Welcome back. Remember that all Chapter 1 disclaimers apply. Please give to Nifty and be safe always.
Marty and his classmates are sophomores while Eric and his classmates are freshman. The freshmen find success on the JV level, but can the sophomores overcome the losing attitude of their older teammates?
CHAPTER 36 HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL: FINDING THE PATH
The time after Winter Break is often the most productive in the halls of academia, and Mayfield High School was no exception. The days were usually dark and rainy and there really wasn't much else to do during the day but study and pay attention in class. Of course, paying attention in class was a relative thing—it certainly did not occupy a majority of most students' time.
All thoughts seemed to be indoor thoughts. Basketball was the in- season sport, indoor activities were in vogue at the town recreation center, and finding available privacy for sex was of paramount importance. The students at the high school had grown accustomed to being around the five gay couples who were out, who held hands in the hall, who came to dances as a couple, who played sports, who were good students and members of the student body, and who were good kids who were liked and respected. There were a few homophobic assholes, with Eddie, Steve, and Crawford being the most vocal, but Connor and his cadre made sure certain lines weren't crossed.
The Go to State Team was more active than ever. The low point of the summer before had passed, and the boys in the group had learned the importance of working together to realize their goals and dreams. Their bank account was growing. The February general meeting was mostly about summer tournament possibilities, both what they would like to do and what they could afford to do.
Marty chaired the meeting, which was held at Pooh Bear's Pizza. He told the members what items the board had discussed. "After getting all the numbers from Mr. McCall, we decided it would be a good idea to play our tournaments to fit our budget..."
"Sheesh, cut the bullshit and say it in English, Marty. Did you have Noah write your speech or what?" Connor yelled out.
"Well, to put it so any ass waffle can understand it, we do a short trip this summer and a long trip next summer."
"Great, so how short is short and how long is long?"
"Give him a chance to talk, Connor," Vince said, "you might even learn something, hard as that is to believe."
Connor gave Vince the finger, then looked straight at Marty. "I'd learn a lot if nerfnuts talked like one of us instead of like a fucking adult."
"Short is Missoula, Montana, and long is Reno, Nevada."
"Monfuckingtana? Why would anybody want to go there?" Connor asked.
"To play baseball, maybe?" Noah said.
"And why Reno instead of someplace cool, like Las Vegas? They got strippers in Las Vegas and you can see them from anywhere on the street."
"No shit, really?" Rodney asked, his eyes lighting up with interest. "I want to go there?"
"Two things about that," Noah said. "First, have you ever been in Las Vegas in July?"
"Not even fucking close," Connor said.
"Well, trust me, Reno is better." Noah was thinking of the 100 plus degree heat they would be facing every day.
"But what about the strippers?" Rodney asked.
"Rodney, the road all of the big casinos are on is called The Strip. It has nothing to do with strippers," Noah intoned with infinite patience.
"Well, fuck, that totally sucks," Connor said.
"Yeah," Vince agreed. "That's like false advertising or something."
Marty shook his head and tried to bring order to the meeting by hammering his gavel on the table. The gavel had been a Christmas present to him from Eric and Noah, and this was his first opportunity to use it. He finally got the meeting back on track. After everybody quieted down, Danny raised his hand and Marty called on him.
"How are we getting there?" he asked. "Are we taking the train again?"
"There is no train to Missoula," Noah said. "We plan to rent vans. The trip can be done in a day, but it would be a really long day."
"And we would fly to Reno," Marty said.
"Fly? Like in an airplane?" Connor asked.
"No, Connor, we expect you to flap your wings," Kevin said.
"Yeah, like he flaps his mouth," Vince added, causing Marty to whap his gavel on the table yet again. Outsiders, seeing all the bickering, might have thought this was a group that could not get along and fought each other instead of discussing matters. But the bantering and teasing was actually done in good fun and was between friends.
"Shit, dudes, let's get this over so we can have some fucking pizza," Marty said as the voices quieted down.
"Now you're sounding like the Marty we elected," Connor said. "But tell me why I want to go to Reno?"
"To play baseball, maybe?" Noah asked for the second time. That had the entire room cracking up as Noah often had a way of making his point with a touch of humor while getting the last word in.
"Think of it this way, Connor," Jerome said. "We get to do this trip before our senior year, which I think will be very cool."
"I've never been on an airplane," Connor said. "So, yeah, I guess you're right. We could just go fly anywhere and play baseball. I mean who wants to graduate from high school saying he's never been on an airplane?"
Marty entertained a motion to accept the board's recommendation for the next two years' invitational tournaments. Hunter made the motion and Kraig seconded it. There was only one question before it came up for a vote and that was from Rodney.
"What if we get past our league tournament and make it to an area or a state tournament of some kind—do we have the money for that?"
Noah, the group's treasurer, answered the question. "Yes, we do. That money is in a whole different budget and has been set aside."
"You guys are way too good," Connor said. "We were smart to elect you all."
"I take it you don't remember that the entire group approved of the budget."
"Not a clue," Connor said.
Eric called for the question and Marty put the motion up for a vote. The motion passed unanimously.
The only other thing they talked about before pizza was brought out was how much money they had. "We made a lot of money over Christmas and we're in pretty good shape," Noah said. The Go to State Team boys had worked at the Centralia Mall at the gift wrapping counter, where they got a percentage of the money taken in. They also helped at the Christmas tree lot run by the Mayfield PTA, where the team received a percentage of the sales during the hours they worked. Noah went over the finances, passing out spreadsheets and pie charts that nobody understood, but accepted. Marty adjourned the meeting in time for pizza.
As the teens started scarfing down lunch, the talk went to the upcoming high school season. Turnouts would be starting in about six weeks and there was already an excitement about baseball that hadn't been around before the start of the previous season. Everybody at the meeting, except for Luke, Toby, Justin, Chandler, Korey, Mikey, and Drew, was in high school, but that didn't stop the seven middle school players from being excited.
The Go to State Team was once again a vibrant, vital group. Eric couldn't help but wonder what might have happened to the group if they had flown to Salinas instead of taking the train. Would there have been a meeting like the one in the dining car of the "Coast Starlight"? A meeting where they would have been forced to sit together and work things out? He doubted it, and was thankful that he, Noah, and Kevin had pushed the idea of taking the train to California.
Turnouts for high school baseball started on February 20. Like almost all February days in the great Pacific Northwest, the weather was cold and damp and windy. Boys who played high school baseball in Washington State had to have a real love for the game along with a certain internal toughness. "Those pussies in California wouldn't last five minutes during one of our turnouts," Connor observed. "The fuckers would run home crying to their mommies before their coach hit the first fungo."
Sometimes the weather got too damp and turnouts were held in the gym. Sometimes only part of the field was useable. But the boys who wanted to play for the Mustangs were out every day in their sweats, Underarmour thermal shirts and pants, stocking caps and hoodies. Thirty-two boys turned out; twenty-six were kept on the roster. Coach Sanders listed fourteen varsity players and twelve JV players. He was confident he would not have to pare down to one team like he had to in his first season. He was even more confident the problem that caused the mass suspensions the year before would not be a problem this spring.
All of the freshmen active with the Go to State Team made the squad and were placed on the JV. Coach Sanders and Coach Hart both felt a couple of them were better than some of the upperclassmen on the varsity. But if they were on the varsity, they would spend their time sitting on the bench. By playing on the JV, they would be learning to compete at the high school level. Ten of the twelve junior varsity players were freshmen. They were young and would be sorely tested.
The Go to State Team sophomores were all on the varsity. That put five sophomores on the varsity along with five seniors and four juniors. Coach Sanders thought that was a good mix, but he was soon to find out that, with a couple of exceptions, the upperclassmen did not have the dedication to hard work and winning that the sophomores did. While the entire Go to State Team was an exceptional and driven group, the upperclassmen were not on the same page.
Two weeks after the first practice, the varsity played in a four team jamboree that was held in Centralia. Mayfield, Lakeshore, Meadow Park, and Chinook all participated, with each team playing two three inning games. The Mustangs beat the Lakeshore Sentinels 4-3 and lost to the Meadow Park Bears 7-2 in games where nothing counted and nobody took the scores seriously.
"Damn, it was fucking cold out there," Vince whined as they rode the school bus back to Mayfield.
"It's hard to field when you have to knock the ice off your fucking cup," Connor said.
"I thought you were the one calling the California boys pussies the other day," Marty reminded Connor.
"Fuck you," Connor said. "I was out there playing. They would have sat on the bus with the fucking heater running, trying to get their dicks unshriveled."
On Tuesday they started playing real games. Their first three were non-league and they lost two of the three. The second game was a 6- 5 loss to Beachwood in a game that went the minimum five innings because of the increasing rainfall and the condition of the field.
Their first league game was at Harborview on Thursday, March 18. Coach Sanders started Tyler, the most dedicated and talented of his seniors. Tyler went five innings, leaving with the game tied at 3-3. Rich relieved Tyler, but found himself a little overmatched and gave up three runs in the sixth, leading to a 6-3 loss.
They then went two weeks without playing as steady rainfall kept them off the field. When they finally played, it was at Kentburg. Coach Sanders was admittedly surprised to see Ben as the starting pitcher, since he was only a freshman. But, he was a good freshman and held the Mustangs scoreless for six innings as Kentburg hammered senior Robin Davidson hard in an 8-1 win.
Noah spent that night at Eric's house. The JV team had won their game at home against Kentburg 6-3. Eric pitched six innings and got credit for the win. The Mustang JV team had a 3-0 record.
The boys were sitting in the living room, wearing lounge pants and sweatshirts, talking with Eric's father.
"I can't believe Ben is pitching varsity," Noah said. "You're as good as he is," he told Eric.
"Not quite," Eric said. "I'd get eaten up at varsity. I'm surprised he wasn't hit harder by our varsity."
"I talked with Trey Mullen's dad," Eric's father, Dennis Simmons, said. Trey was a junior and the son of the Mayfield Police Chief. "He said six sophomores and three seniors started for us. He thought Ben was so effective because he was facing a lot of batters he'd seen a lot through the years. I understand he got hit pretty hard by Lakeshore a couple of weeks ago, so I'd say he has some things to learn yet."
"I got asked by an eighth grader if I would talk to him and a friend on Saturday," Eric said, changing the subject.
"Oh? And who would that be?" Noah asked.
"Justin. I don't know who the friend is. I have a feeling the subject of the talk is not going to be baseball."`
"Knowing what I know about Justin, you are probably right."
"Don't tell me," Dennis said, "Justin is about to join the ranks of the Mayfield gays."
"Statistically there should be two or three gays in each grade," Noah pointed out. "Things appear off beat here because the freshman class has more gays than average and because we are all out of the closet."
"You are probably right about that, Noah, but it still seems out of the ordinary to me."
"It seems perfectly right to Noah and me," Eric said.
"And since you are both extremely intelligent boys, I will have to continue to endeavor to see the world the way you two do."
"The way we currently see the world is that it's time for bed."
Eric and Noah both hugged Eric's father good-night and went up to Eric's room. Noah had his own toothbrush and other toiletry articles at Eric's house just like Eric has his own at Noah's. The boys took care of their nightly brushing, washing, and cleaning and settled naked into Eric's bed.
"I am not as good as Ben," Eric said.
"I know that and you know that, but I thought it sounded good for your dad," Noah told him smiling. "Besides, you are a damned good pitcher."
"Are you horny?" Eric asked, changing the subject.
"I am, but I can hold off until tomorrow night. We don't want to lose our school night overnight privileges."
"You are always the one who walks the straight and narrow."
"I learned it from you."
"Oh, I do so love you, Noah."
The boys knew they were getting to bed a little late, and they were both tired after a long day of school, baseball, and homework. A long and deep goodnight kiss was good enough as they cuddled up and fell quickly to sleep.
Saturday was the start of spring break. It was also the day Eric said that he would meet with Justin. He texted Justin and asked if it was okay if Noah came with him. Justin said it was cool, so he and Noah met with Justin and Toby at Justin's house. Eric was not surprised that the unknown second boy was Toby.
Justin told Eric and Noah that he and Toby had decided they were gay and had committed to being boyfriends. Eric and Noah listened and smiled as Justin nervously told them how he and Toby felt about each other. Toby sat quietly, looking more nervous than Justin did.
"Anyway, me and Toby decided we needed to tell somebody. I mean if we, like, need advice or something we wanted somebody we could turn to. And you two are almost the most famous gay couple in Mayfield, what with you being jocks and student officers and all that."
"We appreciate your trusting us," Eric said. "Do you agree with Justin about all of this?" he asked Toby.
"Totally. I don't know if we love each other, but I know there's nobody I like to be with more than being with him. I get a rush just seeing him."
"Sounds like love to me," Noah giggled.
Eric and Noah talked to them about what being out was like, and they agreed with their decision to wait until they started high school to come out. "You all have lots of people who understand you there. In middle school you'll be more like freaks. At the high school you're just another gay couple." Eric couldn't help but think about his father's perspective after saying that.
"Do you think me and Toby could sit with you guys at the Nooner on Wednesday, even if we are only eighth graders?" Justin asked.
"Of course you can. You guys are more than just eighth graders, you're our friends," Eric said.
"I second that," Noah said.
They talked a little about baseball and then Eric and Noah got up to leave. Toby walked up to Eric and gave him a tight hug, and then hugged Noah; the hugs expressing his feelings better than any amount of talk would have done. Justin did the same and the two freshmen left.
Noah laughed as they got on their bikes to peddle back to Eric's house. "What's so funny?" Eric asked.
"There we were, three thirteen year olds and a fourteen year old talking about being gay and never once did we talk about having sex," Noah said. "Does that mean that the gay boys of Mayfield are maturing?"
"No, it just means that you and I had three orgasms apiece last night."
"By the way, those two boys are one cute and sexy couple."
"Oh? I never noticed," Eric said with a smirk.
The Nooner came up on Wednesday as it always did during Spring Break. It was a tradition that had been started by Coach Collins. As per the tradition, they played a team from outside the area that was supposed to be strong. For this game it was the Whitman Wildcats from Eastern Washington. They were 6-1 so far in the season, compared to the 1-4 record of the Mustangs.
Coach Sanders started Rodney to give him experience in a game against a tough foe. He talked to both of his senior pitchers about his decision before announcing it. Robin was upset about being bumped by a sophomore, but Tyler said he understood perfectly. He knew what the dream was about, and even though he wouldn't be around to share it, he felt strongly about its success because it had been so important to his brother Bobby.
Rodney ended up showing his potential by shutting down the Wildcats for five innings, as the Mustangs played their best overall game of the season in a 4-2 win. Up in the bleachers, Justin and Toby felt grown up sitting with Eric, Noah, and most of the JV team. Being members of the Go to State Team was a big part of it, but being accepted as fellow gay boyfriends by Eric and Noah was a big factor, too.
The Mustangs lost both of their league games the week after Spring Break. Robin started the first game and again didn't pitch up to his ability. At times he lost his concentration. Tyler pitched better, but didn't get a lot of support in the field as the Mustangs made three errors behind him. Coach Sanders knew that Tyler had pitched his best even though he lost.
Two juniors, Steve and Crawford, started both games in the field. They were sloppy in the field and at the plate, which did not please Coach Sanders at all. He knew that both of them had a history with the sophomores as well as the freshmen on the JV team. He could see that they were on the field more for themselves than they were for the team.
That Saturday afternoon Coach Sanders sat with his partner, Coach Miller, in their large living room. He was enjoying the view of the lake through the room's picture windows.
"I can really see the difference between the sophomores and the upperclassmen." Coach Sanders said. "The sophomores are so much more focused and goal oriented. I hate to say it, but those fifteen and sixteen year olds are more mature than the seniors are, with maybe Tyler excepted."
"Don't leave out the freshmen. Their JV might be young, but they are 4-1 on the season so far," Coach Miller said.
"That group Eric formed is the most amazing bunch of kids I have ever worked with."
"There is a lot more to it than Eric, not to take anything away from him."
"It was his idea that started it, and he was the one who got it rolling. After they all bought into it, the organization has done wonders for the whole bunch of them. Hell, even Connor has become semi-civilized," Coach Sanders said with a laugh.
"The whole thing almost collapsed last summer after the problems they went through. And I am positive Steve and Crawford were a part of that problem. I was tempted to cut them this year, but they didn't give me a good enough reason to justify it. They know exactly how far they can push things."
"You're right, it almost collapsed, but it didn't, which says a lot about the underclassmen. In fact they seem to have come out of last year's problems even stronger. Look at the JV team, it's almost all freshmen and they've lost only one game so far."
"The trip to Salinas was where it all came back together."
Coach Miller smiled. "Your speech had a lot to do with that."
"Was that the most boring inspirational speech in history or what?"
"It worked. Somebody got pissed off and took over."
"I never expected that somebody to be Marty," Coach Sanders said. "I thought if anybody took charge in that dining car, it would be Eric."
"Eric is an organizer. He is patient and methodical and seems to know how get those guys to follow his lead. But words of passion are not his strong suit. No, it needed to be somebody who could rant, rave, cuss, and talk to his peers like they were, well, his peers. Plus, it needed to be one of the older kids—a sophomore."
"Connor does that pretty well."
"Yeah, but he's not a leader. He's more a gadfly that gets under everybody's skin and gets them to re-examine their thinking. Marty is a true leader."
"Talk about a kid who has come a long way. He almost drank himself out of middle school athletics, hell, probably out of middle school. Now he is one of the leaders, not only of the team, but of the entire sophomore class. I've seen his grades, and they are not the Cs and Ds of his first semester in eighth grade. He's a damned honor roll student."
"And, he is family," Coach Miller said, referring to Marty being gay.
"I wonder if he and Rich do it more often that we do?"
"Since they don't live together, I'd say no."
Coach Sanders laughed. "Since they don't live together, I'd say that's the only reason it's close. Oh, to be fifteen again." He gave his partner a sexy smirk. "Shall we head into the bedroom and make sure we work at staying ahead of them?"
"Lead on McDuff." The two coaches headed to their bedroom to do what they'd been doing together since they were twelve years old, something that, even in their thirties, they never got tired of.
Saturday was also Noah's fourteenth birthday party. The party was held at his house. The entire Go to State Team showed up and a select few spent the night. The twins, Lars, Hunter, Danny, Carl, Scott, Gavin, Marty, Rich, Justin, Toby, Korey, Chandler, and of course Eric, were invited to spend the night. All of them came to the party, but Scott and Gavin didn't stay because they were worried the overnight would turn into some kind of sex orgy. Toby didn't stay because he had to be up early the next morning for something at church, but he was fine with Justin staying.
The overnight crew congregated in the cabana, of course. Nicky, who was not quite ten, joined the party, which turned out to be a mini-orgy with a great deal of masturbation, solo and mutual, and a fair share of cock sucking. Everyone there had at least one orgasm. Nicky was the only one in the crowded cabana who was dry. They all agreed before they started that there would be no anal sex, which they all saw as something to be done in private, or at most in a four-way.
One moment of entertainment was provided by Chandler and Lars who took part in their favorite sex challenge; which of them could get the most of his dick into his own mouth and who could bring himself off the fastest by sucking himself. Everybody gave a try at sucking himself, with Justin coming the closest. He was barely able to flick his tongue across the head of his cock.
They all slept naked in the warm cabana, each boy choosing a partner other than his boyfriend. Eric ended up sleeping with Justin, a boy he liked a lot, and Noah, the birthday boy, slept with Chandler, a twelve year old who loved to cuddle. The next day, after the crowd had a pancake breakfast and left for home, Noah agreed with Eric that it was another great birthday party.
"I think your birthday parties are the sexiest in the county," Eric said.
"It's weird," Noah said. "I am not that big on group sex, but on my birthday I love it. I think agreeing not to fuck made it a lot more fun—it was just guys getting off and enjoying each other bodies in an enjoyable way."
Sunday afternoon found the boy, whose leadership impressed the coaches, at the home of his English teacher, Mr. Robinson. He'd started working with the teacher after school during the winter. However, after baseball started, he took his lunch with Mr. Robinson and Tyler. Mr. Robinson would work on the students' English skills while they ate.
Mr. Robinson had told Marty that someone who was as bright as he was, who was getting more and more opportunities to speak before his class and before groups, should be able to express himself in standard English.
"We used to offer a speech class here," Mr. Robinson said. "But with the emphasis on standardized testing, it has gone by the wayside as have so many other useful programs. School is geared to passing the tests, not to learning how do get along in the real world."
Marty shrugged. To him, school was school. But he listened to Mr. Robinson, and once a week he and Tyler got elocution and writing lessons. Mr. Robinson made the lessons fun. Marty enjoyed the company of the teacher and of Tyler.
Marty was certain that Tyler was in a sexual relationship with Mr. Robinson, but he didn't care. It wasn't like what Coach Gardner had done to Sara, taking advantage of her to get what he wanted. As far as he was concerned, the coach was an ass wipe. If Mr. Robinson and Tyler wanted to get it on, that was their business. He didn't see it as any different from what he and Jeffrey did with each other.
But Marty had no desire to be a part of it. While he found Tyler to be incredibly sexy, he was learning that he didn't have to jump in bed with every boy who tempted him. Some boys, yes, but every boy— no. Marty started to become more aware of proper grammar and syntax, and his work started to show improvement both in the classroom and at the Go to State Team meetings he chaired. But he also had enough false pride to not let his new found "fancy English" show up in his day-to-day chatter with his peers.
On Monday, the Mustangs had a home game against Clark Pass. Coach Sanders had private chats with Steve, Crawford, and a couple of other boys about their attitudes and hustle. But the coach was in a good mood, because he knew for a fact that none of the high school or middle school players had shown up at Abner's annual baseball alumni party. He was sure it had been at least fifteen years since that had last happened.
Steve and Crawford both heard a lecture about leaving their baggage behind and not bringing it to practices and games. Without saying so, he was referring to their subtle homophobic behaviors. Even though he still didn't teach at the high school, he knew enough about the goings on of the athletes there to be aware of how Connor kept Steve, Crawford, and a couple of others in line. His presence prevented them from going too far with their actions.
"I'm tired of that faggot," Steve said to Crawford and Fred, a bench riding senior, at lunch time. "It was hilarious. He's probably thinking just because we didn't go to that fucking party out at the farm, we didn't get drunk."
"You guys drank?" Fred asked. He wasn't a very talented ballplayer, but he worked hard and the coaches liked him. He'd been one of the boys suspended the year before, but he came back as a senior with a good attitude. He now had a chance to earn a varsity letter and he wasn't about to blow it.
"Hell, yes. Me and Crawford drank enough to make up for all you assholes who were busy kissing Coach's ass, and I mean really kissing his ass." He laughed loudly at his joke, but Fred remained expressionless. He decided this was the last time he was going to sit with that pair of assholes. He was going back to sitting with the other seniors. In fact he made that decision right then, picking up his tray and telling the two juniors he forgot he was supposed to study with somebody.
"He is such a loser," Steve said after Fred left. "I bet he wouldn't suck me off like you did on Saturday."
Crawford looked around to see if anybody heard that. "Damn it, you don't have to let the whole world know."
"Sorry, I know it's not like you're a faggot or anything. You were just drunk and helping a friend out." It was not the first time Crawford had "helped" Steve out as a friend. It's kinda funny, Crawford thought, that no matter how drunk and stoned we get, he never helps me out.
"I'll tell you this," Steve said. "I'm really tired of all those fucking sophs and frosh in that stupid group of theirs thinking their shit doesn't stink. Two state championships, my ass. They'll be lucky to win half of their fucking games."
"I hear you," Crawford said, although he really didn't. He was getting tired of Steve's act and tired of being Steve's shadow.
"I mean we got a faggot coach, we play with faggot players, and the rest are faggot lovers. What did I ever do to deserve playing with all those dickwads?"
Crawford said he didn't know, picked up his tray and bused it.
That afternoon the Mustangs beat Clark Pass. They were expected to beat Clark Pass, and many of the upperclassmen played like they were expecting an automatic win. The Mustangs had to score five runs in the sixth inning to finally pull off a 10-7 win.
Robin Davidson started the game and pitched like he wasn't at all interested in the outcome. Crawford trotted after a fly ball in the top of the fourth that dropped in front of him. It was a ball that he would have caught had he given even an 80% effort. In the bottom of the fourth, Steve hit a popup to shortstop, which the shortstop had to back up a couple of steps to catch. Steve knew it was an easy out and trotted a few steps before turning for the dugout. The problem was that the shortstop dropped the ball. Since Steve had given up on the popup, he ended up being easily thrown out at first. Had he run hard to first he would have been safe.
Robin was pulled from the game after two innings in favor of Vince, who had nowhere near the ability of Robin, but ten times the heart. After his lackadaisical play, Crawford was benched in favor of Connor, who took his place in right. Steve had been playing third, but not after failing to run out his popup. Marty took his place. Steve would have been replaced whether the fielder had caught the ball or not, but the fact that it was dropped made his lack of hustle look even worse. With Connor and Marty on the field, the intensity shot up to an entirely different level, leading to the Mustang comeback.
Meanwhile, the freshman-laden JV team had their hitting shoes on that afternoon as they bombed the Clark Pass JVs at Clark Pass, behind Eric's five-hit shutout. The final score was 12-0 in six innings.
That evening there was one conversation that led to a very interesting exchange later. Steve complained to his father about his treatment by Coach Sanders. "Benching me was so stupid," he said. "That ball is caught a hundred percent of the time, but he benches me for not hustling and not thinking of the team. I was thinking of the team. I was saving myself to have more energy in the field. He just likes all the queers and queer lovers on the team and is looking for any excuse to bench anybody who has his shit together. He just wants that ass kissing faggot Marty at third instead of me. I'm the one who really belongs there. I mean would you pick a gay queer or a guy who is a man to be your third baseman?"
His father agreed with Steve about the issue of having a gay coach and gay teammates, but he did tell his son that, in spite of the homo issue, he should hustle and run everything out.
That night Steve's father headed to the Roadside Inn to shoot pool and have a couple of beers with his buddies. Monday night was his usual night out. He was pleased to see Coach Collins at the Inn. The conversation was soon about the fortunes of the Mayfield Mustang varsity baseball team.
"Fucking team is next to last," Paul Richardson, Randy's father, said. He had fought hard against the hiring of Coach Sanders. He turned to Coach Collins. "If you was coaching them they'd be right in the hunt. There's some good talent there begging for you to coach them."
"Amen to that," Steve's father said. "Time for us to get a petition going to bring you back."
"I won't be able to help you boys out if you do," Coach Collins said, "but I sure as hell won't stand in your way."
"It's the whole homosexual thing," Richardson said. "You got a couple of queer coaches and suddenly we got an epidemic of queer kids. It goes right back to them playing for that Sanders asshole in middle school. I'd sure like to know what went on in that locker room after practices with him and those boys."
"It's worse than what Coach Gardner supposedly done with that girl," another man piped up. "Nothing wrong with getting some young pussy, but butt fucking boys that ain't even teens yet...that is just wrong."
"Hey, look, I am no more happy with the current coach than you guys are," Coach Collins said. "But I really don't think anything like that went on with those kids in middle school, at least not with Sanders. He's got too much integrity. Besides, how's he going to do stuff in the locker room with Ecklund there, too?"
"Well, all I know is my boy's been benched for one of those fucking faggots, a sophomore cock sucker," Steve's father said. "My boy and Marty Carlson used to be friends until he found out the punk was a drunk and queer as a three dollar bill."
Coach Collins nodded in agreement. "I could tell you stories about...," but he was interrupted by a man coming off one of the barstools.
"Don't you fuckers go calling my boy a drunk and a faggot," Lewis Carlson yelled as he walked up to their table. He was somewhat drunk. "Ain't nobody calls my son that exceptin' me, cuz he's my boy and I call him whatever the fuck I want. Now I expect a fucking apology before I bust somebody's nose."
The bar went silent and a couple of insincere apologies were muttered. "We're really sorry," Coach Collins said loudly, trying to diffuse the situation. "We didn't mean to belittle your boy."
"You better fucking not." Marty's dad turned around and sat back down on his barstool, a lonely figure who found himself drinking alone more and more.
"Wow," Paul Richardson said, "what the fuck got into Lewis? He calls his kid the same things we just called him all the time."
"I think it's all about family," Steve's father said, "and I get it. It's okay for him to rag on his son, but heaven help the outsider who says the same thing."
What nobody knew that night, least of all Lewis Carlson, was that his little tirade was the first step in the long process of changing his life. For Lewis Carlson, it was just another night of sitting on a bar stool and getting drunk, hating his sexless wife, his gay son, and himself, but in the back of his head some little thing had changed.
The Mustangs played two more games that week. Steve, Crawford, and Robin sat on the bench for both of them, fuming at the coach and fuming at their teammates. The Mustangs split the two games, losing to Lakeshore 4-1 and beating Monte 7-6, after Marty put them ahead in the sixth with a three-run homer. They had now played every team in their league once and were 2-5 in league and 4-7 overall. To make it to the league tournament they would probably have to win at least four of their remaining games.
First place Harborview was probably not the team they wanted to play to turn their season around, but they gave it a good try. Rich couldn't hold a one run lead in the seventh as the Tugs scored two runs to beat the Mustangs 5-4 at Mayfield.
But archrival Kentburg ended up being all too willing to help out the Mustangs. Rodney gave Mustang fans a glimpse of how good a pitcher he was going to be as he gave up six hits and two runs to the Royals over six innings. This time Rich came in and held the lead in the seventh and the Mustangs had a 5-2 upset. The Mustangs didn't face Ben, who had started making freshman mistakes and was sent down to the JV. That afternoon at Kentwood, Ben did what he loved to do best and that was shut down Mayfield. He held them to three hits as the Royals won the JV game 4-0.
Marty made love to Rich in Rich's bed following the blown save to Harborview. After he picked up the save against Kentwood, Marty made sure to fuck the living daylights out of Rich. He was starting to learn how to get his sex to match Rich's mood and Rich was learning the same thing about Marty. There was no doubt in the minds of the two boys that they were made for each other.
The next week proved to be a very successful one for the Mustangs. They won all three games, avenging defeats to Meadow Park and Chinook and beating Monte for the second time, that game by a 9-1 score. They had now won four in a row and were 6-6 in league with two games left. They were suddenly right in the hunt for a league tournament spot. The fact that the team started winning when most of the seniors and juniors were benched was not lost on any of the members of the team.
Their winning streak ended at five straight when the first place Lakeshore Sentinels beat them 5-0 behind the 5-hit pitching of their senior ace, Kirby Rollins. But the Mustangs bounced back to beat Clark Pass on Wednesday ,15-1 at Clark Pass. The win gave the Mustangs a 7-7 record in league and 9-9 record overall. They finished in a tie for fifth with Chinook, who had lost to Lakeshore 7-3. Since the top five teams went to the league tournament, the Mustangs would have a one-game playoff the next day against Chinook to break the tie. The Mayfield Mustang varsity baseball team had come a long way, and most of that was due to the young, tightly knit group of six sophomores.
Next: Postseason Baseball