CHAPTER 3
SHINING VICTORY

Malcolm woke up Saturday and immediately opened his windows. Sunlight streamed into his room, and he pumped his fist. It was a perfect day for the eye black.

As soon as he got to the field, Malcolm found Coach Fitz, who was setting up for the game.

“Coach, I created some homemade eye black,” Malcolm said. “Would it be okay if we wore some for the game today? I think it would help.”

Coach Fitz looked up at the bright sun. “That’s a great plan, Malcolm,” he said. “We’ll gather the team before we get started and see who wants some.”

Malcolm ran off to find his dad.

After warm-ups, Coach Fitz addressed the Lions in the dugout.

“Listen up. Malcolm not only plays outfield and pitches for us, but he’s also a bit of a scientist,” he said. “He created some eye black to help with the glare today. Step right up if you want some, but don’t get too carried away with it.”

Nearly everyone on the team wanted to use some of Malcolm’s creation. Most of the players got the standard straight line. Walter went a little crazy and made an upside down triangle shape under his eyes.

Soon, most of the team was laughing and looking up at the sun to test the results.

Malcolm looked to the end of the bench. Matt sat alone, putting on his batting gloves.

“Hey Matt, do you want to try some eye black?” Malcolm said. “I made—”

“No, I don’t want to use your stupid eye black,” Matt said. “I just want to play baseball without any of your gimmicks.”

Malcolm stepped back. His face burned with embarrassment as Matt stormed out onto the field.

“Don’t worry about him,” Sanjay said. “He’s just mad because he struck out twice in the last game. Everyone else is wearing it—even Coach!”

Seeing his coach wearing the eye black made Malcolm feel better. He ran to his outfield position to get ready for the game.

It turned out to be an intense matchup. The Crunch were a good team. They raced out to a 2–0 lead.

But the Lions slowly battled back. In the fourth inning, Malcolm walked and Sanjay stepped up to the plate. Leading off at first, Malcolm counted how many seconds it took the pitcher to throw the ball home.

His pitches are about two seconds slower than mine when I pitch, Malcolm thought. Now would be a perfect time to steal a base.

On the next pitch, Malcolm took off for second base! The catcher fired the ball to second, but the throw was high. Malcolm slid in safely. Then Sanjay followed up with a single, and Malcolm scored to make it 2–1.

In the fifth inning, with runners on second and third, Matt came through with a hard-hit double. The Lions took a 3–2 lead and held onto it until the top of the ninth.

“Great job, team,” Coach Fitz said before the last inning. “We’ve only got three more outs to go!”

Malcolm took his spot in right field as Xavier took the mound for the Lions. The Crunch got a quick leadoff single. After a strikeout, they got another hit. There were now runners on first and second!

Then Xavier got a ground ball that could have been a double play. But the shortstop bobbled it. He threw to first for one out. Now there were runners on second and third. A base hit would give the Crunch the lead!

Xavier fired the ball in. The batter hit a high fly ball to deep center field. Matt took a step back and then put his hands out. That meant he couldn’t find the ball—he had lost it in the sun!

Luckily, Malcolm had already moved toward him to back up the play. When he saw Matt panic, he ran over. The eye black helped Malcolm fight through the sun to spot the ball. He made the catch, and the Lions won the game!

The team celebrated in the dugout.

“Awesome play,” Sanjay said to Malcolm.

Then Matt stomped over. “I would have caught the ball,” he said. “I didn’t need your help.”

As Matt walked away, Malcolm and Sanjay just shook their heads.