5 Play Ball!

Five play bald THE DAY OF THE FIRST GAME for the Chargers arrived. Harris, Roxy, and Zeke took the field with their teammates. The Chargers were playing the Scrappers. Their first batter stepped up to the plate. "All right, Zeke, here we go!" Harris shouted.

Zeke threw his first pitch. It was way outside. Harris reached out and made a nice catch. The next three pitches also missed by a lot. The batter trotted down to first base with a walk. "Remember, just focus on my glove!" Harris yelled out to Zeke. "That's your target. Let's go!"

But Zeke had no better luck with the next two batters. He walked each of them on four pitches. The bases were now loaded with nobody out. Harris called time-out and ran over to Zeke. "I'm doing what you asked," Zeke said. "I'm playing without using my powers, and look what's happening." "You're getting a lot better with every pitch, so just try to relax," said Harris. "You'll get the next batter!"

Zeke's next pitch almost flew over Harris's head. He had to stand up and jump to catch it. Zeke turned his back to the plate. When he turned back around, Harris saw a serious, determined look on his face.

Harris put down one finger, the signal for Zeke to throw a fastball. Zeke nodded, then fired a blazing pitch right over the plate. The batter swung late and missed. The ball slammed into Harris's glove with a thunderous crack for everyone to hear. "Strike one!" the umpire cried. The home crowd cheered.

"Come on, Zeke!" shouted Harris's dad from the bleachers. But Harris was suspicious. How could Zeke find his control so quickly? he wondered. And how did he throw it so fast? Harris signaled for the same pitch to see if Zeke could do it twice in a row. He did. Right in the same spot. "Strike two!" the umpire yelled.