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Bases Loaded 7
The Last Game
Backinthelocker room, everyone is giddy. We made it to the finals, the championship game!
Coach Simons calls us together. “I was proud of you all before. But after what I just saw on the field. I’m honored to be your coach. We have one more game. One more. We are going to get food and rest. I want everyone hydrating and stretching. Stay limber. We don’t want any muscles getting tight. Let us know if you are sore or hurting in any way. We will do what we can to help. Okay, let’s go. You have parents waiting for you.”
Hugs and kisses await us. My mom rushs over to Taylor, singing her praises. I’m glad she remembered Taylor didn’t have a family here.
Hugging me, my mom whispers in my ear. “I really like Taylor. Maybe you two should get to know each other better.”
“Not a word, but we are going on a date when we get home.” She squeezes me harder.
Iced up and on the bus, Taylor fills me in on all the trash talking from this game. At first I thought it wasn’t a good thing to do, that it would make our team look bad. Most teams have catchers that will try to distract you by trash talking. Taylor, while she trash talked, she also asks lots of questions. Like how their families are. What they are majoring in at school. She really tries to distract them. It is hilarious. I enjoy listening to the conversations she has with the batters.
We are allowed one hour practice on the field before the game, so the coach kept our afternoon activities to a minimum, knowing we will play hard tonight. Several of us hang out in the breakfast area of the hotel playing cards and doing anything we can to take our minds off tonight’s game. The coaches are scurrying around, rubbing someone down, wrapping something up. If I was super tall, I imagine they would look like ants.
I get up from the table and go to use the bathroom in the hall. As I am opening the door to leave, Taylor pushes to come in. She looks at me, steps forward and sweeps her arm out, pushing me back against the wall behind the door. Squatting down to see if there is anyone in the stalls, she pops back up, looks at my face, and drives her mouth onto mine. I wrap my arms around her and pull her close. The steam off of us should fog up the mirror. Her mouth opens wider, and our tongues continue to twist and turn. Taylor pulls away from me, breaking the kiss.
“Just wanted to say hi.” She smiles a mischievous smile.
“Umm, hi.” I laugh at her.
“Now, I have to pee, and someone could come in.” Taylor pulls her arms away from me. As she closes the stall door, in comes Mia. Laughing, I step aside and walk out of the bathroom.
Whew, that was close!
Back at the table, Taylor and I can’t contain our laughter, nor can we tell anyone what we are laughing at. Pretty soon, the entire room is laughing, and no one knows why. Coach comes into the room, looks at all of us, shakes her head and tells us it’s time to go.
The hour of practice is nothing. Mainly stretching and a few pitches. Surprisingly, the locker room doesn’t feel nervous or worrisome. The girls are singing and in a calm mood until coach Simons enters and calls us together. “Ladies, this is it. Win or lose, you have impressed me more than I can express. I’m so thrilled to be here with you all. I know you can win this, I know you can. Do you all know you can win?”
A chorus of cheers and confident sounding YESES can be heard echoing off the walls.
“Okay then, let’s do this!” With that, we head out onto the field for the biggest game of our lives.
We are up to bat first and score one run. Then, when we take the field, Taylor runs out to the mound.
“Nervous?” She asks as we do what has become our normal routine.
“I wasn’t until we got out here. So, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t. How about you?”
“Me too. But I’m confident in our team and I know we can do this if we play as a team.”
“I agree. So, what do you want to cook for our first date?”
“What?” Taylor looks at me, shocked.
“What do you want to cook? You know food wise?”
“Oh, some sort of pasta would be good.” She looks shyly at me. “Truth be told. I haven’t dated much, so I’m kind of new to this.”
“Me too. How about we figure it out together?” Taylor beams and nods yes, then turns to run back to home plate.
The game is a rough one. We lead in one inning. The next they scored. Twice. Then we caught up. Our field is on point. They mainly score because they have some heavy hitters. Tied at the end, we go into extra innings with us up to bat last, just how I like it. My line drive over second base puts me on second base. Mia is a walk, so to first she goes. I can tell the pitcher is getting nervous the way she keeps looking around. The catcher comes out, and they have a chat. I’m sure to try and calm her nerves. Taylor is up next. Taylor is a switch hitter. Walking up to the plate, she heads to the left side but then changes and stands on the right. Which means she is going to try to drive it down the right field line. Glancing over at Mia, we exchange a look, and both know we better be ready to run.
Taylor’s first pitch is high and outside. The second one is a strike. The third, Taylor connects with and drives the ball over the right fielder’s head. That is all I have to see. I take off running to third base, looking at the coach. He is waving me home, so I round third and run like my pants are on fire. I can hear Mia behind me. Taylor is quick and makes it to third. Taking a moment to look up, the parents are on their feet cheering. Kori is next up. She takes her first pitch and sends it over the shortstop's head and with that Taylor scores.
And that is how we win the tournament! We are the first team in the University’s history to not only attend a tournament of this size but also the first to win.
Later, in our room, everything finally sinks in. I yawn and think back to how excited the coach and our parents were. All the hugs and kisses, then more hugs. The trophy they awarded to us is enormous. It will look so impressive in the case at school.
Taylor comes out of the bathroom and walks over to her bed. We both yawn, she climbs into her bed and we just smile at each other.
“How about Friday?” Taylor asks me.
“For?”
“Our date. How about Friday?”
My heart swells as I look at the woman who has so quickly captured my heart. “Friday sounds wonderful.
