Perfect Game

by Matt Christopher

  As the broadcast cut to a commercial, Sean opened the pizza box, noted it was empty, and let the lid fall. “You going to finish that?” he asked, indicating the remains of the slice on Liam’s plate.

  Liam pushed it toward him. Sean carefully separated the edge with Liam’s teeth marks from the rest of the wedge and then began to eat.

  “What?” he said when Liam and Rodney exchanged amused glances. “I’m still hungry!”

  “Yeah,” said Rodney, “your day was pretty tough, what with all that sitting in the stands and eating hot dogs and ice cream and all.” He pointed to ketchup and chocolate stains on his brother’s shirt.

  Sean patted his stomach. “Just doing my part to support the local concession stand.”

  “Shhhh!” Liam shushed. “The game’s back on.”

  “Now batting for Forest Park… Carter Jones,” the broadcaster announced.

  “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon—YES!” Liam’s muttered encouragement turned into a shout when Carter hit a sizzling line drive and reached first. “That’s the way!”

  Unfortunately, Forest Park’s next batters, Raj Turner, Allen Avery, and Charlie Santiago, failed to follow up with hits of their own. The teams switched sides with the score still tied at one. In fact, it stayed that way through the next three innings. Liam was disappointed for Forest Park but psyched that when Pine Ridge’s home run hitter got up again in the fourth, Carter struck him out. He imagined Carter was even more psyched.

  “Okay, they just have to hold them and then get on the board their last at bat,” Rodney commented as Forest Park took to the field for the sixth inning. “Is Carter still pitching?”

  The announcer confirmed that he was. “Jones is now at fifty-one pitches. For those who don’t know the Little League rules, if he reaches a count of sixty-six total, he won’t be eligible to take the mound again for four days. I sure have enjoyed watching this boy pitch.”

  Liam whooped. “You got that right!” he cried happily. “Man, I wish he could have heard that!”

  “Wish who could have heard what?” a new voice inquired.

  Startled, Liam turned to the door. He had been so engrossed in the game he hadn’t heard Phillip enter. And Liam judged by Sean’s and Rodney’s surprised expressions that they hadn’t, either.

  “I was riding my bike by your house when I saw your dad out front trimming the hedges. He let me in,” Phillip explained. He slid onto a stool next to Liam, plucked a cucumber slice out of the salad, and jerked his chin at the computer. “What’re you guys watching?”

  He got his answer when the announcer boomed, “And Carter Jones strikes out Horace Brenner with his knuckleball!”

  Phillip froze, the cucumber in his hand midway to his mouth. Liam stared at the countertop, unsure of what to do or say. Sean and Rodney shifted uncomfortably on their stools.

  Then Phillip popped the veggie into his mouth and said, “So your cousin learned how to throw a knuckleball this year, huh?”

  Liam didn’t trust his voice, so he just nodded.

  Phillip selected a bit of carrot and held it up as if inspecting it. “His catcher have any trouble with it?”

  Liam shrugged. He knew, as Phillip obviously did, that the knuckleball could be as difficult to catch as to hit. He knew from experience, too: He had tried catching it a few times in June, when Carter and his mother had paid the McGraths a surprise visit. “I guess not,” he said, “since Carter keeps throwing it.”

  Phillip didn’t say anything more, just popped the carrot into his mouth. Liam figured he’d leave now that he knew what they were watching. But the pitcher stayed put, eating bits of vegetables out of the salad one after another.

  “Hey, guys,” Rodney said, “that Pine Ridge slugger is at bat again.” He tapped the computer keyboard to raise the volume.

  “Now approaching the plate… Jonathan Boyd. Boyd has been up twice this game. He hit a home run in the second inning and struck out in the fourth.”

  “Strike him out again, Carter!” Sean cried.

  Liam wanted to add his voice to Sean’s, but he didn’t, not with Phillip sitting right there.

  The kitchen went quiet except for the announcer’s voice coming through the laptop speakers.

  “Jones looks in. Takes the signal. Now he’s going into his windup.”

  Liam stole a quick glance at Phillip. The pitcher’s expression was intent, his eyes glued to the screen.

  C’mon, Liam urged his cousin silently, you got this!

  CHAPTER

  TEN

  Don’t give up.

  That was the thought going through Carter’s mind as he wiped the sweat from his brow. The sun was low on the horizon, but the humidity had rolled in along with shadowy clouds that blocked out the stars and moon. The air felt leaden and thick with moisture. Carter did his best to ignore it and focus instead on the batter at the plate.

  Just two outs to go, he reminded himself. Let’s make this guy number one.

  The Pine Ridge hitter stood outside the box, adjusting his batting gloves and helmet. Then he stepped in, hefted the bat over his left shoulder, and got into his stance.

  Ash flashed the signal: fastball, low and inside. Carter nodded once, went into his windup, and threw. He knew the pitch was off even before the call.

  “Ball!”

  His teammates yelled encouragement and then quieted as Ash returned the ball and Carter readied himself for the next pitch.

  This time, the signal was for a changeup. And this time, Carter’s aim was true.

  “Strike one!” the umpire yelled. The batter hadn’t even tried for it.

  He didn’t try for the next changeup, either, and with good reason. It missed the strike zone by a few inches.

  “Ball two!”

  Carter took a deep breath in through his nose and let it out slowly through his mouth. Then he waited for Ash’s next signal. When it came, he blinked in consternation.

  Knuckleball? But he creamed one of those out of the park!

  He chewed his lip, wondering if he should shake off the sign. But he didn’t.

  It’s a killer pitch, he told himself. You’ve struck out tons of guys with it. Maybe he just got lucky last time.

  If so, the batter got lucky again.

  Pow! The ball sailed so high and so deep it looked as if it might cut a slit in the darkening clouds overhead. Deafening roars sounded from the Pine Ridge players and their fans as the slugger once again took a home run trot around the bases.

  Carter hung his head and wished the ground would open up and swallow him right then and there.

  “Hey!” Ash jogged to the mound. Concern was etched across his face. “You okay?”

  Carter’s lips twisted as he struggled to keep his emotions in check. “I blew it,” he finally said.

  Ash put a hand on his shoulder. “Listen to me,” he said urgently. “You didn’t blow it. I did.” He shook his head. “I should have had you stick to changeups and fastballs. But we don’t have time now to debate about who should have done what. We have to get those last outs and then add runs of our own. Okay?”

  Carter took another deep breath. “Okay. Okay, I’m ready.”

  Ash gave him a thumbs-up and trundled back to the plate.

  Carter swallowed hard. Don’t give up. This time, though, the words didn’t motivate him. The next two batters both connected. Fortunately, his teammates stopped them from getting on base. The inning ended with just the one run added to Pine Ridge’s side of the board.

  Three outs later, that’s how the board still looked: Pine Ridge 2, Forest Park 1.

  Two hours later Carter lay in his bed in the dark, listening to rain patter against the dorm room window. He was alone because Ash was having a late-night snack with their teammates in the rec room. He had wanted Carter to come, too, but didn’t push when Carter said he wasn’t hungry.

  Carter was about to get up to change into his pajamas when he heard a familiar sound coming from his laptop. The sound mean
t someone was trying to get in touch with him to video-chat. He glanced at the caller ID and saw it was his mother.

  He hadn’t spent a lot of time with his parents after the game, preferring to get back to the solitude of his room. But now he was happy to see her, even if it was just on a computer screen.

  “Hey, sweetie,” she said, her soft voice and warm gaze enveloping him like a well-loved blanket. “You doing okay?”

  Carter lifted his shoulders and let them drop. “Not really. After all, it was my fault we lost.”

  Mrs. Jones’s eyebrows lifted. “Huh. That’s funny. I could have sworn there were other players on that field today besides you.”

  “Yeah, I know, but—”

  “But nothing. Carter, answer me this: Did you play your best today?”

  Carter nodded slowly.

  “And do you believe your teammates played their best, too?”

  “Coach Harrison said they did, that we all did really well.”

  “And you should believe him,” his mother said. “Everyone watching from the stands does.”

  Mr. Jones suddenly appeared behind his wife. “She’s right. You all played top-notch ball out there. But the hard truth is, sometimes even great teams get beat. That’s what happened to Forest Park today. What happens tomorrow”—he shrugged—“well, you can either let today’s loss bring you down or use it to bolster your determination. Which is it going to be?”

  Carter smiled for the first time since getting to his room. “Hmmm, tough choice, Dad. But I guess I’ll choose the second thing.”

  “Good. Now you two end this call, okay? Your mother is exhausted from all her cheering.”

  Carter laughed. “You got it. Thanks, Dad.”

  “See you tomorrow, son.”

  Carter’s mother blew him a kiss good night and then signed off. A moment later, however, the computer signaled that another video call was coming in. Assuming his parents had something more to say, Carter answered without looking at the caller ID. So he was surprised when Liam’s face filled the screen.

  “Yo, dork.” Liam’s greeting was subdued. “I watched your game on the computer today.”

  “Oh. So you already know what happened.”

  Liam nodded. “It really rots, man. I know you’ll win the rest, though.”

  Carter thought his cousin was about to add something else about the game. But he must have been wrong because all Liam said was, “Well, it must be pretty late there, so I’ll let you go. Good luck tomorrow, dork.”

  “Yeah, you, too.”

  It was only after he’d signed off that Carter realized they hadn’t shared their usual good-luck fist-bump.

  CHAPTER

  ELEVEN

  Coward. That was Liam’s opinion of himself after his brief video-chat with Carter. You didn’t say anything about your talk with Phillip, or about the fist-bump you did with him, or how Phillip listened to Carter’s game with you. If that’s not cowardly, I don’t know what is.

  He was still silently berating himself when he got into bed that night. The only way he could turn off the accusations was to promise his conscience that he’d tell Carter everything the next time they talked.

  Monday morning dawned bright and sunny without a hint of humidity. Liam woke up feeling better about holding off talking to Carter.

  It would have just brought him down.

  After breakfast, he, his parents, and Melanie piled into the car and headed off to the ball fields. Liam couldn’t wait to get there. He was playing outfield in Ravenna’s game against Zaragoza. Zaragoza had won its first game, beating Desert Rock 7–5. Liam hoped that win was a fluke because he really wanted Ravenna to stay undefeated.

  It did. While Zaragoza’s players made several strong defensive plays, they also made a lot of errors. Their batting just couldn’t compensate for those mistakes. Ravenna, meanwhile, played like a well-oiled machine, with every player contributing something to the winning effort. Final score: Ravenna 9, Zaragoza 2.

  The victory gave Ravenna a record of three wins and no losses. It also gave the team a day off on Tuesday while Zaragoza and Fair Valley battled for the right to face Liam and his teammates in the tournament’s final game on Wednesday. As much as Liam loved playing ball, he welcomed the day off.

  After Monday’s win over Zaragoza, Liam had planned to tune in to Carter’s game, but Melanie cornered him and Phillip outside the dugout.

  “Okay, you two,” she said. “You promised me a joint interview last week. I know you’re not playing tomorrow, so how about we take care of it this afternoon?” She put her hands on her hips and tossed her long brown hair over her shoulder, staring as if daring them to object.

  Liam shook his head in defeat. “She’s not going to take no for an answer,” he warned Phillip. “Better to just get it over with.”

  Phillip agreed, and they set the interview for four thirty.

  The next day, even though Phillip had promised he’d be there, Liam was a little anxious. When Melanie had arranged this joint interview before, Phillip didn’t show up because he had been mad at Liam for talking to Carter. Liam found himself watching the clock as the interview time drew near.

  He didn’t have to worry. The doorbell rang precisely at four thirty. Liam led Phillip to the living room, where Melanie had her camera set up.

  “Let’s just jump right into it,” she said. “Liam, you and Phillip were once rivals. Now you’re teammates. Tell me what it’s been like making that transition.”

  Liam started to reply. Phillip cut him off. “Can I answer that instead?”

  Melanie looked surprised but nodded.

  “So here’s the thing,” Phillip said. “Liam and I got off to a rocky start back at the Little League Baseball World Series. I’m not going to go into what happened there, though, because it’s all in the past.

  “Instead, I want to tell you how Liam has helped me since then.”

  Now it was Liam’s turn to look surprised.

  Phillip grinned. “It’s true! You know what I did when I heard you were in California and on a team in my Little League? I started practicing harder and with more focus than I ever had before, because I knew that when we faced each other during the regular season, you’d be gunning for me.” His grin broadened. “And I was right, too.”

  Liam gave a little laugh. “Yeah, you were. And I was practicing, too, for that same reason. Man, I wanted to get a hit off you so badly, I could taste it!”

  “And I wanted to strike you out again to prove to myself that that strikeout was no fluke.” Phillip shrugged. “By making that my goal, I got better.”

  “Me too,” Liam said.

  “And then you became teammates,” Melanie prompted. “What was that like?”

  “Weird,” the boys said in unison. Then they laughed.

  “I knew things would be tense,” Liam said. “Heck, I thought my stomach was going to flip out of me when I got to that first practice, I was so nervous.”

  “You didn’t show it,” Phillip said. “The way you marched up to me and congratulated me on winning the Little League Baseball World Series? You looked totally confident.”

  “So it was smooth sailing from there on out?” Melanie asked.

  “Um, not quite.” Liam glanced at Phillip. An unspoken agreement to stay silent about their conflicts passed between them. “But, like, the Little League Baseball World Series stuff, that’s all in the past now.”

  “And what about Carter Jones?” Melanie prodded. “Is he in the past now, too?”

  Liam narrowed his eyes. He didn’t care for the direction this conversation was heading. But once again, Phillip stepped in.

  “Carter and I have had some issues,” he said evenly. “But I respect him. He’s a really good pitcher. He’d have to be, I guess, to learn how to throw a knuckleball. I mean, I couldn’t do it.”

  Liam turned to him in amazement. “Wait, you tried to learn the knuckleball?”

  Phillip nodded. “Tried. Failed. Gave up, act
ually.”

  Liam burst out laughing. “Good thing, considering I’m your catcher now. See, I tried to catch Carter’s knuckleball. Tried. Failed. Gave up, actually.”

  “One last question, boys, if you don’t mind.” Melanie waited for their nods before continuing. “Tell me, what do you think Ravenna’s chances are for the postseason?”

  “Good,” Phillip replied immediately. “Better than good. Really, really good. I mean, we haven’t won Sectionals yet, but I think we can. And I think we’ll do well at Regionals, too.”

  “I agree,” Liam put in. “In fact, I’d like to make a prediction.” He turned and looked directly at the camera. “I predict that with Phillip on the mound, me behind the plate, and all the other guys—Rodney, James, Matt, Dom, Luis, Christopher, Nate, Elton, Carmen, Mason, Cole, heck, even Owen, although he’s injured—I predict that together we will go all the way to Williamsport and come home as champions!”

  Melanie smiled and turned the camera on herself. “You heard it here first, folks. Stay tuned to see if Liam’s bold prediction comes true—or if Ravenna watches the Little League Baseball World Series from California.”

  CHAPTER

  TWELVE

  One win, one loss. That was Forest Park’s record after its victory over Spotsville on Monday evening. The team hadn’t won by a lot, earning just three runs. But since it prevented Spotsville from getting even one, those three were enough.

  “A day off,” Ash said, stretching luxuriously in his twin bed Tuesday morning. Three games were on the tournament schedule, but Forest Park wasn’t in any of them. “I think I’ll sleep in!”

  He was up ten minutes later.

  “Curse my stomach,” he grumbled. “It insists on being fed at exactly seven thirty every morning.”

  Carter was hungry, too, so he got up, dressed, and joined Ash in the university dining hall for breakfast. Many of their teammates showed up as well, lured, no doubt, by the promise of pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, and more. They commandeered their usual table. Players from other teams did the same.