Game Four: Paradise Preparatory (3)

After the first pitch went by for a called strike, I could tell that Jordan didn't even have the intention to swing. Which was weird. Super weird. I glanced at Zeke and Coach. They were watching Jordan with a pair of frowns as well.

Jordan took another called strike. Then, oddly, the pitcher threw three straight balls. With a full count, the pitcher sent a high one towards the catcher. Jordan barely did a weak swing and started walking back to the dugout before the ump even said anything.

As he passed by Garret, Garret shook his head for him to see, then headed to the lefty's batters box.

Seeing that Mahki moved to the on deck circle, I started to put on my helmet, and carefully held onto my bat. I kept my eyes on Jordan to see what Zeke would do or say, but was let down when they just ignore one another. Jordan sat alone and no one made any moves to talk to him. I don't think I've seen him interact with the team much since he spends a lot of time in the bullpen.

I looked back to Garret to see what he would do. Him and Jordan seemed close so I wondered if...he would also do nothing...

Garret already had a 2-1 count when I looked. The next pitch wasn't visible to me with Garret in the lefty's box, but with a swing, he pulled it to the right outfield, and took off running. Him and Noah both raced around the bases. By the time the right outfielder sent the ball to the cutoff man, Noah was safe at third and Garret safe at second. So he could hit too. I felt a little guilty thinking that he would be like Jordan.

Mahki moved to the batters box, and I hopped up and stepped out onto the field so I could stand in the on deck circle. Mahki took some pitches and ended up popping out to the second baseman, not allowing Noah and Garret move up.

He gave me a weak smile as he moved to the dugout and I to the plate. This time I got in the lefty's box, curious how the other team would react. If the third baseman would move in like yesterday, then it could be an easy RBI.

Surprisingly the infield didn't change at all. Not on guard for a bunt? I looked to the outfield and saw the left fielder draw in, with center and right field shifting over a little. With their movements, they left a bit of empty space in right field. I could try for that spot which was similar to where Garret hit.

The pitcher wasn't accurate at all, and looked to be all over the place. He threw balls all on the outside of the strike zone. Again I had to foul a few off to please Zeke. But from my observation, I didn't think it tired him out at all. On his ninth pitch to me, I stepped up and out to angle my more to the right, then swung my bat.

I jogged to first as I watched the ball fall into that open space. The right fielder sprinted to it and sent it to the second baseman. The second baseman threw to the catcher at home but Mahki had already joined Noah at the plate. They both had easily scored making the score 5-0 in the top of the second.

Zeke stepped up to bat. Like me he was still batting with a 100% success rate. But we weren't really on the same level since not only did he have more hits, but he also had homeruns. One for each game at least.

This time he smacked the ball into the outfield fence and off we went. I safely made it to third, and him to second. I was gasping for air as he stood tall, not even looking winded. If I wasn't in front of him, he probably could have made it into a triple.

Sean was up next, with runners on second and third, two outs, he couldn't do a bunt. Thankfully. Because, I don't know if I'd be able to time it as well as Zeke did before. Working a 2-2 count, he sent a nice high fly to center field for our number three. Time to change sides. I jogged back to the dugout, trying to catch up with Zeke. I worked up my courage and grabbed his sleeve just as we got inside the dugout.

He looked down at me with eyebrows raised in surprise. "What is it?"

I pointed at Jordan who was already on the field with Garret, warming up.

Zeke frowned. "You noticed?"

I shrugged. I noticed that he wasn't trying, but I couldn't understand why.

Zeke rested a hand on my head. "It'll become clearer after another inning or two. Don't worry. Just ignore it and focus on you. No matter what happens, you should remain focused on winning. Nothing else." He gave a tap and then went to switch out his equipment.

I did the same and got back on the field.