One for the Record Books

Chapter One

Warm-Up

Blake reached out with his right foot on the corner of the bag to backhand a bounce from a throw across the diamond. Josh who'd released the throw from shortstop pointed his glove at Blake for props before he crouched back into position for the next ball hit his way by their coach. The sun was beginning to set on the White Sox Little League team out of Oklahoma City, but practice was still going strong. Behind the fence, a group of parents were clustered in their lawn chairs as they watched their sons prepare for an upcoming tournament.

There was a loud growl of a diesel truck's engine. Blake glanced towards the parking lot when a navy blue F250 pulled up between two mothers' minivans. It wasn't a familiar vehicle, and he was pretty positive it didn't belong to anyone's parents on the team. So why was it pulling up to their field?

"All right boys, bring it in!"

Blake ran in from first base, his long legs helping him be the first one to reach their coach. He hadn't noticed the man and the young girl who had gotten out of the truck.

"As you all know by now, Drew is no longer able to play with us because of his mom being relocated," Coach Doug began. Faces on the team fell. Drew had been a good catcher. They were still trying to figure out what to do about his absence. "But luckily for us, a catcher just moved to Oklahoma City. So we've got a new player. Boys, I want you all to meet Joanna."

All eyes turned in shock to the girl walking out onto the field. She was tall—almost as tall as Blake, actually—and she was a little heavier than all the twigs on their team, but not by much. She had long, straight and shiny red hair that seemed to have a lighter shade almost as if there was blonde mixed in. It wasn't as striking as Gail's, but it was just as beautiful. She had Nike cleats that looked a little old and a bit worn down. Instead of pants like the rest of them were wearing, she had on a pair of shorts with long white sliding shorts underneath. And an old baseball jersey from one of the teams she must have played for in the past.

"A girl?" One of the boys asked. He couldn't seem to help himself. But Blake was wondering the same thing. Could girls even play in Little League baseball? He thought they had softball, with slower pitches and smaller fields and a bigger ball.

"Nathan," Coach Doug began to chastise him, but Joanna spoke for the first time.

"Yeah, I'm a girl. But don't call me Joanna. Call me Jo." She tossed her long pony tail back over her shoulder.

"We're going to set up a bit of a scrimmage, to work her into our system. I want our normal starting eight on the field with gloves. The rest of you get helmets and bats. Jo, do you have your own gear or would you like to use ours?"

"I have my own," Jo said proudly.

Blake wondered why she seemed so happy to tell the coach that. Maybe it was new? Or maybe she was just stuck up that her dad could afford to buy her a set of catching equipment. Turning back to the field, Blake met with the other infielders behind the pitcher's mound while they waited for the others to get ready.

"Can you believe Coach got a girl to fill the catcher spot?" Nathan asked incredulously once they'd huddled together.

"No," Blake said honestly. "You think she's any good?"

"It's baseball," Josh said. "How can a girl be good at baseball? And at catcher too? Anytime we have a close play at the plate, she's going to get destroyed. And her place in the lineup will be a for-sure out. We'll be a laughing stock."

Nathan, the second baseman, seemed to agree with the way he was nodding. The third baseman, Andy, agreed too. But Blake didn't know.

"If she wasn't any good then why would her parents have bought her a personal set of catching equipment?" At his question, they all turned to look at her. She was clipping the shiny black knee and shin guards to her legs. "Let's just give her a chance, guys. It's not like we had a great other option."