Date: Fri, 30 Jul 2021 00:03:18 +0000
From: Douglas DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: Mayfield Titans  Chapter 64

Greetings and welcome back. Things are getting tight on the baseball
front. Do the Titans have what it takes to be league champions.

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Thanks for your email comments. They are
appreciated. thehakannen@homail.com

Douglas

CHAPTER 64
CRUNCH TIME

THURSDAY, MAY 14

<Mayfield Titans>

The day started out well for the Mayfield baseball players. The Clark Pass
athletic director called before school started with the news that the
middle school's baseball field was not in playable condition and the
varsity game would have to be played at Mayfield instead of the JV game.
However, Coach Fitz had worked with Mel Hogan, the Mayfield Parks
recreation director the day before to see if the Park Department would rent
them a field at the athletic complex for the JV game. Mel said the field
was available. Coach Fitz loved the cooperation between the Mayfield Park
Department and the Mayfield School District. It was one of many reasons he
loved working and living in Mayfield.

"We'll have it dragged and laid out for you an hour before first pitch
tomorrow," Mel said.

"Thanks, Mel. As always, it was great working with you," Coach Fitz said.

The Titan baseball players were ecstatic to learn that both teams would be
playing that afternoon. Even better, they would both be playing in
Mayfield.

"The Clark Pass baseball field must be as bad as their teams usually are,"
Mason said.

"They get more rain up there in the mountains than we do down here," Gordy
pointed out.

"Plus, our groundskeepers kick ass according to my Pop," Aiden added.

"And since he's the head coach at the high school, he should know," Gordy
said.

The Titan players knew that Clark Pass had won all four of their games
since their 12-5 loss to the Titans. Three of those four wins were against
the top teams in the division with the Eagles earning one-run wins over
Kentburg, Winton, and Meadow Park. The Eagles were obviously playing
well. This season the usual easy win on the Mayfield schedule had become
another big part of crunch time.

As happened so often on game days, the afternoon classes seemed to take
forever to complete. The JV players were dismissed from class a half-hour
earlier than the varsity since they had to take a bus ride, albeit a short
one, to the sports complex. Aiden's hand was up to get Mrs. Quincy's
permission to leave class as soon as the minute hand hit the prearranged
dismissal time.

After changing into their uniforms in the locker room, the players listened
as Coach Ecklund reminded them of what the starting lineup was and what to
look for from the Clark Pass Eagles. The players then grabbed their gloves
and their bat, if they had one, and headed to the field to warm up. Coach
Ecklund and Coach Seaver, with the help of two JV players, had taken the
school balls and bats to the Titan dugout earlier.

The Clark Pass bus arrived, dropped off the varsity players and continued
on to the sports complex for the JV game. After both teams completed
warmups and infield, the coaches and captains met with the umpires at home
plate. Coach Ecklund was pleased that two umps had been assigned to the
game. Even though the game was being played at Mayfield, the Eagles would
be the home team on the scoreboard since the game had originally been
scheduled at Clark Pass and Mayfield had home team advantage in their
previous game.

The field, as always, was in top condition. It was laid out for middle
school baseball, sporting 80-foot baselines and a 54-foot pitching
distance. It was 305 feet to dead center, 280 to the power alleys, and 245
feet to the corners. The Eagle's uniforms consisted of white shirts with
green trim, lettering and numerals and green pants with black striping down
the legs. Their hats were green with CP in black on the front, and black
bills. The Titans wore light blue shirts with gold trim, lettering, and
numerals. Their pants were white with gold trim, and they wore light blue
hats with a dark blue M on the front. The afternoon sun made all the colors
stand out vividly - it was a beautiful scene and a perfect day for a
baseball game.

Calvin Loggins, the Eagles' seventh grade pitcher who more than one Titan
player had a crush on, threw a 1-2-3 top of the first.

Scott was the starting pitcher for the Titans and put the Eagles down in
order to start the game. Nobody scored until the bottom of the third inning
when the Eagles picked up two runs when Barry misplayed a fly ball to
center with runners on second and third. Barry was charged with an error on
the play.

The Titans evened the score in the top of the fifth. Barry atoned for his
error by leading off the inning with a triple. Scott knocked him home with
a sacrifice fly to left to bring the Titans to within a run. Mac walked and
Max advanced Miles, Mac's designated runner, to second when he grounded out
to the first baseman. Everett came to the plate with the tying run on
second and two outs. He had not hit well all spring, hitting only .215 with
one extra-base hit. He came up with his second extra-base hit of the season
when he blooped a ball over first base that landed just fair. It spun into
foul territory and ended up crossing the out-of-play line before either the
right fielder or first baseman could reach it, for a ground rule
double. Miles was awarded home on the play and the score was tied at
two. Gordy then popped up to third, ending the top half of the inning.

The Eagles were playing a much more solid game than they had the first time
they played the Titans. Calvin was showing he was a solid pitcher and was
getting better support in the field. With the score tied at 2-2 in the
bottom of the fifth, the game was entering crunch time.

Scott looked like he had gained a second wind in the bottom of the fifth as
he struck out the first two Eagles batters on seven pitches. Scott wasn't a
big strikeout pitcher, but he was a good pitcher and good pitchers were
going to pick up strikeouts.  Mac called for a breaking ball as the first
pitch to the next batter. Scott threw it in the dirt and Mac nicely blocked
it.

"Nice block, Mr. Catcher," the umpire said. "Especially with nobody on
base."

"My catching coach told me I should do whatever I can to keep the umpire
from getting hit," Mac told the ump. Kevin was the catching coach he was
referring to.

"Then I must say you had an excellent catching coach. You're as good as any
middle school catcher I've worked behind this year."

"Thank you," Mac said as he set himself for the next pitch, which was a
high fastball for ball two. Mac thought the pitch might have been at the
top of the strike zone, but it was borderline, so he simply threw the ball
back. That was another thing Kevin had told him—to never, ever, under
any circumstances show up the umpire on a borderline pitch. "Even if he
totally missed a strike, which happens. I'd usually just throw the ball
back to the pitcher and call out, `nice pitch, Eric' or whoever the pitcher
was," Kevin had told him.

With the count at 2-0, Scott grooved the next pitch, which the batter
grounded up the middle for a single. Scott's next pitch was way
outside. Mac reached for it, barely touching it with his glove. As he
chased down the ball, the runner took off for second on the wild pitch. Mac
decided to carry the ball out to Scott and settle him down. He wondered if
Scott's second wind at the start of the inning may have been too much at
once and he was now tired.

"You can get this dude. Just throw strikes and let him get himself out like
you usually do," Mac told his pitcher.  Mac gave Scott a quick pat on the
ass, came back behind the plate, and crouched to give the sign.

"Gotcha, Mac," Scott said.

Scott threw a nice fastball on the inside corner that the batter hit
foul. That was followed by a called strike on a changeup, and then a
swinging strike on a fastball on the outside corner. Scott had struck out
the side and the score was still tied at two.

In the top of the sixth it quickly became apparent that Calvin Loggins was
running on empty. He walked Aiden and Trent and now had the big guy coming
up. Muddy stepped into the batter's box but stepped back out when the Clark
Pass coach stepped out of the dugout and asked the umpire for timeout. He
signaled his right fielder to come in to pitch. Calvin was obviously out of
gas.

The player coming in to relieve Calvin was Vern Reis, an eighth grader. He
threw hard and tended to be wild. He had become the key relief pitcher for
the Eagles and had a win and two saves in their one-run victories. Vern and
Calvin had become the key pitchers for the Eagles. Like everyone on the
field, Vern knew Muddy could hit the ball a long way, but he wasn't
intimidated. His fierce desire to win rubbed off on his teammates,
especially on Calvin. Unlike Vern, who was loud and often obnoxious, Calvin
was quiet and introverted. But one thing Vern learned with the help of his
teammate was that he didn't have to be outgoing to be supercompetitive.

When Vern reached the mound, Calvin handed him the ball and started out to
right field enjoying the cheers and clapping from the crowd of Clark Pass
fans. Coach Ecklund noted that there were more fans watching the Eagles
than he had seen in years. The town had obviously noticed that the Eagles
had become an exciting team.

Muddy, on the other hand, knew that Vern was one of the hardest throwers in
the Seamount League. His weaknesses were his control and the fact he threw
over ninety percent fastballs. As Vern warmed up, Coach Ecklund instructed
Muddy to be patient and sit on a fastball to send flying. Muddy
nodded. Unlike many of his teammates, Muddy was not a patient hitter, and
it showed in his at bat as he took an 0-2 pitch down the middle for strike
three after swinging at two pitches outside the strike zone.

Barry then struck out swinging for the second out. Scott singled to left to
load the bases, but Mac ended the top of the sixth by hitting a lazy fly to
center. The Titan rally had fizzled.

Scott got the first two Eagle batters out in the bottom of the sixth, but
Mac could tell he was struggling. A throwing error by Gordy put a runner on
first. Scott then walked the next batter and Mac asked for time.

"You look tired," Mac said.

"I am tired," Scott admitted. "But I can get this last guy out—he's not
much of a hitter."

"Just throw strikes and you've got him." Throwing strikes was becoming
Mac's mantra when talking to pitchers and rightly so. Mac walked back to
home plate wondering why Coach Ecklund hadn't come out to join him on the
mound since he still had two mound conferences left out of his three.

Scott did as Mac instructed—he threw strikes; two fastballs and a
changeup leading to a grounder being hit to Max. Since Max had to go to his
right to field the ball there was no way he would ever make it to the base
in time to get the runner. But, as drilled into him incessantly since he
was in elementary school, Scott ran over to the base and took the throw
from Max. The runner was out by five steps—an easy out.

"How does Scott look?" Coach Ecklund asked Mac as the catcher came off the
field.

"He's toast, and he knows it," Mac replied matter-of-factly.

It was the answer the coach expected. Mac was performing far above Coach
Ecklund's expectations, and he felt he had set high ones. His trust in Mac
had paid off and saved him from using a mound visit. He didn't think he
would need both remaining visits; his reasoning was to place one more
responsibility on the shoulders of his catcher.

Coach Ecklund beckoned Aiden over to his side. "Go with Muddy to the
bullpen and warm up. You're taking over for Scott in the bottom of the
inning."

"Will I be batting if my turn comes up?" Aiden asked. He was scheduled to
be the fourth batter in the inning.

"I plan to pinch hit for you, so concentrate on your pitching." What Coach
Ecklund didn't say was that if the Titans had a scoring threat going, he
might have Aiden bat for himself. That ended up not being the case as the
Titans went down 1-2-3 against Vern. Miles had been in the on-deck circle
getting ready to bat for Aiden if his turn had come up.

"Okay, dude, forget the assholes with the bats in their hands--it's just
you and me out there," Mac said as he and Aiden headed out of the dugout to
pitch the bottom of the seventh.

"I hear ya," Aiden said. He took his eight warmups and was ready to face
his first batter. Aiden was similar to Scott as a pitcher—good control,
outstanding changeup, a fastball with some zip but not overpowering, and a
good breaking ball. Even though he was a grade younger than Scott, Aiden
was more in tune with pitching and with what he wanted to do on the
mound. That had to do with the fact that while he hadn't pitched as much as
the older boy, he had received excellent instruction from his dads since he
was in fourth grade.

Despite the fact he hadn't really had a chance to get into a pitching zone,
Aiden didn't feel nervous, although this undoubtedly the most important
pitching assignment of his young life. Aiden was aware that Clark Pass
could get a walk-off win on Mayfield's home field and he was determined to
make sure that wouldn't happen.

Coach Ecklund had told Mac before he went out on the field to have Aiden
mix his pitches to keep the Clark Pass batters off balance. That strategy
worked well in the bottom of the seventh as Aiden threw a 1-2-3 inning. He
had no strikeouts and used just 11 pitches as the Eagles went out on two
weak groundouts and a popup to Scott, who was now playing second base.

"Great job," Mac told Aiden as they came off the field. The game was now
going into extra innings. Aiden said nothing and went to the spot on the
bench where he liked to sit when he was pitching. Before he could sit down
Miles stopped Aiden and said, "Hey, dude, you're leading off the inning."

"Oh, yeah, thanks." Aiden had forgotten that Miles had been in the on-deck
circle ready to pinch hit when the seventh inning ended. He set his glove
down on his seat, grabbed his bat out of the rack, and headed to the
on-deck circle. Vern was still the Eagle pitcher. Aiden knew he had to be
ready for a hittable fastball.

Because Gordy had made the last out of the seventh inning, he was the
"ghost" runner, the runner who was placed on second base at the start of
each half inning in an extra-inning game. Gordy was the go-ahead run and
Aiden wanted badly to knock him in.

When Aiden walked up to the plate, he felt focused. After forgetting that
he was supposed to lead off the inning he could have lost his focus, but
that turned out not to be the case. All that was on his mind was that he
was standing at the plate waiting for Vern to pitch and that this was the
kind of situation champions loved—extra innings, 2-2 tie, and the
go-ahead run in scoring position. That thought shoved his little gaffe
completely out of his mind—right now his entire game was about him and
the pitcher.

Vern fired a fastball down the middle for a strike to start the at
bat. Aiden let it go by so he could get an idea of how fast Vern really
threw the ball. Aiden had no doubt Vern had shown him his best
fastball. Throw me another one, Aiden thought, because I am ready.

Vern looked at the skinny, freckled faced batter and how he didn't even try
for the first pitch and decided the kid was scared. His catcher signaled
for a fastball on the inside corner, but Vern wanted to send another one
down the middle and show the little fart who the boss was. He looked at
where his outfielders were and was pleased they were playing shallow. Vern
and the Clark Pass players, and coaches, were all certain the batter was
going to lay down a bunt to try to move the runner to third.

When Aiden saw the second pitch leave the pitcher's hand, he recognized
it. He thought for sure he would get a fastball, but he was thinking of a
low strike on the inside corner, which is what Mac would have called. So,
when he saw what was coming, his eyes lit up and he took a hard, yet
controlled swing. He made good contact and took off for first. He could see
that he had hit a line drive to left center and that it was going to be
over the head of the center fielder. Gordy saw the same thing and raced
home, scoring the go-ahead run standing up. Aiden used his speed and slid
into third with a triple. Vern shook his head wondering how the little fart
could hit the ball so far, especially since he should have been bunting.

Trent worked a 3-1 count and when he saw a fat pitch come in, his eyes lit
up. But he was a little out of synch on the swing. Instead of squaring up
on the pitch he got under it a bit and popped it up to left field. The left
fielder came in a half dozen steps. "Can of corn," the center fielder
called out. The left fielder squeezed the routine popup for the first
out. Aiden was tagging up and faked going home to maybe draw a bad throw,
but he knew there was no way he could make it home. He still had two more
opportunities to score and was confident his teammates would come through.

The left fielder threw that ball to the shortstop and the umpire called
time to end play.  Aiden ended up dying at third when Barry struck out and
Scott grounded out to third to retire the side. The Titans had a 3-2 lead
as the game went to the bottom of the eighth

Aiden returned to the mound for his second inning.  "Okay, dude, let's get
them one-two-three," Mac said as he and Aiden started out to the field. Mac
swatted Aiden on his butt before their paths diverged for the plate and the
mound.

"I'm good with that," Aiden called out to his catcher.

The Eagles dugout was quiet. It was as if the players sensed that the best
they could hope for was a close loss; coming back to win a big game just
wasn't in the cards. Coach Ramirez felt that the biggest weakness of his
team was the lack of leadership from eighth graders. Even though the team
was having a successful season, the eighth graders had grown up with the
mind state that Clark Pass losses were foreordained. Even though they were
only one run down to one of the best teams in the league, they behaved as
if they were ten runs down. The seventh graders had a lot more zip, but
they usually followed the lead of the eighth graders by staying
silent. Like the eighth graders, none of the seventh graders was willing to
take a leadership role.

Calvin Loggins was the most talented seventh grade player and one of the
most talented players on the team. Even though he was a quiet, introverted
boy, he was respected and well-liked by his teammates. Cal could hear the
chatter drifting across the field from the Mayfield dugout and compared it
to the silence in the Clark Pass dugout.

"I think we can win this game," he said quietly as he set his glove on the
bench. His teammates, especially the eighth graders, looked at him as if he
had lost his mind. How could he think that? they thought. We're Clark Pass,
and while we have a good team this year, but we don't win games like this
one.

"I'm serious," he said. "We can beat them."

Coach Ramirez started out of the dugout to take his position in the third
base coach's box. He stopped, looked back into the dugout, and said, "This
is our chance to show these guys who the Clark Pass Eagles really are."  He
turned and resumed his trek across the field.

Eighth grader Donnie Koontz, the shortstop, was on second base as the ghost
runner.  Eighth grader Todd Bancroft, the left fielder, singled one a 1-1
pitch to lead off the inning sending Donnie to third, but Coach Ramirez saw
Everett quickly field the ball and held Donnie at third. The tying run was
80 feet away from home with no outs and the winning run was on first.

Aiden struck out the next batter, bringing up right fielder Seth Morgan, a
seventh grader. Aiden took a deep breath. Seth, who was the number nine
hitter, had a small strike zone and Aiden was certain he was going to try
to draw a walk. He also understood that Seth was batting ninth for a
reason, mainly because he wasn't a particularly good hitter. Aiden was
determined to throw him strikes. His first pitch caught the outside corner,
but the umpire called it a ball. His next pitch was high for ball two. Seth
swung and missed at the following pitch. Todd took off from first on the
next pitch, which was low and outside, and stole second. That put the
winning run in scoring position with one out. Seth had a 3-1 count

"Bear down, Aiden," Mac called out. "You know where to throw it."

Aiden did know where to throw it, which was to Mac's target. Even a small
strike zone was bigger than a baseball. Aiden's threw a strike at the knees
for called strike two. The next pitch was a pitch that came in a couple of
inches higher, but still in the strike zone. Seth froze on it and the ball
came across the inside part of the plate for a called strike three. The
Titans were now an out away from winning the game and the division.

Coach Ecklund stepped out of the dugout and informed the umpire he wanted
to intentionally walk Ryan, the next batter. Placing him on first set up a
force play at any base; since Todd was the winning run the runner on first
was meaningless as far as winning the game went. The negative side of the
intentional pass was that a walk to the following batter would tie the
game. The next batter was Calvin Loggins.

The Eagles had emerged from their fatalistic silence and were loudly
chattering and cheering. "We can win this game," eighth grader catcher
Daniel Armstrong yelled out. "You said it, Cal, we can win this game!"

For a moment, Cal regretted saying what he had said. Then he remembered he
said it because he believed it was true. He knew his Clark Pass Eagles were
good and it was time for everybody to think about winning instead of
wondering how they were going to lose. "We can win this game," he said
aloud as he stepped into the batter's box.

Mac was tempted to say, "In your dreams dude," then remembered what the
likes of Coach Ecklund, Trent, Scott, and Aiden kept saying. "Actions speak
louder than words." He kept his mouth shut and decided to talk to Aiden
instead. He asked the umpire for time and trotted out to the mound.

"Hey, dude, you're the man," he told Aiden. "I don't care how cute you guys
think this batter is, just throw strikes and this dude is toast." He gave
Aiden a swat on the butt, an act that he thought was a real positive part
of the catching job, and jogged back to home.

Aiden's first pitch was a high fast ball that he overthrew. He saw Mac
signal for him to stay calm and he nodded to his catcher that he
understood. His next pitch was a changeup that Cal started to swing at, but
he checked his swing and took it for a ball that was a little low and
outside. With the count 2-0, Aiden didn't want to go to 3-0 since a walk
would tie the score. When Mac signaled for a fastball on the inside corner,
Aiden nodded. He could hear his teammates' supportive chatter behind him,
especially the familiar voice of Gordy.

Pitch number three went exactly where he wanted it. Cal went for it and
fouled it up third base line. The count was 2-1. Cal was experienced enough
to know what Aiden and Mac were thinking—they needed to throw a
strike. "We can win this game," Cal said one more time.

Once again Aiden didn't want to get to ball three. He came in with an
outside corner fastball that was high in the strike zone, right where he
and Mac wanted it. Calvin took a hard swing and barreled up the ball,
sending a solid shot to left center. As soon as the ball left the bat
everyone knew that barring a miracle the game was over. Donnie scored
easily and Todd came charging in behind him. Everett uncorked a hard throw
home, knowing he didn't have a chance of nailing the winning run, but he
had to throw the ball in hard because that was the Mayfield way of doing
things. Besides, the dude could trip over his own feet and fall before he
got home, so the ball had to be thrown home just in case.

As the Eagle players ran out on the field and mobbed Calvin just after he
completed his game-winning double by touching second base, the Titans
slouched to their dugout, shaking their heads in disbelief. The players
coming off the field tossed their gloves on the bench. As much as they
didn't want to, they joined their teammates and formed the traditional
handshake line. The players exchanged the usual handshakes and "good game"
comments. When Cal came up to Aiden in the line, they traded fist
bumps. "You threw me a good pitch, dude," Calvin said.

"You hit a good pitch," Aiden responded. "You guys played a kick ass game."

"So did you." Cal refrained from saying this was the kind of game they
usually lost. "Good luck to you guys tomorrow."

"Thanks. We'll be ready for them." The Titans would be playing Meadow Park
the next day

Just as the handshakes, high fives, and fist bumps came to an end, the
Clark Pass school bus arrived carrying both JV teams. The Mayfield bus had
headed to the barn after dropping the Titans off at the sports complex. The
athletic directors agreed that there was no need to have two buses to carry
the two teams for a mile trip.

The varsity players could tell by their faces that Mayfield had won their
game, which meant they had also clinched first place in the JV East
division. Clark Pass had been in second, a game behind the Titans. Their
loss put them two games back with one game left to play.

"The score was 3-0," Grant said excitedly as the varsity players and JV
players headed for the gym. The players had seen the 3-4 score on the
scoreboard and tried unsuccessfully to quash their enthusiasm. A couple of
the players had forgotten that Clark Pass was the home team on the
scoreboard and thought that Mayfield had won. They were quickly put in
their place.

Aiden tried his best to overcome his disappointment and sincerely
congratulated his friend. "I know that Riley was starting," Aiden
said. "Did you pitch at all?"

"Nope, Riley went all the way with a two-hitter and only one walk. He was
kick ass awesome. I'm gonna start tomorrow since Lance will be suiting up
varsity, is what Coach Seaver said. I guess you threw two innings today and
they need his arm ready in the bullpen. But dang, I'm sorry you guys
lost. They really scored two runs in the eighth to beat you?"

"The scoreboard doesn't lie. They really scored two and I gave up both of
them."

Grant gave Aiden a big hug. "I'm sorry dude. I'm really really sorry," he
said.

"Hey, we'll come back and win tomorrow. Don't let what happen to us spoil
what happened to you." As he so often did, Aiden placed a friend and
teammate ahead of himself.

Aiden saw Riley and gave him a congratulatory hug for his big
win. Considering what Aiden and the varsity had just gone through, Riley
thought the hug from Aiden was one of the most special hugs he'd ever had.

Gordy pulled his phone out of his locker. He logged in and went directly to
the Seamount Middle School League website. "Shit," he bellowed. Since Gordy
rarely cursed everyone knew the news wasn't good. "Okay, here it is guys:
Meadow Park beat Winton 7-6. According to the line score they scored four
runs in the bottom of the seventh to win it."

"End of game rallies were not nice to us today," Scott muttered.

A collective groan could be heard throughout the locker room. That was not
the outcome the Titan players wanted. Meadow Park and Mayfield both had 8-3
records—tomorrow's game would be for the East Division title.

"Well, we got our work cut out for us," Mac said.

"Yeah, thanks to us choking today," Jared said.

Mac was about to shout out an expletive when Trent kept bedlam from
breaking out by stepping in front of him. "I don't know where you are
coming from," Trent told Jared, "but the team I was playing on didn't
choke. They got beat by a good team who played a good game and came out and
beat us. And if you want to be snarky and blame your teammates for losing
then maybe you should stay home tomorrow because you sure as fuck won't be
ready to play your best."

"All I meant was..."

"Just shut the fuck up, okay?" The other eighth graders, Everett, Barry,
Max, Scott, Mac, and Collin stood tall with Trent and stared down Jared. If
nothing else Jared's comment had quickly put the fighting spirit right back
into the Titans' psyche.

Coach Ecklund stood off to the side, enjoying the leadership being shown by
the eighth graders.

"You guys have been telling me since the season started what a championship
team has to do to be champions and teaching me how to do it," Mac said. "I
don't think what happened today has changed a thing. I think we're ready to
win tomorrow and go to the championship game. I think everything you taught
me about is going to be with us tomorrow. Now we get to show everybody how
good we are in crunch time—we're going to get to show them how the
Mayfield Titans respond when things get tough.

"You nailed it Mac," Trent grinned.

The mood became an upbeat one as the Titans reminded each other that they
were good enough to get this far and be in a tie for first place. It was
now up to them to show that they had what it takes to be champions.

"Not to look ahead or anything, but Monte beat Evans 9-3 and clinched first
in the West Division," Gordy said. "Whoever goes to the championship game
will be playing Monte."

Aiden started dressing so he could meet his dad. The long game ended any
thoughts of taking a shower. Aiden looked in the locker alcove across from
him where Riley and Lenny, the pitcher and catcher in the JV win, were
enthusiastically French kissing and rubbing their naked bodies together.

"Hey, guys, get a room," Aiden called out, even though he would have loved
to see the two of them cream on each other. As down as he had been after
giving up the two runs in the eighth, Aiden was bouncing back. Like the
rest of his teammates, he couldn't afford get into a long-term
funk. Tomorrow was too close for that.

"Oops," Lenny said as he broke the kiss. "Got carried away. You can't
believe how awesome Riley was today and I just wanted to give him a quick
kiss to reward him..."

"...and it became a long, slow kiss," Riley giggled.

"Boys, a few quick words before you leave," Coach Ecklund called out from
the meeting area. "Finish getting dressed and meet in three minutes."

Except for Lenny and Riley everyone had been close to being dressed. The
Titans were dressed and seated in the meeting within the three-minute
deadline.

"You boys know what the scores were today and from what I've been
overhearing you know what's at stake tomorrow," Coach Ecklund
said. "Everything will be simple tomorrow. The tiebreakers don't mean a
thing. The winner moves on—end of story.

"Lance will be suiting up varsity tomorrow in case we need his arm,"
Ecklund went on. "Lenny will be suiting up as backup catcher. And Riley
will move up for the game, probably to be Mac's designated runner. That
gives us our 15 allowable players for the varsity game."

Lenny and Lance had already been told they would be suiting varsity, but
Riley's callup was news to him, especially since he was ineligible to pitch
after having just tossed a complete game for the JV. Lenny gave Riley a
quick hug after Coach Ecklund dismissed the players.

That night Aiden and Nolan talked baseball to start their chat. "As much as
I love you, I have to be honest and say that I'm happy how things came
out. Now it will go to the team that wants it the most tomorrow."

Nolan could relate to Aiden's eighth inning against Clark Pass. Even at
their young age, anyone who plays sports understands that not every game
goes as one would like and how much it can hurt to lose, especially when
one is the focal point of the loss. On the flip side, as much as the
outcome of the Meadow Park game hurt the Titans, Aiden couldn't help but
feel good for his boyfriend, especially since his two out double knocked in
the tying and winning runs against Winton.

"When are we going to start getting into our zones?" Aiden asked
predictably.

"Are you kidding me, Sweet Cakes? I don't know about you but it's over an
hour before I have to be in bed."

"Ditto, but I need that hour to get my mind focused."

"A good jerk off should focus your mind in a hurry," Nolan said.

"You're just trying to be a bad influence, Sweet Bear."

"A bad influence on both of us."

"Well, today in the locker room after the game I saw...," Aiden went on to
tell what he saw Lenny and Riley doing, which was enough to turn Aiden and
Nolan fully on. They went to work on their pubescent erections and watched
each other come to a quick orgasm.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Nolan smirked.

"I'll see you tomorrow. I love you Sugar Bear."

"Have a good time getting in your zone. I love you, too, Sweet Cakes. And I
will love you even if you happen to beat us, which isn't going to happen."

The boyfriends and rivals logged off and started to work on getting into
game mode. They both knew that as badly as they wanted to win, they would
be happy for their boyfriend if he happened to win instead.

Next: The Mayfield Legacy