404 Game @ OLU (5) (1/2)

Alex hurried to take off his catcher's gear in order to go bat. He would lead off with Dave and Noah right behind him.

I glanced at Noah.

Drew came over to check on him and Zeke was hovering close by. Garret and I watched on as Drew made Noah lift his arm, rotate it, rotate his upper torso, move this way, move that way.

"I'm fine." Noah stressed, exasperated with all the attention. "It's just going to bruise later."

"We have to make sure." Drew said. "A broken or cracked rib is very serious since it can puncture your lung or cause internal bleeding."

"I would know if anything broke." Noah huffed.

I nodded in agreement. "You wouldn't have this much energy if you broke a rib. Definitely wouldn't be able to move so freely."

All eyes landed on me.

I shifted, uncomfortable with the attention. "I broke a rib before." Multiple ribs, multiple times. I watched as Alex left the dugout to start his at-bat.

"I need to get ready too." Noah pushed Drew slightly to the side so he could reach his helmet, bat, and batting gloves.

Drew sighed. "Okay. Tell me if it gets worse. I'll report to your Coach."

Noah nodded and started to tug on the batting gloves.

Zeke stood by, arms folded across his chest, looking down at Noah.

Noah, feeling the stare from above, looked up. "What? It's not bad. I've had worse." Zeke waited. Noah sighed. "I swear I'm fine. I swear on the rest of this season."

"Blasphemy!" Garret shouted. He was putting on his helmet when he heard Noah's words. He pointed at him. "You best be good, otherwise I'll beat you twice as hard."

Zeke just shook his head and walked away.

Noah glared at Garret. "I'm being honest." He looked to me. "You believe me right?"

I nodded. After all, I've had broken ribs since I was young. I knew what to look for.

Noah grabbed his bat, pushed his helmet down and walked to the entrance, ready to move to the on deck circle.

Alex made contact and sent the ball to the outfield. He took off sprinting. The ball dropped in right-center field, rolling to the fence. Alex slid into second base as the ball came back. The tag wasn't close. Safe! A lead off double.

Garret grabbed his bat and everyone moved up.

I took off my hat and put on my helmet, hoping for the best. At the very least, I'll make it to the on deck circle so it doesn't hurt to be prepared. I held my bat in my hands, running my fingers over it to check for splinters.

Dave hit a short fly to right. Too short. Alex didn't attempt to tag up.

I got up and moved to the edge of the dugout, as Garret went out to the circle and Noah went to the batter's box. Noah swung and missed the first pitch for strike one. Let the second pitch pass for a called strike two. The third pitch must have also been in the zone, because he tried swinging at it, but it just barely grazed the ball.

The ball rolled forward to the pitcher and Noah took off for first. The pitcher scooped up the ball easily, made sure Alex wasn't running to third, then threw Noah out at first.

Garret vacated the on deck circle so I took over as Noah jogged back, grabbing his bat along the way. He was wincing just a smidge; it must be from the rough landing in the last half inning. Although he didn't break anything, a bruised rib will still hurt.

Garret, who already had a pair of strikeouts on the day, came through with a single to left field. It wasn't far enough and Alex wasn't fast enough to score on such a short hit.