Date: Sun, 6 Oct 2013 20:22:17 -0700
From: Douglas DD DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: Diamond Dreams  Chapter 61

Welcome back. This is what you've spent all these months working
toward. This the climax of the story of the Boys of Mayfield. You've
worked hard as readers, they've worked hard as characters. Can
everybody's Diamond Dreams be fulfilled, or are will there be lessons
to be learned?

Yes, this is a long chapter, but I think you'll agree it had to be
presented as one chapter.

Douglas at thehakaanen@hotmail.com


CHAPTER 61
DIAMOND DREAMS

<Sunday, May 26, Safeco Field>

Mayfield Mustangs, State A Tournament Championship Game
starting lineup.

1.	Justin-SS
2.	Noah-2B
3.	Scott-1B
4.	Carl-DH, batting for Hunter-LF
5.	Kevin-C
6.	Eric-P
7.	Danny-3B
8.	Kraig-RF
9.	Lars-CF

[COACH SANDERS]

I told the team what the lineup would be after we finished dinner. I
also talked to a lot of the individuals involved about why I was doing
what I was doing. It was not my normal lineup and I knew there would
be a lot of speculation as to why I was making changes from the
norm for the State Championship game.

I've been keeping Eric at second in the order, even when he was
pitching, simply because he'd been one of our best hitters all season.
But for some reason, batting him second today didn't feel right. I
decided I wanted him to pitch at least one inning before having to bat,
and batting him sixth was the way to do that. Putting him a slot or two
higher would place him in a power spot in the lineup, and he is not a
power hitter.  But, I didn't want to place him too low in the order.

Noah usually batted eighth or ninth when Eric was pitching, but he's
batted second a couple of times this year. Last year he batted in that
position almost every time Eric pitched, but I had a different
philosophy on where I wanted my pitcher to hit last year.

When I saw how locked in Eric was at the pre-game breakfast, on the
bus, and in the clubhouse, I knew I had made the correct decision.
Eric needed to have the opportunity to pitch before he came up to hit.
Of course, that only applies if we are the visitors. If we're home he'd
pitch first anyway. Also, it is possible he could hit in the first inning,
but that would be a good thing. It would mean we were having a
pretty damned good inning.

Hunter would normally bat for himself, but I wanted Lars to hit, even
though Hunter was a much better hitter. Every player except for Lars
and Blaine had at least one at bat in Friday's game. Blaine would get
his chance today. The only way I could bat Lars was to have Carl DH
for somebody other than Lars, and that ended up being Hunter. My
designated hitter, who was usually Carl, batted for a lot of different
players during the season. In the postseason, Carl hitting for Lars has
been the norm. Lars hit a weak .205 during the season. He's a great
fielder, has a gun for an arm, has been an excellent reliever, and is a
sweetheart of a kid. He's also a pretty fine basketball player, but all of
that has nothing to do with hitting a baseball.

Some of my coaching peers would probably disagree with my batting
Lars over Hunter, who batted . 260 and had much more power.
However, I had decided that every kid on the roster would at least get
an at-bat so he could tell his children and grandchildren some day
that he had batted at Safeco Field. I would be doing Lars a disservice
by not allowing that to happen. Sure, he got to pitch on Friday, which
is a big deal in itself, but it's not the same thing as stepping up to the
plate with a bat in your hand.

Since half the team is gay, however, I suppose the children and
grandchildren thing might not apply, but you get the idea.

We were on the field in time for our warm-up tosses and for a five
minute infield practice. The schedule for everything is posted on a
bulletin board, including the coin flip, and it is followed precisely. Eric
and Kevin were in uniform and ready to go up the elevator to the
press box with me. Why they don't just flip the coin in the clubhouse
or down on this level of the ballpark is beyond me. I guess they think
we will like the ceremony.

I heard Scott yell out, "Tails never fails," as we left for the elevator.
He's been yelling that since sixth grade. He's even been right half the
time. This time he was not as Eric called tails and the ceremonial coin
came up heads. North Lake Prep would be the home team.

When we got back to the clubhouse, the team was dressed and
ready to take the field for warm-ups. Eric, Kevin, Korey, and Coach
Hart would head for the bullpen with Eric for his pitching warm-ups.
The clubhouse was eerily quiet. On Friday, the atmosphere had
bounced around from quiet on the bus, to noisy in the clubhouse, to
quiet during warm-ups, to noisy during infield. Our game ended up
mirroring that changing atmosphere as our play bounced from brilliant
to sloppy.

To me the quiet meant the team was ready. I hope it meant the same
thing to them. I looked around at this amazing group of boys as we
waited to get called out onto the field.

I thought back to the day at the middle school when the boys told me
they were going to create an organization that would win them two
straight state championships. At the time I laughed about it with my
partner, Phil Miller. They were a bunch of preteens and they didn't
know any better. However, I didn't discourage them. Even though I
saw nothing coming of it, I told them to pursue their dreams.

Oh, how wrong I was. Today, six years later, they were ready to act
on the dream that built their Go to State Team. They were ready to
cash in on their own hard work as they accomplished something an
entire community thought was impossible. But when that community
realized what those boys were achieving, they got behind them one-
hundred percent. There would be a lot of citizens and friends of
Mayfield in the stands. I knew there wouldn't be too many citizens
attending the Mayfield churches this morning.

I thought about how well the boys handled their poor start this year,
as well as some of their crises of the past. They sometimes bent, but
they never folded, and they came through the six years with a quiet
strength. That could be illustrated by how they handled Danny and
his nightmare game in the field on Friday. Only great kids and great
teammates could prop somebody up like they did him.

And finally, I thought about the text I received while we were riding
the bus through downtown Seattle to Safeco Field. It was from the
player who at times was my worst nightmare, yet was also the person
who, along with Marty, best personified last year's team. "kick serius
ass coach. I luv u. connor." It was difficult to not have tears in my
eyes as we exited the bus in the players' parking lot.

<Top of the First: Mayfield Mustangs 0, North Lake Prep Orcas 0>

 [GEOFF STONE]

The Times had two baseball writers covering the Mariners. The paper
said it only wanted one of us to travel to Oakland with the Ms with the
other one covering the high school tournament. While I love the Bay
Area, I have no use for Oakland. Plus, I enjoy watching the high
school kids play, so I volunteered. I left the work on Friday up to one
of our young stringers, although I watched the games and took
copious notes up in the press box. I covered all four of Saturday's
games, and I will do the same for all three of today's games.

Having one of the smaller school classifications in the tournament
was different. That decision is what led to the extra day of games on
Friday. While the overall caliber of play in the two A games was not
up to what the big schools played, it was still good ball, especially the
first game, which Mayfield won 6-4. The kids played with an
enthusiasm that more than made up for a lower skill level.

The class of the four A teams was, without a doubt, the North Lake
Orcas. Being a private school, they were able to subtly recruit some
better ball players for their program. The team was big, experienced,
and talented. Many observers of the high school scene thought they
should be the team defending their state title, not the Mayfield team.
They had one of those games in last year's Regionals where hard hit
balls were caught, and the close plays went against them. A freak
play in the bottom of the seventh cost them three runs and a win, and
St. Michael's went to state instead. It had been a great game
between two very good small school teams. Last year the Orcas had
three big senior stars and started five juniors and a sophomore.

After watching the Orcas carve up their opponent on Friday, I couldn't
help but think that Mayfield would not provide a lot of competition.
The Orcas are more than ready to claim what should have been
theirs last year, and with their experienced, tested team, doing it
against the defending champions would make it even sweeter. But,
I've been covering baseball long enough to know that what one thinks
will happen on the field and what actually happens on the field isn't
always the same thing.

[CHANDLER]

I am only a sophomore, so I knew I wouldn't be playing much. Still, it
was cool to be trusted to be a designated runner on Friday and to get
a chance to bat and play the field, too. If all I do is sit today, I won't be
unhappy at all. Coach said that Toby was going to be running for
Kevin and Blaine would be running for Eric if they get on base.

Since we're the visitors, we bat first. Justin is our leadoff man. The
Orcas have a lot of big guys on their team, and Justin almost looks
like a midget compared to their catcher. Their pitcher is huge, too. His
name is Logan Hammond. Noah says he is 8-0 with a 1.50 ERA. And
I can tell you right now that he throws hard. That's not just hard but H
A R D hard.

Justin got a couple of strikes on him and grounded out to second.
Then Noah came up and struck out on three pitches. Noah doesn't
strike out much, but this guy just blew it by him.

He couldn't blow it by Scott, though. Scott is a really good hitter,
which is why he hits third for us—that's where a team's best hitter is
supposed to go. Noah has arguments against that idea, but Noah is
sometimes way too smart. Just do things the way everybody does
them is how I see it.

Anyway, Scott singled right over the head of the second baseman
and that brought up the real heavy artillery. I am talking about Carl. I
know that kid Brandon hit the ball a long way on Friday, but we all
agreed Carl can hit it just as far. Well, he didn't in this at bat. He didn't
even hit the ball out of the infield. He popped up to the third baseman
instead.

<Bottom of the First: Mayfield 0, North Lake Prep 0>

[ERIC]

Last night, when I said I was ready, I meant it. I saw how big the
Orcas were when we watched them on Friday. I saw how hard they
hit the ball. I didn't care. For once, I believed the Donkey and his
crazy optimism. Those guys weren't facing me on Friday. I was much
better than the pitcher they faced—and today, right now, I believed
that like I had never believed anything before.

As I stood on top of the same mound Felix Hernandez pitches from, I
knew I could not be any readier. Not long ago standing here would
have freaked me out. But I was not freaked out today, because today
it was all about me and Kevin and Kevin's glove. I was as good as
any batter I was going to face today, even those bruisers in the 3-4-5
spots in their batting order. This was so much different than last year
in Pasco.

Jin led off for them. He'd come a long way since he was a bench
warmer at Mayfield. That kid had a hard time putting out the effort
that was needed to play on a middle school team, let alone on one of
the best teams in the league. But, there he was, ready to face me.
We silently acknowledged each other, I got my signal from Kevin, and
he took a fastball for a called strike. And then he took a fastball for
another called strike. Kevin had me waste a fastball outside to
change his field of vision a little bit. I was pretty certain what pitch he
was going to call for next and he didn't disappoint me. He is one hell
of a smart catcher.

[KEVIN]

I could tell in the bullpen that Eric's stuff was filthy. Just totally filthy.
After he got warm, he put his fastball wherever he wanted to, even
though it was darting and sinking. Talk about a moving fastball, he
had it. His breaking stuff was sharp and crisp. But the filthiest pitch he
showed me was his changeup.

Scott liked to think he had a changeup, but he never worked at it. Eric
worked at his. Coach Hart used to pitch, and he knew his shit when it
came to pitching. He'd been working with Eric from the time he came
to Mayfield. Eric also went to baseball clinics where he learned a lot
about the change. In middle school, he heard two different Major
League pitching coaches say on television and radio that the
secondary pitch all young pitchers should work on is their changeup.
He took that seriously and that excellent changeup made his fastball
look faster than it was. Today in warm-ups he had it really working for
him. It fooled me, and I knew it was coming.

So, with a 1-2 count on Jin, I called for the changeup. He threw it
perfectly and it froze Jin as he stood and watched it float by for called
strike three.

We had a 1-2 count on the next batter. This time I called fastball. I
don't know what the hitter was looking for, but Eric let go of a fastball
that started out a little bit inside, then darted right over the inside
corner. Called strike three again. I could hear their coach yell out,
"Those kids don't take third strikes, ump. You might want to get your
head in the game before it's too late."

I think that was a mistake. The umpire started toward third and asked
the coach to come down to meet him. The coach didn't move and the
ump said he would avoid a warning by taking the walk. They finally
met and the ump, who had the look of somebody who'd been around
for awhile, had his words. The coach didn't say much—in fact he
didn't say much to the ump for the rest of the game. I don't know what
that ump said, but it worked.

That brought up their big dude, Brandon. He went yard twice on
Friday, and they weren't cheap home runs. Well, nothing is cheap in
this park. Coach and I talked about how to pitch him. We both would
have loved to pitch around him and give him nothing to hit, but the
next hitter, Logan, can rake it, too. We decided that since Brandon is
a lefty, we'd be more careful with him and take our chances with
Logan, who is a righty.

Eric looked good on the first pitch, floating a changeup by him for a
strike. I think Brandon was looking for a fastball on that first pitch. We
threw him another change up. He swung a little early and fouled it off.
The count was 0-2 now and I called for another changeup. No way
was the dude gonna be looking for a third one. He was gonna be
thinking fastball first. Eric shook me off and I signaled change again.
He shook me off again, so I flashed the fastball sign even though I
disagreed with it. Big mistake.

Eric's fastball had a lot of movement to it, and it managed to move
right out over the plate. Brandon had been sitting dead red and the
ping of the ball off the bat told me Brandon had hit it hard. It was a
line shot no more than five feet off the ground, heading for the right
center field gap. I mean it was a rocket off of the bat. At least it
wouldn't be anything worse than a two-out bases empty double.

[ERIC]

As soon as I let that pitch go I knew that I should have obeyed Kevin.
But at least once a game I have to try to out think my catcher, and at
least once a game I am wrong. He gave me a target on the outside
part of the plate at the knees, but the ball started tailing in and I could
see it was going to go right down the heart of the plate, not a good
place to throw a two-strike pitch.  I had thrown Brandon his pitch and I
could only hope he missed it. He didn't and he hit it hard; the only
good thing was he didn't hit it in the air.

I hate it when Kevin is right, especially since he is almost always
right.

[NOAH]

With a big lefty pull hitter up, I was shaded a bit to my left. I saw
Kevin call for a third changeup with two strikes on Brandon. I was
surprised when Eric shook it off, not surprised when Kevin called it
again, surprised when Eric shook it off again, and even more
surprised when Kevin put down fastball instead of walking out to the
mound and chewing Eric's ass.

The pitch was fat and the ball flew off of the bat. It was almost on top
of me before I could move. I made a desperate dive for the line drive,
felt something hit my glove, and landed hard on the infield. When I
looked in my glove I saw the ball lodged in it. I held it up for the ump,
who called Brandon out, ending the inning. I could hear our fans
going crazy, which gave me a warm feeling to know they were
cheering my play.

[KEVIN]

Eric and I walked off the field together. "You got lucky. You should
have taken up my offer on Friday and paid my price to fuck me."

"I fucked you, anyway."

"Yeah, and you almost fucked yourself on the pitch. You throw the
best changeup around. No way was he thinking a third changeup."

"I'll pay the price of that fuck for the rest of the game. I won't shake
you off again."

"Good thinking."

I patted him on the rear as we walked down the steps into the dugout.
I watched as he and Noah exchanged high fives.

"Great catch, kid," Eric said.

"You know I saved your ass. Listen to your catcher from now on.
Fastball down the middle with two strikes...it's a good thing you have
a great team behind you. But I love you, anyway."

Eric patted Noah's ass, then put his jacket on and sat at the far right
of the dugout. I was happy we didn't have to deal with a runner in
scoring position and their cleanup hitter coming up, two outs or not.

<Top of the Second: Mayfield 0, North Lake Prep 0>

Kevin led off the second with a foul ball on the first base side that the
first baseman hauled in. Eric then singled on a 1-0 breaking ball.
Blaine came in to run for Eric, who sat back down in his corner of the
dugout.

That brought up Danny, who struck out on a 1-2 fastball. Kraig
followed with a strikeout of his own as Logan threw some major heat
in that inning.

<Bottom of the Second: Mayfield 0, North Lake Prep 0>

Like Friday's game, this game was being recorded with most of the
cameras being manned by apprentices. It was also being broadcast
on the radio. While Friday's game had an intern from the UW School
of Communication as the announcer, this time one of the hosts of a
local sports talk radio station was doing the honors. He was working
with the same color commentator as Friday. The broadcast would be
the narration for the DVD.

The first batter Eric faced in the second was the Orca cleanup hitter
and pitcher, Logan Hammond. He was looking fast ball on the first
pitch and got it, ripping a hard shot up the third base line. It got to
Danny on one hop. Everybody held their breath after what had
happened on Friday, but Danny fielded it cleanly and easily threw out
Hammond at first. It looked like there were no after effects from the
Friday debacle on the field.

The next hitter was Mark, the right fielder. His at bat was a classic
look at how Eric and Kevin normally worked together. Change for a
strike, fastball outside for a ball, fastball on the inside corner for a
strike, fastball inside for a ball, and finally a breaking ball starting
inside that had Mark falling back almost on his ass, then watching
helplessly as the ball broke over the inside of the plate for strike
three.

"Filthy," Kevin said to himself, "that pitch was just totally filthy."

Peter, the designated hitter, was not the most patient of hitters, and
ended up bouncing the second pitch of his at bat to Justin, who easily
threw him out. It was an easy 1-2-3 inning for Eric.

[STEVE TURNER]

My day job is as the number two man on a late morning sports talk
show. I also call high school football and basketball on the radio. I
love announcing high school sports. The unbridled enthusiasm of the
players makes calling their games a sheer joy. I have called State
Tournament play in baseball, but never at the Class-A level. I have to
say that while the overall level of talent is not that of the big schools,
the level of play looks just as good. The Mayfield Mustangs and North
Lake Orcas were two good looking teams. I said as much to my color
partner, Darryl Howell, after the first two innings.

"They both look good," Howell said on the air, "but North Lake is
clearly the better team, from their hitting to their fielding. Logan
Hammond has dominated the Mustangs."

"After two innings," I said, "they each have three strikeouts. In fact,
Hammond had given up two hits to none for Eric Simmons."

"Thats shows how scoreboards can lie. Simmons is actually getting
hit harder, the Orcas just have nothing to show for it, yet. Simmons is
relying on a mix of pitches and a great deal of guile, but even that has
led to some hard hit outs. Hammond is simply blowing the ball past
the Mustangs. Those facts will soon sort themselves out and North
Lake will pull away."

We broke away for commercial. I told Darryl that I didn't see the
game quite the same way. "That Simmons kid looks like a smart
pitcher. And from what I read in the press notes, he and the catcher
are long time friends and have been batterymates since sixth grade.
That, and the fact they've won a state title, should count for
something."

"At this level, talent counts for everything ninety percent of the time,"
Darryl said confidently, even though his logic was a bit warped.

<Top of the Third: Mayfield 0, North Lake Prep 0>

Lars led off the inning and quickly became Logan's third straight
strikeout, as he went down on three pitches.  Justin, who had
grounded to second his first time up, singled to center on a 2-1 pitch.
That brought Noah to the plate.

Noah had looked bad striking out in his first at bat. He was not about
to look bad again. He took ball one and was pleased to see Coach
Sanders flash the hit-and-run sign. Justin took off on the pitch, which
was a fastball. Noah swung and placed his hit perfectly to right field,
the ball going right through the spot vacated by the second baseman
as he moved to cover second. Justin continued right past second and
ended up on third base. Noah was on first with a single. The
Mustangs had their first threat going.

However, with runners on first and third and one out, the Mustangs
couldn't cash in. Scott struck out swinging and Carl hit a soft line
drive to the shortstop to end the inning.

<Bottom of the Third: Mayfield 0, North Lake Prep 0>

Matthew, the Orca catcher, led off the third. He was another big kid
on a team of big kids. But the Mustangs had their big kids as well.
Kevin was almost the same size as Mark. Scott was a solid 6'2, 205
and Carl was 6'3, 230. Danny was 6'0, but at 190 did not have the
bulk of his teammates. While Kraig was the same height as his twin
brother, he weighed almost 15 pounds less. He was more concerned
with agility and durability than he was with strength, as Kevin was. At
6'4, Lars was the tallest player on the team, but he was still a string
bean of a teen.

Not everybody sitting behind the Mustang dugout on the third base
side was a diehard Mustang rooter. Coach Collins was sitting in a
back row of the bowl section with Paul Richardson and some other
Mayfield "fans" who hung out at the Roadside Inn. The Kentburg and
Harborview coaches were sitting with them. They'd both known
Coach Collins for a long time. While the former Mayfield coach still
lived in Mayfield, he had taken a new job at Meadow Park High
School, where he coached JV football and was the head coach of the
girls' softball team.

"I would have started Scott at pitcher in this game," Coach Collins
said. "Let the little guy pitch the Friday game."

"The little guy seems to be doing okay," Paul Richardson said.

"I dunno, Eric was tougher on us than Scott," the Harborview coach
said.

"They both had our number," the Kentburg coach told them.

"It takes a power pitcher to beat a power team. Eric is going to be
worn down by the fifth inning," Coach Collins said.  "Hell, he's lucky to
be here. That god damned coach is the luckiest bastard in the state.
How does anyone as stupid as he is take a team to the state finals
two years in a row?"

"It's called lots of hard work and first rate coaching," the Harborview
coach said. He stood up and the Kentburg coach rose with him. "You
guys enjoy the game, we're going down to get a closer look of the
action."

"Bastards," Paul Richardson said to nobody in particular as the two
coaches left.

[ERIC]

I had really gotten into a rhythm. After our problem in the first inning,
Kevin and I were totally on the same page. He called the pitches, and
I threw them. That formula had worked for us for a long time.

Matthew, their catcher, wanted to get things started in a hurry and
swung at the first pitch, which was a breaking ball in the dirt. He got
some of it anyway and bounced the ball right to me. I picked it up and
threw him out easily.

Roman, their left fielder, was a really good looking Hispanic kid. He
wasn't real big, but he looked like he was fast. I didn't have time to
think about how good looking he was, and my focus was quickly on
Kevin's glove. He worked the count to 2-2, fouled off a pitch, then
popped up to Justin.

That brought up Everett, their third baseman. I got two quick strikes
on him. We came in with a low fastball, for ball one, then elevated the
next pitch toward the top of the strike zone. The fastball ended up
being almost at his eyes, but it didn't matter. He went for it and
missed.

I'd gotten through the lineup without allowing a baserunner, but I
knew the second time around was going to be a lot tougher.

<Top of the Fourth: Mayfield 0, North Lake Prep 0>

[COACH SANDERS]

We've been getting men on base, but haven't reaped the benefits yet.
We have made Logan work a little harder than Eric has had to work
so far, but he's a big kid. I don't see a few stray runners on base
wearing him down. I doubt it would wear Eric down either. The real
benefit, of course, would be a run or two.

Kevin got us off to a good start by drawing the first walk to be issued
in the game. I had told Toby he would be Kevin's designated runner
and he was replacing Kevin as soon as the umpires called time.

I'm not a big fan of the sacrifice bunt, especially at the high school
level, where anything can and will happen. However, it does have its
place and I felt this was a good time to give the bunt sign. Eric was
the batter and was our second best bunter after Noah. Toby was
quick and an excellent baserunner. Scott, Carl, and Kevin were our
power hitters, and we'd gone past their spots in the lineup for now.
Even more importantly we had gotten almost half-way through the
game without anyone scoring. It looked like the time to try to
manufacture a run, because it looked like runs were going to be
scarce.

Eric laid down a beauty of a bunt up the first base line. The first
baseman fielded the ball and tried to tag out Eric going by. He was a
bit too late and too far away, but he had time to throw to the second
baseman who was covering first. Eric's bunt had been well executed
as was the bunt defense for the Orcas. The end result was we had
Toby on second with one out.

Danny was our next hitter. He had some pretty good pop, but was not
consistent at the plate, mostly because he sometimes lacked
patience. This was not one of his impatient at-bats. He managed to
work a 3-1 count and got a fastball to hit. He slapped past the
shortstop for a single, but hit it too hard for me to even think about
sending Toby home. We had runners on first and third with one out,
threatening once again.

The Orca coach decided to play his infield in to keep the run from
scoring, a strategy that paid off when Kraig grounded to third. I'd
already instructed Toby not to go on contact and he wisely held up.
The third baseman looked him back to the bag and then threw Kraig
out at first. Danny advanced to second, giving us two runners in
scoring position, but with two outs.

That brought Lars to the plate. I had been thinking all inning whether
or not I would pinch hit for him if he came to the plate in a key
situation. If I did, I could re-enter him on defense in the bottom of the
inning. I decided to let him hit, however. My first reason was that
while he was a poor hitter, he was not an incompetent hitter. He could
make things happen. My second reason was that if I did pinch hit for
him his spot in the order would most likely come up again in the sixth
or seventh inning. If I pinch hit for him a second time, I could not re-
enter him a second time and would lose his glove in center, or, more
importantly, I would not be able to pitch him in the bottom of the
seventh if I needed him then. With those two things in mind, I let him
hit.

While Logan is a power pitcher and can blow a fastball by anybody
on my roster and has a decent breaking ball, he has two flaws I think
we've been exploiting. He doesn't have great command and has
been pitching behind in the count to a lot of batters. He also hasn't
shown a decent changeup.

Logan got ahead in the count on Lars at 1-2. He decided to bury a
curve and get Lars to swing at a pitch in the dirt. Lars got impatient
and swung and missed. The ball skipped past the catcher and Lars
took off for first. Logan alertly covered home as Matthew, the catcher,
ran the ball down. It is a lot longer distance from home to the
backstop on a pro field than it is on a high school field, or any other
field we play on for that matter. Toby scurried home, sliding past
Logan as he received the toss from Mark a little too late.

Danny advanced to third while Lars was on first and we had a 1-0
lead with Justin, our leadoff hitter, coming to the plate. Justin was 1-
for-2 with a single in the third. He didn't come through this time,
although he hit the ball hard on the ground. The second baseman
made a nice pickup and got the out by a couple of steps.

It was not as good an inning as we could have had. We left two
runners stranded in scoring position, but we did get a run on the wild
pitch. It was nice to go into the bottom of the inning with a lead.

<Bottom of the Fourth: Mayfield 1, North Lake Prep 0>

Eric had been right around the plate the first three innings, throwing
strikes and getting ahead in the count. The fourth inning started out
like he had left off. Two quick strikes to Jin leading off the inning had
Jin swinging awkwardly at an Eric changeup. He grounded right back
to Eric at the mound and was an easy out at first.

Gil, the Orca's number two hitter, swung early in the count, not
wanting to fall behind. The result was him turning over an outside
fastball and hitting an easy ground ball to Justin at short. He was out
by five steps at first; another play that wasn't close.

That brought Brandon Canton to the plate. The big left-handed batter
looked menacing. Eric knew it had taken a superb play to get the
stocky first baseman out in the first inning.

[ERIC]

Coach said to keep the ball away from Brandon and to change
speeds on him. That was one reason I shook off Kevin on the third
straight changeup. I guess he considered a changeup was changing
speeds since Brandon was probably looking fastball.

We started him off with a slider, which I missed low and inside. I
threw him a fastball, high, which got Kevin to call time and walk out to
the mound to talk to me.

"The guy's a scary dude," Kevin said.

"I'm not afraid of him."

"I know you're not, but that doesn't keep him from being a scary
dude."

"What do you want to do?" I asked.

"He's not expecting a changeup on a 2-0 count. He's sitting fastball.
So let's do what we should have done in the first, give him one of
your kickass changes."

The strategy worked. The change got him by surprise. He stood and
let it go by. Of course, that was a piece of good hitting. When ahead
in the count, go only after the pitch you've been waiting for. Anything
else you can let go by.

He let the next pitch go by, a fastball inside. I was now down 3-1. I
half hoped that Kevin would give me the sign to waste the pitch, give
him first on the walk, and take our chances with Logan. Kevin asked
for time again. I could tell that the ump wasn't happy about us having
a second conference with two outs and nobody on, but then he
wasn't the one who was playing the game. He didn't know what we
were dealing with here.

"He's still a scary dude," I said.

"Even scarier with a 3-1 count in his favor," Kevin said.

"Shall we put him on?"

"No freebies for these assholes. They think they can score whenever
they like, so why hand them a baserunner?" Noah had told us last
night that the Orcas were the top scoring Class A team in the state,
averaging seven runs a game. "Here's a compromise—slider, outside
corner. I trust your slider and he will totally not be expecting it." The
umpire came out towards the mound and yelled for us to play ball.
Kevin hustled back to his position.

He called that one perfectly as once again Brandon let a strike go by,
making the count full. Brandon not only was my first full count of the
game, he was the first batter I'd thrown three balls to.

Kevin decided that since we'd been giving Brandon a steady diet of
junk, it was time for the heater. He signaled fastball. Well, I thought
as he swung and sent the ball high and deep to right field, at least he
can't blame this fastball getting clobbered completely on me.

[KEVIN]

All I could say was, "Fuck," under my breath as Brandon hit Eric's
fastball a mile. I guess we should learn and not throw him another
fastball if we see him again. Well, at least his home run wouldn't give
them the lead—all it could do was tie the score.

Then my brother came into my field of vision. He had run straight
back to the right field fence, then turned and faced the field. It was
then I realized that while the ball had been hit a mile, it had also been
hit a mile high. What goes up must come down and it was beginning
to look like Kraig might have a bead on it. I could see it was going to
be close; that ball was either going to just clear the fence, or it was
going to hit it on the way down, or it was going to fall into Kraig's
glove.

It ended up being a little of all three. It was not going to land in Kraig's
glove. I could now see that it was going to hit the wall just above him.
But then, my brother, the soccer and basketball player, who had
strong legs and good spring, jumped into the air, his back to the
fence. Instead of hitting the fence, the ball lodged in the webbing of
Kraig's glove. For the second time, we'd robbed their big honcho of a
hit, in this case one that would have gone for extra bases for sure.
The inning was over and we were heading into the fifth still holding a
1-0 lead.

<Top of the Fifth: Mayfield 1, North Lake Prep 0>

[KRAIG]

That was the best catch I ever made in my life. I've made some
running catches, catches over my shoulder, and diving catches. But
standing there at the right field fence at Safeco Field, with my back
touching the padding on the wall, and looking up into the blue
morning sky, not sure exactly where the ball was going to come
down, was, without a doubt, a frightening experience.

I finally could see that it wasn't going to land in my glove; if I was
going to catch it, I'd have to jump for it or else it would hit the fence
and go who knows where. I knew I would have to time my leap
perfectly, which I did. I could hear our fans screaming as I ran off the
field with the ball in my glove. I could feel Lars slap my ass. Eric was
the first one at the dugout steps to high five me. Kevin was right after
him. The crowd was yelling like crazy. It sounded like the whole town
of Mayfield was in the stands behind the dugout. It was a great
feeling.

[STEVE TURNER]

"Eric Simmons has put down the first twelve batters he's faced," I said
into the microphone as we came back from break. "He has certainly
looked sharper than the more highly touted Logan Hammond."

"Eric has had a good season," Darryl Howell, my color commentator
said. "A 5-1 record, 1.87 ERA, and two shutouts—those are numbers
that can't be overlooked. But, I still think he will wear down soon."

"The little guy has certainly flummoxed the Orca hitters. The score
might only be 1-0, but the first four innings of the game have certainly
been interesting."

[BOB JACKSON, OWNER OF BOB'S BURGER BARN]

I was sitting close to field level with Seth McCall, George Bednarzyck,
Gary Miller, Alan Hawkins, Dennis Simmons, Avery Benson, Neil
Anderson, and other parents and supporters of Mayfield baseball.
They are all good people and have been instrumental in bringing
baseball back to the forefront in Mayfield. That is not to take anything
away from the remarkable group of boys who formed their Go to
State organization back when they were in middle school. What they
accomplished was remarkable. One of the many things they have to
be credited for is picking the right adults to help their fledgling
organization. These men went all out to help ensure the kids'
success.

Midway through the fourth inning, I decided to be polite and pay my
respects to another group of Mayfield men. They were sitting far up in
the stands. I couldn't tell if they were enjoying themselves. My guess
was they had conflicting emotions. Rather than support the
enterprising group of adolescents in their midst, some of them
actually tried to sabotage their efforts. They were not a group I
particularly liked, but as a businessman in a small town I can't afford
to alienate customers. My burger establishment depended on a
steady flow of them.

I walked up to their section and chatted with them for a bit. Most of
what they had to say was negative. I made up my mind to only spend
a half-inning talking with them.

When I arrived at their seats they were complaining about the
Mustangs scoring their lone run off of a wild pitch. "That's about the
only way those wienie bats are going to score any runs," Abner
Hotchkins said. Abner was a farmer, whose big claim to fame was
having an annual alumni kegger out at his farm that used to attract
the school kids as well—at least until the current coaching staff
cleaned things up. That was one of many resentments this group had
against the Mustang baseball program.

At the end of the inning, with Eric throwing another 1-2-3 inning, the
former head coach of the Mustang baseball program, Coach Collins,
had his say. "I can't believe the little fucker hasn't allowed a
baserunner."

"He's pitched well," I offered.

"Fuck he has. He's inches from being down 2 or 3 runs. Hell, the little
fucker cost me my coaching job, or I'd be the one down there
coaching, instead of the asshole in the dugout. We'd have more than
one run right now, I'll tell you that. And I sure wouldn't have that no-
talent loser out there as my starting pitcher in a state championship
game." Eric and his group had come across some financial
improprieties that got Coach Collins fired from his job as head coach.
I was one of the businessmen affected by his shenanigans, so he
wasn't at the top of my Christmas card list.

I'd decided I'd heard enough. As I got up to leave, I looked at Coach
Collins and said, "That little fucker on the mound is the reason that
team is playing in this championship game. You, sir, couldn't hold his
jock." I walked away. Sometimes you have to put what is right ahead
of business.

Early on I had been upset that Eric and his group had eventually cost
Coach Collins his job. Looking at it now, that was the best thing that
could have happened to Mayfield baseball. What a bunch of losers
the old coach and his group were.

[COACH SANDERS]

I would put Kraig's catch as one of the amazing plays of the season.
His play was one any professional outfielder would have been proud
to have made, which means it was one hell of a fine play.

Noah was slated to lead off the inning. I told him I was going to have
Blaine hit for him and play an inning in the field.  I told Noah I would
reenter him on defense at the bottom of the sixth inning.

"I understand, coach. It's a good spot to give Blaine a tournament at-
bat," Noah said. Damn, I love that kid. I love all of the kids on this
incredible team, but Noah is one of those I just have to love a bit
more. Not all players are created equal.

Blaine was the last of the players to get into a game as a hitter. As I
said earlier, I was giving every boy a chance to bat. It was getting to
the point in the game where I could go with Chandler or Lars on the
mound if Eric started to falter and I didn't want to hold Blaine out on
the off chance he could pitch and then end up not being able to play
him at all.

The move paid off when Blaine, who was a good hitter, lined a 2-1
pitch into center for a single. I debated having Scott bunt him over to
second, but decided that was a waste of a powerful bat, and let him
hit away. He ended up hitting a routine fly to left for the first out.

That brought up Carl. If anybody on our team was capable of going
deep in this ballpark, he was the one. He got his opportunity as
Logan Hammond continued to have problems with his command.
Carl had been a very impatient hitter to start the season. But he took
instruction well, started laying off bad pitches, and became quite a
force for us the last part of the season.

He worked the count to 3-1 and got the fastball he'd been waiting for,
right down the middle of the plate. I could hear the ooohs from the
crowd and could see the excitement from the players at the dugout
railing as he got hold of the pitch. The noise only got louder as he
deposited it in the visitors' bullpen in left field. Just like that we had a
3-0 lead and some breathing room.

[CARL]

All of us in the dugout could see that Logan could bring it. He threw
serious heat. But we could also see that he couldn't always put the
ball where he wanted to. I got real patient, something I wasn't at the
start of the year. Next thing I knew the count was 3-1 and I was sitting
on a big fat fastball. When the fucker came in, I got all of it, and I
mean ALL of it. I knew that sucker was gone, even in this giant
ballpark. I mean, I just knew. I started running hard, just in case I was
wrong and it went off the fence or something. This place does have a
reputation for taking away sure home runs, even with the fences
moved in. But once I saw it clear the fence, I slowed a little bit. I didn't
want to fall over my feet running out a home run.

Coach Sanders slapped my hand as I rounded third. This was the
absolute happiest moment of my life.

[COACH MILLER]

I was proud of Carl as I greeted him coming into the dugout. Hell, I
was proud of this whole team. The entire Seattle media had already
placed the championship trophy in the North Lake trophy case before
the game started. They all seemed to forget that we were the
defending champions. Last year we played the defending champions
in the title game and got no respect. This year we are the defending
champions and we still aren't getting any respect.

Kevin hammered a double in our next at bat and the Orca coach
came out for a visit. He kept his pitcher in and left the mound. Logan
was their ace. It's hard to take your ace out of the game for a lesser
pitcher when battling for the state championship. I'm sure Larry
wouldn't hesitate to pull Eric if he got into late inning trouble. I just
hope it doesn't come to that.

Toby ran for Kevin and Eric came to the plate. He managed to hit a
grounder to the left of third for a single, moving Toby to third. Runners
on first and third with one out. We'd had our problems with scoring
runners in the first innings, but it looked like our bats were coming to
life. Since Blaine had played, he could no longer be a designated
runner. Instead, Chandler went out to run for Eric.  Eric went back to
his corner, put his jacket on, and sat quietly.

Danny was up next. He hit the ball through the drawn in infield to
score Toby and it was now 4-0. The ball wasn't hard hit, but it did the
job.

Logan finally got some things to work against Kraig, who reached for
a 1-2 pitch and hit the ball to Jin the shortstop, who started a 6-4-3
double play to end the inning.

<Bottom of the Fifth: Mayfield 4, North Lake Prep 0>

[KEVIN]

Logan Hammond is as good a hitter as Brandon. But with a four run
lead and nobody on base, he didn't look quite as frightening. Eric got
strike one on him, which had been his pattern the whole game. I've
never seen him with this combination of confidence, filthy, nasty stuff,
and great pitch location. Eric had him missing the next pitch for strike
two. I could almost see the wind go out of Logan's sails. It was like
his body language was saying, "Who the fuck is that little asshole? I
don't stand a chance against him." That was pretty close to the truth
as a changeup floated past him right at the knees for called strike
three.

I have to say something about the plate umpire, with no offense
meant to my friend Mark. Rob Perkins, the dude behind the plate,
was the best plate umpire I've ever had behind me. He'd missed only
one pitch that I could tell, and it was damned close. He didn't crowd
me, he communicated with me, and, except that moment he got a bit
peeved about me calling two time-outs on the same batter, he treated
me with friendly respect.

Mark, the number five hitter, and another big bruiser, decided not to
wait to get into the hole in the count. He hit a two-hopper to Danny at
second base on the first pitch. Coach had moved Danny to second so
Blaine could play in the field for an inning. Blaine was a decent third
baseman, but rarely worked out at second. Danny didn't play much at
second, but he did work out there during practice. Danny charged the
ball, fielded it cleanly, and then threw it wide of first. Luckily, he threw
it to the home plate side. Scott, who is a great first baseman, came
off the bag, caught the ball, and tagged Mark going by him. That was
out number two. I could see Danny was really relieved that Scott
saved him from an error on that play.

We'd heard that Peter, the next batter was a bit impatient at the plate.
We saw that in his first at bat. I had Eric throw him a fastball a little
up, which he swung through. Then came a change at the knees,
which froze him for a called strike. Next came a fastball a little up and
a little in, which Peter watched go by for ball one. We followed that up
with a pitch across the middle of the plate, but shoulder high. He
swung hard, but never had a chance. Strike three—inning over.

I am no dummy out there on the field. I am a good catcher, a smart
catcher. I've been catching full-time since I was in the fourth grade.
From my first game behind the plate I knew it was the only thing I
wanted to do out on the field. Yeah, I played some first and did a little
bit of pitching, but catching is my love.

I knew exactly what was happening on the field. I didn't need the
scoreboard to tell me. After five innings, Eric had yet to give up a hit.
Hell, he had yet to allow a baserunner. I've said a lot of times that I
wanted to catch one no-hitter before I graduated. Here we were in the
State A championship game, which was going to be the last game of
my high school career, and my best friend, outside of Lars and Kraig,
was just two innings away from pitching that no-hitter.

Years ago he came close and I jinxed him by talking about it. This
time, there would be no jinx, not by me, not by anybody. When I got
into the dugout, I could tell that everybody knew that. Eric was in his
seat on the far end of the dugout, wearing his jacket, and staring out
into space. Baseball tradition said that nobody should talk to him, and
nobody did. I wondered what was running through his mind.

[EVAN SAMUELS]

I knew exactly what I needed to do when the fifth inning ended. I was
in the TV production center, working as the producer. I had all of the
cameras manned; I had the radio broadcast serving as my TV
broadcast. The game was being recorded, but not being broadcast
and I had everything in place for what I wanted to do. I got on the
phone to my boss at the station, ready to make my case in less than
a minute.

"Kid's got a perfect game through five," I told him. "You gotta cut into
your soccer game with this game."

"No can do."

"What? You've got the soccer team from Shittystan in a nil-nil tie with
Lower Buttfuck, and you can't break in with history going on? A no-
hitter has never been pitched in a State Championship game, let
alone a fucking perfect game. This is history, Joe. Have some balls
and cut in. I'll let the broadcast crew know they're live; they can let
the radio audience know the game is being televised. It will be
seamless."

There was a long pause at the other end. Finally, he said, "I'll cut in
until the kid gives up a hit. And it's England playing Spain, as if it
matters."

"Joe, you're a mensch. I owe you."

Oh, yeah, this was going to be great. The kid was going to do it, I
could feel it. And even if he didn't, he was going to be a hell of a lot
more exciting than some foreign soccer players. A hell of a lot cuter,
too.

[MIKE THE DONKEY]

We alumni were sitting behind third base. There was me, the Dawg,
Connor, Vince, Tyler, Crawford (yeah, you heard that right,
Crawford), Marty, Rich, Zach, Cody, and Bryce.

Ben, Royce, and Lance, our Kentburg buddies were sitting with us,
too. Ben observed that maybe it was worth it not to party during the
season if this was where you ended up. Lance asked Ben if that was
better than ending up in bed with him, which caused Ben to flip him
off. It was a lot of fun to watch the hot and sexy Kentburg boys
rooting for Mayfield. That sure as fuck didn't happen in my day.

Shelby, Adam, Liam, and Mason were also sitting with us. I had
gotten to know them this weekend, and they were very cool guys. We
were a very noisy and enthusiastic group.

And when you got down to it, Rodney and Jerome were here, too,
since we were texting those two like crazy.

Of course Rodney had to tell us he had some stacked broad in his
bed with him. "u mean some fish trumps the mustangs winning state
& what Eric is doing?" I texted him back.

"i just told her to go shower or something. I waz busy." I was glad to
know Rodney had his priorities straight.

Marty was sitting behind me. He leaned over and whispered, "We've
both fucked Eric's ass. I wonder if that has any meaning."

"It has meaning. It would show the power that sperm of a Donkey and
a Marty has when it's absorbed together into the body. It might take
years for it to bear fruit, but the results can be awe-inspiring."

"This is amazing." Marty said. "Just fucking amazing."

<Top of the sixth: Mayfield 4, North Lake Prep 0>

[STEVE TURNER]

"We'd like to welcome our state-wide audience to the sixth inning of
the Class-A baseball championship game at Safeco Field. We
apologize to those of you who were enjoying the soccer game, but it
has been decided to televise what could be a piece of state baseball
history. Sit back and enjoy the performance of a remarkable
seventeen-year-old senior as he looks to do something nobody has
done before in a state tournament game."

I was glad I had a half inning to talk before Eric pitched again. It gave
Darryl and me a chance to set the stage for the bottom of the inning.
It also gave me a chance to give some background on the team and
on Eric Simmons. One of the interns had been doing some research
on the Mayfield baseball program. Apparently, putting down fifteen
consecutive hitters is not Eric's only major accomplishment. The
young man, in fact, his entire team, appears to be a human interest
story nobody had bothered to dig up. Everybody would know about
his Go to State Team by the time we got to the bottom of the inning.

[COACH SANDERS]

It occurred to me to pinch hit for Lars so he could go to the bullpen to
get his arm warm in case Eric faltered. Then sanity settled back in to
my mind—having a pitcher warming up when the starter has a perfect
game going when his team has a four run lead is not the kind of
message that needed to be sent to anybody. I did decide to pinch hit
for Lars, but only because I wanted a better bat coming to the plate.
I'd reenter Lars on defense in the bottom of the inning, along with
Noah.

I had Chandler hit for Lars. He had a good at-bat and hit the ball hard,
but it was right at the second baseman for our first out. Justin
followed with a walk. I could have batted Blaine again, but Noah was
a senior. I wanted him to have this at bat, which could be his last as a
high school player. He'd earned the right to come up to the plate,
knowing it could be his last at bat. They don't come any classier than
Noah McCall.

[NOAH]

I thought for sure Blaine would hit again, then I'd go into the field at
the bottom of the inning. I was really happy when Coach had me go
on deck while Justin batted. I took a strike to let Justin attempt to
steal second, which he did successfully. I then grounded to second,
moving Justin to third. I would have loved to finish off with a base hit.
At least my out was a "productive" out, which is a bunch of kaka, but
at least it sounds good.

Unless we blew it in the last two innings, that was probably my last
high school at-bat. I guess I could call it a Pyrrhic victory. No matter, I
was more into what my lover was doing on the mound than what my
last at-bat was about.

Scott followed me. We had a runner on third with two outs and our
best hitter up. But even best hitters make outs, and that's what Scott
did, although it took a long running catch by their center fielder to
earn that out. It was a really nice play. It also put Eric back on the
stage.

<Bottom of the Sixth: Mayfield 4, North Lake Prep 0>

[KEVIN]

Eric was really locked in. I could see it in how he sat in the dugout, I
could see it in how he warmed up. He was like the total opposite of
the Eric who started our first game in state last year and almost
suffered a nervous breakdown on the mound. Sure, he recovered
from that, but his first few innings were not pretty to watch. This Eric
has been beautiful to watch from the first batter on. And when he
suffered a little twitch, our defense took over and made it all look
routine.

Matthew, their catcher, led off the inning. I could hear the crowd
getting into things. It was the most noise I've ever heard playing a
game, but I didn't let it bother me. I had only one thing to think about,
and that was what I wanted Eric to throw. I spent the top of the inning
giving it a lot of thought. The Orcas had the bottom of their order
coming up. I felt if we pitched those three batters really good, we
could get all three of them.

I gave Coach Sanders a couple of my ideas. He told me I was doing
great behind the plate and to just do what I was doing. Whatever I
asked Eric to do, he was going to do.  Coach Sanders and I were
both confident about that.

Well, nobody does everything perfectly, and Eric got a bit too much of
the plate on a 1-1 pitch to Matthew. Matthew knocked a hard
grounder to the left of Danny, who was back playing third. He dove
for the ball, came up with it, and hopped to his feet to make the throw.

Danny had been having problems with throws all weekend. While
Mark wasn't a speedster (he was a catcher after all), he was no slug
either. Danny's throw was going to have to be quick and accurate, but
he couldn't rush it.

He took an extra second, got set, and threw it to Scott right on the
money. Out number one, five outs to go for the championship.

Roman almost didn't have a chance. We set him up for a 2-2
changeup, Eric threw it perfectly, he took it, called strike three. Two
outs, four to go.

Some kid named Soren pinch hit for Everett. I didn't know anything
about him, but I didn't need to. I just needed to know what it was Eric
could do today. Throwing filthy stuff for strikes was what he could do,
and he was making a lot of batters look stupid. Soren was one of
them as Eric had him swinging way late on a 1-2 fastball. Strike three,
out three, three outs to go.

<Top of the seventh: Mayfield 4, North Lake Prep 0>

[STEVE TURNER]

"Don't go away, folks. There's more going on here than the Mayfield
Mustangs being on the verge of winning their second straight State
Championship. There is also the six year dream of the diminutive
pitcher for the Mustangs, one he is on the cusp of fulfilling in a historic
manner."

[GEOFF STONE, SEATTLE TIMES BASEBALL REPORTER]

I would not have traded the Mariner trip to Oakland for this seventh
inning. This is one of the most incredible performances I have ever
witnessed on a baseball field. I've seen no-hitters and I've witnessed
two Major League perfect games. I was never as nervous then as I
am now. I want to see this kid do it.

[COACH SANDERS]

Nobody, but nobody, was talking to Eric, including me. If he is half as
nervous as I am, his body has to be close to shaking apart. Who
would have thought there would be more to this game than winning a
second straight title? Who would have ever conjured up the back
story of the senior whose dream laid the ground work that put his
team in this game would now be sitting on the brink of throwing a
perfect game to win it?

Not that this game is won. This is high school baseball, where
anything can happen, and often does. I had to admit, though, that
things looked good, as long as Eric could maintain his poise and not
let his nerves eat him up. I could not help but remember the little sixth
grader, new to Mayfield Middle School, who came to the first baseball
turnouts afraid of being cut. Kids. I could see the talent and desire in
that little body from the first drill. No way I was going to cut him.

But first, we have to see if we can add some insurance. Carl was
leading off for us. No hit in this game was bigger than his two-run
homer in the fifth. Here was another success story—the boy who got
cut as a sixth grader because he was too fat and lazy to play. Here
he was as a senior with a sculpted body, an incredible intensity and
desire to succeed, and a home run at Safeco Field in his resume.

On the first pitch, I thought there might just be two home runs in his
resume. I watched the flight of the ball and clapped and yelled for it to
stay fair, but it had too much hook. It went over the fence, but a foot
foul. Carl finally ended up hitting a lazy fly to center for the first out.

Kevin struck out on three pitches. He looked like he was more eager
to catch the bottom of the inning than he was to hit in the top of the
inning. Eric was next. I'd thought about having Korey pinch hit for
him, so he could sit on the bench undisturbed. But once again I was
hit by a moment of sanity. He would know he was being hit for
because of the game situation. Having Korey come up in Eric's place
would be coach-speak for "you have a perfect game going, so sit on
the bench and think about it."

I thought Eric might have a weak at-bat like Kevin did, but he worked
himself a 2-2 count and hit the ball hard to left field. The left fielder
made a nice running catch, however. Eric's out ended the top of the
seventh. I have to wonder how much his head was in his at-bat, and
how much it was in the upcoming bottom of the seventh.

The moment was here. We were sitting on a four-run lead, about to
win our second straight State title. Normally that would make the
bottom of the seventh anti-climatic. But like I said, anything can
happen in high school baseball, or in any level of baseball. The Orcas
were a powerful team that was used to scoring runs and to winning.
They had come here for the same reason we had—a State
Championship. A grand slam could still tie this game.

But the thin little senior walking to the mound with his head down had
altered the dynamics. The bottom of the seventh was going to be
incredibly dramatic. Eric was close to making high school history. To
top it off, his little chat to the team before they left the dugout was one
of the most amazing things I'd ever listened to.

In a nine inning game, a pitcher who is perfect would be facing the
bottom three batters in a team's order. A seven inning game made it
much different. Eric had to retire the 1-2-3 hitters of the Orcas, three
of their best, to fulfill a couple of diamond dreams.

<Bottom of the Seventh: Mayfield Mustangs 4, North Lake Prep
Orcas, 0>

[KEVIN]

Eric surprised the crap out of us before we ran out on the field. He
told us to wait for a moment, that he had something to say. Those
were his first words in the dugout since early in the game. All of us,
stood outside of the dugout; both those of us heading for the field and
those who would stay behind. There was an incredible air of tension
surrounding us. It was almost like a sense of fear was creeping in.
We seemed to get even tighter wondering what Eric was going to
say. Whatever it was, he was going to have to say it quick, because
umpires do not like the defense having a team meeting before they
take the field.

Eric looked us over and flashed a smile. "Relax guys, I can read a
scoreboard. The reason we came here is to win the State
Championship, not to see who can set some kind of record. So, go do
your thing like you always do, and if you throw a ball into the stands,
just make sure it isn't a play that leads to the tying run. Let's get our
hands together and defense on three."

Like a basketball team we huddled, put our hands together, yelled out
"Defense" on Eric's count, and then nine of us hustled on to the field.
I thought the home plate umpire might give us a glare, but he was
busy staring off in the opposite direction. He not only was a good
plate umpire, he was a cool dude. He knew what that huddle was
about.

The only thing that bugged me was that I'd spent all this time making
sure we didn't jinx the perfect game or no-hitter by talking about it,
and it ends up being Eric who may have jinxed himself. As I caught
the first warm-up from Eric, I realized, not for the first time, what a
fantastic friend and teammate he was. You could see an entire
change of attitude after his quick little talk. He reminded us that it was
all about winning, and that winning was the only thing that mattered.
The fear seemed to vanish.

[NICKY]

Being the batboy with Jeff is the absolute coolest thing. Watching
what Eric is doing makes it even cooler. There's nothing for us
batboys to do now. All Jeff and I can do is stand at the front rail, put
our arms around each other's shoulders and cheer as loud as we
can. I hope that's going to be enough. No, I don't hope that at all. I
KNOW it's going to be enough.

[ERIC]

I had five warm-ups coming, just like I got to start every inning but the
first, when I was allotted eight warm-ups. I knew what was waiting for
me. I knew what I had going. Hell, just having everybody from the
coaches, to my teammates, to the batboys ignoring me would have
told me what was happening even if I was brain dead.

During the whole top of the seventh I could see everybody trying to
not be a jinx instead of being a good teammate. I think everybody
was afraid of making a mistake, either by saying the wrong thing or
doing the wrong thing. It wasn't right for me to put that kind of
pressure on my teammates and my best friends just because of what
I was pitching. I decided to screw the jinx crap and tell those friends
to just go out and play ball and everything would be cool. If they did
that, there was no doubt we'd get what we came for, our second
State Championship.

My warm-ups were very strange. I knew the crowd was up and
yelling, and yet I didn't know. All I really knew was me, Kevin's glove,
and what seemed like a narrow tunnel of light that went from the
pitcher's mound to home plate. It was close to the same kind of
feeling I had when Noah and I did our meditation the night before the
game. I had the entire world blocked out except what was truly
important to me. Those five pitches were all there was. I wasn't
feeling pressure; what I was feeling was a calm state of self-belief.

[KEVIN]

Jin was the first batter. I started to think about what a snob he'd been
when he attended Mayfield. I shook that thought off and focused on
what we were going to do to get him out. So far, he'd struck out and
grounded out to Eric. I knew he was good, because he was the
leadoff hitter for a great team. That doesn't happen to shitty hitters.

I could hear the crowd behind me. They were up and they were
yelling. I think even the spectators who were coming in for the next
game were up and yelling and cheering for us. They weren't cheering
for us because they liked us, but because Eric was like on the brink of
making history. The whole atmosphere was awesome. From the
noise you'd think there were 45,000 people here instead of just
maybe a couple of thousand or so.

I called for a fastball down and away. Eric put it right where I wanted
it. It was then that Jin showed his true colors. The bastard dropped
down a bunt. It went spinning up the third base line. I jumped out of
my crouch to pounce on it, Eric ran from the mound to field it, and
Danny raced in from third to do the same. There was no way we were
going to make a play on it. Before Eric could pick the ball up, I yelled
at him to leave it alone since there was no way we were going to get
an out. Eric understood and stopped. Danny did the same. The ball
kept spinning close to the line as I followed it. It spun on the line and
kept spinning foul. As soon as I was sure none of the ball was
touching the line, which would have made it fair, I took my glove and
flicked it away from the line before it decided to come back fair again.

As soon as I touched it, the umpire yelled, "FOUL BALL!" and Jin,
who had made it all the way to first, had to return to continue his at
bat.

[NOAH]

Damn, Jin pissed me off. There is this bit of baseball etiquette that
says you just don't bunt in the last inning when the pitcher has a no-
hitter going, let alone a perfect game. I gave Jin more credit for class
than that. But then, I haven't seen him since we were in the eighth
grade, so maybe he was more of an asshole than I remembered.

[MIKE THE DONKEY]

That was a totally bush league play. The crowd was really booing Jin
hard with the Mustang alumni leading the way. If somebody did that
to this Donkey I'd be knocking his cowardly ass on the ground with
my next pitch.

"Hoof him, Eric," I yelled as the crowd noise died down, just so he
knew how I felt.

[STEVE TURNER]

"The breach of baseball etiquette displayed by the Orca shortstop did
not sit well with the crowd. Even some of his own fans had to be
upset with his failed bunt attempt—not because it failed, but because
he even tried it.

"If this was a professional game he'd probably find himself sitting on
the seat of his pants on the next pitch."

[KEVIN]

I called for a fastball up and in. Not a pitch to knock Jin down, just a
pitch to send a message. Eric took a little bit off of a fastball that was
up at Jin's shoulders and across the inside part of the plate. I think
the loud booing from the stands shook Jin up a little, because he
actually swung at it, missing the ball badly. We had two strikes on
him. Even if he still had thoughts of bunting, that second strike ended
them. If he bunted foul with two strikes he'd be out.

The next pitch was a fastball outside, followed by a breaking ball
outside, trying to get him to go fishing. He appeared to have calmed
down some, since he didn't bite.

[ERIC]

Jin cost me my concentration for a moment with that bunt attempt. It
was a low class act and I had to shake it off. I needed to remember
that what was key was not my perfect game (there, I said it), but the
team winning, because winning was what the big picture was all
about. I looked at Jin. You might have gotten on base and broken up
the no-hitter, I thought, but no way was that bunt going to beat the
Mayfield Mustangs.

Kevin called for a pitch up and in. I knew he just wanted to drive Jin
back off the plate and to remind him how to play the game. I knew by
up, Kevin meant shoulder, not head, high, and by in he meant on the
inside part of the plate. We both knew we could deliver a message
without being assholes about it.

I was surprised as hell when he swung at it. But, having two strikes
on him did take away the bunt possibility. He didn't bite at the two
pitches outside and the count evened at 2-2.

Kevin called for a changeup, and I threw one that I knew was a good
one. Jin was a smart hitter, and seemed to sense we were going to
throw a change, but his timing was off a bit and he was out in front of
the pitch.

He still got a pretty good piece of it and sent a hard shot my way. I
almost stuck out my glove to stop it, but I sensed Justin moving. I
knew if I tried to field it, chances are I would just deflect it and keep
an infielder from making the play. On the other hand, all of my
instincts said that ball had the makings of a base hit up the middle. At
the last second I let it go by, and for good reason—I had total faith in
Justin at short.

It turned out my non-play was a great play. Justin picked up the ball
on the run, threw it to first on the run, and nipped Jin by a step. It was
close, but no doubt he was out, which probably made the first base
ump happy.

I high-fived Justin as he ran by to return to his position. "ESPN all the
way, mister Gold Glove." I wasn't kidding either, that was one great
play. When making decisions, it doesn't hurt to remember that you
have a magician playing shortstop behind you.

[KEVIN]

That was a tough out, but we got it thanks to Justin's great play.  Two
outs left to go. Two outs until we become repeat champions. Two
outs until Eric makes history with a perfect game. Two outs that
seemed to be light years away from happening.

Gil, the number two guy in the lineup, was the batter. He had struck
out and grounded to shortstop. I wondered if he was going to follow in
Jin's footsteps and try to bunt his way on.

It didn't look like it on the first pitch. He kept his bat stock still, taking a
strike at the knees as Eric started out strike-one again. The dude was
a machine today and the scoreboard showed it.

[ERIC]

I wanted to throw Gil a fastball. Kevin wanted a breaking ball in. I
didn't agree, but I hadn't shaken off a sign since the first inning and I
sure wasn't going to now. The two of us had a good thing going and
had been in synch for virtually the entire game. If it ain't broke, don't
fix it was the mantra right now.

I focused in on the glove, blocking out the rest of the world. The result
was Kevin being right again as the pitch broke right over the plate at
the same time it made Gil back away from what he thought was going
to be an inside pitch. Strike two.

[NOAH]

I know the great fielders say, "Hit the ball to me," when the going got
tough. I'm sure that's what Justin said when Jin was up. I wasn't
thinking that. Look at it this way, none of those players had their
boyfriend pitching a perfect game. None of those players wanted to
be the one to screw up that perfect game for his boyfriend with two
outs left to go. All I could think was, "Don't hit the ball to me." I know
what Eric had just said about relaxing, but it was like he was talking to
everybody but me.

[KEVIN]

No waste pitch for this kid, but nothing fat on 0-2 either. I called for a
changeup outside. After the breaking ball moved him back, I saw he
wasn't quite as close to the plate. The difference was inches, but it
was a difference. If he wanted this pitch, he was going to have to
reach for it.

Eric threw a pitch just off the plate, probably not a strike, but too close
to be taking with two strikes. Gil reached for the pitch and bounced it
to Noah.

[ERIC]

I put the ball where I wanted it. It wasn't a waste pitch, because it
might have been a strike. We'll never know, because he swung at it
and bounced it to Noah, my Noah, who was going to have a big play
for me.

[NOAH]

I knew it—I asked not to get the ball, and here it comes. It wasn't hit
real hard and I had to charge it. I think that was better than me getting
a ball I could sit back and wait on...and think on. All of my years of
playing baseball focused right into my body on that play. Years of
muscle memory dating back to me playing tee-ball as a little first
grader went to work. I dropped the anchor, got down on the ball,
keeping my mitt on the ground, getting my hand in the pocket as I
started to scoop the ball, holding it in. I set and threw to Scott for a
play that was close, but not real close. He was out by two steps at
least.

As I went back to my position, Eric pointed to me and grinned, his first
smile in ages. I looked back at him, thinking, "Hit that next ball to me.
Hit it to me." Eric was right—it's all about winning this game and
nothing else.

[ERIC]

Brandon Canton was my next hitter; the last man between us and the
fulfillment of our dream. It had taken a great play by Noah and a great
play by Kraig to get him out. I guess it was appropriate that I would be
facing their best in this situation.

[STEVE TURNER]

"Eric Simmons, one out away from perfection, is facing Brandon
Canton, who twice has come close to ruining perfection. Is he going
to hit the ball hard again, only this time for a base hit? Or is another
fielder going to rob the Orca's star hitter with a great play?

"The crowd might be small, but it is noisy. Nobody is sitting, nobody is
quiet. You can all but crown the Mayfield Mustangs the repeat state
champions. While this last out will make it official, there is more riding
here than the championship trophy. State high school baseball history
is riding on this at-bat.

"The pressure on those nine high school kids on the field has to be
immense. Any one of them can make or break perfection. In a perfect
game there is no room for error. I almost have to think that they might
rather have the state championship riding on this at-bat, where an
error wouldn't be a huge deal. Instead they have the dream of the
young man who helped lead them here to play for. What is going on
in the minds of those teenagers on the field?"

[SCOTT, NOAH, DANNY, JUSTIN, HUNTER, LARS, KRAIG]

"Hit the ball to me!"

[KEVIN]

Eric trusts me to call the right pitches, which is exactly what I'm going
to do.

[ERIC]

There is me, Kevin, and the plate. I think we've won this game, so I
can relax, I can breathe, I can believe. This is now about me and
about my friends and my teammates behind me. I am ready for this
at-bat, more ready than I've been for any at-bat in my life.

[BRANDON CANTON]

They think they've got us beat, but then they might not. But even if
they do, it won't be with some little mite who isn't even six foot tall
throwing a fucking perfect game against us. If we are going down, it
isn't going to happen without a fight, and I am going to lead that fight.
He hasn't got me out yet—both times I went out he's been fucking
lucky. Bring it on, dude, bring it on.

[MIKE THE DONKEY]

"Hoof `em Eric!"

KEVIN]

I thought about calling time and walking out to the mound to go over
how we wanted to pitch Brandon. But I decided not to call time. I
mean, really, what was I going to say to a guy who not only was
pitching a perfect game, but who hadn't shaken me off but once all
game? Nothing. Why break his concentration? Hell, why waste his
time?

I figured Brandon was expecting a change or fastball. That's not what
he was going to get. I put down the fingers, calling for a breaking ball.

[ERIC]

Good call, Kevin. The tunnel was back. Right now the only things in
my mind were me, the tunnel, and Kevin's glove. If I hit that glove
then it's all good. I uncorked my pitch, watched it to the plate as I
followed through, saw it cross, saw the umpire raise his right arm for
strike one.

[BRANDON]

Damn, I wasn't expecting a breaking ball, and that was a good one. I
better be ready for anything against this little asshole.

[STEVE TURNER]

"Strike one on the inside outside corner. A gutsy call and an 0-1
count."

[KEVIN]

Time for a changeup, which is really Eric's best pitch. I know we
should be setting everything up with the fastball, but sometimes you
just have to live on the edge. I think the fact that we weren't in
immediate danger of losing was making things easier on all of us.

[ERIC]

If this was a one-run ball game on top of this perfect game business, I
think I'd be pissing into my cup right now. Kevin wants a changeup?
Then a changeup it will be.

[KEVIN]

Brandon was not expecting that change up. He swung way out ahead
of it. Now we go breaking ball down and away, maybe even bury it.
Then come back with a changeup high, out of the zone. Get his eyes
moving all over the place.

[ERIC]

It was just me and the glove. I threw him a pitch in the dirt. He almost
wanted it, but checked his swing. It was 1-2 now.

Again, it's just me and the glove. Change up, but up out of the zone.

[KEVIN]

Eric threw a nice pitch. Brandon was tempted on the pitch in the dirt,
and he went for the changeup, but fouled it off. So we're still 1-2. If he
lets it go it's 2-2.

[BRANDON]

Why the fuck did I swing at that dinky changeup. Okay, they've given
me junk all over the place—ain't no way they're throwing me more
off-speed crap.

[KEVIN]

After that foul, we threw him a fastball up and away, keeping it off of
the inside part of the plate that lefties love so much.

[ERIC]

Kevin wants to have him go fishing again. He wants me to show him
the fastball, then we come back with the pitch to nail his ass.

[KEVIN]

Brandon didn't go for it, but I didn't think he would. He's seen Eric's
fastball this at-bat, so we got him thinking some more. Now to nail his
ass. I called for a breaking ball. Eric missed on this one and came in
low. The count went full. It was only Eric's second three-ball count the
entire game. Obviously, that pitch didn't nail Brandon. We needed to
throw this next pitch for a strike. I knew it, Eric knew it, Brandon knew
it, the entire ballpark knew it.

I thought Brandon would be thinking changeup, or even another
breaking ball. The only fast ball he saw was an up and away waste
pitch, as if Eric was afraid to throw it to him. Well, guess what? No
way Eric is afraid out there. You don't get to where he is now by
being afraid.

I looked at Eric standing behind the pitching rubber. I could hear the
noise of the crowd, as I had this entire at-bat. But the noise made no
sense. It was like everything was slowed down for a minute. I saw
Eric out there and thought about the little shit who sat at the lunch
table back in sixth grade and said, "Let's go win two straight State
Championships when we get to high school." We all laughed at the
new kid and thought it would be great fun to dream and talk about it,
but weren't going to take what he said seriously.

But the little fucker didn't just say it, he did something about it. I love
Eric Simmons. He has balls as big as anybody I know, maybe bigger.
I wished I could walk out to the mound right now and kiss him. And to
think that on Friday I thought that my pitcher fucking me would make
me less of a catcher. Hell, it's an honor to have my ass fucked by Eric
Simmons.

I squatted down. I flashed my signal and set my glove. For me, it was
an easy call: fastball—outside corner—at the knees.

[ERIC]

I loved Kevin's call. The way my fastball has been tailing, I can almost
start it a little outside and it should move over the inside corner. And if
it doesn't, he gets a free pass to first. That would end the perfect
game, but I would still have a no-hitter going, and more importantly,
we'd still be an out away from the win with a four run lead. I stood one
more moment on the rubber, taking a deep breath, remembered this
pitch would not determine the game and might not even determine
the at bat; after all he could foul it off.

Still, I wanted it to be the best pitch I could throw. I wanted it to be the
perfect pitch in the perfect game. It was so strange to be thinking
about me and my game instead of the team and our game, but that is
how this has panned out.

I could hear the crowd, but as I started my windup it was just a loud
buzz in my ears. I didn't need to think about my windup, it was locked
in my memory. Kevin thinks a pitcher shouldn't think, he should just
throw. That was me on that pitch, the unthinking, mechanical thrower.

As I let go of the ball, I could hear myself grunt and I watched it head
for the plate. I swore I had thrown my best fastball, yet the ball looked
like it was floating up to home plate. It was almost like it was a
changeup to my changeup. I saw it stay outside as it approached the
plate; it looked like it was a straight fastball that was going to be ball
four.

[KEVIN]

I swear that even with all of the crowd noise, I heard Eric grunt as he
released the ball. I could tell he had let go of some serious heat. It
looked like it was going to stay straight and be a ball outside, but it
ended up with some incredible late movement. The pitch caught the
outside corner and popped into my glove; I didn't have to move it a
millimeter. Now the perfect game and the State Championship rested
on the man in blue who was squatting behind me.

[STEVE TURNER]

"Brandon Canton has worked a full count. He's been a tough out
every trip to the plate. The perfect game is riding on this pitch. Here's
the windup, the pitch, it's a fastball coming over the outside corner..."

[BRANDON CANTON]

I'll take the walk if I can get it. It ends the perfect game. Logan can
get the first hit, and we start the greatest two-out rally in tournament
history. We'll be the team making history, not those small town
rednecks from the hills.

I'm thinking changeup here, but I'll be ready for a fastball, probably
inside like the first one he threw. It's a fastball alright—looks
outside—it's sliding over the plate—shit it's...

[ROBERT PERKINS, HOME PLATE UMPIRE]

"Steeeeeeeeeerike Threeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!"

[STEVE TURNER]

"That's strike three called! He did it! Young Eric Simmons has pitched
a perfect game to win the second consecutive State-A baseball
Championship for the Mayfield Mustangs. I don't believe it! We've just
witnessed maybe the best pitched game in state high school history
as Eric Simmons throws a perfect game against the powerful North
Lake Orcas of Seattle."

<Post-game>

As soon as he heard the call, Kevin tossed off his mask and ran out
to the mound. He wanted to jump on Eric, but knew he would
probably end up crushing his pitcher to the ground, so he crushed
him with a hug instead, planting the kiss he had wanted to give him
earlier.

Noah was right there with Kevin. "You did it, Eric, you pitched a
perfect game," Noah and Kevin yelled together.

"No way, guys. WE did it. WE just won our championship. WE just
had our dream come true. OUR dream, not my dream."

By then he couldn't say much of anything as he was surrounded by
screaming, hugging teammates. None of them knew whether they
were celebrating Eric's game or the team's win, but none of them
really cared. For now they were happy to be celebrating anything.

It took a while for the chaos to end. Even with all of the celebrating,
the postgame handshake was in order. The congratulations from the
Orcas were genuine; there was nothing phony about the handshakes.
When Brandon and Eric's hands met, they made eye contact with
each other and nodded in a gesture of mutual respect.

As the Mustang players walked off the field, Eric was stopped by an
adult, who guided him to another adult standing next to Coach
Sanders and holding a microphone.

"Congratulations on your perfect game," John Post, who was
scheduled to broadcast the next game, said. "How does it feel to
throw the first one in State Tournament history?"

"It feels great to win our second straight championship," Eric said.
Eric was beginning to wish he'd thrown the last pitch to the backstop
and let Brandon take the walk. He was already tired of his
accomplishment overshadowing what his teammates accomplished.
But John Post was an experienced sportscaster, and he knew the
right direction to take his next question.

"I hear you planned on winning back-to-back championships when
you were in the sixth grade." John had read the material that Steve
Turner had received from the intern. "It must feel great to have put
this all together."

"It feels great to see my teammates and friends celebrating. We all
worked hard to get here," Eric said. Post then asked Coach Sanders
a couple of questions.

After the field was cleared, Eric, Kevin, and Coach Sanders accepted
the championship trophy as the team watched. Eric received a huge
cheer as he was named the tournament Most Valuable Player. He,
Carl, and Justin made the All-State team, which consisted of players
who competed in the Regionals and the State Finals. Justin made the
team for his glove work, although he did hit 4-for-12 in the Regionals
and finals.

Then the three went to the dugout and into the passageway to the
clubhouse. As soon as they entered their section of the clubhouse,
Coach Sanders gave Eric a huge, heartfelt hug. He was certain he
would never have a player like Eric again.

"Great job, Eric. And I don't just mean the game, I mean all the years
of work. Your attitude, your leadership, your citizenship, your
comportment on the field was everything a coach could ask for. You
are one incredible young man."

"Thanks coach." Eric knew better than to be overly modest around his
coach. He and Coach Sanders knew each other too well. The coach
knew what Eric had accomplished, Eric knew the coach would never
bullshit him, and Eric definitely knew that he couldn't bullshit the
coach.

It was time for the Mustangs to shower, hit up the postgame buffet,
get on the bus, and go home. But not until after the postgame press
conference, as Eric was quickly reminded. He wanted to be pissed off
about it, but he was too happy, and his teammates were too happy, to
let the inconvenience get to him. Lunch would wait, because duty
called, and Eric had always been one to do his duty.

Next: Living the Dream