"Garret." Coach nodded at the new arrival. He handed over the baseball, putting it in Garret's hands. "You're down in the hole, but don't pay too much attention to that. We'll put some runs on the board in time."
"I'm not properly warmed up, Coach." Garret scrunched up his nose. "Give me some leeway."
Coach nodded, understanding. "If they put a lefty in, I won't hold it against you. But." He looked him in the eyes. "Two runs. That's all I can allow."
Garret nodded, holding the ball tight.
Coach looked around at us infielders. "Keep your heads up. We won't be held down for long."
"Yea!" We echoed.
Coach went back to the dugout and we all stepped off the mound to give Garret his space. The umpire gave him ten pitches with Alex before getting the game to resume. As the four of us circled up behind him, we could see Tanner running to the outfield with his glove. He spoke with Zeke and Mahki before going towards right, pushing Mahki to left field.
