章 466: CIF Quarterfinal: Northwood HS (7)

Bottom of the fifth. Dave on the mound and Kelvin behind the plate. They agreed on a pitch selection then began. The batter came out swinging, connecting on the very first pitch. He blasted it over my outstretched glove, sending the ball between the gap of Zeke and Mahki. 

The runner took off as our outfield chased down the ball. I ran out to play the role of cutoff man. Zeke was the first to the ball. He picked it up and threw the ball in. But not within my reach. Instead, it went straight to Noah at second base as the batter came sliding in. The throw was on point, but the runner was too fast; Noah didn't even get the chance to make the tag. A lead off double. Not a good feeling. 

Noah threw the ball back to Dave on the mound. He opened his mouth to say something, but Dave immediately turned his back on him and faced home plate. Apparently, he didn't want to hear Noah's words of encouragement. Hopefully it was because he didn't need them.