The back-and-forth continued, and I called time so I could step off the bag and knock the dirt off me. When they were done arguing, I stood on second, waiting for the pitcher to step onto the mound. The second baseman threw it in, and we got ready to resume play.
The pitcher was still nervous about me, I guess. He had a pretty good move to second, but neither of his pick-off tries worked.
After the second pick-off attempt, I was standing on second base. As I was brushing the dirt off my uniform, the second baseman motioned like he threw the ball back to the pitcher. I grinned when I saw that he still had the ball.
“Nice try,” I said.
“I’ve fallen for it. They’ll try all kinds of tricks on you.”
He tossed the ball to the pitcher so the game could continue.
On the next pitch, Mitch hit a sharp grounder that split the first and second basemen. I used my speed to round third. I was waved through and saw Nick Golden, our first baseman, in the on-deck circle. He motioned for me to slide. Their right fielder had charged the ball and bypassed the cutoff man to try to throw me out. Their catcher had the basepath blocked, so I slid to the outside. I missed the bag with my foot, so I had to reach and tag it with my hand. This time the catcher would’ve had me, but he missed the tag. We were up 1–0.
Austin Moran pitched two dominant innings in relief of Allard. He struck out five of the six batters he faced and didn’t allow a single base runner. Shane Bays followed with two lights-out innings of his own, sending the batters down in order and striking out four out of six.
In the top of the seventh, we got busy again. Royce Greene led off with a single up the middle before back-to-back bunt singles by Jared Cornish and Tristan Pratt loaded the bases with no outs. Patrick Welch then grounded out to third base, allowing Royce to score, and Jared crossed the plate shortly after on a throwing error by the catcher. Logan Greene followed by singling through the left side to score Tristan for our fourth and final run in regulation.
Hagen Holmes took the mound for the bottom half of the seventh and allowed only one hit, a leadoff single, before retiring the Gators to secure the shutout 4–0.
In the two practice innings, the starters were pulled. Each team scored two runs apiece.
◊◊◊
Coach Kingwood talked to us in the locker room after the game.
“Good job out there. I can see what we’ve been working on showing up on the field. I think if we get that kind of pitching and enough offense, we should be fine in the upcoming tournament.
“Okay, let’s talk about what we have to do between now and tomorrow afternoon. Get yourself packed. If you want to go out to dinner on your own tonight, feel free. Otherwise, we’ll eat in the hotel. I don’t need to see you until noon tomorrow in the lobby when we’ll get on the bus and head to the airport.
“Does anyone have anything for me?” he asked and looked around. “Okay. Stay out of trouble tonight.”
With that parting shot, we were free.
◊◊◊
I invited my guys to our room. When Roc and Yuri joined Phil and me, I told them my plan.
“When I was a freshman, my brother helped me with women. Now that Phil actually has one that isn’t running away, it’s time for some Dawson guidance. If you two will allow me to help you, I’ll include you in his education. The only rule is that you can’t question my methods,” I said, waiting for the first little dumbass to do just that.
“What do you mean?” Yuri asked.
“You’re out.”
“What?” Yuri asked, shocked.
“What part of not questioning me was unclear?” I asked.
“It’s just … uh … never mind. I’m fine with whatever you have planned,” Yuri said, getting with the program.
I could see both Roc and Phil wanted to ask something, but I used my superpower and raised one eyebrow.
“Before we do anything else, we need to get you all to look like someone a girl might actually want to date.”
“But we have girlfriends,” Roc said.
“You’re out,” I said as I pointed to the door.
He laughed and shook his head.
“Sorry. I’ll behave,” Roc assured me.
“You want to give it a go?” I asked Phil.
“No. This is exactly what I hoped you’d do.”
I just nodded.
◊◊◊
Chuck took us to a big mall, and I looked at the map at the entrance. They had Jade, Abercrombie, and a sporting goods store that would carry Range Sports apparel. I first took them to get new haircuts. I was pretty sure Roc and Yuri had their moms cut their hair. If they paid for their haircuts, they were getting robbed. My brother looked like he’d gotten his at a chain store.
There was some whining, but no one said ‘no’ when I told Curtis, who had a crush on Roc, how I wanted them cut. I didn’t want to saddle them with what Cindy, Greg’s girlfriend my freshman year who’d help me become datable, had forced me to wear. While it looked good, I showered at least two times a day and didn’t want to mess with having something that needed styling.
