“Strike one!”
“Strike two!”
“Strike three!” The umpire’s voice boomed, and Hillcrest’s star batter went down. Two others followed in a row.
A hush fell over the grandstand as the home players took their places on the diamond. It was now or never.
The pitcher seemed nervous. The balls went wild. The short, stocky catcher waited the next in grim silence.
“Strike—”
“Strike——”
Even Johnny was hopeful. Vain hope! The next two were balls.
“Take your base.”
But now the pitcher got a grip on himself. One man went down swinging. The next sent a pop-up into the infield.