[CHAPTER XIII]
WAYNE BEATS OUT THE BALL
Rider, the Browns’ third sack artist, waited out two offerings and then slammed the next down the base line to Billy White. Billy was having a bad day, and, although he knocked the ball down, he couldn’t heave it to Jim in time to get his man, and another black mark was set against Billy’s fair fame. This poor beginning was speedily remedied, though, when the Toonalta right fielder hit to Despaigne, and Vic, performing one of his circus stunts, grabbed the ball as it bounded past him well to the right and tossed it to Wayne as the latter sped to the bag. Still going, Wayne half turned and chucked underhand to Jim, completing as pretty a double play as one would wish to see. Medfield voiced delight and approval and relief very loudly and very long while Ellis walked to the plate and faced Chase, grimly determined to get a hit. But Chase knew his opponent’s weakness and toyed with him until the score stood two strikes and one ball. Then, however, Ellis managed to connect with the next delivery and send it high into the air behind first base. For a long moment it looked safe, but Wayne got under it after a hard run and squeezed it.
For the Chenangos, Colton flied out to shortstop, Billy White hit to second and was out on a close decision that brought a howl of protest from the blue nine’s supporters and Hoffman made his first—and last—hit, a bounder over shortstop’s head. Wayne went up with the encouraging applause of the Medfield supporters in his ears and faced Ellis calmly. He had been twice up and had two hits to his credit, and he meant to keep his score perfect. But he was reckoning without Fate, for after Ellis had pitched a wide one on the supposition that Hoffman would steal on the first ball, and then had sneaked a low strike across—low ones constituted Wayne’s batting weakness, and he knew the fact and meant to profit by the knowledge—the hit-and-run signal came, Wayne swung at a high one on the inside, missed it and watched the ball hurtle down to shortstop and saw Gas put out at second. Wayne disappointedly tossed his bat to June and went back to the field.
Toonalta started the seventh with the head of her batting-list up. This was Brook, her centre fielder, a player with some reputation for getting to first and for moving along afterward. So far, though, he had not lived up to that reputation, since in three times at the plate he had reached the initial sack but one, that being when Chase had passed him in the nerve-racking fourth. He was due now, as it proved, to sweeten his average, and at the expense of Billy White, for when he swung at Chase’s second delivery and slammed it straight at Billy the latter made his second error of the game. The ball went through him, and had Brook taken advantage of his chance he might easily have reached second. As it was, though, he hesitated at first and Collins, who had come in fast on the ball, pegged promptly to Wayne and Brook was forced to scuttle back to safety.
East laid down a sacrifice bunt and retired, but, with only one man gone and the speedy Brook on second, Toonalta’s chance to pull the game up high and dry looked bright. But when Burns had hit to Jim Wheelock and Jim had trotted across the bag and then held Brook at third the visitors’ stock sank again. Gore ended the suspense by sending a high one to Hal Collins.
Wayne was requested to “start it up” when he went to the plate for the last of the inning, and the audience loudly reminded him that this was the lucky seventh! But it wasn’t lucky for Wayne, since, in spite of his resolve to bat for a clean thousand, his attempt at a hit was only a roller to Ellis and he was out before he had gone half-way to first. Vic Despaigne fell victim to Ellis’ skill, yielding the Toonalta pitcher his first and only strike-out of the game, and Chase, after nine deliveries, four of which were fouls, found something to his liking and whanged it into right field. It was a long one and might easily have put him on third, but the redoubtable Browne, he of the home-run fame, raced back to the corner of the field and made a one-hand catch that moved even the enemy to wild acclaim.
The eighth began with the Toonalta’s fifth batter facing Chase, but by the time it had ended five others had toed the rubber. That inning rivalled the fourth for hair-raising suspense. Hunt, the Toonalta catcher, began the trouble by hitting safely between Jim Wheelock and Wayne for one. The subsequent batsman was an easy out, popping a fly to Chase. Rider outwaited the pitcher and finally got a pass, advancing Hunt to second. With two on bases and the hard-hitting Browne coming up, the Blues’ chances might have been bought for a penny. To make things look more desperate, it was apparent that Pete Chase was weakening. Jordan was hurried out of his sweater and sent off to warm up and Hoffman and Chase met midway between plate and mound and conversed earnestly while the Toonalta “rooters” howled jeers and polite insults.
“Play ball! Quit stalling!” “It’s got to happen! Get through with it!” “Good-night!” “He’s all in! Take him out! Take him out!” “Let him stay! We like him!” “Make ’em play ball, Mr. Umpire!”
Chase was for passing Browne, but Hoffman wouldn’t consent. “Feed him high ones, Pete,” he muttered, “and cut the corners, but, for the love of Mike, don’t groove any!”
Chase nodded none too confidently and went back to his place and Browne swung an eager bat above his shoulder. Possibly eagerness was Browne’s undoing, for he bit at the first one, which was almost shoulder high and far wide of the plate, but he only smiled when Gas asked him if he was practising and Medfield yelled its delight. The next offering was a ball that sent the batsman staggering back from the plate and brought hisses and cries of “He’s trying to hit him!” from the Toonalta bench. Gas, though, knew that Chase wasn’t trying anything of the sort, that the explanation was far simpler, that, in fact, Chase was rapidly pitching himself out and losing control. But he only spoke more confidently than ever.