Read Online Extra Innings by Ronde Barber and Paul Mantell Tiki Barber - Free Book Online Page A
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Tiki took off for second. The pitch was in the dirt, and when Tiki got up, he saw that the catcher hadnât caught up to the ballâso he took off for third!
The throw there was high, and the third baseman leapt to catch it but couldnât come down with the ball. By the time he retrieved it, Tiki was crossing home plate with the gameâs first run!
âThatâs how we do it!â Coach Raines hollered. âAttaboy, Tiki!â
The next three Eagles hitters went down without even making contact, but it didnât matter. For now they still had the leadâif only they could keep it.
Tiki fielded two sharp grounders for the first two outs of the next half inning. Then a screaming liner came Rondeâs way. He reached for it, and the ball went off the end of his glove and landed a few feet away. He ran to get it and, seeing that the hitter was heading for second, threw a bullet to the bag that nailed the runner midslide!
âYeah! Yeah! Yeah!â Coach Raines bellowed. âThatâs keeping your head in the game! Great play!â He was more excited than Ronde had ever seen him!
Ronde came to bat in the second inning with two men on and two down. He knew enough not to try to bunt with two outs, and a ground ball would mean a force at any base but home. So he knew the coachâs advice didnât apply to this situation. He either had to walk and leave it up to Tiki, who was on deck, or somehow get a ball through the infield and drive in the runs himself.
The first pitch whizzed by his ear, and Ronde threw himself to the ground to avoid it. The second pitch froze him as it dropped over the plateâa changeup!
Wasnât this guyâs fastball hard enough to hit? He had to have a changeup, too?
Ronde saw another changeup coming and lunged at it, but he was too quick and the ball plopped into the catcherâs mitt for strike two.
Now he had to protect the plate, he knew. The fastball screamed toward his head, and he ducked againâbut it wasnât a fastball after all. It was a curve, and it dropped across the plate while Ronde cowered with his hand across his face.
âStee-rike three! Yer out!â the umpire called.
Ronde, more frustrated than ever, headed back to the bench and grabbed his mitt. Next time up, he swore to himself, heâd be ready to swing at any pitch that was close.
John Benson, the Eaglesâ pitcher, settled into a good groove and kept the Mountaineers scoreless for the next two innings. Meanwhile Tiki bunted his way on for a second straight timeâand this time Ian Lloyd, the new cleanup man, hit a double to drive him in for the second Eagles run.
Ronde got another chance at the plate in the top of the fourth, with a man on third and two out. This time he swung blindly at two straight pitches, hitting nothing but air. On the third pitch he took a ball in the dirt. The man on third almost came home but thought better of it, and a good thing too. The catcher retrieved the ball and would have had him dead to rights.
The next pitch looked inviting to Ronde, and he swung at it, trying only to make contact. But heâd misread the pitch. It was a changeup not a fastball, and Ronde was way ahead of it.
âStee-rike three!â the ump yelled, and once again Ronde went back to the bench, defeated. âI stink at this game!â he muttered to himself as he grabbed his mitt.
In the bottom of the fourth, East Side came back to score two runs and tie it up. But in the fifth, Tiki got an infield hit leading off. He stole second, and came home with two outs on an error by the Mountaineersâ first baseman, as the Eagles regained the lead, 3â2.
The score stayed that way until the top of the sixth, when Ronde came to the plate with two out and a man on third. After swinging and missing twice, he was so frustrated that he nearly threw his bat at the backstop fence. Luckily, he stopped himself, or he might have been thrown out of
The throw there was high, and the third baseman leapt to catch it but couldnât come down with the ball. By the time he retrieved it, Tiki was crossing home plate with the gameâs first run!
âThatâs how we do it!â Coach Raines hollered. âAttaboy, Tiki!â
The next three Eagles hitters went down without even making contact, but it didnât matter. For now they still had the leadâif only they could keep it.
Tiki fielded two sharp grounders for the first two outs of the next half inning. Then a screaming liner came Rondeâs way. He reached for it, and the ball went off the end of his glove and landed a few feet away. He ran to get it and, seeing that the hitter was heading for second, threw a bullet to the bag that nailed the runner midslide!
âYeah! Yeah! Yeah!â Coach Raines bellowed. âThatâs keeping your head in the game! Great play!â He was more excited than Ronde had ever seen him!
Ronde came to bat in the second inning with two men on and two down. He knew enough not to try to bunt with two outs, and a ground ball would mean a force at any base but home. So he knew the coachâs advice didnât apply to this situation. He either had to walk and leave it up to Tiki, who was on deck, or somehow get a ball through the infield and drive in the runs himself.
The first pitch whizzed by his ear, and Ronde threw himself to the ground to avoid it. The second pitch froze him as it dropped over the plateâa changeup!
Wasnât this guyâs fastball hard enough to hit? He had to have a changeup, too?
Ronde saw another changeup coming and lunged at it, but he was too quick and the ball plopped into the catcherâs mitt for strike two.
Now he had to protect the plate, he knew. The fastball screamed toward his head, and he ducked againâbut it wasnât a fastball after all. It was a curve, and it dropped across the plate while Ronde cowered with his hand across his face.
âStee-rike three! Yer out!â the umpire called.
Ronde, more frustrated than ever, headed back to the bench and grabbed his mitt. Next time up, he swore to himself, heâd be ready to swing at any pitch that was close.
John Benson, the Eaglesâ pitcher, settled into a good groove and kept the Mountaineers scoreless for the next two innings. Meanwhile Tiki bunted his way on for a second straight timeâand this time Ian Lloyd, the new cleanup man, hit a double to drive him in for the second Eagles run.
Ronde got another chance at the plate in the top of the fourth, with a man on third and two out. This time he swung blindly at two straight pitches, hitting nothing but air. On the third pitch he took a ball in the dirt. The man on third almost came home but thought better of it, and a good thing too. The catcher retrieved the ball and would have had him dead to rights.
The next pitch looked inviting to Ronde, and he swung at it, trying only to make contact. But heâd misread the pitch. It was a changeup not a fastball, and Ronde was way ahead of it.
âStee-rike three!â the ump yelled, and once again Ronde went back to the bench, defeated. âI stink at this game!â he muttered to himself as he grabbed his mitt.
In the bottom of the fourth, East Side came back to score two runs and tie it up. But in the fifth, Tiki got an infield hit leading off. He stole second, and came home with two outs on an error by the Mountaineersâ first baseman, as the Eagles regained the lead, 3â2.
The score stayed that way until the top of the sixth, when Ronde came to the plate with two out and a man on third. After swinging and missing twice, he was so frustrated that he nearly threw his bat at the backstop fence. Luckily, he stopped himself, or he might have been thrown out of
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