Strike Out

When the Headmaster stepped into the room for a moment and told Chrissy and I to see him after class was over both our minds started racing.

What were we in trouble for this time?

Did somebody snitch on us?

There was no way anybody saw us.

Best to go in begging for forgiveness our  plan was to only admit to half of it, just enough to stay under that threshold between detention or a parental pickup.

Do you two still your gloves?

Gloves?

Somebody had told the Headmaster that we used to play in the Pony Colt baseball league and knew our stuff. The Headmaster was putting on a friendly exhibition game with another school in the area and Chrissy and I were going to be Captains of our school’s team.

Captains?

Our school didn’t even have a team.

We’ll it does now.

Practice at lunch, game is in two weeks.

Put together the team.

There were a few others in the school who played Pony Colt with us, they were on the top of the list, as was some of the guys who played Basketball at lunch since at least they were athletic.

The list was a start, but there was one person we needed above everybody else.

A secret weapon that nobody on the other team would suspect.

Chrissy agreed.

We needed Tey Tey for this to work.

Tey Tey beat all of us in the senior arm wrestling fundraiser, was a champion on a soccer league outside of school, was faster, stronger, and naturally athletic.

We needed her.

The three of us arranged practice at lunch as we started to put the team through the paces.

Chrissy came up with the motivational speeches, Tey Tey with the athletic drills, and myself with the overall tactics of how we were going to win this thing.

A week or so in it was clear we weren’t going to be able to cover all the bases.

A mixture of athletic players who nothing of the game and players who knew the game but weren’t athletic.

Could you do that again?

It was during batting practice that I first saw it.

Chrissy was going to be our pitcher as that is the position he played during our Ponly Colt days and he still had some skill at it.

He was pitching the ball to Tay Tay and she was consistently knocking it out of the field.

We weren’t even practicing on a real baseball diamond, but adjusting for distance it was almost always a home run. 

Forget feilding, it would just have to be whatever it is.

We are going to focus, all of us, on batting practice and scoring as many runs as possible.

Those that could smash it would smash it, those that could not hit, just bunt and get on base.

Tay Tay was going to be our cleanup hitter and bring everybody home. 

 

We only needed to win by one point.

Confidence was high on the bus ride over.

Chrissy gave a good pep talk, Tay Tay had the confidence of a goddess and I felt good that my numbers would hold.

When we got off the bus we knew we were in trouble.

The other school had a dedicated baseball field, and all the players were dressed in a uniform.