"Batter up." The umpire waved for me to step up.
Out of habit, I almost walked to the lefty's box, but quickly corrected myself. The righty box was soft and the dirt was uneven. I took the time to kick the dirt away and find firm ground before officially stepping in.
Sanchez started me off with a fastball down the middle. I let it pass for a called strike. 0-1. The next was a curve that started outside, but it had the movement to come in. I swung and fouled it back, hitting the catcher in the mask.
"Dang it!" The catcher cursed as he readjusted his mask.
My heart pounded almost out of my chest. I took a breath to calm myself, before speaking out. "Sorry." I whispered.
The catcher looked down at me in surprise. He gave a short nod. "It's all good." The umpire gave the baseball to him to give to the pitcher and we resumed my at-bat.
Been a bit busy this weekend, sorry. Hope to wrap up this game by tomorrow night.