Willie dreamed all night about riding mules to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Judging from the fun he'd had last year, the way he figured it, this trip was going to be as exciting as attending a big league baseball game. He'd never attended a big league game so he was just guessing.
He sure hoped the wait until the end of the month wouldn't drag on forever, but then he decided that with Mr. Rutherford playing catch with him, and Caleb to pal around with, it wouldn't be so bad. And then, the most awesome thing happened. A week before the Grand Canyon trip, Mr. Rutherford organized a baseball game. A baseball game! He invited all the people in the trailer Park and the people living in Oasis and they all met up at the school to use the playing field.
It was the most fun Willie had had in a long time. There were two teams, a green team and a red team. Mr. Rutherford made Willie the captain of the green team and Hank the captain of the red team. After the fifth inning, Gator decided he wanted to join the fun. He told everyone that he was going to let Hank come back for a few minutes so they could give him Gator's apology for breaking in. Hank was a good sport and said, "Tell him to hit a home run."
Mr. Rutherford had chosen the team members for both teams and there was a mix of kids and grown ups. Willie's mom was on Hank's team, well actually, it was now Gator's team, and she hit a ball that took her to second base in the fourth inning. Gator was up and he hit a home run, which now gave the red team two more runs and tied the score, five to five. The teams stayed tied until Silas, also on the red team, stole home base at the bottom of the eighth inning.
Going into the ninth inning, the score was six to five, with Gator's team in the lead. Willie's team was up to bat and Desi bunted the ball and made it to first base when the pitcher fumbled and dropped the ball, and then the first baseman dropped it, too. It was a lucky break for Willie's team. Kade was up next and he walloped the baseball all the way to the fence. Aggie was playing right field and it took her a long time to reach the fence. Desi sort of walked fast and made it to home plate. Kade walked in behind him for a home run. Now the score was seven to six, with Willie's team ahead and no outs. Pinky struck the first out. After that, Hank's and Gator's girlfriend popped a fly ball to center field where Willie's mom caught it in the new mitt Max had surprised her with because he said her old one was too big. She did a victory dance and Willie saw Mr. Rutherford, who was standing on the sidelines, cheer and give her the thumbs up sign. Willie grinned. He sort of got the feeling they liked each other—a lot. Caleb was now up to bat and he slammed what looked to be a home run, but Willie's mom came to the rescue again and ran after the ball, throwing it to third base and scoring the third out.
Willie ran to the pitcher's mound. It was the bottom of the ninth inning and his team was ahead, but he knew things could change in the blink of an eye. He needed to focus on the job at hand—strike out the first player. The cook at Desert Princess Diner walked to the plate. Mr. Lopez was a good hitter and Willie closed his eyes to focus, seeing himself strike out the batter. He turned and scanned the backfields, inhaled a calming breath, turned back around, and stared Mr. Lopez in the eyes. He threw the ball hard. "Strrriiiccckkke one!" yelled Mr. Delinsky, the mayor of Oasis. Kade was playing catcher and tossed the ball back to Willie. Willie caught it, rolled it around in his glove, and cut loose with another pitch. "Strike two!" Willie again caught the ball from his catcher, eyed the crowd, and envisioned himself at Chase Field. He wound up and tossed. Mr. Lopez swung and missed. "Strike three! You're out!" The Oasis crowd went wild, but in Willie's imagination he was listening to the roar of thousands of baseball fans.
The next player pounded her bat on home plate. Willie easily struck out Dotty, the owner of the dime store. Again, the crowd yelled and applauded. The next batter stepped to the plate. It was Gator. Gator had already gotten a home run out of Willie. Willie's mind whispered that Gator would strike another home run, but he refused to listen. He threw the first pitch. Gator slammed the ball into left field. It went high, but it was a foul ball. "Strike one!" called the umpire.
Willie prepared for another pitch. He rolled the ball in his glove and kicked the heel of his baseball shoes into the dirt. Two strikes to go. He threw. "Ball one!" yelled the umpire. Willie tossed again. Gator hit a foul that went behind the catcher's cage. "Strike two!" His next pitch went high over the plate. "Ball two!" Willie overcorrected and threw too low the next time. "Ball three!"
Willie glanced at the crowd. Another bad pitch and Gator would walk to first base. Another strike and Willie's team would win the game. Everyone was silent and leaning forward. His mom sat in the dugout with her hand over her mouth, something she did when she was nervous. Willie kicked more dirt and made a decision. Turning the ball in his hand, he focused, envisioned the third strike, and threw the curve ball he'd been practicing with Max.
Gator swung the bat and missed the ball. The umpire yelled, "STRIKE THREE! YOU'RE OUT!"
The crowd screamed and Willie grinned so big his jaws hurt. Everyone in the bleachers and from both teams ran toward him. Mr. Rutherford and Gator reached him first and lifted him onto their shoulders. It was the best day of Willie's life. He glanced down at his mom to see she was both laughing and wiping tears from her eyes. She did that when she was really happy. Willie gave her a thumbs-up and she returned it. This was a day Willie would never forget.