Rhino laughed. “It worked like a bunt. Got me to third base.”
“Championship game, here we come!” Bella said.
Rhino packed his lunch most days, but pizza day was different. Grandpa gave him money to buy two slices. So, the day after the playoff win, Rhino joined Carlos, Bella, and Cooper for another meeting about the skit—this time with pizza.
Carlos was walking a little stiffly, but he insisted his shin was fine. “Just a tiny bruise,” he said.
“Let’s hear your ideas,” Bella said.
None of the boys had any new ones. Rhino had put all his energy into baseball.
“The dinner is only two days away,” Bella said. “Not much time.”
But in between was the championship game on Thursday against the Sharks.
“Maybe we should just stick with what we came up with on Monday,” Cooper said. “That way we can focus on the game.”
“We came up with an idea on Monday,” Bella said. “Not a script. We need to write one. And we need to practice.”
“Are we going to play music?” Carlos asked. “I can bring my portable keyboard.”
Bella shook her head. “I don’t think you guys want to haul that equipment to the dinner. This is for fun. We can sing without instruments.”
Rhino took out a pen and a notebook. “I’ll write down the lyrics.”
Everybody took a big bite of pizza and chewed slowly. No one had any idea what to say.
“Remember, it should be funny,” Bella said.
Everybody took another bite.
“I guess it would be funny if we stood up there and didn’t sing at all,” Carlos said. “Like we were too nervous to even speak.”
“We don’t want people laughing at us. We want them laughing with us,” Bella said. “Remember, we started out nervous early in the season, but then we developed confidence.”
“What rhymes with nervous?” Rhino asked.
“Nothing,” Bella said. “But that’s the right idea. Let’s throw out some baseball words and find words that do rhyme. Then we can write a song around them.”
“Error,” Cooper said.
“Terror,” said Rhino.
“Double,” said Carlos.
“Trouble,” Rhino replied.
Bella laughed. “See? You’re good at this, Rhino. Let’s try homer.”
“Roamer?” Rhino said. “Domer?”
“Is that even a word?” Cooper said. “Try baseball.”
No one had a good rhyme for that one.
“That’s okay,” Bella said. “We’re making progress. Let’s write some lines for that first pair. Error terror.”
Rhino thought hard. Carlos cleared his throat and began speaking in a singsong voice. “I tried to catch a grounder, but made a stupid error, and every time I tried again, my brain froze up in terror.”
Rhino nodded. “Not bad.”
“Nice start, but making an error isn’t stupid,” Bella said. “Everybody makes them. So let’s be more positive. Like, you make an error, but then you follow it up with some great catches. So you’re getting rid of your terror, not building it up.”
“Good point,” Carlos said.
Rhino reached for his second slice of pizza. Bella pointed at him and said, “Write Carlos’s line down first.”
“I thought you didn’t like it?”
“But it’s worth keeping,” Bella said. “We have to start with something, then make it better. So write it down and we’ll keep writing new lines until we get it right.”
Rhino wrote it down, but then he had a new idea. “What if the singer is saying that he expects to be a terror, but in a good way? Like a home-run terror—a batter who always swings for the fences? And he thinks he’ll be a perfect fielder, too, and not make any errors. Hitting terror, never makes an error. Then the next line shows that he’s not as good as he thinks he is.”
“And he—or she—gets better after they put in some hard work,” Bella said. “I like that. Always building up the positive but showing that it doesn’t come easy.”
Rhino looked at the clock. The lunch period had raced by. “That bell’s going to ring in four minutes,” he said, picking up his second slice of pizza. “Time to be an eating terror. I’m not wasting a single bite of this.”
Bella put her palms on the table. “We can meet again tomorrow. We know what we need now, so everybody think of some rhymes tonight. We’ll wrap up the script tomorrow. Somehow we have to find a chance to practice, too.”
“We made a lot of progress today,” Rhino said. “At least now we know what we want to say.”
Bella held up two fingers. “Two days,” she said. “That’s not much time. And we have a championship game tomorrow evening. Plus schoolwork.”
“We’ll be okay,” Rhino said. “We’ve got four brains working on it. That ought to be enough.”
On Thursday, Rhino ate a light, early dinner with Grandpa and C.J. “I’ll snack after the game,” he said.
Rhino loved suiting up for the games, pulling his blue-and-white Mustangs jersey over his head, wiping any dust from his cleats, straightening his cap to look just right. Coach always said that looking sharp was an important part of the preparation. If you looked like a great player, you’d play like one.
Before they left for the field, Rhino took a few minutes to admire the trophies again. My championship trophy can go right next to Grandpa’s, he thought. And if I get a special award for best hitter or something, it can go behind my blue ribbon.
“Soon we’ll need a bigger trophy shelf,” Grandpa said from the doorway. “Ready to go?”
Rhino grabbed his glove and bat and hurried out the door.
At the field, he joined Cooper, Carlos, and Bella in right field. They formed a circle and tossed a ball back and forth, but they also tried out their song. They’d finally nailed down the lyrics during lunch that afternoon. Each of them took a turn singing a line. That way each one didn’t have to memorize the whole song. Rhino already knew his lines by heart.
The energy and excitement seemed even higher tonight than for the first playoff game. “We’re really here,” Rhino said to Cooper as they sat in the dugout while the Sharks took infield practice. “We’re playing for the championship!”
“Usual lineup and batting order,” Coach said. “We bat first tonight. Dylan’s pitching. Cooper can come in for an inning or two of relief if we need him.”
Rhino took a sip of water. The evening was warm with a light breeze blowing in from center field. An announcer was reading the starting lineups from a booth above the backstop. The smell of hot dogs and french fries filled the air.
The umpire yelled “Play ball!”
Rhino gripped his bat. “Let’s get some base runners!” he called.
The Sharks were the hottest team in the league, having won their last four regular-season games before routing the Tigers in the playoffs. But the Mustangs had been the last team to beat them.
The Sharks’ pitcher had a misleading curveball and a sinking fastball. He struck Cooper out on three pitches, and Bella only managed a slow grounder to the first baseman for the second out.
Rhino moved into the on-deck circle, but he was stranded there. Dylan hit a couple of foul balls before striking out.
“No problem,” Rhino said. He trotted to first base and threw a series of hard grounders to the other infielders. He smiled as Carlos scooped one up and made a nice throw back.
“Good as new,” Rhino said.
Carlos tipped his cap.
The Sharks’ pitcher batted first, and he didn’t waste any time. With a fierce swing, he sent Dylan’s first pitch on a towering drive toward the fence. Bella drifted back and reached, but the ball was way over her head. Home run.
“Nice shot,” Rhino mumbled as the pitcher ran past him.
“Okay, Dylan,” he called. “Settle down. We’ll get that run right back.”
But the Sharks had several good hitters. Two singles and a long double gave them a 3�
�0 lead. The Mustangs were already looking up out of a deep hole as they headed for the dugout after one inning.
“Put us back in it, Rhino,” Bella said.
“Blast one,” added Cooper.
Rhino felt his heart beating fast. He took a deep breath. He’d faced this pitcher before and managed some hits, but he felt unusually nervous this time. The Sharks’ big early lead didn’t help.
He swung hard at the first pitch and missed. The Sharks cheered. Rhino stepped back and took another big breath. One strike, Rhino thought. So what? He felt better already. That was a good swing.
The second pitch was outside. Rhino stared at the pitcher until he caught his eye. The pitcher looked away. Rhino grinned.
Here came the curveball. Rhino timed his swing just right and connected. The ball zinged toward the scoreboard behind the center field fence. Rhino dropped his bat and sprinted.
But just before Rhino reached first base, the center fielder caught the ball. Rhino shook his head and trotted to the dugout.
“Beautiful shot,” Coach said, bumping Rhino’s fist with his own. “You threw a scare into them.”
Carlos and Gabe both struck out. And the Sharks added another run in the bottom of the inning.
Now we’re the ones who are scared, Rhino thought. We need some runs! But the Mustangs went down in order in the third inning, too. They hadn’t produced a single base runner all game.
“Not a great way to end the season,” Cooper said. “We need a spark.”
“Next inning,” Rhino said. “Top of the order.”
But Dylan was shaky in the bottom of the third. He walked two batters. When a Shark smashed one off the fence in left field for a double, the Mustangs were six runs behind.
Coach called time-out and walked to the mound. Gabe trotted up from behind the plate, and Rhino ran over, too.
“Tired arm?” Coach asked.
Dylan shook his head. “My arm’s fine. They’re just pounding my pitches today.”
“It’s too early to bring in Cooper,” Coach said. “Think you can settle down?”
Dylan frowned and gave a quick nod. He looked angry.
“We do it for the Mustangs, remember?” Rhino said.
Dylan nodded. Then he struck out two batters to end the inning. That fired up his teammates. They ran to the dugout ready to score some runs.
Cooper drew a walk. Bella bunted him to second.
Rhino waited with Dylan in the on-deck circle. “Get on base and I’ll cut that lead in half,” Rhino said.
“I’m clearing the bases,” Dylan said. “First good pitch is going over the fence.”
“Just connect,” Rhino said. “One run at a time.”
Dylan hit the first pitch over the shortstop’s head, and Cooper raced home with the Mustangs’ first run of the game.
Rhino took a couple of swings and stepped into the batter’s box. He was thinking home run. But any solid base hit would be fine. Swinging for the fences often meant striking out.
Be smart here, he told himself. One run is better than none.
The Sharks’ pitcher certainly remembered Rhino’s deep fly ball in the second inning. Another couple of feet and it would have been a home run. So he pitched cautiously, keeping the ball low and inside. The first two pitches were balls.
Come on, Rhino thought. Pitch to me.
The third pitch was even closer. Rhino leaned back and didn’t flinch.
“Ball three,” said the umpire.
Usually, a batter will not swing at a pitch if the count is three balls and no strikes. The odds are that there’ll be another ball, and taking a walk is a safe strategy.
Rhino looked over at Coach Ray, who gave him the sign to swing if the pitch was good.
But the pitch was high and outside. Rhino rolled his bat to the dugout and ran to first base.
“Come on, Carlos!” Rhino yelled. The batters after Carlos were not strong hitters, so it was crucial for Dylan and Rhino to do some smart base running. Again, Rhino looked to Coach for a sign. Coach indicated a double steal. Rhino made sure Dylan saw the sign, too.
The pitcher tossed the ball to the first baseman, and Rhino hustled back before the tag. They know something’s up, Rhino thought. But we’re stealing. On this pitch.
The pitcher threw, and Rhino and Dylan took off. But the catcher had wisely called for a pitch-out. He caught the ball and hurled it to third. Dylan slid under the third baseman’s glove, but it looked like he was out.
Instead, the ball rolled free. Dylan was safe. So was Rhino.
The Mustangs in the dugout went wild.
Make contact, Carlos, Rhino thought as he stood on second base. Get us home.
Carlos hit the ball sharply to the second baseman, who looked home but then threw to first. Dylan scored and Rhino raced to third.
Two outs. The Mustangs had trimmed the lead to 6–2.
Gabe struck out to end the inning with Rhino still at third.
No easy runs in this game, Rhino thought. But at least they were on the scoreboard.
Dylan pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the fourth, looking much steadier than in the early innings. Rhino cheered for every Mustang batter in the fifth, but it looked like the sixth would be their next opportunity to score. He was surprised when Sara lined a two-out single into left field.
Cooper followed with a run-scoring double.
They’d pulled closer, but not close enough. Dylan pitched another strong inning. The Mustangs entered the sixth (and final) inning down 6–3.
“It’s up to us again,” Rhino said to Dylan, who put on a batting helmet to lead off.
“Who better than us?” Dylan replied.
“We’ve done it all season,” Rhino said. “Let’s go!”
Rhino felt his heart beating hard as Dylan and the Sharks’ pitcher began a lengthy battle. Ball one. Strike one. Ball two. Strike two. A couple of long foul balls. Another ball.
And a high, outside fastball for ball four.
Time for a big swing. But even a home run wouldn’t tie the score. The Mustangs batting after Rhino would have a lot of work to do, too.
Pitch to me this time, Rhino thought. No more safe throws. He glared at the pitcher and waited until the pitcher met his eyes. Rhino nodded slightly. Bring it on!
Wham. Rhino’s powerful swing sent the ball deep into the gap between the left fielder and center. He was nearly to second base before the center fielder picked up the ball, and he continued at full speed as he headed for third.
Dive, he told himself as the ball bounced a few feet from the third baseman. Rhino stretched his arms in a cloud of dirt and reached the base just in time. A triple! And an important RBI.
Rhino popped up and brushed the dirt from the front of his jersey. He tasted sweat dripping down his face.
Rhino gave three steady claps and yelled to Carlos. “Bring me home! Let’s do it!”
Carlos hadn’t had a hit in either playoff game. Rhino stayed alert, ready to scoot for home if the pitcher threw a wild pitch.
But Carlos banged the ball up the middle, and Rhino scored easily. They’d trimmed the lead to one run, 6–5.
Gabe followed with a double. The Mustangs had runners on second and third with no outs.
That was enough for the Sharks’ coach. He pointed to the shortstop and had him switch positions with the pitcher.
“We can do this!” Rhino said. “We can be champions.”
Carlos and Gabe stayed stuck on the bases as the next two Mustangs struck out.
Rhino shut his eyes. The Mustangs were still a run behind and down to their final batter.
“Another big hit, Sara,” Rhino called. Sara had never had two hits in a game. That single an inning before was the first base hit she’d had in a month.
But Sara shocked everybody with a line drive up the middle. Carlos scored the tying run. Gabe rounded third but hurried back when the pitcher caught the throw from the outfield.
Cooper grounded out, but the Mustangs were still a
live. A 6–6 tie going to the bottom of the sixth.
“Defense!” shouted Rhino as he grabbed his glove. The Mustangs had mounted an incredible comeback, but just one run would win it for the Sharks.
And it didn’t take long before it looked like that would happen. Dylan gave up a single, Carlos bobbled a ground ball for an error, and Dylan issued a walk to load the bases with one out.
Coach Ray called time-out.
“You gave it all you’ve got, Dylan,” Coach said as Rhino, Cooper, and Gabe joined him on the mound. He handed the ball to Cooper.
All of the Mustangs clapped and yelled as Dylan walked to shortstop. So did the spectators. Dylan looked at the ground, but finally he touched the brim of his cap to say thanks.
Rhino stared at the scoreboard while Cooper warmed up. He didn’t need to look. He knew the situation. 6–6. Bottom of the sixth. If the Sharks scored, it was over.
But Cooper came through. Six pitches. Two strikeouts.
Extra innings to decide the title!
And Rhino would be batting third.
Bella stroked a hard shot to third base, and just missed beating the throw to first for the first out.
Dylan was angry again. He’d nearly lost the game with some wild pitching. He watched an outside pitch go past, then walloped the ball deep into right field.
The crowd gasped.
But the ball fell short and the outfielder made the catch.
Just like that, the Mustangs had two outs.
Everything rested on Rhino’s shoulders. All eyes were on him.
He felt strangely calm. He’d been in this position before. Game on the line.
The pitch was fast, but the ball looked like a giant beach ball to Rhino. He unleashed a steady, powerful swing.
The outfielders never moved. They just turned and watched the ball soar far over their heads.
Home run. The farthest one he’d ever hit.
The Mustangs had stormed all the way back from a 6–0 hole and taken the lead. Rhino raced around the bases and stomped hard on home plate.
Cooper took it from there, sending the Sharks down to defeat with three quick outs.
“We did it!” Rhino shouted, racing to the mound and celebrating with his teammates. “We did it! We did it! We did it!”
Trophy Night Page 3