355 Game: @ Etna H.S. 10 (1/2)

Top of the seventh inning would start with Noah so he sprinted with excitement back to the dugout. As I jogged in, he passed by me on his way out. He gave me a carefree smile and walked on out.

”What's the count?!” Kyle hollered, making his entrance known. ”What am I at?”

It took me a second to realize he was talking about his own pitch count and not Noah's batter count.

”Settle down, you're done for the game.” Coach told him, giving him a pat on the shoulder. ”You did well.”

”No way, Coach, you said I get 75 pitches. Not one more. So you might as well not do one less. What am I at?”

Coach looked to Kelvin, who held a clipboard in his wrapped up arm. ”Tell him.”

”68.” Kelvin gave Kyle a look of pity.

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”You won't be able to do a complete game.” Coach told him, bluntly. ”I'm not going to send you back out there just for one more batter. That batter might do a ten-pitch at-bat as well and put us in a bind.”

Kyle didn't give in. ”What if I say I don't want to pitch on Tuesday? It should be Garret anyways. I'll go Thursday.”

Coach's eyes narrowed. ”Are you telling me how to run my team?”

Kyle took an unsteady step back. ”No, no, I wouldn't. I just want to finish this out.”

Coach sighed, not looking so angry anymore. ”Listen, Kyle. We don't have any starters like you, your brother, and Garret. With you three, I know I can get quality starts. I'm not afraid to use the others, but I like to keep my options open. This isn't a league game. You already have a win in place. What are you after?”

Kyle looked guilty. ”I-I just want to pitch. I know I won't blow the win but what if something happens?”

”Are you not trusting your teammates? Are you not trusting me?” Coach asked, exasperated.

”He just wants to show off, Coach, don't mind him.” Dave wrapped his brother's shoulder with his healthy arm. ”His girlfriend is here today so I'm sure he just wanted her to see how far he's come since last year.”

Coach threw his hands up in the air. ”Teenagers!” He pushed through them and put his focus at our offense.

Kyle tried shoving Dave away. ”You! That's not what I was doing!”

”Shut it!” Dave hissed. ”Can't you see that you were putting Coach in a bad mood. Do you really want to do another running practice?”

Kyle dropped his arms in defeat. Dave guided him to the bench and sat down with him. ”Like Coach said, it's just one inning. You already have the win. And you padded up your stats quite nicely. Six strikeouts across six innings. As good as Garret.”

”I heard that!” Garret joined the pair and the three started to talk about their pitching stats.

Seeing that the drama had died down, I sat down to relax.