates cheered him on as he planted his feet, crouched in his batting stance, and waited for his pitch.
The Eagles pitcher wound up and delivered the first pitch. Blake took a massive swing and missed.
“Strike!” the umpire hollered.
Blake looked at Coach Sweatt, who signaled with his hands for Blake to calm down. “Wait for your pitch!” Coach called from his position near first base.
Raising his hand toward the umpire, Blake signaled for a time-out. He adjusted his footing in the batter’s box, then motioned that he was ready. The umpire signaled for the game to continue.
“You’ve got this!” Franklin yelled from the stands. Blake’s other Wiffle ball friends also hollered out their encouragement.
The Eagles pitcher wound up and delivered a changeup that didn’t clear the plate. Blake stayed patient and didn’t swing.
“Ball!” called out the umpire.
Blake tightened up his grip on the bat, waiting for the next pitch to come his way. The pitcher stepped into his delivery as Austin edged off first base.
Crack!
Blake connected and sent the ball over the third baseman’s head. Blake raced to first base, and Austin advanced to second. The Mega-Middies cheered. They had two players on base with no outs.
