Hard Drive to Short (8 page)

It was hard to start shouting in the infield, shouting the way he used to before things had happened between him
and his friends. But he tried. “Come on, Dick! Drill that pill by ’im!”

Kerry Dean kept up the chatter, too. Then Nibbs, Ken and Marty. Cookie Lamarr, Stubby Tobin and Punk Peters joined in from
the outfield.

Dick pitched hard. A grounder to Kerry, a pop-up to Sandy, a strikeout. The Sharks went down one, two, three.

Kerry Dean led off with a walk. Nibbs struck out.

“Okay, Nibbs!” shouted Sandy. “Hit him next time!”

It was hard yelling that. But he forced himself to, and Nibbs looked at him with a kind of startled expression on his face.

Sandy pulled on a helmet and walked to the plate. He wondered if Nibbs, Jules or Punk would yell something at him,
but none of them did. It was the same few other guys who yelled.

He waited out Red Billings’s pitches, got a two-two count, then swung at a knee-high pitch. A long fly to center. The Sharks’
center fielder raced back and caught it. Cookie, up next, drilled a grass-cutter over the third-base sack for two bases, driving
in Kerry. The shortstop missed Marty’s hard grounder, and Cookie advanced to third. Stubby Tobin flied out to end the bottom
half of the first inning.

Dick Regan’s first pitch was drilled hard down to short. Sandy, holding his breath, waited for it. He tried to play the hop
— missed! The ball bounded over his head and rolled to the edge of the grass behind him. He raced after it,
picked it up, started to throw, saw that it was too late and held up.

“Sorry, Dick,” he said as he tossed Dick the ball.

“Forget it,” said Dick. “Get two.”

Sandy started the chatter. He wasn’t going to let that error bother him. His teammates quickly joined in. Dick threw. A long
drive to left center! Sandy took the throw-in from Cookie and relayed it home. It was a long triple, scoring a run.

Then Nibbs missed a hot grounder, and the man on third scored. Nibbs was scowling.

“Forget it, Nibbs!” yelled Sandy. “Let’s get two!”

Nibbs looked at him. A smile broke across his face. Sandy smiled back.

Nibbs spat into his glove. “C’mon!” he shouted. “Let’s go!”

A blistering grounder to second. Sandy ran over to cover. Nibbs fielded the ball and tossed it to Sandy. Sandy caught it,
touched the bag and pegged to first. A double play!

The Spacemen got a hit in the bottom of the second but failed to score. In the top of the third the Sharks couldn’t score,
either. Sandy started off the bottom of the inning with a double. Cookie singled. Sandy ran as hard as he could around third
and slid into home under the Sharks’ catchers mitt. Safe!

“Nice run, Sandy!” cried Kerry. “Hey, isn’t it almost time you left for home?”

“I don’t have to watch my kid sisters today.” Sandy grinned, pointing at the stands. “They’re here with my mother. She doesn’t
have to work today.”

Kerry, and some of the other guys who heard him, stared. “Is that why you always quit so early?”

“Sure. What other reason would there be?”

He expected a laugh. But they just looked at him, sort of dumbfounded.

Red Billings seemed shaken as he walked Marty. But then he struck out Stubby. That didn’t dim the Spacemen’s
hopes, though. Keeping up their steady chatter, they sounded like a chorus. It was like it used to be. Only better. Much better.

“Blast it, Ken!” they shouted as Ken Bockman stepped to the plate. “Out of the park!”

Ken almost did. The long blast to right center went for three bases, scoring Cookie and Marty. Punk flied out. The shortstop
missed Dick’s sizzling grounder, and Ken scored. Kerry flied out to end the big half-inning.

The Sharks picked up two in the top of the fourth. The Spacemen got them back on a double by Nibbs, a single by Sandy, and
an error. The Sharks hit Dick Regan hard in the fifth, collecting two runs. Two men were on when Coach Malone took Dick out
and put in Duke Miller.

Duke seemed to have trouble getting the ball over the plate. He walked the batter. A scratch single drove in the Sharks’ third
run of the inning. Then Duke bore down and, with the help of his teammates, retired the Sharks.

Duke led off in the bottom of the fifth. A cheer greeted him as he strode to the plate.
Crack!
A high-hopping grounder over Red’s head for a single. Then Frank Mintz, who had taken Kerry’s place at third, lined one out
to deep left. It kept going… going… It was gone! A home run!

Nibbs singled, then was put out when Ike Norman hit into a double play. Jules ended the bottom half of the inning by flying
out.

The Sharks came up for their last try to go ahead again. The Spacemen were
leading 9 to 7. A strikeout by Duke, a fly ball to Oink Decker in center field, and a grounder to Nibbs ended the ball game.

“Way to pitch!” yelled Sandy as he rushed out to Duke and grabbed his hand. “Nice going, Nibbs! Looked as if you had a magnetic
glove!”

Nibbs laughed. “How about going swimming after we get out of these monkey suits?”

“Sure!” exclaimed Sandy. “How about it, Jules?”

“Swimming? Man, I’m beat! But, sure! Why not?”

They started off the field together.

“Sandor! Wait for us!” came a cry behind them.

Sandy looked over his shoulder. There were Mom and his two sisters running after him, all three smiling happily.

Baseball Pals	Long Stretch at First Base
The Basket Counts	Look Who’s Playing First Base
Catch That Pass!	Miracle at the Plate
Catcher with a Glass Arm	No Arm in Left Field
Challenge at Second Base	Red-Hot Hightops
The Counterfeit Tackle	Return of the Home Run Kid
The Diamond Champs	Run, Billy, Run