The Hitting Zone-Chapter 1198: V4 ch46 College World Series(4)

Monday came and I got to sleep the morning away. Grampa too. We were the two slowest to move but not the last to shower. That would be Dave and Noah, who both had worked up a sweat.

Mom and Dad let Grampa take us to lunch, saying that they would eat something quick from the hotel so they could keep working. We found a restaurant just down the block to try and it was more than good. The best cheese ravioli I ever had. I even asked Noah for the two that he couldn’t finish and he easily said yes. Your journey continues on novelbuddy

Dave didn’t give me the chance to glance at his plate. He smiled as he patted his stomach. "I can eat all my food, Jake. I’m no rookie like Noah."

Noah rolled his eyes as he waved a piece of bread at him. "It’s called different preferences. I’m all about the bread. This shit be good. Especially when it’s fresh out of the oven."

Grampa knocked once on the table. "Language. I don’t want you thinking it’s okay to talk like that in front of your mother."

"I wouldn’t." Noah defended. "Otherwise Dad or Zeke would knock me on the head."

I nodded in agreement and finished my last bite. I leaned back into my seat, rubbing my full stomach. "I think we should come here again tomorrow."

"No way. Let’s try something new." Dave said.

"You can try something new on the menu." Noah shot back. "It’s not often Jake finds something that he really likes. He ate so much; I think he gained five pounds from just this meal alone." He elbowed me. "You’ll have to workout with us tomorrow morning to burn these carbs."

I nodded sadly. "I know."

He laughed. "Come on, it’s not the worst thing in the world. Do some cardio, lift some weights. This time next week, we’ll definitely be back to the cages. For as long as you want."

After lunch, Dave and I got to work on our math lessons. The college professor had uploaded all the lesson plans, making me think that he had reused them from previous classes. It didn’t matter to me though. They explained the content of each chapter well enough, going over multiple examples. Dave and I made it all the way through chapter four before calling it quits to go to the game.

Monday night was a face off between the two losers of bracket one: UNC vs Washington. I thought Washington has such good pitching in their first game, maybe they would have another good one for this game. But no. UNC had a good offense when they had played Stanford on Saturday and they only looked better against Washington. They handed them their second loss and sent them packing from the tournament.

Tuesday’s schedule was slightly different. I did get up with Noah and Dave to use the hotel gym. A few times I would pause what I was doing as the staff from the hotel would check in on us because we were minors. Dave and Noah made fun of me afterwards, trying to say that not everyone was out to get me.

I defended myself for being skittish. "I know not everyone is out to get me. But you don’t know who is crazy, okay?"

"Then you just have to be crazier." Dave laughed.

We didn’t plan to do any lessons today after lunch since there was a doubleheader tonight. Stanford, with Rhys on the mound, would take on Mississippi State. It was never a close game with Zeke and Brady’s offense taking off early. Rhys could have done a complete game, ask anyone. But they took him out early, with the score 7-1. Dave said they kept him under 80 so he only had to rest three days. If they could make it to the finals, he would be used. Stanford finished the game up 12-2.

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Mom and Dad took Grampa back to the hotel afterwards, not really interested in the next game. Surprisingly, Zeke and Rhys joined us in their place as we waited for the next game to start.

Dave slapped Rhys on his non-pitching shoulder. "Great game. For a second, I thought you were going to fight to stay on the mound to do a complete game."

Rhys shook his head with a smile. "Maybe if I had a perfect game or a no hitter going. Then I might try to be a little selfish."

They talked pitching as we waited for the next game to start. It was the first two losers from bracket two. Texas versus Florida. Texas just couldn’t get anything going offensively and fell to Florida, 1-6. That would be it for them.

Wednesday was another doubleheader and the adults stayed back at the hotel as we watched Arkansas beat Texas Tech 7-4 and then UNC handed Mississippi State their second loss. Thursday, Texas Tech had to play the other single loss team, Florida. Their offense was there, but the pitching just kept giving up the lead and they lost 9-6.

Finally just two teams left in each bracket. Stanford versus UNC once more. If Zeke’s team won, they would be headed for the finals. If they lose though, they’ll get another try since they haven’t lost two games yet. Same deal for Arkansas in the other bracket. They had no losses while playing a team with one loss already.

"That douchebag!" Noah cursed at his phone as the three of us were getting ready for bed Thursday night. Dave and I both looked his way, but Noah didn’t elaborate. He just let out a few more curses. "Stupid jerk. I knew he wouldn’t tell us shit. Bet he didnt hide it from Marie." He tapped away at his phone.

Marie. Kyle. I looked to Dave. If Kyle had something to tell us, it would go through his twin if not the group chat. Dave got close to Noah to look over at his phone. "Why are so riled up? Are you texting Kaylee?"

"Kyle pitched today." Noah said. "I’m asking Kaylee if Marie knew. Cuz if she did, I swear to god, I’ll never talk to that dick again."

Dave moved around the room to get to his phone on the charger. "How do you know he pitched today then?"

"I check his team’s website every day since he got drafted." Noah said. "Right now their game is going and it says he’s on the mound." His phone dinged. "Kaylee said Marie didn’t know either and is asking how I knew." His shoulders seemed to relax a little.

I looked to Dave. "Are you looking the game up? Is there a way we can watch or listen?"

"Can’t." Noah answered. "I’ve looked into before. I think the level is too low. Or the season too short. So they don’t have a dedicated radio host. And it’s not like the fanbase can be big enough to warrant one. The rookie team changes every year."

"So we just watch the play by play?" I asked. Someone had to be keeping score, right?

"It’s probably way behind, but yea. That’s all we’ve got." Noah started to tap on his phone again. "I’m going to leave him a message that he better call his right when he gets a chance. I can’t wait to hear his excuses."

"Do we tell Zeke?" I asked next, glancing at the clock. It was already 10:30pm here. Zeke still had a game tomorrow. Granted, it wasn’t do or die for him. "What about Mom, Dad, and Grampa? They might be in bed already, but I think they’ll want to know."

Noah looked to Dave. "What do you think?"

"What do I think?" Dave asked, bewildered.

"Yea. You think like Kyle. Why wouldn’t he tell us about this? Should we make it a bigger deal and tell everyone we know?" Noah said. "I’ll definitely tell Rhys. He should still be up since he can’t pitch tomorrow. He can decide whether to tell Zeke that way I don’t accidentally wake him up."

Dave ran his fingers through his hair. "I don’t know. The polite thing would be to let people sleep, especially since Mom and Dad are still trying to work, but I think they would think that it’s a big deal."

"Okay, let’s go to their room and share the news." Noah didn’t need much convincing.