Baseball World Series Page 9

  “Here you go, Jon! You got it!” Carter yelled.

  Jon watched the first pitch zip by for a called strike. He let the second one pass, too. When that was ruled a strike as well, he quickly stepped out of the box. Bouncing on his toes, he shook out his arms and tilted his head from side to side. The moves looked like a ritual to Carter, something Jon did to help him get loose and focused. If so, he hoped it worked, for Australia’s sake.

  Jon got back into position. The pitcher wound up and threw. Jon swung. Pow!

  Carter and his teammates leaped to their feet. Carter tracked the high fly ball as it soared through the blue sky—and dropped behind the fence! With that blast, Australia pocketed the win, 5–4.

  When Carter saw Jon in the dining hall that night, he made a beeline for him. “Congratulations, man! That walk-off homer was amazing!”

  Jon blushed to the roots of his blond hair at the praise and grinned with happiness. “Ta, Carter,” he replied. Carter had learned that ta was the same as thanks. “I have to admit, it felt good. Felt bad for the Asia-Pacific players, though, you know?”

  Carter nodded his understanding. “You going to the U.S. game tonight?”

  “Nah, I’m spent. If I watch, it’ll be in the rec room. You?”

  “Liam’s playing, so I’m going to Lamade.”

  “Oh, right! If you see him, tell him I’ll be barracking for him!”

  “Um, what?”

  Jon laughed. “Sorry, I keep forgetting you don’t speak Strine,” he replied, meaning Australian lingo. “Barrack means to cheer.”

  “In that case, I’ll tell him!”

  Carter didn’t see Liam before or after the game, however. But he “barracked” for his cousin through six innings. And when the game ended with West beating the New England team from Massasoit, Massachusetts, 8–5, he whipped out his phone and sent him an excited text.

  Doofus! You’re in the U.S. Championship!

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-THREE

  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 b
all 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!”

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-FOUR

  When Coach Harrison had announced the lineup earlier, Carter had to hide his disappointment. He wasn’t starting on the mound. Then the coach had taken him aside and explained why.

  “If we had won this game last year, you wouldn’t have been able to pitch in the World Series title game because of your pitch count. This year, I want to be sure that if we win today, you’re set to take the mound. So I’m saving you for the final innings of this game.”

  A thrill had shot up Carter’s spine. Little League rules prohibited pitchers from taking the mound the next day if they threw more than twenty pitches in a game. Knowing the coach’s plan made Carter much happier to be starting at third.

  He was happier still that Mid-Atlantic had won the coin toss. As the home team, they would have the final turn at bat. If they were behind in the sixth inning…

  He shook his head. Don’t even think that, he admonished himself. Believe.

  West took to the field first. Carter noted that Phillip wasn’t the starting pitcher, either, but was stationed at third base. After West’s time was up, the Mid-Atlantic players took the field for their pregame warm-ups.

  Just as they were finishing, Carter heard his name called. He turned to see Liam grinning at him from the third-base dugout.

  “Hey, dork, didn’t you forget something?” Liam held up a fist.

  Carter grinned back and held up his fist, too. They fist-bumped the air three times. “See you out there, doofus,” Carter said. With excitement spreading through his veins, he hurried off to join his teammates in the dugout behind first base.

  The game began. Luke was on the mound for Mid-Atlantic. Ash was behind the plate. Keith was at first, Freddie at second, Raj at shortstop, and Carter at third. Manning the outfield were Charlie M. in left, Peter in center, and Craig in right. Substitutes Ron, Charlie S., Allen, and Stephen were in the dugout, cheering along with the crowd.

  First up for West was shortstop Dom. Carter pounded his fist into his glove and shouted, “Here you go, Luke!”

  Carter heard Liam and the other West players encouraging their teammate, too. He blocked them out and focused.

  Luke went into his windup and threw. Dom swung and missed.

  “Yes!” Carter murmured.

  Dom connected with the next pitch, a grounder that bounded through the grass right to Freddie. He fielded it cleanly and sent the ball to Keith’s outstretched glove for out number one.

  Phillip was up next. He looked three pitches into Ash’s mitt. Two were balls and one a called strike. He swung at the fourth and missed. With the count two-and-two, he took a big cut at the next pitch.

  Pow! It was a line drive right back at the mound. Luke had a split second to react. He stuck out his glove as he ducked. Whap! Amazingly, the ball landed smack in the pocket!

  For a moment, Luke looked confused. Then, realizing what he’d done, he grinned. He ended the inning with a three-pitch strikeout on Matt.

  “Huddle up, boys, huddle up!” Coach Harrison called. When the players were gathered in a circle, he said, “Now let’s hear it!”

  “Mid-Atlantic, one-two-three! Mid-Atlantic, one-two-three!”

  “Go start us off, Freddie,” Coach Filbert added.

  Freddie gave him a nervous nod and hurried to the plate. He ticked three pitches foul and missed the fourth for the first out. Keith and Craig both grounded out.

  “And with the score zero to zero, that brings us to the conclusion of the first inning,” the announcer reminded the crowd.

  Rodney started things off for West in the second inning with a crushing double. Then Liam knocked out a single that got past Raj and sent Rodney to third. Mason got a hit, too. As the ball bounced just out of Freddie’s reach into the outfield, Rodney ran for home like he was being chased by wolves. Liam stopped at second and Mason stood at first.

  That run was all West put on the board that inning. Nate struck out and then Christopher hit into a double play.

  “Okay, boys, now it’s our turn to get runs on the board,” Coach Harrison said. He handed Ash a helmet and gave him a thumbs-up as he selected a bat.

  “You get on base,” Charlie M. called as Ash headed to the plate, “and I’ll hit you home!”

  Ash did as Charlie M. requested, leading off with a single. Charlie M. couldn’t get him home. Instead, he got on base with a walk.

  That brought up Carter. So far in the tournament, he hadn’t been much of a threat at the plate. He jogged to the box now, giving himself a quick pep talk.

  You can do this, he thought. Just focus on the ball and swing!

  Just before he stepped into the box, he glanced at Liam. Unlike Carter, Liam was a powerful hitter. Suddenly, something his cousin had once said about his own hitting flashed through Carter’s mind: “I imagine I’m a spring, wound tight and ready to go. Hit the release button and wham! I uncoil and hit that pill out of the park!”

  Carter had often tried to visualize that same thing when hitting. It hadn’t worked for him, so he’d given it up. Now as he hefted the bat over his shoulder—

  Try it again! a small voice urged him.

  Elton wound up and threw. Carter uncoiled. Ping! The ball flew just over Phillip’s head and rolled fair. As Nate raced to nab it, Ash motored toward third. He hit the dirt and slid to the bag with time to spare. Charlie M. reached second. Carter, breathing hard and silently rejoicing, stood at first.

  It worked! he thought jubilantly. It really worked!

  Carter had time to catch his breath as Raj, up next, fouled five in a row before striking out. Peter also made an out with a pop-up that landed in Elton’s glove.

  Come on, Luke,
Carter thought as he watched his fellow pitcher head to the plate. Luke let one go by. Then another. Then—pow! He laced the third between first and second! Ash scored. So did Charlie M. Carter obeyed the third-base coach and held up at second. But Freddie grounded out, so he didn’t get any farther that inning.

  The score changed again in the third inning.

  Mid-Atlantic 2, West 1. Elton pounded Luke’s fastball into deep center field. Peter dashed to make the catch but couldn’t get under it. By the time the ball reached the infield, Elton was safe on third.

  “Come on, Dom, bring me in!” Elton cried.

  Not to be outdone, Carter bellowed, “Stay tough, Luke, stay tough!”

  Elton took off for home when Dom hit a grounder that found a hole between Keith and Freddie. By the time Craig got to it, Elton was crossing the plate.

  Things went from bad to worse for Mid-Atlantic after that. Phillip got a single that moved Dom from first to second. That brought up Matt. Matt had struck out to end the top of the first inning. This time, he smacked a line drive into the gap for a double. Dom scored, but Phillip was held up at third.

  Carter suppressed a groan when he saw that the next batter was Rodney. A power hitter, Rodney was always a threat at the plate.

  Luke’s pitch was low, but Rodney went for it anyway, swinging the bat like a golf club and launching the ball skyward above third. It disappeared in the clouds for a second before Carter caught sight of it.

  “Mine!” Carter yelled. Glove overhead, he kept his eyes glued on the ball as it began its descent. He made the catch and immediately pulled out the ball, ready to throw if necessary. But Phillip and Matt hadn’t moved. Carter returned the ball to Luke.

  Now Liam came to the plate. A split second too late, Carter saw the look on his face. He knew that look. Heart racing, he whirled around and motioned to the outfielders.

  “Move back! Move back!”

  But his warning was too late.

  Wham!

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-FIVE

  Liam watched the ball soar as he raced down the base path. When he touched first, he knew.