The Hitting Zone

The two had attracted a lot of attention from their throws, making it difficult to exit and leave the crowd. Sending my discomfort, Noah stopped bumping fists with strangers and pulled me out of the thickening crowd. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"I think we should try to convince Dad to get us a radar." Noah said when Dave caught up to us.

"You’re not even a pitcher, dude." Dave slapped him on the back of the head.

"Yet, I can throw just as fast as you." Noah stuck his tongue out. "And I’m still growing."

"Yea like a sunflower. Tall and skinny. Ain’t worth much." Dave laughed.

"You’re just jealous that I’m going to be taller than you."

"You better hope the growth spurt doesn’t effect your playing at short."

"Tall players can play shortstop."

"How tall is too tall?"

"Quite a few are 6’4"."

Dave puffed out his chest. "You’ll have to be taller than that if you want to be taller than me."

"I will." Noah declared confidently.

The two went back and forth on everything until it was time for us to find our group and our seats. Mrs. Johnson, Mom, Dad, and Grampa sat at the end of one row and us three sat right in front of them. Dad originally wanted us to sit behind them because we were more likely to jump up during the game and block their view, but Mom said she wanted to be able to see us without having to crane her back. So she won.

"You boys find any souvenirs?" Mrs. Johnson asked as we sat down.

Noah shrugged. "Nothing really stood out."

"We should wait and see if they make some special shirts for those that make the finals." Dave suggested.

"We should get you boys some shirts to commemorate the memory of being here for the first time." Mom stated. "And then if Zeke’s team makes the finals, we can look for something more special or specific."

"Sure. Whatever." Noah shrugged.

"Dang it." Dave said abruptly, drawing our attention to him. "I should have pushed Zeke to college more. So I could be the first to come here and play." He looked up at the clear blue sky. "Is it too late to take the pro route? Maybe I can beat Kyle to the top and be the first in this family to do something special."

Noah patted him on the shoulder. "Forget it. You’ve made your bed and now it’s time to lie in it."

I looked at him and tried to offer some consolation. "Zeke’s not a pitcher. You’ll be the only one to pitch in college."

"Yea as long as we don’t count Rhys." Noah said.

"Rhys hasn’t thrown a perfect game?" I tried to offer again.

Dave threw his arm around my shoulders. "Okay, Jake knows what’s up. I’ve got something I can do before Rhys."

"Bad time to tell you that Zeke and Rhys have another year left to do?" Noah laughed. "Feel the pressure. You could even face them. That would be something."

We talked about their future and the chances of Dave running into them next year. They didn’t have the schedule out yet, but maybe it could happen. Big schools liked to play each other when they can. I would only hope it’s at Stanford so Noah and I could make it too. The clash of schedules and seasons were going to make it tough; we didn’t even see half of Zeke’s home games and he wasn’t that far.

There was a lot of pregame ceremonies and celebrations as we got closer to game time. Dad gave us money to go buy hotdogs, drinks, and some extra snacks. Stanford was playing the first game of the afternoon against University of North Carolina. It’s expected to be a great game between the powerhouses. Both schools had a long history of having great baseball programs.

Rhys didn’t get the start today unfortunately as Coach Leroy went with a senior pitcher. It was a bit of a bummer for us, especially after seeing him work so hard in the Super Regionals, but it did make sense. This was a do-or-die game. It was double elimination so you had to lose twice to be out.

There were two brackets of four teams each, and thanks to double elimination, there’s also a chance you have to play the same team again. If they make it.

Game one officially was underway and the start was slow offensively. Neither pitcher was unprepared and wanted to blow it for their team.

During the fourth inning, we had a moment where two ladies followed by a camera man came down the aisle and asked if we were Zeke’s family.

Noah immediately sat up and pointed us all out for them. Grampa. Mom. Dad. Dave. Him. Me. Even a shout out to Mrs. Johnson and naming her as Rhys’s mom.

"We heard that you boys had done some impressive throws in the Bullpen Speed Pitch game." One of the ladies took over to ask. "We were hoping to do a short little snippet for viewers at home, showing some of the families of the players."

Dave glanced back at Mom and Dad. Both of them nodded, showing that it was okay. Noah was in. And I was there on the side.

The lady that did most of the talking introduced herself as Hanna Stewart and would be the interviewer. The other lady was a producer and she mostly stayed behind the camera man, who set up in the aisle of stairs so he could include us in the shot. The actions of the three attracted attention from around, taking it away from the game.

"Hi, yes, I’m here with the Atkins family, most notably Zeke’s three younger brothers: David, Noah, and Jake." Hanna spoke into the mic, looking at the camera. "Zeke, known for his strong arm in the outfield and superb batting performance this season has really been a difference maker for Stanford. The freshman may be the youngest on the team but the oldest of his siblings." She glanced at us. "What do you three think of him making it this far? Are you impressed? Do you plan to follow his footsteps?"

"It’s to be expected." Dave grinned. "Zeke’s never been one to settle. If he’s not at the top, he’s on his way."

"We won’t follow his footsteps exactly." Noah wanted to answer. "He chose college. Dave chose another college. Our brother, Kyle was drafted. We all have different skill sets and also want different things out of our time in baseball."

I nodded along, trying to look like a participant.

"You all seem to share a lot of the same skills and qualities though." Hanna smiled. "Before coming over we heard of you two taking on the Bullpen Speed cage. Tell me, who won and how fast did you throw? Do you think either of could beat Zeke?"

Noah opened his mouth, but Dave beat him to the punch. "Well those are just fun side games that we don’t take too seriously." Dave put his arm around Noah’s shoulders, giving it a squeeze. "As much as we like to compete, we always cheer for one another more. Zeke does have the strength and experience, but honestly we’ll name Rhys as the fastest among us. We grew up with him as well and it’s always been clear that he was made for the mound."

Hanna saw the opportunity to ask about Rhys and took it happily.