Kyle ended up picking an Italian restaurant for dinner, so Noah did, in fact, get to gorge on bread. Afterwards, we finished the drive back to the house and started to take showers and prepare for bed.
Noah had let me go first, so by the time he came back to the room, I was already in pajamas, sitting on the floor with my bat in my hands. I was cleaning it with the alcohol that was specifically for wooden bats. I only got one hit, but I had fouled the ball a lot today and I was worried if it could break again. I could feel some little dents and brought out the piece of wood that Mr. Atkins bought for me.
"You really care for that bat, Jake. Almost like it's your own baby." Noah laughed, laying down on his bed. "I don't get why you would even like it. An aluminum bat can lengthen the distance you hit. And your swing will be much quicker with a lighter bat."
I didn't look up. "My mom hit me with one."
Noah didn't say anything for awhile. The only sound between us was me, caring for my bat. I knew Noah would ask one day why I wouldn't touch an aluminum bat. It was better to tell him now and then maybe he could explain to others when the question came up again. When Mr. Duncan found out I was using a wooden bat, he completely understood, but that's because he knew what happened.
"Jake?" He said after sitting in silence for so long.
I froze, but didn't dare to make eye contact. I don't think I could stand anymore pity from Noah. He was the first one to reach out to me when I got here, but he also takes care of me. Whether it's standing up for me when others get upset, or defending me from his brothers, he was always there to help for the last 14 days. He deserved to know some things about me. But I wasn't ready to tell him everything.
"Jake." He took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm sorry you had such a crappy mom. But, I'm happy you were able to come here." I heard him move off his bed. He sat across from me on the floor of our room. "If you ever want to talk about it, you've got me. Right?"
I nodded, keeping my eyes on my bat. We sat in silence as I worked with my bat. He just sat there and watch me. Maybe waiting for me to share some more, but I had nothing else to say.
"Noah! Jake! Do you get the email?!" Dave burst into our room, startling us. He looked down at us and made a weird face. "What are you guys doing..?"
"Jake is cleaning and taking care of his bat. It requires attention or he might break it again." Noah replied. He stood up and stretched. "I was just watching since I've never cared for a wooden bat before. What were you saying about the email?" He moved to his desk and switched his computer on.
"Coach sent out the scorecard and stat sheet for our opponent." Dave leaned against the desk as Noah started typing and logging in.
"Who's it going to be?"
"San Marino." Dave curled his lips in disgust. "I can't believe my first pitch outing is up against those douchebags."
San Marino? That sounded familiar.
"Is that the guys Jake ran into this morning?" Noah looked up from the computer. "You called them douchebags then too..."
"That's a lie. That was Kyle." Dave huffed.
"Okay, then it was you who called them punks." Noah rolled his eyes. "Why so much animosity?"
"Because they're a bunch of cheats." Kyle voiced his opinion from the doorway. "Just look at the scorecard for game one and then game two."
I hugged my bat, waiting for Noah to look at the attachments in his email. He studied the first one with a frown, then opened the next. He then went back to the first. Then back to the second. Finally he scooted his chair back from the desk so he could look at both twins. "An anomaly for both makes it a coincidence."
My eyebrows raised and I asked in a low voice. "What does an anomaly on a scorecard look like?"
Noah waved me over. "Come here." I got up and carried my bat with me. I looked at his computer. "This is the scorecard for their game one. A scorecard records details of the game as it unfolds. The scorekeeper will list the lineups batting order and add the players number and position. They'll record the play-by-play and at the end of the game they tally up the stats."
I studied the image and there was numbers everywhere, expressing groundouts, fly outs, strike outs, and so on. There were a few symbols that I didn't recognize so I pointed out the most glaringly one. There was a PH and PR listed under almost every name in the lineup and then a new name.
"That stands for pinch hitter or pinch runner. That's the anomaly. Usually a team wouldn't bother replacing every player in the course of a game unless it was a one-sided game." Kyle explained.
"One-sided can describe a game that is a total blowout one way or the other." Noah elaborated. "When you're either winning by a lot or losing by a lot. But in this game," he moved the mouse around, highlighting certain at-bats. "It was relatively close at all time. Another strange thing would be the hit-by-pitch. There's four of them for this team. That means San Marino has either wild pitchers or they play dirty."
"They definitely play dirty." Dave declared.
Noah clicked on the other attachment. "Now look at game two." It oddly resembled game one, with a bunch of pinch hitters, runners, and substitutes. Only two were hit by pitch. "San Marino is throwing a lot of inside pitches. It's crazy that multiple pitchers are like this."
"It's the way their coach has taught them." Zeke walked in the room, making it even more crowded. "San Marino is known for their aggressive play style. They really make baseball a contact sport and won't throw away an opportunity to run into you at the bases." He looked at me and Noah. "You two will have to be the most careful."
I swallowed, hard. Would it be rude to ask to sit out this game?