Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2013 21:43:10 -0700
From: Douglas DD DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: Diamond Dreams  Chapter 46

Thanks for returning. The Chapter 1 disclaimers all still apply. Please
give to the Nifty Archive to keep the stories flowing.

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