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the county, Nick!” a Batwing fan shouted.
    Duke pitched.
Crack!
A high, towering fly over the infield!
    “I’ll take it! I’ll take it!” called Sandy.
    The ball became a fuzzy white sphere against the velvet blue sky, and Sandy was afraid he might misjudge it. Then itcame down.
Step back! Step back! It’s coming down behind you!
He raised his glove.
Plop!
He had it.
    Duke smiled as Sandy tossed him the ball. “It was an infield out, anyway,” said Duke.
    Sandy shrugged. “Yeah, but catching is good practice.”
    A blazing grounder through the pitcher’s mound scored the Batwings’ next run and again left men on first and third. The infielders
     talked it up loud and steadily, hoping to give Duke the encouragement he needed to pitch well to the next batter.
    He threw a strike. The next ball was hit to short right field. Stubby Tobin ran in as hard as his short legs would carry him.
     He dove at the ball and missed it, landing on his stomach. He clambered to his feet, chased after the ball, snapped it up and pegged it in, holding the runner on third.

    But another run had scored, making it three so far this inning. And there were men on second and third.
    Why in heck had Stubby run in after that ball, anyway? thought Sandy angrily. He ought to know he wasn’t
that
fast.
    Duke pitched to the following batter, getting two balls and a strike on him. Then a hot eight-foot-high drive to Sandy! The
     ball was curving downward slightly as it headed for him. He leaped, then snagged it. He saw the runner on third returning
     to tag up. Sandy snapped the ball to Kerry. Out! A double play!
    Coach Malone smacked the shortstop on the seat of the pants as he came in tosit down. “Nice catch and quick thinking, buddy.”
    “Thanks,” replied Sandy, taking a deep breath.
    He hoped his teammates would rally and get back those three runs. The Bat-wings led, 4 to 2. But his hopes vanished as Duke
     hit into a double play with Ken Bockman on first. Kerry singled. Jules flied out.
    Sandy checked the time with Phil Peters, who was holding his wristwatch. Phil was the Spacemen’s mascot and Punk Peters’s
     kid brother. It was ten after six. He had half an hour to play before he had to leave.
    The top of the third. Duke looked hot as he mowed down the first batter with three called strikes. The second batterlined a sizzling grounder to Nibbs. Nibbs fumbled it, picked it up quickly and pegged to first. A close play.
    “Out!” yelled the base umpire.
    Good ol’ Nibbs, Sandy reflected. The best second baseman in the league.
    Duke walked the third batter, but the fourth popped a fly to him, ending the half-inning.
    Sandy led off, and the Spacemen fans began yelling for him again. He thought of Rod Temple, wondering if Rod was in the stands.
     But Rod was probably practicing baseball or playing in a game himself.
    Crack!
A smashing drive between left and center fields! Sandy dropped his bat and ran. He rounded first… second. Frank Mintz, coaching
     third, held him up at the third-base sack.
    Well, he had started it off. Let’s keep it going! he thought. Don’t let me die here.
    Oink Decker answered Sandy’s wish. He belted a single, scoring Sandy. Marty walked. Then Stubby got a free pass, filling the
     bases. Nibbs smacked a grounder to second, and it looked as if it were going to be a double killing for sure. But the second
     baseman muffed the ball and couldn’t retrieve it in time to throw anyone out. Oink scored.
    The Spacemen bench was wild with excitement. Now they had the game going like a roller coaster.
    Ken Bockman went down swinging for the first out. Then Duke Miller hit a slow grounder to short. All the runners took off.
     Marty scored. The shortstop fielded the ball and made the play to second,throwing out Nibbs. With Stubby on third and Duke on first, leadoff man Kerry Dean singled, bringing in the fourth run of
     the inning. Jules belted the first pitch out to deep right, but it was caught. Three outs. But the