Long Stretch At First Base Read Online Free Page A

stuck out his gloved hand, and
caught the ball.
He stopped, and heaved the ball to first.
    Bobby saw his peg going wide. Kirby would never reach that ball. Never.
    But Kirby stretched his long legs, the point of his toe touching the edge of the bag. His right arm reached far out. A split
     second later the ball struck the pocket of his mitt and stuck there as if glued.
    The crowd cheered. Horns tooted. And Bobby’s heart went back where it belonged.
     

    Boy! Only Kirby could catch a wild peg like that!
    That play must have helped Cappie’s nerves, because he struck the next man out.
    Cappie led off in the top of the third. He poled a long fly to center field. He was almost on first base before the ball came
     down. A sad groan broke from the throats of the Redbirds fans as the fielder made the catch.
    Bobby came up and did something he had never done before. He hit four foul tips in a row to the backstop screen. He stepped
     away from the plate and grinned.
    The people laughed and yelled at him to “Straighten one out!”
    Then whiff! Bobby went down swinging!
    He shook his head and smiled as hecarried the bat to the rack. Well, a guy had to strike out sometime. Even the clean-up men on major league teams struck out,
     didn’t they?
    Coach Barrows put in Bert Chase to pinch-hit for Al Dakin. Bert knocked out a single. Toby blasted a grounder to short which
     struck the shortstop’s left foot and bounced high into the air. Bert made it safely to second, and Toby to first. The scorekeeper
     counted it as a hit, a ball “too hot to handle.”
    Bobby relaxed back in the dugout. He crossed his arms and watched Jim Hurwitz go to the plate. The Redbirds had a chance now
     to score a run or more. Jim was their clean-up hitter. He was big and could hit a ball farther than anybody else on the team.
     The Seals were leading, 2–0.A home run would put the Redbirds ahead, 3-2. But even one run would help.
    Jim swung two bats back and forth across his shoulders. He finally tossed one back to Dickie Jacobs, the mascot, then stepped
     into the batter’s box.
    Sam Wood, the red-headed southpaw for the Seals, was very careful with his pitches to Jim. He must have tried hard to cut
     the corners with his first three pitches. But he missed each time for a count of three balls. Then he threw one down the middle,
     and Jim swung.
    Crack!
The ball sailed out to left field. It curved over the fielder’s head, struck the fence and bounced back. The fielder picked
     it up and pegged it in.
    Both runners scored, and Jim stopped on third for a triple. With the score tied,Dave Gessini came up. He hit a hot grounder down the third-base line which went foul by inches. Then Wood threw three balls
     in succession, making the count three and one.
    “Wait ’em out!” yelled Coach Barrows. He paced back and forth.
    Dave let the next pitch go by.
    “Strike two!”
    “Okay! If it’s in there, hit it!”
    Wood took his time with the next pitch. This was the one that counted. If it was outside the strike zone, Dave would walk.
     If it was over, Dave might whack it and knock in another run.
    Crack!
The ball bounced hard across the infield to short. The shortstop moved in, caught the hop, and pegged to first.
    Out!
    “Close,” said Coach Barrows. “But notclose enough. Okay, fellas. Get out there and get ’em out!”
    The Seals put a man on in the bottom half of the third, but he failed to score.
    Don Robinson, pinch-hitting for Mark, led off for the Redbirds. He singled with a sharp drive through the pitcher’s box. Jerry
     Echols followed with a Texas leaguer between short and third. The third-base coach held Don up at second.
    Kirby came to bat. Bobby watched from the dugout. Here was Kirby’s chance again to knock in runs.
    “Come on, Kirby!” a high-pitched voice shouted from the stands. “Hit it, Kirby!”
    Bobby grinned. That was Ann. She was rooting for Kirby, too.
    Kirby swung at the first pitch. There was a solid crack as bat met