Dirty Faces- Book 1

Chapter 11: Ground Ball

Chapter 11: Ground Ball

It couldn't have been a hotter, more humid day for a ball game, Ginny was sure as she wiped the sweat from her brow. And the fact that it hadn't been an easy game wasn't helping matters; Cricket's gang was turning out to be a more formidable opponent than they had expected. She looked down the line at all the others and could tell they were just as worn out as she was.

She looked out to the field and appraised their handy-work from the previous day. Miss Fulchum had let them have the bases for the day after all so the stolen flour had just been used for lines, which were admittedly crooked but still managed to make the field appear less pathetic. Tommy's effort in sweeping up the coal dust had been in vain, though, because when they'd arrived that morning the field was once more covered, just like every other outdoor surface in town.

Now in the ninth inning they were ahead by two runs with two outs and no runners on base, and Freddy, who was certainly not among their strongest hitters, was up to bat. Cricket struck him out effortlessly. Ginny mentally groaned as she picked up her glove to head back out to the field and shook her head as she looked down at the beat-up right-handed glove. She could never understand Tommy's insistence that she play first. True, it was an ideal position for a lefty, but not one who threw right because she only had her brother's hand-me-down right-handed glove.

The first batter, a big boy who Ginny believed was one of the Tates, hit the ball clear past the stakes Tommy had driven in the ground to mark the outfield fence boundary. Tommy's jaw tightened as the big boy trotted leisurely across home plate. The next to bat, a small boy with buck teeth, managed a single. Ginny had to turn her head to keep from laughing when he looked up at her and grinned with those big teeth. He was a nervous little thing, shifting his weight from foot to foot then jumping with each pitch. The next boy, however, was unable to advance him to second; Tommy struck him out.

Two strikes in on the next batter, the buck-toothed boy foolishly attempted to steal second. Tommy ducked out of the way just in time as Kody fired the ball to Andy who tagged the little guy out. As the defeated runner slumped off the field, Andy took his hand out of his glove and shook it, all the while shooting a disapproving glare at Kody.

The next guy hit a single and the next a double. Tommy looked to be sweating more than the rest of them and Ginny prayed he would strike Sam Green out when he stepped up to the plate. Sam was known more for his status as school-yard bully than for any particular athletic prowess so she felt confident the game was pretty much over. He swung wildly at the first pitch; strike. Tommy popped his neck and loosened his shoulders before the next pitch.

Another wild, angry swing; another strike.

Tommy took a deep breath and pitched what would certainly be the last pitch of the game. A split second after he released the ball, the bat cracked.

Sam knocked a grounder between the mound and first, nearer to first. Ginny was taken by surprise and lunged for it, but moved too slow. Her glove grazed the ground just as the ball passed it and continued rolling into the outfield. Fortunately, Jack quickly retrieved it but not before the runner on third crossed home. He was close enough in to propel it home, but the next runner was fast. The ball landed in Kody's mitt a fraction of a second after he tagged home.

Ginny looked over at Tommy in the middle of the field, both hands atop his head. She knew the loss would be a hit to his ego- what ego he possessed- and she felt her cheeks flush with shame. She should have moved faster, should have got that last out, shouldn't have assumed anything. She had let her best friend down. Maybe that's what he got for letting girls play a boy's game.