Joelle had never seen Elizabeth so excited. “You’re never going to believe this!” her friend gasped. “My dad just got off the phone with some lawyer guy. He has to sign some papers, but we can use that field near Brooke’s house. The lady you guys went to see said yes!”
“She did?” Joelle rushed to give Elizabeth a hug. The two of them danced around the kitchen, nearly knocking the dishes off the counter.
“All right!” Joelle’s dad said.
“That’s wonderful news!” her mom exclaimed, coming to the door.
“And guess what else?” Elizabeth said. “Our game with the Kernels is rescheduled. For this coming Saturday!”
“Yes!” Joelle cried, punching one fist in the air. She and Elizabeth started spinning through the kitchen again.
“Well, girls, maybe this league of yours is finally a go,” Joelle’s dad said.
Maybe? Joelle thought. No way. There was no stopping the Eastern Iowa Girls’ Baseball League now!
On Friday after the Hoover softball practice, the Green Sox got together for one last time before the big game. Elizabeth’s dad led them through endless drills. Hitting. Running. Catching. Fielding.
“Take it easy,” he warned Brooke and Elizabeth. “We can’t have you too tired to play tomorrow.”
“No problem,” Brooke assured him. “We’ll be going on adrenaline anyway.”
Coach Shaw had been trying all the girls in different positions, but he seemed to prefer Mandi as pitcher, Nikki as catcher, and the twins as outfielders. Everyone else moved around a lot.
Brooke and Joelle took turns playing first and third.
Joelle was dying to know whether she’d get to play first base in tomorrow’s game. A few times she almost asked Coach Shaw straight out, but she didn’t want to be too pushy.
“Keep your weight on your back foot,” Coach Shaw called to Elizabeth as she came up to bat.
“Get your glove all the way to the ground,” he told Tara.
“Take a strike first,” he instructed Leah.
When practice was over, Coach Shaw called everyone over for a team meeting. There was a big brown box sitting on the bench behind the dugout.
“Hey, Coach! What’s in the box?” Mandi asked as all the Green Sox dropped down on the grass.
Coach Shaw smiled. He opened up the carton and pulled out a pair of white pants, which he threw to Mandi. Then he handed Brooke a green shirt with three-quarter sleeves and tossed a yellow overshirt with green trim to Joelle. Finally, he produced a pair of green socks and a green cap with yellow trim.
“What’s all this?” Joelle asked as she held the shirt up to her chest. It had a green number three on the back.
“Uniforms?” Leah leaned over to get a closer look inside the box. “For all of us?”
“Yeah, but where did they come from?” Joelle wanted to know.
Coach Shaw just kept smiling—and pulling out more shirts, pants, socks, and caps.
“There’s a card,” he said when everything had been handed out. He pulled a white envelope from the bottom of the box and gave it to Tara. She opened the envelope and read the card inside. “‘To the girls of the Green Sox: I’ve been trying to figure out a way that I could help ever since I first heard about you. When I saw you on TV last week, the answer came to me. I hope you like the uniforms. And I hope they fit! Good luck.’” Tara looked up. “It’s signed ‘Claire Fenner’.”
“Ms. Fenner?” Joelle said, confused. “What’s she talking about? But she’s already helping. She said she’d help coach this summer.”
“No, not Ms. Fenner.” Elizabeth shook her head. “Ms. Fenner’s mom.”
“Wow, that’s really nice of her,” Brooke said.
“It sure is,” Joelle said. She traced the number three on her shirt with her fingers.
Coach Shaw closed up the empty box. “I talked to Coach Kennedy earlier today. Her girls received a similar package from another person who saw us on TV last week. A friend of Mrs. Fenner’s, I believe.”
“So not everybody thinks our league is a terrible idea,” Joelle said.
“There are plenty of folks who think it’s a terrific idea,” Coach Shaw said. “Let’s just see what happens at the game tomorrow.” He checked his watch. “Right now, I have to get to the library. I’m meeting with the other league coaches and sponsors. See you at home, honey.” He ruffled Elizabeth’s hair.
Joelle, Elizabeth, and Brooke headed out of the park together.
“So, are you guys ready for tomorrow?” Brooke asked cheerfully as she hoisted her backpack onto her back.
“Yeah,” Joelle replied. “Except I wish Coach Shaw had given us our positions.”
“Me, too,” Brooke replied. “I’m really hoping he’ll put me on first base.”
Joelle stopped walking. “You want to play first base?”
“Sure, I play first in softball.”
Great, Joelle thought. But she didn’t say anything.
Brooke flipped her hair over her shoulder and peered at Joelle. “Why? Do you want first base, too?”
“Sort of.” I’ve only played that position my whole life, Joelle thought.
“Well, I guess it’s up to Coach Shaw to decide,” Brooke said. “See you guys tomorrow.” She waved as she turned down Park Ridge Road.
Joelle and Elizabeth kept walking on E Avenue. “Why didn’t you tell me Brooke played first, too?” Joelle muttered.
Elizabeth grinned. “One more thing you have in common, huh?”
“Very funny.” Joelle elbowed Elizabeth and tried not to smile back. At least she and Brooke had come to some sort of truce now. And Joelle really didn’t want to keep butting heads with that girl. She just … wanted to play first base.
“Oh come on, Joelle. Would it be the end of the world if Brooke plays first base and you play … third base this time? It’s good to play lots of different positions, you know.”
“I guess,” Joelle said. “I’m sure it’ll work out. Your dad’s a good coach. He’ll do what’s best for the team.”
And that’s the way Joelle wanted it.
As they turned onto her street, Joelle gasped. A familiar blue car was parked in their driveway.
“What’s the matter?” Elizabeth asked.
“That’s my brother’s car!” Joelle said excitedly. “I’ve got to go, okay? I’ll call you later.”
“Okay,” Elizabeth said, but Joelle was already bolting for home.
Jason was sitting on the porch out front. He had bleached the top part of his hair, but other than that he looked like the same old Jason. Tall and stick-figure thin with a smile that lit up his whole face. When he saw Joelle coming, he stood up.
“JASON!” Joelle screamed, throwing herself into his wiry arms.
Jason laughed as he hugged her back. “Hey, Jojo,” he said. “Take it easy, okay?”
“What are you doing here? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? Do Mom and Dad know you’re here?” Joelle asked, finally pulling away from him. But she couldn’t let go of him completely. She clung to his arm with both hands.
Jason tugged on Joelle’s ponytail. “Well, my chem lab was cancelled this afternoon, so I thought I’d come check out the new place. It was only a five-hour drive.”
“So how long are you here for?” Joelle asked. “Can you stay the whole weekend?”
“Well, I have to work Sunday morning, so I’ll head back late tomorrow afternoon,” Jason replied.
Joelle frowned. She knew her brother had to work at Rocky’s Pizza to help pay for college. But she hated that he had to leave so soon.
“You’ll at least stay for our game tomorrow, won’t you?” she asked. “It’s in the morning.”
“Game? What game?” Jason asked.
“It’s a long story,” Joelle said. As she showed her brother around their new house, she filled him in on everything that had been going on.
Jason flopped down on the familiar oversized couch in the family room. “Look at all this
,” he said, his glance taking in the large paneled room. “You’ve got a bigger house, new friends, and a whole new girls’ baseball league.”
Joelle sat down next to her brother and plopped her feet on the coffee table. “Yeah. And guess what? I’m doing some other stuff, too.”
“Like what?” Jason raised his eyebrows.
“Well, I made second clarinet. And I might join the Echo next year. Can you believe it? Me on the newspaper staff? I never even read the school paper back in Minneapolis.”
“Way to go, Pest,” Jason said, chuckling.
“But the best thing is definitely the league,” Joelle finished.
“I’m not surprised to hear it’s taking off.” Jason leaned back against the couch. “When you set your mind to something, Jojo, there’s no stopping you.”
“Just like you,” Joelle said.
Jason looked at her for a minute. “No.” He shook his head.
“Not like me. Not like me at all.”
Joelle nudged Jason with her foot. “What are you talking about? Aren’t you Mr. Big Shot? Honor student, awesome baseball player, generally all-around amazing person?”
Jason looked surprised. “Not me.” He picked up a red vase from the coffee table, turned it around in his hands, then set it back down. He didn’t look at Joelle. “I would never start up a brand new baseball league.”
“You would if it was the only way you could play,” Joelle said.
Jason shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he said slowly. “To tell you the truth, if I’d have been in your shoes, I probably would have just played softball and not worried about it.”
“You would not!” Joelle said.
“I would too!”
Joelle shifted on the couch. “Well, then, why’d you tell me to write that letter to the newspaper? ‘Make them let you play,’ you said. ‘Let them see what you can do.’ Why didn’t you just tell me to play softball if that’s what you would’ve done?”
“Because you’re not me,” Jason said. “You’re not the kind of person who gives up. You always find another way, even if it’s really hard. You never turn down a challenge.”
“Neither do you,” Joelle said.
Jason laughed self-consciously. “I turn down challenges all the time, Jojo. How do you think I made the honor roll all through high school?”
“Because you’re smart,” Joelle replied.
“Nope. I made the honor roll because I never took advanced math, chemistry, or physics. I only took the easy classes. The easier, the better. The less homework, the better. And now I’m paying for it in college.”
“What do you mean?” Joelle frowned.
Jason looked away. “Well, my grades might be a little better now if I knew how to apply myself. I never really learned to work hard at something. I’m not like you. I always took the easy way out.”
This was news to Joelle. “What about baseball?” she asked. “You work hard at baseball, right?”
Jason shrugged. “Baseball’s different. I’m good at it, so it’s not really work for me. Take the clarinet, for example.” He turned back to Joelle. “I quit when it got too hard.”
Joelle stared at her feet and rocked them slowly from side to side. Was all of this true? She didn’t know what to say. This was a side of her brother she’d never seen before. Or maybe she’d just never noticed.
“I’m going to have to pull up my grades to stay on the team,” Jason said. “But hey, I’ll figure something out. Maybe I’ll get a tutor or something.”
“Oh.” Joelle thought for a moment. “Well, hey, if you flunk out of college, you can always move in here,” she said.
“Move to Iowa?” Jason grinned and pretended to shudder.
“I don’t think so.”
“Oh, come on,” Joelle said. “Iowa’s not so bad.” And to her surprise, she realized she actually meant it.
Chapter Twenty
It isn’t exactly the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis, Joelle thought. Or even the baseball field behind Hoover Middle School. But at least the Green Sox and the Kernels had a place to play on Saturday morning.
Mrs. Holmes’s lot was set back against the woods, but there was a large open area in front. The spot was perfect for a baseball game. People gathered close together on blankets and folding chairs around the field, waiting for the game to start. It looked to Joelle like an even bigger crowd than last week.
Mrs. Holmes had a seat right in front. Next to her sat another older lady who also looked familiar. Was that Ms. Fenner’s mom? Yes, Joelle was sure it was. The two women seemed to know each other.
Wow, Joelle thought. All of these people came to see the Green Sox and the Kernels play ball.
“So do you think anybody’s going to kick us off the field this week?” Tara asked as she adjusted the sizing on her green cap.
“Just let them try,” Brooke replied. “This time we’re playing on private property.”
“Hey, Channel 6 is here again!” Nikki pointed at the TV crew that was setting up behind the field.
Joelle noticed that Ryan Carlyle was here again, too. And this time, so was his dad. What was he doing here?
“Okay, Green Sox, listen up,” Coach Shaw said as he gathered the team together in the makeshift dugout. Coach Kennedy was talking to her players on the other side of the field. The Kernels were dressed in black pants and yellow shirts. “As far as I know, this is the first time there’s been a game between two all-girls’ baseball teams around here,” Coach Shaw said. “You should be very proud of everything you’ve done to get this far.”
Joelle glanced around at her new friends. She was proud. Very proud. Of all of them.
“Remember, it doesn’t matter whether we win or lose,” Coach Shaw continued. “We’re just here to play—and have fun.”
He went on to explain how things would work. They would play six innings, just like Little League. The coaches would umpire.
Finally, Coach Shaw began to assign fielding positions. “Okay, let’s see,” he said. “We’ll have Mandi as pitcher and Nikki as catcher.”
Joelle crossed her fingers inside her mitt. Me at first base, she begged silently. Please please please.
“And Joelle at first base,” Coach Shaw went on.
Yes!
Joelle was about to jump up in celebration. Then she remembered Brooke.
But Brooke just grinned good-naturedly and gave Joelle a thumbs-up.
“Leah at second and Tara at third. Brooke’s at shortstop. Page, you’re left field; Paula, center field; and Elizabeth, right field.”
So Brooke was going to play shortstop. She didn’t seem disappointed at all. In fact, she actually looked happy.
That made Joelle feel better. They were a real team now. They were all going to have to work together.
Coach Kennedy walked over just as Coach Shaw finished talking. She had a bright smile on her face. “Should we toss a coin to see who’s up first?”
“Sure.” Coach Shaw pulled a coin out of his front jeans pocket. “You want to call it?”
“No. The Kernels took a vote. We decided Joelle Cunningham should call it, since this whole league was her idea.”
“Wow. Really?” As far as Joelle was concerned, she’d had a lot of help. They’d all done it together.
Mandi shoved Joelle forward. “Come on, Joelle. We don’t have all day. Call it.”
Joelle nodded. “Okay,” she said. “Heads.”
Coach Shaw flipped the coin, caught it, and slapped it to his arm. “Sorry,” he said. “It’s tails.”
The Kernels chose to bat last.
The two coaches talked for a bit, then signaled their teams to take the field. Everyone in the crowd quieted down. Both coaches thanked everyone for coming and introduced their players.
People applauded and whistled as each name was called. When the coach said her name, Joelle heard her parents and brother cheering. She thought she recognized Ryan’s voice, too.
Finally someone y
elled, “Play ball!” The crowd started clapping and shouting even louder.
“You’re the lead-off batter, Joelle,” Coach Shaw said.
Joelle picked up the bat, took a couple of practice swings, and got into position. She felt good. Really good. “Come on, Joelle!” her teammates called.
The girl on the pitcher’s mound looked as if she meant business. She wound up and pitched a fastball straight down the center.
Crack! Joelle hit a line drive between first and second base.
“Run, Joelle! Run!” the Green Sox cheered.
Joelle bolted toward first. She stopped there after overrunning the base.
“Way to go!” Coach Shaw clapped as Joelle walked back to the bag. “Base hit.”
Nikki was up next. “Go for it, Nikki!” Joelle shouted. She took a short lead.
The pitch was high and wide.
“Ball one,” Coach Kennedy called.
The next pitch was a strike. Then another ball. And finally strike three. Nikki was out. Her face fell.
“It’s okay, Nikki! You’ll do it next time!” Brooke called as Mandi stepped up to bat. The rest of the Green Sox clapped.
On the first pitch, Mandi slammed the ball out to left field. Joelle rounded second base and kept going. The fielder threw the ball to the third baseman, but Joelle slid under it.
“Safe!” Coach Kennedy shouted.
“All right, Joelle!” someone shouted from the stands. Joelle was sure she recognized Ryan’s voice this time.
Mandi waved to Joelle from second base. Joelle grinned and waved back.
Tara was up next. Tara was a powerful hitter. But the first pitch was too low. She swung anyway.
“Strike one!” Coach Shaw called.
The next pitch was low, too. Tara swung again.
“Strike two!” Coach Shaw called.
Joelle frowned. She really wanted to make it home this first inning. That would be a perfect start for the new league. “Come on, Tara!” she shouted.
The third pitch was also low. But this time Tara connected with it. Joelle didn’t even watch where it went. She took off for home.
“Go! Go! Go!” The Green Sox were jumping up and down. “Yes!” they all screamed when Joelle crossed the bag.
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