CHAPTER XXII
TO THE RESCUE
Hicksley started off in good shape. The first man up went out on a foulthat Sparrow caught after a long run. The second batter, who wasleft-handed, could do nothing with the ball at all and went out onstrikes. The third man connected and shot a sharp grounder which Fredpicked up neatly and threw in plenty of time to Durrock at first.
The side was out, and hearty applause greeted Hicksley as he came in tothe bench, Bobby joining in as heartily as any of the others.
"That was a dandy start!" cried Bronson.
"Keep it up, Tom!" exclaimed Jinks, encouragingly. "They can't touchyou."
Rockledge was more fortunate in its half of the inning. Frank, who ledoff in the batting order, had two halls and one strike called on him,but on his second attempt he sent the ball on a line between center andright for three bases. He was tempted to try to stretch it to a homerun, but Bobby, who was coaching, saw that the ball would get therebefore him and held him at third.
The next batter fouled out, but Mouser, who followed him, sent a neatsingle to left on which Frank scored easily. Barry went out on strikes,and Mouser was left on the bag when Spentz died on a weak dribbler tothe box.
But Rockledge was one run to the good and had shown that they were in abatting humor, so that their rooters in the stand were jubilant at thepromising beginning.
The next two innings went by without a score for either side. Hicksleywas still pitching well, and the opposing pitcher had tightened upconsiderably.
In the fourth, Somerset broke the ice. The first man up laid down a buntthat Hicksley picked up, but threw wild to Durrock, and the batterreached second before the ball was recovered. A neat sacrifice put himon third, from which he scored on a long fly to right, which Spentzgobbled after a long run, but could not return to the plate in time tocatch the man running in from third after the out. No further damage wasdone as Fred and Durrock disposed of the batter, but the score was tied,and it was Somerset's turn to cheer.
But Rockledge got the run right back again in the fifth, and added onefor good measure. Fred smashing out a rattling two-bagger to left. Hestole third on the first ball pitched. Two infield flies followed, andit began to look as though Fred's hit had gone for nothing. Then Mouserbrought the stand yelling to its feet by a clean home run, followingFred over the plate and making the score three to one.
His comrades gathered around him, pawing and mauling him exultantly.
"That's what you call hitting it a mile!" cried Bobby.
"A lallapaloozer!" shouted Fred, doing a war dance.
"A peach!"
"A pippin!"
"You're all there, Mouser!" yelled Pee Wee.
Mouser grinned appreciatively at the medley of shouts that greeted him,and then retired to the bench, where he sat panting and happy.
Radford, the Somerset pitcher, pulled himself together and retired thenext man on strikes, and Somerset came in for its turn at the bat.
"Go for 'em now, fellows!" shouted their supporters.
"Eat 'em up!"
"Get right after 'em!"
"The game's young yet."
But Hicksley, encouraged by the two-run lead his team had handed him,was still more than they could solve, and again they went out into thefield runless.
The Rockledge boys also had a goose egg for their portion in their half,but this did not worry them much. The game was two thirds over, and atthat stage a lead of two runs looked mighty good to them.
But in the seventh inning their confidence began to give way to anxiety.Hicksley began well by retiring the first man on strikes. But then hebegan to lose control. Two batters in succession were given their baseson balls. A fine pickup of Fred's disposed of the next batter at first,each of the others advancing a base on the play. There was only oneother to be put out and end the inning without a run being recorded.
But the next batter landed square on the ball, which whizzed like abullet between first and second, and in a jiffy two runs came over theplate, tying the score. The batter reached second on the play and thenimprudently tried to make third. A quick throw to Sparrow caught him tenfeet from the bag and the side was out.
Hicksley came in shaking and with a strained look in his face. TheRockledge rooters yelled encouragement to him, but he paid no attentionto them and sat moping sullenly on the bench.
Frank and Mr. Carrier had a hurried consultation, and then the formercame over to Bobby.
"You'd better get out there at one side and warm up," he directed him.
Bobby did as ordered.
"What are you going to do?" demanded Hicksley in a surly tone. "Take meout and put that fellow in?"
"Not yet," answered Frank soothingly. "You've had a bad inning, but thatcan happen to any one. Perhaps you'll be all right after a rest. We'llsee how you start out the next inning."
The Somerset boys, with their chances brightened, had taken a mightybrace, and Rockledge went out in one, two, three order.
Hicksley took up his position in the box with an air of confidence thatFrank felt was assumed.
Still, the first ball he pitched cut the plate for a strike. The nexttwo were balls. Then followed another strike and a third ball, makingthe count three and two.
With both batter and pitcher "in the hole," the next was a hall and thebatter capered happily down to first.
Durrock walked over to Hicksley.
"How about it, Hicksley?" he asked.
"Let me alone," growled Hicksley.
The next batter connected for a clean single, advancing his mate tosecond.
Hicksley now was plainly cracking, and when he issued another "pass,"filling the bases, Frank motioned him to retire and beckoned Bobby tothe box.
Hicksley glared at Bobby as the latter came forward.
"Sorry, Hicksley," said Bobby regretfully, as he reached out for theball. "You pitched a dandy game for the first six innings."
"Yes, you're sorry a lot," snarled Hicksley. "You're tickled to death atthe chance to show me up."
Instead of handing the ball to Bobby, he threw it angrily on the groundand slouched away to the bench.
Bobby's eyes flashed, but he controlled himself, quietly picked up theball and took his position in the box. It was no time now to get angrywhen he needed above all things to keep cool.
It was a trying position for so young a player. The bases were full withno one out, and the Somerset rooters were yelling at the top of theirlungs, trying to rattle him.
A clean hit would bring in at least one run, probably two. Even a longfly to the outfield would probably enable the man on third to score.
"Go to it, Bobby, old boy!" called Fred from short.
"You can hold them!" encouraged Mouser.
"We're all behind you, Bobby!" sang out Sparrow.
Bobby sized up the batter and wound up for the first pitch.
Bobby Blake on the School Nine; Or, The Champions of the Monatook Lake League Page 22
