The Hitting Zone

"Excellent start!" Noah told me as I drank. "Kyle's face was priceless. Dave started talking crap halfway in, saying he could do better. But, they're identical twins. Even their pitching doesn't have much variation." His eyes twinkled. "Want to know what you should do this time?"

I closed the water bottle and nodded. Anything that could help me get on Noah's team, would be something I could try.

"Foul every pitch. Like you did in the 100mph cage!" He laughed to himself. "I can't wait to see Dave's expression after you foul thirty of his pitches back. I wonder if that would make him more frustrated than Kyle, because he would think that he's doing well when you're actually just messing with him."

So he just wants me to do it for amusement? I rolled my eyes.

"Hey! It can benefit you too!" Noah tried to convince me. "Just think. This can show Coach and Zeke your perfect batting control. Not everyone can foul every pitch. It could be a deciding factor on maybe letting you into the team."

I mulled it over. I guess foul-tipping could be considered a talent. I glance at Dave, who was throwing some very hard pitches. "Tell Zeke." I mumbled.

"Zeke? You want me to tell him that you'll be fouling every pitch?" Noah asked, sounding confused. I nodded. "Why?"

"Let's gooooo." Dave hollered from the mound, sounding pumped up. Kyle made me anxious, but nowhere near as much as Dave.

I pointed at him. "Scary."

Noah watched as his brother stood on the mound sounding super excited and ready to go. "You're right. He might be slightly more emotional than Kyle." I snorted. "I'll tell Zeke to watch out. Not that I think Dave would charge you and knock you out. But if it makes you more comfortable then I'll do it." We walked out of the dugout together.

Kelvin had a full bucket of baseballs near him as he squatted behind home plate. Zeke and Kyle stood with Coach and the others already. Noah joined them and started to tell them what I was going to do. I could see their jaws drop with disbelief. Zeke was the only one not to lose composure. He just gave Noah a nod.

Noah turned back to face me and gave me the universal 'Okay' with his hand. I sighed with relief then stepped into the righty's box once more.

Dave faced me down with a gleam in his eyes. He looks so excited; I feel like I'm going to do something very wrong and slightly mean. He got set and did his windup motion. I clenched the bat and began my mission. Fouls. The first pitch came in hard and fast. I fouled it back.

"Woo-hoo!" Dave cheered. He looked at Kyle. "That's how you do it, Kyle. No perfect performance for him now."

Kyle's lips twitched, fighting off a smile. "Sure, sure. I'll believe you if you can get him to miss."

Kelvin tossed a new ball to Dave and he got set once more. The pitch came and I fouled it back again. Dave did another round of self-cheering, making me feel guilty on the inside. We did the same thing for five or so pitches, until Dave caught on. He started to frown before every pitch, then scowl, until he finally looked outright pissed.

"Are you doing this on purpose, Jake?!" He started to step off the mound. I took a few steps back, keeping a safe distance.

"It's part of the tryout." Zeke declared. "Get back on the mound. Unless you want to forfeit and make us lose the bet? If you do, you'll be the one cleaning the bathroom for the next three months. Stop trying to act like a tyrant." That sounded a bit funny coming from the real tyrant.

Dave grumbled, but stayed on the mound. He tried moving his pitches to the inside, outside, low and high, but I was able to keep fouling them back. His speed wasn't enough to fool my eyes. After the the thirtieth foul, he stomped off the mound and went to the dugout. Kelvin ran after him.

I looked towards the group just in time for Noah to pounce on me. "Unreal!" He shook me a bit. "I'm even more convinced that you're a machine!"

I turned red at the compliment and pushed him off me. I examined my bat to check for chips or cracks. Not too bad. I looked at Zeke, who was talking to Garret and Jordan by their coach.

"Looks like they're planning something." Noah noticed where I was looking. "But we planned something too so you're in a good spot." I nodded.