Three hours after West’s victory, Mid-Atlantic took to the field for its game against Midwest. The Midwesterners hailed from a small town in South Dakota called Triumph, a fact that had spawned such headlines as TRIUMPH TRIUMPHANT IN REGIONALS!, OTHER TEAMS “TRI” BUT LACK “UMPH”!, and the most recent one: WILL TRIUMPH TRIUMPH AT WORLD SERIES?
“Only time will tell,” Ash had declared with a snort when he saw the headline.
The game started at eight o’clock Friday night. A full moon shone above Lamade, its silvery face like a beacon in the darkening sky. Below, the brilliant stadium lights illuminated the bright green grass, white lines, and red-brown base paths of the field. The muggy August weather was a little cooler than it had been when the sun was out, but not by much. By the time warm-ups were through, the players’ hair and jerseys were damp with sweat.
Coach Filbert pointed the boys to a watercooler when they returned to the dugout. “Drink up, drink up.”
Carter grabbed a cup of water. He wasn’t starting, but he listened as Coach Harrison went through the lineup one last time: Stephen at second base, Keith at first. Craig in right field, Ash in center field, Charlie M. in left. Allen was at third and Raj was at shortstop. Luke was on the mound with Ron catching. That was the batting order, too, at least for the first innings. Carter knew it would change a bit when he and the other substitutes got in.
That time came at the top of the fourth. Mid-Atlantic was up, 3–1. The score might have looked a little different, however, if not for a few well-executed plays by the Pennsylvania team in the first half of the game.
In the bottom of the second, Midwest had had runners on first and second. There were two outs. The next batter knocked a grounder that bounced past Raj Turner. Charlie M. raced in from left field, scooped up the ball, and made a pinpoint throw to Allen Avery to nail the lead runner at third. The scoring threat was erased, and the inning was over.
Raj gave a great defensive effort himself in the third inning. This time, Midwest had a runner at second with no outs. The batter socked a sizzling drive back to the mound. Luke stuck out his glove but clipped the ball instead of catching it. Quick as a cat, Raj darted forward and snared the ball before it hit the ground. He whirled around, prepared to throw if the runner had moved off the bag. The runner wisely stayed put, only to see his chances of reaching home vanish when the next two batters struck out.
Unfortunately, Mid-Atlantic didn’t add any runs in the top of the fourth.
“Stop ’em!” Ash hollered from the dugout as Charlie S. replaced him in center field. Peter trotted to the mound to take Luke’s place, while Freddie hurried to second to take over for Stephen. Carter gave Ash a thumbs-up and headed to the hot corner, where he was subbing for Allen.
The first Midwest batter strode to the plate. A burly boy with a broad, round face and deep-set eyes, he hit a short grounder just inside the first-base line. Keith must have thought it was going foul, because he hesitated before lunging toward it. He was too late. The runner made it safely to first despite a quick pickup and throw from right fielder Craig.
The next batter hit a dribbler toward first. He was thrown out, but the runner reached second. The third Midwest hitter grounded to Raj. Raj checked the runner at second and then threw to first. But the batter reached the bag a split second before the ball. There were runners on first and second and still one out.
Carter shifted from foot to foot and bounced on his toes. His heart drummed out a fast beat. Stop ’em! Stop ’em! Stop ’em! it seemed to repeat.
Ping!
The fourth batter sent a short pop fly arcing just out of Raj’s reach. Luckily, Ash swooped in and nabbed the ball before it hit the ground.
“Out!” the umpire cried.
The next hitter pinged the ball knee-high toward third base. Carter moved to meet it. The ball dropped and hit the ground in front of him. He snatched it on the hop and whirled around. Charlie M. was covering third. Carter whipped the ball to him. Whap! It struck Charlie M.’s glove and stuck there.
“Out!”
Carter pumped his fist once and let out a huge sigh of relief as he hustled off the field.
In the dugout, Coach Harrison was beaming. “Excellent teamwork, boys, just excellent! Now let’s add a few runs to our side, huh?” He called out the new batting order, changed slightly from the start because of the substitutions made.
Carter, batting in the sixth slot and due up fourth that inning, hoped to help do just that. Instead, coming to bat with the bases loaded and no outs, he sent the ball sky high, right above the catcher. The catcher whipped off his mask and held up his glove. The ball landed safe, sound, and snug in the pocket—and Carter headed back to the bench.
Raj wasn’t any more successful. He watched two pitches go by and fanned at the third.
“I didn’t see one I liked,” Raj said morosely as he took a seat on the bench.
Luckily, Peter, up next, did. Pow! Bat met ball for a low-flying drive that fell between the right and center fielders. While the outfielders moved to recover the ball, Craig dashed home from third, followed closely by Charlie S. Charlie M. stayed at third as Peter slid safely into second.
“My turn!” Ron said, hurrying to the plate. But to his obvious dismay, he popped out to end the inning.
Mid-Atlantic 5, Midwest 1.
“Two more innings, boys. We just have to hold them for two more innings!” Coach Harrison cried, his eyes snapping with excitement.
Mid-Atlantic did hold Midwest in the bottom of the fifth. Unfortunately, Midwest returned the favor, executing a crisp double play to end Mid-Atlantic’s chances of adding to their final run tally. Still, Mid-Atlantic took the field at the bottom of the sixth with a comfortable four-run lead.
That lead shrank with one swing.
Ping! With a runner on first and no outs, the same moonfaced batter who’d sneaked the ball down the line past Keith now launched a rocket to deep right field. Craig raced back, then slowed to a trot. Carter didn’t blame him. He didn’t stand a chance at making the catch; the ball cleared the fence with room to spare.
Mid-Atlantic 5, Midwest 3.
Carter watched, muscles tense, as pitcher Peter readied himself for the next batter. It was devastating to give up a home run so late in the game. He willed Peter to put it behind him.
Peter did. He struck out the next batter in five pitches. When the one after that grounded out, Mid-Atlantic had their first victory!
“Nice job, man!” Carter congratulated Peter as they trotted off the field after shaking hands with the Midwest players.
“Cool as a cucumber, that’s what you were,” Ash agreed. Then he leaned in and whispered mischievously, “Now that’s what I call a triumph!”