Liam waited all day Thursday and into the night before responding to Carter’s text.
Dork! his reply read. You’re in the U.S. Championship, too!
Earlier that day, Mid-Atlantic had defeated New England, 6–4. The Mid-Atlantic players had looked so in sync right from the first inning that Liam had figured the outcome would be in their favor. As Liam typed the words, their significance sank in.
For the second year in a row, he and Carter were both in the U.S. Championship.
Phillip, Charlie M., and Craig were returning, too, of course, but he wasn’t thinking about them. He was thinking about what it was going to be like to face Carter, and the fact that one of them would advance to the World Series game, while the other would have to be satisfied with a consolation game against the team that lost the International Championship.
There were no games scheduled for Friday in case there were any rainouts. Saturday, however, was chock-full, starting at 10:30 with the Challenger Game. As fans filled the stands of Volunteer Stadium, the players—some in wheelchairs, others on crutches or holding white canes, and others with developmental challenges—made their way onto the field. Most of the Little League teams attended this game. Many of the players sat with their teammates, but some joined their families.
As he made his way into the stands, Liam waved to several boys from International teams. The Australian and Japanese players weren’t there; they were readying themselves for the International Championship game, which was scheduled to start at twelve thirty.
Liam took a seat, keeping an eye out for Carter and their families. Before the game, he’d been wondering what to say when he saw him. “Good luck”? “May the best team win”? Nothing seemed right.
Then Coach Driscoll offered him and the other West players a suggestion: “Put the U.S. Championship out of your minds this morning. Don’t talk about it. Don’t even think about it,” he said. “Just be friends enjoying a ball game together.”
Coach Driscoll’s advice sounded good to Liam. So when Carter sat down next to him a few minutes later, he passed it on. Carter seemed relieved and instantly agreed to not discuss the upcoming game, either.
“Dudes!” Sean thundered his way up the stands and plopped down between his brother and Phillip.
Liam had been looking forward to seeing Sean. He almost didn’t recognize him, though, because he wasn’t wearing his typical outfit of food-stained T-shirt and gym shorts. Instead, he had on a short-sleeved polo shirt and khaki shorts. His red hair was combed smooth, and his socks matched, which was also unusual for him.
Rodney apparently thought so as well. “What’s with the getup?”
“What, is it a crime to look nice?” Sean retorted.
“No, but it does make me suspect you’re up to no good.”
Sean turned his back on his brother and greeted Liam.
“So, how do you like my old neighborhood?” Liam asked.
“It’s a really cool area,” Sean replied enthusiastically. “I’ve been seeing a lot of it because I’ve been taking Lucky Boy for walks,” he added with a nod at Carter. Lucky Boy was Carter’s dog. “Or I guess I should say he’s been taking me for walks because I let him lead the way. We went to this one place way back in the woods behind your houses. It was like a little cave beneath a rock overhang. You know the place I mean?”
Liam exchanged a smile with Carter. “Yeah. We found it a long time ago. We call it the hideout. No one else knows about it”—he lowered his voice—“not even our parents. We used to go there when we wanted to get away from everyone, you know?”
“Dude, you busted in on their secret hangout!” Rodney chastised.
Sean looked apologetic. “Oh, man, I’m sorry.”
Carter laughed. “That’s okay. I showed it to Ash already anyhow. But don’t tell anyone else.”
“Um…” Now Sean looked guilty. “Someone else might have seen it.”
Liam gave Sean a horrified look. “Not my sister!”
“No, no! Her.” Sean pointed to a girl on the field. She had a long brown ponytail sticking out of the back of her baseball cap. The “buddy” was busy assisting one of the Challenger players.
“That’s Rachel Warburton,” Carter said. “Don’t worry about telling her. She’s cool. But how’d you meet her?”
“She stopped by your house earlier this week. I was on my way out with Lucky Boy. She came with.” Sean started fiddling with the buttons of his shirt.
“That’s it!” Rodney suddenly exclaimed. “She’s why you’re all dressed up! You like her!”
“What? No! Like her? No way!” Sean protested. But his beet-red face said otherwise, making the other boys crack up.
“Hey, look, there’s Mr. Delaney,” Carter said, indicating a tall man with dark hair and hawk-like features. He leaned forward to direct his next comment to Phillip. “He’s the one who taught me how to throw the knuckleball. And that’s his son, Matt, in the wheelchair. Matt’s one of the Challenger Division coaches.”
The game started a short while later. Rachel stood with the leadoff batter, a girl with thick glasses. When the girl connected with a pitch, she and Rachel jumped up and down with excitement. Then Rachel took her hand and led her down the base path to first base. Both girls’ smiles were radiant.
That’s how baseball should be, Liam thought as he followed their progress. No snarkiness, no getting upset when you muff a play or strike out. Just… happy to be playing. He decided that from now on, he’d do his best to play that way.
He and his teammates watched the game, then made their way next door to Lamade for the International final. The game promised to be a nail-biter. It lived up to its promise, too, going four scoreless innings. Then, in the bottom of the fifth inning, the stalemate ended with two powerful hits.
Pow! Nigel, one of the Australian boys Liam had met at the pool, laced a line drive that whizzed past the pitched and between the second baseman and shortstop. Both the centerfielder and the left fielder raced in to get the ball as it bounced through the grass. Then both stopped short, heads turned toward each other.
Liam knew in an instant what had happened. Each outfielder thought the other was going to make the play!
A split second later, the centerfielder charged in, scooped up the ball, and threw to second. But he was too late. Nigel slid in under the tag.
“Safe!” the umpire called.
From where he sat, Liam could see the center fielder’s shoulders sag. The right fielder turned away as he returned to his spot. But then he turned back, ran to his upset teammate, and patted him on the shoulder. The center fielder looked up and nodded. Both boys hurried to their positions. The center fielder pounded his fist into his glove a few times and then readied himself for the next pitch.
Good for you, Liam thought. Put it aside and get ready for—
Ping!
Liam leaped to his feet at the sound of bat meeting ball. He tracked the ball as it soared high and deep into left field—and then applauded with the rest of the fans as it dropped out of reach behind the fence. He didn’t know the boy who had hit the homer, but he could easily imagine what his face looked like just then: one enormous smile!
Those runs proved to be the only two of the game. Try as they might, the players from Japan could not get a runner across home plate.
Final score: Australia 2, Japan 0.
An hour after the International game concluded, the West and Mid-Atlantic teams arrived at Lamade for the U.S. Championship. The crowds had swelled to capacity, covering the Hill with chairs, blankets, picnic baskets, and banners, and squeezing into every available seat in the bleachers. The afternoon sun filtered through thin cloud cover, providing lots of light but few shadows and no glare. The red dirt, groomed and wetted down between games, made a sharp contrast with the freshly painted baselines. The infield and outfield grass had been mowed to turf height the day before, and any stray debris had long since been removed.
Suddenly, the music that had been playing stopped, and the loudspeaker crackled. A hush fell over the stadium. Dugout, the Little League mascot, stopped his antics to listen.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer’s voice boomed, “and Little League fans the world over, welcome to the United States Championship of the Little League Baseball World Series!”