Coach and an assistant stood huddled over a notepad, writing down some words I couldn't see.
"Attack early, alright?" Zeke popped up next to me, also ready to bat.
I nodded, swallowing a little harder than normal. The fun atmosphere was fading into a game atmosphere. Less fooling around and more attention was paid to the pitcher on the mound.
The 'ding' sound from a bat hitting a ball claimed our attention. I looked just in time to see the catcher jump up, throw his mask away, and move under the ball to make the catch. Out. The first out was a foul ball to the catcher.
Mahki came back with a frown, Julian moved up to the batter's box, and I stepped out to go to the on deck circle.
It was hard to say if Julian did worse or better than Mahki. He also came out swinging. And missing. He struck out on three pitches, compared to Mahki fouling out on the second pitch.
