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The Mustangs know they are good. Now they are ready to prove it, and it won't be an easy task. They have a lot of good teams to play. This chapter is a baseball chapter, with the usual byplay between the characters as the season progresses.
Please send me a note at thehakaanen@hotmail.com
CHAPTER 46 THAT WINNING FEELING
<Monday, April 11, Mayfield High School Ballpark>
Spring Break was over and baseball kicked right in with a game at home against Harborview. While the team had practiced on Friday and Saturday, it didn't have the same feel as the routine of a regular school week.
The Harborview Tugs had a good ballclub, but they had to face Rodney. The Tugs only scheduled game over the break was rained out and they showed some rust from not having played for ten days. Rodney held them to four hits as he pitched the first five innings of an eventual 3-0 shutout.
<Thursday, April 12, Kentburg>
The next game for the Mustangs was at Kentburg. Rain washed out their Tuesday practice, but they managed to get a good practice in on Wednesday. Eric was slated to start for the Mustangs and nobody was surprised that Ben would be his opponent. Somehow they seemed to gravitate to each other when it came to pitching matchups. The rivalry was intense, but friendly, their relationship a blurry one because of what had transpired in Reno.
Kentburg was 2-1 in league, its lone loss being a 7-4 loss to Lakeshore the day before. Ben hadn't started that game. The Kentburg coach was saving him for the Mustangs. During lunch the boys on the team, after finding out that Ben hadn't pitched against Lakeshore, were certain that they would be seeing Ben that afternoon.
"Who else would it be?" Noah asked. "He's their best pitcher, even if he is a junior. The two seniors they start regularly aren't nearly as good."
"Besides, Ben and Eric seem to be an item when it comes to pitching matchups," Marty said. "Is there something we should know?" he asked Eric with a leer.
"Maybe Eric is taking secret trips to Kentburg," Kevin said.
"I know you guys really enjoyed Reno together," Justin said.
"You all have dirty, sick minds," Eric said.
"I see the truth hurts," Marty said.
A text from Ben to Eric, just as they were finishing lunch, confirmed that Ben was starting the game. "I'm surprised he didn't ask you out for a date after the game," Scott said.
The game was all it was billed to be. Both juniors pitched well, especially considering the off and on drizzle that fell. Kevin's friend, Mark, was the plate umpire. The catcher and the arbiter enjoyed their usual friendly banter when opportunities to talk arose.
The Mustangs drew first blood in the fourth. Scott singled with one out. He moved to third on a ground ball single to right by Connor. A sacrifice fly to left by Kevin scored Scott, and the Mustangs had a 1-0 lead.
The Kentburg Royals scored two runs in the fifth, the result of a single, a walk, and a double, giving them a 2-1 lead. Coach Sanders felt Eric was tiring and Kevin confirmed his feelings. The coach brought in Lars to pitch the sixth. His still lanky body betrayed him as he couldn't coordinate all of the parts. The result was his walking the bases loaded. By the time the damage could be controlled the Royals had scored two more runs. The Kentburg nine made their 5-1 lead stand up, with Ben going all seven innings. The Mustangs were saddled with their first league loss of the season and their second overall.
The teams did the traditional post-game handshake. Their two lines passed in the middle of the infield. "Good game," Ben said as he shook Eric's hand. "I always love pitching against you."
"Sure, because you beat me most of the time."
"Well, there is that. But you're also a junior like me, a pretty cool dude, not to mention as good a friend as a Mayfield prick can be. You should come to the big party this weekend. Us Royals aren't as picky about following the rules as you guys are."
"Some other time, maybe."
"Hey, would you two ladies quit talking about your next date and get a move on it," Connor griped. "The line is supposed to keep moving if I remember right."
"Nag, nag, nag," chided Rodney, who was behind Connor in line. "You sound like an old woman, Connor."
Some of the Kentburg players gave Ben some shit about moving as well, which got the handshake line back in motion. After the short bus ride back to Mayfield, a group of players changed in the locker room and headed to The Bear's for pizza.
Noah, Eric, Kevin, Kraig, Lars, Hunter, Marty, Rich, and Connor were the ones to hold court at the town's lone pizza parlor. Of course, the main topic was baseball, particularly their first league loss.
"We all know that it is rare for a team to go undefeated in baseball," Noah said, "but that doesn't mean losing doesn't hurt."
"It especially hurts losing to those Kentburg assholes," Connor said emphatically.
"They might be our rivals, but we do know a lot of them really well and some of them are our friends," Eric protested.
"We all know you have a huge crush on Ben," Connor said.
"I thought you guys were going to start kissing and grabbing crotches when you were in the handshake line," Kevin said.
"Would you guys quit with the crush business," Eric said. "We became friends on the Reno trip. Guys can be friends you know."
"Especially after sharing blowjobs," Marty said, laughing.
"Be careful, Marty, we know you have two secret lover boys in Kentburg," Noah said. Noah was referring to Royce and Lance, two boys Marty had partied with and messed around with off and on since they were seventh graders.
"Okay, if we're going to lose to somebody, then I guess it's better to lose to those fucking hot sexy boys from Kentburg than those assholes from Kentburg," Conner conceded.
"Speaking of sexy boys, how is it that Connor ends up eating with all the gay boys this evening?" Lars asked.
"It is because Connor is hungry for pizza and you were the only ones coming here to eat," Connor said.
"So you lowered yourself for food?" Marty asked.
"You might all be a bunch of fucking faggots, but you're my fucking faggots. So stick that up your well fucked asses."
"One thing about Connor," Kraig said with a laugh, "there is never any doubt about where he's coming from."
The pizzas arrived and the talk fell to a minimum as the hungry adolescents bolted down their pizzas and sodas. As the pizza disappeared the talk increased.
"I just thought of something," Eric said.
"Thinking—a dangerous pastime," Marty said. "I try not to indulge in it."
"This from the fifth highest GPA in the senior class last semester," Rich said.
"That just, you know, kind of happened."
"I think what Marty is saying is that he doesn't equate studying with serious thinking," Noah said.
"Thank you, Noah. That is exactly what I was thinking. Damn, it's nice having smart friends who can read minds."
"I'm still wondering what Eric was thinking about," Kevin said.
"I was thinking that we have a 7-2 record and I have both of our losses."
"See, I told you thinking was dangerous," Marty said. "Just in case you need to know, Sir Eric, none of us gives a shit. You're a hell of a pitcher, a hell of a second baseman, a hell of a number two hitter, and you're the reason we're the team we are. So get off your pity pot and pass that last piece of meat lover's delight."
While Eric was the organizational leader behind The Go to State Team, Marty was the true leader of the team, the one who had no problem chewing somebody's ass, just as he had no problem patting somebody's ass. When Marty spoke, he was listened to. When Marty led, he was followed. Mr. B's prediction that Marty would be the team leader as he embarked on a sober and responsible life had turned out to be quite accurate. The confident athlete and team captain sitting with his teammates—with his friends—at The Bear's was not the same kid who came to school and practices stoned and half-drunk when he was an eighth grader, sneaking tokes and drinks at school whenever he could. That version of Marty was fading from everyone's memory, but not from his own memory. He never wanted to forget where he had been and where he still could end up.
<Sunday, April 15 at Noah's House>
It was Noah's sixteenth birthday, and he had a barbeque at his house. Well, it would probably be more accurate to say his parents had the barbeque. Noah was the host and birthday boy—he didn't have to concern himself with the food preparation outside of choosing the menu.
He invited Eric, Kevin, Kraig, Lars, Hunter, Noah, Danny, Carl, Scott, Marty, Rich, Jerome, and Connor, his best friends on the team. He also made no secret of the fact that anybody on the baseball team was more than welcome to show up. Rodney, Korey, and Chandler took advantage of the secondary invitation.
The weather was cool and the pool wasn't ready for swimming yet, but there was plenty going on to keep the players busy. Nicky had received a video recorder for his thirteenth birthday a couple of weeks earlier and used it for the first time at the Kentburg game. He ended up having a flair for making video and the players truly enjoyed watching his shots of the game on the big screen television.
"Remember the orgies we had at Noah's parties back in middle school?" Kevin asked the group.
"How could we forget?" Danny said. "Those things were awesome. Damn, we were wild and crazy back then."
"Not to mention horny...we were all hormones," Eric said.
"Does the fact that we're sitting here watching ourselves play baseball instead of popping in porn down in your cabana mean we're getting old and grown up?" Kraig asked.
"No, it just means there isn't a television in the cabana," Noah said.
"What the fuck, does that mean it's a Third World cabana?" Marty asked.
"Look, if you want to go down there and have sex, far be it from me to stop you," Noah said.
"You just have to let me join you," Nicky said, "since I live here, too."
"See what I mean," Eric said. "Thirteen years old and all hormones."
"Hormone this," Nicky said, as he grabbed his crotch through his jeans and showed he was sporting a boner underneath the denim.
"Hey, Nicky," Chandler said. "How about showing me and Korey what you have."
Nicky grinned and took off, with the two freshmen following him, to the sliding glass door. "Don't forget we eat in a half-hour," Noah said.
"We're all under the age of fifteen," Chandler said. "We cum quick."
The three of them zipped past Seth McCall, Nicky and Noah's father, who was on the deck preparing the barbeque. "Where are you three off to?"
"We going to check out the TV in the cabana," Nicky said.
"We don't have a TV in the cabana."
"You know that, and I know that, but they don't know it."
Seth McCall shook his head, muttering, "Kids," to himself and went back to work on prepping the hamburgers.
While they looked through the window at the rears of the three boys dashing to the cabana, the players in the recreation room wondered out loud if they really were getting old.
"We aren't getting old," Noah said. "We're just more discreet."
"Well, then, discreet this," Kevin said as he grabbed himself the way Nicky had earlier. Nobody budged or said anything. "See, we are getting old. End of argument."
The three younger boys were back in time to eat, after trading off some quick blow jobs. Nicky watched Chandler suck himself for the first time and was very impressed. He made his own attempt, but didn't come close. That was the extent of the sex at Noah's birthday party as the sixteen and older boys wondered if their orgy days were over.
<Monday, April 16 at Taylor Field, Monte>
The Mustangs had a busy schedule coming up. They had three games scheduled for the week, starting with a Monday game at Monte against the Vikings. Monte wasn't a strong team and the Mustangs were simply too talented for them to hang with for long. Scott pitched five innings, striking out eleven while giving up only one run, as the Mustangs pounded out a 12-1 win in a game that was stopped after six innings because of the ten run rule.
Lakeshore and Meadow Park were the two big games that week. The powerful Lakeshore Sentinels were undefeated in league. The way the Mustang players looked at the Lakeshore game was that it would show if they were indeed a league powerhouse that season, or merely pretenders. To them, this was the biggest game of their high school careers up to that point.
<Wednesday, April 18, at Mayfield High School Ballpark>
The weather actually cooperated. The day was cloudless and upper sixties, a perfect spring day. The Lakeshore bus arrived as the Mustangs were finishing their warm-up throws. Those who came to the high school field early could see that both teams had an "all business" aura surrounding them.
Rodney, who was the scheduled starting pitcher, was so locked in that he said hardly a word to anybody at school all day. He ate his lunch in the athletic director's classroom. He was pleased when Kevin, who would be the starting catcher, joined him for lunch. Kevin and Rodney said nothing to each other, but Rodney appreciated his teammate's presence.
Rodney did a passing job on a civics test only because he had read the material, paid attention in class, and studied some the night before. He was capable of better than the C+ he had received, but he had difficulty getting his brain to shift from baseball to civics. He was as aware as anybody about how pivotal that afternoon's game was.
If the Sentinels had harbored any thoughts about the Mustangs not being a powerhouse, the first inning erased them. Rodney stunned the Lakeshore team and its fans by striking out the side in the top of the inning. Jerome led off the bottom of the inning with a double. Eric moved him to third when he grounded out to second. Rich drove him in with a single up the middle. Marty drilled a pitch off of the left field wall to score Rich, and then, to top it off, Scott doubled up the left field line to score Marty. The Mustangs had a three-run lead that they would not relinquish and would build on during the course of the game.
The final score was 6-0 with Rodney pitching the entire seven innings, giving up four hits while walking only one and striking out ten. Many thought it was his best pitched game ever. Kevin ran out from behind the plate after the final out, giving the pitcher a big hug and telling him how great he'd pitched.
"I think my catcher helped me out some," Rodney said. "And it all started at lunch."
The crew that gathered at The Bear after the game that evening consisted of more than just the gay boys. The entire varsity was there, and they reveled in their victory. As they were finishing their pizza, a group of four young teens entered the pizza parlor.
"Well, will you look at this—it's The Gang of Four," Kraig said. Chandler, Korey, Mikey, and Drew had been known as the Gang of Four since they started middle school. The current juniors were eighth graders then, and, since the then sixth graders seemed inseparable, the eighth graders had planted the name on the younger boys.
"Congrats on the big win," Chandler said. Korey gave both of his brothers a hug and a kiss. "You're tied for first now."
"I hear you guys didn't do badly yourselves," Kevin said. The JV had defeated the Lakeshore JV 4-3 at Lakeshore.
"It was a really exciting game. I think it puts us in first place in the JV league," Mikey said as he gave his brother, Rich, the same kind of hug the twins had received from Korey. Finding out scores from the JV games was much more difficult than getting varsity scores. The varsity scores were all called in to the newspaper after the completion of a game, while the JV scores weren't.
"That ain't the only thing that was exciting," a new voice said. The group hadn't noticed Justin and Toby enter The Bear. Justin grinned and went on, "You know the game went extra innings, right?"
"You guys made sure to tell us in your texts," Eric told him.
The underclassmen grabbed seats. "Well, by the time the game ended and we got on the bus it was getting dark," Justin said.
"And the two biggest horn dogs in Mayfield did their thing," Mikey put in.
"Oh?" Noah asked. "And just what did the sex fiends do?"
"Come on guys," Korey said. "What happens on the bus stays on the bus, right?"
"Not where your varsity betters are concerned," Marty said. "We need to know every important thing you young JV boys do."
"We're going to go order pizza, and then we'll fill you in," Chandler told them. "Just don't blow your wads before we get back."
After the freshmen ordered their pizza, the varsity found out what had happened on the long bus ride back from Lakeshore. Chandler and Korey had procured the back seat, with Mikey and Drew sitting in front of them in the seats on the left side of the bus and Justin and Toby on the right side.
"So, we had the two gay boys to the side of us, and the two straight boys, who will do anything with a guy, in front of us."
"And two fairies in the back seat," Connor said.
"Korey and I have never come out as being gay." Chandler was not intimidated by Connor, or by any of the upperclassmen for that matter. He was even able to get the last word in with the mouthy senior.
The boys continued to tell the story of the ride home. Chandler and Korey started kissing and making out in the back seat. It was now dark out and the overhead lights on the school bus had been turned off, so the bus was dark as well. Soon the two freshmen had their uniform pants and jocks pulled down to their ankles. The two fourteen year olds kissed and played with each other's raging boners.
It wasn't long before their uniform shirts were pulled up to their necks and they were all but naked. Chandler had Korey pinned against the side window, kissing him hard and deep, humping him as much as he could in the confining space of the back seat. The kissing and humping was almost manic. The two boys determined to blow their watery wads over each other.
Mike, Drew, Justin, and Toby were all rock hard. Other than those four, the rest of the team tried to ignore the goings on in the back seat. The girl's JV softball team sat to the front of the bus. They were blissfully unaware of the sex going on in the back of the bus.
Chandler thought about going down on Korey, but he was so close to orgasm he just let himself go and he soon spewed his cum over Korey's belly and chest, as well as spraying some on himself. Korey quickly returned the favor as the hot sperm of the two teens mixed on their smooth torsos. Chandler fell against Korey in the corner of the seat, kissing him as their bodies were almost stuck together by their cum and sweat. They finally pulled down their shirts and pulled up their pants, after which they fell asleep against each other.
"You guys are fucking amazing," Marty said. "That's the kind of shit I used to pull."
"Did anybody else get off?" Lars asked.
"The rest of us jerked off before we got to Mayfield," Mikey said, referring to Drew, Justin, Toby, and himself. "But we all kept it in our pants."
"We still have the cum on us," Chandler told them. "Anybody want to come close and smell?"
"You are disgusting," Rodney said with a sniff, while at the same time getting a perverse pleasure from what had happened on the team bus.
"Did anybody else say anything?" Kevin asked.
"Just Blaine," Chandler said. "He said we were disgusting and he was almost willing to pay to move someplace else where he could play baseball with what he called real people."
"Well, you gotta remember that Blaine is an asshole. He's a really good pitcher, mind you, but still, he's an asshole."
The talk drifted away from sex and to the games scheduled for the next day. The varsity would be playing Meadow Park at home while the JV was playing the Bears JV team on the road. Connor commented that the ride to Meadow Park was a short one and the freshmen would have to keep it in their pants.
"We would have today, except it was dark," Korey said. "It was, like, what's a guy supposed to do on a bus with the lights off?"
The varsity players reminisced about their sexual adventures on the team buses in their middle school and high school JV days. They all agreed they had outgrown that kind of sexual playing now that they were upperclassmen. Little did they realize they would have to eat those words in just over a month when they let loose on their trip back from the State Tournament in Pasco.
Eric was slated to start the varsity game the next day. The Mustangs had defeated Meadow Park 9-1on the road in their first league game. They knew that Meadow Park was a better team than that score indicated and they talked about not getting cocky.
"The first half of the league season is over," Eric said. "Lakeshore, Kentburg, and us are all 6-1. We have to be ready every game. Winning this league is not going to be easy."
The Mayfield baseball players left The Bear determined that Meadow Park, which was 3-4, was going to feel the full power of the mighty Mustangs for a second time.
Thursday, April 19, Mayfield High School Ballpark>'
The Meadow Park Bears played hard and with enthusiasm. After four innings the score was knotted at 1-1. Eric had done a good job of holding the Bears in check. The Mustang players felt it was just a matter of time before their bats heated up.
The flames started to shoot out of the bats in the bottom of the fifth as Kraig led off the inning with a single. Jerome followed with a double, which scored Kraig and gave the Mustangs their first lead of the game. Danny batted for Noah and he quickly singled in Jerome. The Mustangs were on the move. The Bears coach changed pitchers, but it was too late to stop the bleeding. Hitting is said to be contagious, and the Mustangs had caught the hitting bug. They scored five runs in the inning, building up a comfortable 6-1 lead going into the sixth.
Eric pitched a scoreless sixth, giving up only a one-out single. The Mustangs scored another run in the bottom of the sixth and Kraig mopped up in the seventh. He gave up two runs as the Mustangs finished with a 7-3 win.
Since Mayfield didn't play again until Tuesday, Coach Sanders told them they would have a light practice on Friday, and do what he called a "fundamental roundup" practice on Monday. The roundups dealt with situational fundamentals as well as individual fundamentals. The roundups were quickly paced and involved a great deal of competition. The players loved it when Coach Sanders announced a roundup.
<Saturday, April 21, Noah's house>
Thirteen year old Nicky lay cuddled up to his sixteen year old brother. "I can't believe it took you so long to fuck me. I mean I've wanted you to do it, like, forever," he said. He grinned at his older brother. "Now you can't get enough of my ass."
Noah pulled his little brother a little tighter against him. "It had to happen in its own time, I guess."
"You say that about everything."
"That's what happens when you're metaphysical and philosophical."
"Whatever. I'm happy just being sexual."
"You're thirteen, it's what you're supposed to be."
"And you're sixteen, and you do more thinking than sexing. That's what getting old does."
"You make it sound like I should be checking for gray hairs."
"You should be checking for hairs period. I have almost as much as you do," Nicky said with a smirk. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Fire away, little bro."
"Am I a good, tight fuck? Is my ass hot and tight?"
"Where did this come from?"
"I know how to read porn on the net you know. No place like Nifty stories when I need a good jerking off. They keep talking about boys with hot tight asses. That's what I want to be."
"You have nothing to worry about. Your ass is just fine."
Nicky contemplated that for a moment and then floored Noah with another question. "Better than Eric's?"
"Here's a lesson for you, Nicky. Never compare people in bed, even with your brother. It will just end up pissing somebody off. I love you and Eric deeply and that's all that is really important."
"Fair enough. So, I shouldn't tell you how different your cock is in my butt than Jeffrey's."
"Exactly."
"Okay." Nicky snuggled up tightly against his big brother. "I'm gonna sleep with Lisa tomorrow night."
"So you can fuck her?"
"No way. I just like sucking her boobs and she likes me doing it. I like sucking stuff, especially a cock. Have cock, will suck—that's me. Sometimes in school I stick my finger in my mouth when I'm taking a test. It let's me relax. Lisa keeps saying I can fuck her once, but I jerk off instead when I sleep with her. It makes her mad when I get my spunk all over her sheets." Nicky giggled at that and then said, "She wants to take your cherry, too, you know."
"Like you said, little bro--No Way!"
<Tuesday, April 24, at Chinook High School>
The Mustangs' next game was at Chinook. They'd defeated the Totems 5-2 behind the pitching of Eric the first time they'd played. This time Chinook had to face Rodney, and they were not up to the task. Rodney went five strong innings as the Mustangs rapped out a relatively easy 8-2 win to run their league record to 8-1.
The game that had everybody's interest, however, was the Kentburg- Lakeshore game being played at Lakeshore. Both teams had one loss and that game was a key contest. On the bus ride home the Mustang players were busily texting the Kentburg players they knew, but they weren't getting any responses.
"That's turning into a long game if nobody's able to text us back," Rodney said.
"I bet it's extra innings," Kevin said.
The game was a long one, but not because it was extra innings. It turned out to be one of those games where even good pitchers couldn't get anybody out and the hits went flying everywhere. When they were about ten minutes out of Mayfield Eric got a text from Ben.
"We won 12-10"
"Holy shit, where did the pitching go?" Connor asked when he heard the score.
"Lakeshore does have a bit of a hitter's field," Noah said. "Get a little wind like we had and the ball can fly. That looks like the case today."
Whatever the reason, the boys knew that they were now tied for first with Kentburg.
<Friday, April 27, at Mayfield High School Ballpark>
Scott started the home game against Clark Pass. As usual, the Mustangs had no problem with the Eagles. Scott pitched four innings. Danny started at third in place of Marty, Lars was in center instead of Jerome. Carl was the starting catcher. Hunter started at first, and Noah at second, as players who generally didn't start got their chance. Even with the first string on the bench, the Mustangs ended the game in five innings by a 19-1 score. Kentburg and Lakeshore each won their game.
<Monday, April 30, at Harborview High School>
The Harborview Tugs were a team much like the Mustangs had been the year before—a team that was young and talented. They were a team that could hang with the best teams in the league, but weren't quite ready to defeat them on a consistent basis. That didn't mean they couldn't pull off an upset win, and the Mustangs knew it. They weren't taking the Tugs lightly. Pitching and defense were the strong points for the Tugs; they were tough to score on. Hitting was their weak spot. They had five sophomores in their usual starting lineup and they simply were not yet strong enough to compete offensively.
Eric drew the starting assignment for the game. His opponent was Larry Michaels. The Seamount League coaches were all in agreement that the three best junior pitchers in the league were Ben with Kentwood, Eric with Mayfield, and Larry with Harborview. What they couldn't agree on was how to rank those three against each other.
Larry was the hardest thrower of the three. His dinky breaking ball was good enough to keep the hitters honest. Scott was close to him in ability, but his frequent inability to command his pitches kept Scott from getting the same respect from the coaches as the top three received. Ben and Scott had similar fastballs, but Ben had a better breaking ball and better command. Eric wasn't as fast as any of those hurlers, but he did have some pop, an excellent change-up, an above average breaking ball, and pin-point control for a high school pitcher. He was the most cerebral pitcher of the group and could locate the ball where he wanted a good percentage of the time. Ben and Eric were thin, lithe athletes, while Larry and Scott were big, beefy boys.
The game turned out to be the pitcher's duel that many had anticipated. It was scoreless after five innings, with neither team mounting a serious threat. In the top of the sixth, Hunter struck out to open the inning. Jerome then doubled to left center.
Noah was the next hitter. He took a ball and then took a strike as Jerome took off for third. The catcher made a good peg to third, but the Mustangs' speedy center fielder slid safely into the base. Noah fouled off the next pitch, making the count one ball and two strikes. Larry then tried to strike Noah out with a high fastball. But he got a little overeager and ended up throwing it so high it went over the catcher's head. The backstop on the Harborview field was close to home plate. If the ball had taken a true bounce off of the wooden base the catcher would have retrieved it easily and Jerome would have remained at third. But the ball hit the spot where the screen met the base and scooted up the first base line. By the time the catcher could get to the ball and toss it to Larry covering home, Jerome had safely slid across the plate.
That turned out to be the only run of the game. Eric pitched the bottom of the sixth, getting the Tugs out 1-2-3 and gave way to Rich's fresh arm in the seventh. Rich got into quick trouble with a leadoff walk, but the next hitter hit a line shot to Marty at third, who alertly threw to first to double the runner off. A strikeout on three pitches followed and the Mustangs then celebrated a very hard-earned 1-0 win.
Eric was pleased with his outing. It was, without question, his best pitching start of the year. The bout of angst that had hit him after the loss to Kentburg had been quashed and his confidence in his pitching returned.
"Harborview could really help us out," Noah said that evening in Eric's bed as he and Eric had their post-sex pillow talk. "They are much better than their record."
"Who do they have left?" Eric asked, knowing that Noah would have the answer at his fingertips.
"They play Kentburg in their second to last game. Beating Kentburg would help us out a lot."
"I think us beating Kentburg on Thursday would help us even more. It looks like we get to see Ben again."
"We'll be ready for him. He is not one of the immortals. We've beaten him before."
"I wish the two of us were matched up again. I'd love to kick his Royal ass."
Noah gave Eric a close hug, their naked teen bodies rubbing against each other. "I love it when you two go against each other. But we both know that Rodney is up to the task. To top it off, we will have our best second baseman out there in the infield."
"Oh? And just who would that be?" Eric asked.
Noah grabbed Eric's hardening cock. "Um...it could be the guy in my bed who seems to be ready for round two." And round two is exactly what commenced.
<Thursday, May 3, at Mayfield Ballpark>
The Kentburg Royals and the Mayfield Mustangs were tied for first, each with a 10-1 record. Ben had outpitched Eric in their first meeting, a 5-1 win at Kentburg. Coach Sanders liked to have a different pitcher face a team the second time around, but the Kentburg coach didn't share that philosophy. As a result, the Mustangs would see Ben for the second time while the Royals would be facing Rodney for the first time.
Rodney showed the difference between a very talented, polished senior and a very talented, but relatively inexperienced, junior. Ben told Eric and Noah after the game that he felt the pressure of matching up with Rodney and he thought that affected him some.
"Are you saying you don't feel any pressure pitching against me?" Eric asked kiddingly. "Are you saying I'm just chopped liver out there?"
"No, I felt pressure against you. But we totally match up and on top of that we've gotten to be friends. But Rodney, he's maybe the best pitcher in the league, maybe in the whole district. That kind of fucked with my mind a little."
"So you're saying you choked?"
"Maybe a little."
"You didn't choke," Noah said. "You went through a learning experience, just like my boyfriend does sometimes. We talk about learning from the experience, and Coach talks about learning from it, and so Eric and I are saying to you, learn from it."
"You've got it all wrong, Noah," Eric said. "I don't want him learning from the experience. If he does, he'll just get better. Don't call it a learning experience, Ben; just call it a first class choke job."
Ben laughed and said, "And you guys say us Kentburg guys are crazy. We don't come close to matching Mayfield craziness."
What the boys were discussing was a 6-2 win by the Mustangs in a game in which they scored four runs in the first inning off of an obviously nervous Ben. While the Kentburg junior settled down and pitched scoreless ball through the fifth inning, Rodney had the cushion he needed and was on top of his game. Down four runs the Royals had lost the game mentally even before being dominated by Rodney. He went all seven innings for the win. The Mayfield Mustangs now had sole possession of first place.
<Friday, May 4 at Mayfield High School Ballpark>
The Mustangs had to come right back and play the next day against the Monte Vikings, a team they'd defeated 12-1 at Monte. Coach Sanders gave Rich a rare start to keep his arm in shape, allowing him to go the first two innings. Eric, Scott, and Vince each pitched an inning as the Mustangs won another five inning game, this time by the score of 16-3.
They knew that a win against Monte would clinch a tie for first. They now had a 12-1 record and Kentburg would be 11-2 if they won their game. That was the good news. The bad news was that they would be playing at Lakeshore on Monday. With a 10-3 record, Lakeshore was one of the top three teams in the league. As a result, there was no rowdy celebration, not only because the game had been so one- sided, but also because they didn't feel as if they had really won anything.
All of that changed when they heard the really big news as they started clearing out the dugout. Nicky, who had been busy with his video camera, opened the gate between the bleachers and the field and dashed over to the Mustang dugout.
"Hey, guys, I just got a text from a Kentburg dude I know from soccer. They lost to Harborview," Nicky said with enthusiasm. He knew that meant the Mustangs had clinched first place.
"What was the score?" Marty asked.
"He didn't say. Hang on, I'll ask."
But nobody hung on, the news was too big. Word went through the dugout in a hurry, from the players, to the coaches, to whomever was still left in the stands. The celebration they had put off broke out in full force. No matter what happened against Lakeshore on Monday, they were the Seamount League champions. They knew they weren't a very good team working to be great—instead they were a great team that had achieved a high level of excellence.
Suddenly there was hugging, and dancing, and wrestling, and grabbing, and even some kissing. Winning the league was a huge step in their dream; it was a step that cemented in their minds what they had been sure of: "This is just fucking awesome," Connor said. "Just fucking awesome."
Somewhere in the bedlam Nicky managed to yell out that the final score was 8-3, but nobody really cared. They were the regular season champs, and that was all they cared about.
<Saturday, May 5, at Bob's Burger Barn>
The texts, IMs, emails, phone calls, and Facebook posts of the evening were loaded with excitement. Word spread rapidly that they would meet for lunch on Saturday at the Burger Barn and that Bob had set aside space for them.
All of the varsity players showed up as well as many of the JV players. The players wanted to revel in their accomplishment for one more day.
"With the new setup in the league tournament, us taking first is even bigger than before," Noah pointed out, not for the first time. Before, even the first place team had to win two games to qualify for district. But under the new setup, the first place team only had to win one game. The first round consisted of the second place team playing the fifth place team, and the third place team playing the fourth place team loser out games. The winner of third versus fourth would play the league champion, that winner going to District, the loser playing the second versus fifth winner for the second District spot.
"So what do you think, Eric? Does this make all the Go to State shit worthwhile?" Connor asked.
"It does and it doesn't," Eric said.
"Meaning what?" Hunter asked.
"Meaning we still have a long way to go just to make it to State."
<Monday, May 7, at Lakeshore High School>
Scott started the last league game of the season. Everybody knew that Rodney would be the starter for their league tournament game on Saturday. If they lost that game, then Eric would be the starting pitcher on Sunday. In their hearts and minds the team knew that there was no possible way both pitchers would lose that coming weekend.
As often happens to teams, young and old, the Mustangs got caught looking ahead. Scott pitched well for the first four innings, but the play on the field was uncommonly sloppy, with the Mustang defense making four of the kind of unforced errors that happen when a team isn't concentrating as it should. The Sentinels had a 4-3 lead after four and a half innings.
Scott lost home plate in the fifth, walking the first two batters on eight pitches. His first strike of the inning went for a two run double and Coach Sanders brought Vince in with the score at 6-3. He didn't want to waste Rich in a game that was essentially meaningless in the standings. The Mustangs managed to get a run in the seventh, but they ended up with a 6-4 loss and a 14-2 league record. Kentwood and Lakeshore ended up tied for second with 13-3 records. The Royals and the Sentinels had split their two games. The tiebreaker was run differential, and the Sentinels took that category by two runs, giving them the second seed in the league tournament.
Maybe the worst news was what happened to Gavin in the fifth inning. Gavin was a swing player, playing some on the JV and some on the varsity. In this game he was playing varsity. Coach Sanders sent him to play right field in place of Kraig in the fourth inning. The second hitter of the inning belted a curving line drive to right. Gavin went to his left, chasing down the ball that kept curving away from him. He finally left his feet and made a great diving catch, but he landed awkwardly on his right arm. He screamed with pain as he hit the ground. He had broken the ulna as his body crunched against his arm. He was finished for the season. But, as he liked to brag about later, he had kept the ball in his glove and completed the out.
<Friday, May 11, at Taylor Field, Monte>
Monte's Taylor Field was the host field for the league tournament. While Monte's baseball fortunes were down, Taylor Field was a top notch ballpark, one of the few in the league capable of hosting the league tournament. A caravan of Mayfield baseball players headed to Monte on Friday evening to watch the league tournament double header. Coach Sanders, Coach Miller, Coach Ecklund, Noah's father, Mr. B, and Hunter's father, the twins' father, and Eric's father all drove. Some other parents came as well, but as passengers. A lot of the players had their driver's licenses, but were under eighteen, which meant they had restricted licenses. Players like Marty, Vince, Connor, and Jerome, who were eighteen and licensed, were happy to be riders so they could talk baseball and not worry about the highway.
The first game, which started at six, pitted third place Kentburg against fourth place Harborview, who had upset the Royals a few days earlier. The Mustangs would face the winner at one o'clock the next afternoon. Since they had practice right after school, the Mayfield boys didn't arrive until midway through the second inning.
Even though he was a junior, Ben was without question the best starter for the Kentburg Royals. Pitching was not their strong suit as they relied more on a deep offense to win games. The Royals started Ben because the game was loser out and their coach felt Ben had the best chance of pitching the Royals into the second round, which allowed for a loss.
Ben pitched much better than he had in his last start against Mayfield. He gave up only five hits, walked three, and wiggled out of trouble when he had to. He went all seven innings as the Royals beat Harborview 6-2 to advance to the next round.
Some of the Mayfield players talked to Ben after the game before he boarded the team bus.
"It figures we play our despised rivals tomorrow," Noah said.
"Most guys would say, `hated rivals', Noah," Ben said.
"Ah, but I am not most guys."
"And that is one reason why I love him," Eric said.
"Who's going for you guys tomorrow, you or Rodney?" Ben asked.
"We appear to have a spy in our midst," Noah said. "He is digging for top secret information."
"I'll tell you who I think it will be," Ben said. "My money says it will be Rodney since a win sends you to Districts, and the senior will get the nod."
"Our lips are sealed," Noah said.
"Assholes," Ben said kiddingly.
"Nice game by the way," Kevin said. "You keep pitching like that you might get good enough to play for us."
"Assholes," Ben said again as he headed for the bus. None of them failed to note his right hand behind his back with a lone middle finger sticking out.
"Damn, I'd love to get his ass into bed," Marty said.
"Send him an invitation," Kevin told him.
"Tell him you want him to have your baby," Kraig said.
"Assholes," was Marty's response.
"Wow, you and Ben share the same wide-ranging vocabulary," Eric said as the boys returned to the bleachers.
Mr. B and Seth McCall came up into the bleachers with bags of hamburgers, fries, and soft drinks. Taylor field had a concessions stand, but its selection was limited. The burgers were much more in tune with the appetites of hungry teenagers.
Lakeshore played Meadow Park in the second game, which had an 8:30 start. The Mayfield boys stayed around for the first four innings as the Lakeshore Sentinels ran off to a 9-1 lead and appeared to have the game well in hand. They found out later that the Sentinels had picked up a 14-6 win.
<Saturday, May 12, at Monte, Taylor Field>
There was no pregame flip for home team since the league rules automatically gave that status to the first place team. That meant the Mustangs were the home team, while the Kentburg Royals were the visitors. Ben had been correct about Rodney starting the game. Coach Sanders didn't want to deal with an elimination game, and did what any coach would do, he went with his ace.
The Mustangs were ready to play, showing no ill effects from their lethargic game against Lakeshore. Coach Sanders hadn't made a big issue about their play in that game other than to say they would need to step it up in the postseason. That was exactly what the Mayfield players did as Jerome, Eric, Rich, and Marty started the bottom half of the first with hits. They scored three runs in the inning and did not look back as they picked up a relatively easy 7-1 win. Coach Sanders pulled Rodney after five innings, knowing he would need his arm a lot more if the Mustangs advanced deep into the postseason. He used Eric the last two innings, since he hadn't had much work from the mound over the last two weeks.
Lakeshore played Kentburg in the second game of the day, which started at 4:00. The winner would advance to Districts, and the loser would be out. Lakeshore won a thrilling 6-5 game, scoring three runs in the seventh inning to pick up the victory. The Mayfield Mustangs and the Lakeshore Sentinels would represent the Seamount League in Districts.
<Saturday, May 15, at Lacey Recreation Complex>
The Mustangs came to Districts focused on winning. Two years ago they had been happy to be there. Last year they knew they belonged, but weren't sure how they measured up against the opposition and hoped they could beat somebody. This year they came to the District Tournament with the attitude that the other team had to beat them, because, as far as they were concerned, they were the best team in the tournament.
The word among coaches and observers of high school baseball backed up what the Mayfield ballplayers thought. While there might be a couple of teams as good as the Mustangs, there were no teams that were better. Their first opponent, the Millers Glenn Bobcats, had heard the word about how good the Mustangs were. They found themselves somewhat intimidated to start the game, and what they saw of Rodney didn't help their outlook. Rodney threw a dominant game. A second inning, three run homer by Scott gave the Mustangs all of the scoring they needed as the Mayfield team finished with a 5- 0 win.
The real suspense was whether Rodney would end up with a no- hitter. The Bobcats got their first hit with one out in the sixth. Kevin, who wanted desperately to catch a no-hitter, was probably more excited than Rodney was as the hitless innings accumulated. Kevin had learned years ago not to bug a pitcher between innings in a no- hit situation. The catcher sat at one end of the bench while the pitcher sat at the other end, and everybody else tried to ignore their existence.
There was, of course, a growing sense of pressure, especially in the fourth and fifth innings. Kevin's umpire friend, Mark, was working the plate, and he knew enough not to say anything about what was unfolding. But a solid line drive single ended the thoughts of a no- hitter.
"I thought we might have something special," Mark said to Kevin after the single.
"Me, too. I want to catch a no-hitter so bad. I never have, not even in Little League."
"From what I've seen of you as a catcher and your pitchers through the years, you have nothing to feel badly about."
"Oh, I don't feel bad about it. I just want to do it. I've been on the other end of two of them, and I want my turn."
Everybody's brain quickly switched gears from being part of a rare no-hitter to the important task of winning the game. That ended up not being a problem as Rodney struck out the next two batters to end the inning. The Mustangs scored in the bottom of the inning to widen their three run lead.
The win had the Mustangs playing at ten the next morning. If they won that game they would be going to Regionals. A loss would have them playing an elimination game immediately following. Their opponent was Mountain Ridge Christian, who had defeated the Mustangs 8-2 early in the season. They fared no better in this game, which was a disaster from start to finish.
Mountain Ridge won the flip and took home. The Mustangs went down 1-2-3 in the top of the first. Scott's pitches were all over the place in the bottom of the inning, and when he did throw a strike he was hit hard. He gave up five runs in the first and was gone by the third inning.
Carl was gone in the fifth inning. He had started at catcher. He doubled to lead off the fifth. Kraig followed with a hard hit in the gap and Coach Sanders waved Carl home. Even as Carl rounded third the coach was second guessing himself, not only for sending the plodding catcher, but for not using his designated runner after he reached second. The throw from the relay man was just a little offline, but the catcher grabbed it and put the tag on Carl. Carl felt something pop in his knee just before he initiated his slide, but he hit the ground and managed to evade the catcher's tag to score the Mustangs first run. But he also managed to tear the meniscus in his right knee and his season was finished.
The Mustangs battled after their bad start, but when Scott was pulled their lack of pitching depth showed. Eric had to be saved since it looked like there would be another game. Coach Sanders wanted Rich fresh for that game as well. The result was a 9-4 loss and an impending game against the Lakeshore Sentinels.
Eric started that game, as expected. Coach Sanders had started Noah at second in the Mountain Ridge game, a move that surprised many outside of the team. His logic was that if the Mustangs lost, he wanted Eric completely rested for the following game. Noah found himself the starting second baseman in back-to-back games for the first time all season.
"There is no way we can lose this game," Eric said to Noah and Kevin as he warmed up with Kevin in the bullpen during the lull between games. Coach Sanders sat out Kevin for the same reason he'd sat out Eric, to have him fresh for a possible elimination game. When Carl got hurt, Vince made a rare appearance behind the plate.
"It would suck to have our season end now after all we've done," Kevin said. "Our goal wasn't to go to districts, it was to go to state."
"Coach Sanders kept both of you fresh for this game. Let's see if it pays off," Noah said.
"That was the first game I haven't played in since, um, well, since forever," Eric said. "It felt really weird. I mean I've not started games, but to sit and know you're not going to play, that totally sucked." Eric thought he was at least going to be Carl's designated runner, but Coach Sanders, much to his chagrin, elected to let Carl run for himself. That decision might have been his biggest coaching error of the season.
"If you're a regular bench player, you get used to it," Noah said.
"Sorry about that Noah. I didn't mean to step on your feelings."
"Not a problem. I know my role. I'm happy and grateful to be a part of this."
Chandler walked over to the three boys. "Coach says it's time to get ready. We have ten minutes to warm up and there will be no infield practice." His remark was directed at Noah, who needed to join the position players for a quick warm-up.
"You guys kick ass," Chandler told Eric and Kevin. "Lakeshore hasn't seen Eric yet this year, and he's going to dominate."
Coach Hart sauntered over to the bullpen. "How are you feeling, Eric?" he asked.
"I'm ready, coach."
And ready he was. Marty won the flip, the Mustangs were home team, and Eric put down the first seven Sentinel hitters before allowing a dinky infield hit with one out in the third. The Sentinels were ready as well, but Eric was in a groove as he pinpointed his fastball and kept the hitters off balance with his changeup and breaking ball. The result was a 5-1 win for the Mustangs and a trip to Regionals. Eric pitched all seven innings.
<Region Two Tournament, Saturday, May 26, at Puyallup Recreation Center>
[ERIC]
There were four Regional tournaments being held around the state. Each tournament had four teams and each game was a loser out game. Win two games and you went to state. Lose a game and the season was over. Our district was the biggest of the three in our state region, so we had two teams while there was one team from each of the other two districts.
The matchups were drawn from a hat, but we couldn't play the other team from our district in the first game. If that happened, they would redraw. The other team from out district was Mountain Ridge Christian. I was happy not to have to play them.
The first game had us matched up with the Shuksan High School Mountaineers. They had a 15-6 record to our 18-4. They had nine seniors starting, but so did we. I'd put Marty, Rich, Rodney, Connor, and Jerome against anybody's seniors. Even Vince, who didn't start a lot of games, was a pretty good player.
I started that game. When I warmed up with Kevin I wondered what all those seniors thought of going up against a junior. Then I realized it didn't matter what I thought, I just had to go out and pitch. We were two wins away from our dream of going to state, and I sure didn't intend to get in the way.
It turns out the Mountaineers' seniors weren't as good as ours, or the ones who played for Lakeshore or Kentburg. I was expecting a tougher game than we got. Oh, the game was close, but it never felt like we were in trouble. I put them down in order in the first, gave up a couple of dinky singles in the second and a double in the third.
We scored our first runs in the fourth on a single by Rich, a triple by Marty, and a sacrifice fly by Scott. As for me, I didn't allow another baserunner until there were two outs in the sixth and we had a 4-0 lead. That ended up being the final score as I pitched all seven innings, gave up only four hits, walked nobody, and struck out six. I felt good the whole game, my concentration was almost 100%, and when there were any problems, I had Kevin keeping me in line. That game was our team at its best. It was as good a game as I'd pitched all season, but an amazing catch by Rodney in the fourth, and Noah being in the right place to make a great play at second had a lot to do with my pitching. I have to say that Noah always amazes me by being where you don't expect him just before somebody hits a ball to him. It is really eerie.
Mountain Ridge beat North Peninsula 11-3. The Knights were now 20-1 and looked damned tough. We would see them the next afternoon.
We talked about how to beat the Knights on the long bus ride home. They'd thumped us twice during the season, and we knew we'd have to step it up to another level to win the next day.
"Hell, we got the magic formula for beating them," Connor said as we stopped in Olympia for burgers. The state didn't pay for hotels for the Regionals, but each team did get meal money.
"Please, share the secret, oh wise mage," Noah said.
"Whatever the fuck a mage is. Shit, Noah could be calling me a mother fucker and I wouldn't know it."
"A mage is a magician," Noah informed him.
"We don't need to go to school when we got Noah giving us an education," Vince said.
"I want to hear Connor's secret," Marty said.
"It's simple. Which one of our pitchers haven't those fuckers seen?"
"Well, Rodney of course."
"End of discussion. Tell your parents to make their hotel reservations for Pasco. That game is in the win column."
That's how we were. We were confident, maybe even a little cocky, but we played good, hard, fundamental baseball and we knew we were tough to beat. Yeah, the Knights were good, and yeah they had kicked our ass twice, but as Coach Sanders said before we got off the bus at the high school, it's damned hard to beat a good team three times in a row. Yes, he said damned. Nobody was shocked.
<Region 2 Tournament, Sunday, May 27, Puyallup Recreation Center>
[RODNEY]
I gotta say that Eric showed how to pitch in a postseason game. It's tough to beat a four-hit shutout. I also knew that those Mountain Ridge Knights were a hell of a lot tougher than the Shuksan Molehills were. I mean, they kicked our ass twice this year, which gives them bragging rights.
Usually the night before I pitch, I'm in bed early to be totally ready for the next day. But this wasn't a school night, it wasn't even seven when we got home, and I found out Amy Kennedy was home alone. I know that because she texted me and told me. So what was I going to do, turn down an opportunity like that?
Amy's dad was Coach Kennedy, the middle school football coach. She was fifteen and a sophomore, but so what? Nothing wrong with liking younger women. And she was no virgin. I know that because I took her cherry when she was twelve in the seventh grade. That would have made me fourteen and a freshman. We're not boyfriend and girlfriend or anything like that.
I let all the girls I fuck know I am not interested in being anybody's boyfriend; I just want lots of sex. Some girls are cool with that, and that's who I end up fucking, and some girls aren't, and I end up not fucking them. Hell, a couple of guys even let me fuck their girlfriends and watched me do it. I keep hoping Jerome would do that; I want to fuck Lisa so bad I can almost taste her pussy juices.
Anyway, Amy and I had a good couple of fucks and I was gone long before her `rents were supposed to be home. I was home by nine. My mom said goodnight after we talked about that day's game a little. She was at the game. She goes to as many as she can.
My dad died back when I was little, so I hardly remember him. Mom has guys come over sometimes to sleep with her. I think that's how I learned about how guys love to fuck pussy. Not that I ever watched anybody fuck my mom, but you get what I mean. Okay, I did watch once, but they left the door open. I was eleven or twelve or something; what was I supposed to do, pretend it was closed?
The bus ride the next day was another long one. Nobody figured out how to make it shorter, so what can you do? I like to put on my I-Pod and tune out the world before my games. Sometimes I think about baseball, sometimes I think about girls, sometimes I just listen to the music, and sometimes I fall asleep.
Whatever I do seems to work because I always am mentally ready to pitch. Coach Sanders likes to praise my "power of concentration" as he calls it. He says it's important in a veteran senior. I think it all has to do with my I-Pod.
We got to the ball field just before the Knights. When their bus arrived, we could see they were really focused. But then so were we. I mean this was winner goes to state. This is what that little fucker Eric had us thinking about since I was in seventh grade. Him and Marty and Kevin are the ones who lead this group and got us to where we are right now. Let me tell you, it wasn't always easy.
The Regional championship game wasn't easy either. Those Knights hit the shit out of the ball, they have really good pitching, and they play pretty good defense. In other words, they are just like us, but I think our defense is better. I mean nobody I've seen has Jerome in center, Marty at third, Rich at short, Kevin at catcher, and Eric at second. Those guys are great and we don't lose much when Noah plays at second. I mean talk about a little fucker, that would be Noah. Don't get me wrong, the rest of the team plays good defense, but those guys are the best.
The game was close just like we expected. They got a couple of hard hits off of me in the third and scored, and Marty knocked in two runs with a double in the fourth. Both of us were having trouble scoring, which was new for the Knights, at least against us. They scored 17 runs against us in the two games we played them. I knew that wasn't going to happen today, just like Connor said.
Eric and Scott are good pitchers, but I'm the senior, and I've pitched the big games. When I have myself in the right space, I can dominate anybody we play. And that's what I was doing to the Knights in this game--I was dominating. But their pitcher was a senior and pretty good, too.
In the sixth, Marty got into a pitch and squared it up beautifully. You could hear everybody go "ohhhhhhh" as it sailed over the left field fence. We were up 3-1. The Knights were the home team, and I put down their 2-3-4 hitters in order. Those were some big outs.
They brought in a relief pitcher in the seventh and we didn't get a baserunner off him. I wondered if Coach was going to bring Rich in to pitch our seventh. Rich is a senior and our closer. He does a good job, even though I bitch some when Coach brings him in to close for me. I know Coach thinks I'm tired. I don't ever want to admit it, because I don't want him to think I get tired. But I can't fool Kevin, and Kevin has no problem telling Coach what he knows.
Well, Rich warmed up while we batted, but I was still pitching strong and my pitch count was down. So, I got to go back out to finish the game. I didn't let anybody down, either. I put down their 5-6-7 hitters, which means I put down the last eight hitters I faced. Now that is closing strong.
It was a great win—our greatest ever, so far. We celebrated like crazy. Lots of people came out to watch us. There were parents, relatives, students, teachers, and lots of other Mayfield peeps. Even Ben, Rory, and Lance came out from Kentburg to watch us play. Having some Kentburg bastards there rooting for us was really special.
We had a 3-1 win. We were going to State. We were still living Eric's dream. Screw that, we were still living OUR dream.
[ERIC]
I was trying to figure out who to hug as soon as Scott caught Marty's throw to first. Marty had cut off a grounder nicely and nailed the runner by a couple of steps. It was now official—we were going to the fucking state tournament. Yes, I said fucking state, but I bet you would say the same thing. I didn't have to find anybody to hug, because Noah came out from the dugout so fast I didn't have a chance to get to anybody anyway.
"It's your dream. You did it," Noah said. He wasn't ashamed to show some tears and I was holding them back, but not for long.
"Just remember guys, we haven't won shit," Connor said as we formed our line for shaking hands. Leave it to Connor to bring us back to reality.
I think the Knights were shocked that we shut them down. They shook our hands and all, but they all had this "what happened?" look on their faces. I don't blame them; they'd handled us pretty easily in the two games we'd played them.
The bus ride home was noisy. Connor bragged that he'd called the final result and you could call him The Magician. "Fuck this mage crap. I know what a fucking magician is."
That's what the whole day felt like, magic. We'd defeated a really good team to go to the State Tournament. Now we needed to carry our magic with us across the mountains to Pasco. To me, nothing would seem magical if we didn't win both of our games in Pasco next weekend.
I was pretty sure I would start the first game and if we won, Rodney would start the championship game. Scott might start instead of me, but I doubted it. I was a better pitcher, even if he had a better record. I wouldn't be mad if Coach picked him to start, because he was good. But I would be surprised if he did.
For some reason, I started to feel like the whole weight of the last five years was going to be sitting on my shoulders. I had gotten the Go to State Team started, I had pitched a big win in regionals, and now it was like it wouldn't mean a thing if I didn't come through.
My teammates were all celebrating that winning feeling. But I wasn't feeling it. What I was feeling was fear. I didn't like that feeling. I didn't like it at all.
Next: A State of Mind