6 Superstar!

SUPERSON ZEKE STEPPED INTO THE BATTER'S BOX. He glanced over at Harris and nodded, tight-lipped. He turned and stared at the pitcher. Harris took this as a sign that Zeke had decided not to use his powers. He watched anxiously as the pitcher threw her first pitch.

Zeke swung wildly. He didn't even coming close to hitting the ball. The same thing happened on the next pitch, and the one afterward. Three swings, three strikes. Zeke was out. Harris was up next. As he walked to the plate, he passed Zeke heading back to the bench with his head down.

"Good try, Zeke," Harris said. "Don't worry, you'll get a hit next time." Zeke said nothing and sat down. Harris lined the first pitch he saw into left field. After him, the Chargers got a bunch of hits. By the time the inning ended, they had scored three runs. Back out on the mound, Zeke continued to play without using his powers. His pitching was slowly getting better, but the Scrappers still managed to score three runs to tie up the game.

"You're doing good out there, Zeke," Harris said as the two friends sat on the bench. "But they tied the game," Zeke pointed out. "It doesn't matter," said Harris. "Your pitching is getting better each inning." And then, lowering his voice, he added: "without any 'extra help.'" It was Zeke's turn at bat again. And again he swung and missed at three pitches in a row.

Zeke headed back out to the mound. Harris could see the frustration mounting on his face. "Forget about striking out, Zeke," Harris shouted as he took his position behind the plate. "Let's just get these next three guys out." Zeke pitched well, but the Scrappers scored a run to take a 4–3 lead heading into the bottom of the final inning.

The first two batters for the Chargers made two quick outs. With nobody on base, Roxy came up to bat. "C'mon now! Keep it alive, Roxy!" Harris shouted. Roxy hit the first pitch to right field for a single. "Yeah!" cried Harris. Zeke was up next. The game was on the line.