Play Ball

Tryouts

It's our first day practicing with the boys, and Alyssa just finished batting off of Bene. She missed like the first ten pitches and then only ended up fouling a few balls after after that. It's my turn now, and I step up to the plate. Bene throws the first pitch, and I'm taken aback a little by how fast he throws. "What's the fastest you've thrown?" I ask him.

"90."

Holy crap.

I'm used to around 65 tops with softball, and not only that but this is a smaller ball and it's coming upwards to downwards. A softball typically goes from down to up. Yeah... we're definitely gonna need the practice.

I ended up only fouling a few like Alyssa did. Bene and Julian hit many ground balls for us to practice, and it wasn't too hard so I'm grateful for that. Alyssa missed an easier one, but pitchers usually are focused on pitching and not so much on the other aspects. She'll get the hang of it.

She's practicing at second, shortstop, and first base just like me. I typically played only second, but I need different options and I figure these are the positions we'll have the best chances in because we probably won't be able to throw as far as the other guys who are bigger than us.

For the next couple of weeks Alyssa and I don't bring up baseball when we're around anyone on the team. I'm not gonna run my mouth if I'm not sure we're gonna make the team. I would never hear the end of it. Tim and Jacob still sat at a different table during chemistry everyday, while Alyssa and I still sat with the other boys.

Alyssa and I have been getting pretty good at batting. Given, we probably won't ever be hitting homeruns in a baseball sized field because they're bigger, but you don't need to hit homeruns to win a game.

Tryouts will be on the first of March, and Julian says that besides Alyssa and I, he doesn't know of anyone new trying out for the team this year. He says that most people just kind of think that the team won't be changing because of their wins in the championships the last few years.

The weeks fly by in the time leading up to March 1st, and before any of us know it, it's here. Tryouts are today. We've been practicing almost every single day, thanks to the guys being willing to help us out. Everyone will be meeting today after school at 4pm sharp. My legs can't stop shaking while I sit. We're at lunch right now and Alyssa seems just as nervous. "We're gonna do great," I say lowly to her. She told me that she wanted to keep this whole trying out thing on the down-low, and we haven't even mentioned it again to anyone at the table. I mean, obviously I had said something about it on my first day but I never brought it up after.

"Yeah... we'll see," she murmurs.

After school ends for the day, we end up meeting at the front of the school after grabbing our things from our cars. We'd kept our baseball equipment in them to grab along the way, and we're now headed to the same field that's closest to the school that Jacob had struck out on.

In front of us and behind, there are guys from the team also heading in that direction. There seem to be quite a few coaches, at least five, waiting on the field. One of them is by the bleachers checking people in, and Alyssa and I get in line. When I get up to the man writing down names I say, "Madison Riley."

He looks me up and down like I'm an alien. "Is this some kind of joke?" he asks.

"No," I say.

"C'mon coach Lawrence, give 'em a chance," Bene says from behind us in line.

Coach Lawrence just looks at me and then at Alyssa for a few more seconds before sighing and saying, "Whatever." He then writes my name down, and I head over to the dugout where the rest of the guys are putting their things while Alyssa signs up.