205 Game Three: University Preparatory H.S. 4 (1/2)
If Bryce felt nervous, he didn't show it. Which is surprising considering his debut performance yesterday. Noah said Bryce was similar to Garret, as in he could hit and pitch, but I have yet to see anything special about his pitching. Granted...I only saw him pitch to three people just yesterday.
Bryce stepped on the rubber up on the mound. The leadoff hitter had stepped up to the plate and looked more than ready to hit a pitch outta here. He came pretty close, hitting a long fly down the first baseline, but Sean was able to make the catch at the warning track. The first out. He's already off to a better start than James.
The second batter, the third best player in the state, stepped in the batter's box. With a glance at Noah, I took note how he hung back, practically on the grass. I followed suit.
Bryce faced him with determination, trying out his fastest pitch on the outside corner. Ball. He aimed for the same spot, but caught the corner or the strike zone for a called strike one. I watched on, in confusion, as he sent the third pitch to the same spot. It didn't make any sense to me why he would do that. Especially to one of the best high school players.
The batter punished Bryce for his mistake by hitting a stand-up double off the outfield wall. He stood proudly on second base as Noah and I exchanged looks. Bryce didn't inspire any confidence in me even though he's doing slightly better than James. I wiggled my shoulders, trying to stay loose.
The third batter, who reached on error last inning got ready to bat. On a 2-2 count, he smacked another grounder down the third baseline. Daniel didn't rush, fielded the ball, made sure the runner on second wasn't going, and was able to throw the batter out at first. The second out. For the first time this morning, instead of letting out a sigh of disappointment, I let out a sigh of relief.
The relief didn't last long. Bryce's pitches started to become wild and missed the strike zone. He walked batters four and five, loading up the bases.
”Just get it over the plate!” Noah clapped with his glove a few times, trying to encourage our sophomore pitcher on the mound. ”Force out at any base. Plus you can get him to pop out.”
Bryce glanced back at him, gave a nod, then put his focus back on the sixth batter in the box. I remembered the sixth's batter last at bat, since he snuck a bloop single over my head last time. Bryce was able to trap him into a 1-2 count, putting him on the defensive. Bryce aimed a fastball on the far side of the strike zone. The batter swung, hitting the ball near the end of his bat, sending a grounder between me and Julian. I moved to the ball as Julian moved to the base. I played the way I faced, fielding the ball and focused on throwing a perfect ball to Julian, not minding the runners.
”Out!” The umpire behind first made the call, signaling the end of their offensive, letting us escape without giving up another run.
We headed to the dugout, feeling a little more energized. Bryce, Noah, and I would get to start off the third inning.