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teams finish it later,
    but I guess they’re not doing that.
    Â 
    When I put my uniform on Coach’s desk,
    all clean and folded,
    I didn’t leave my guilt with it.
    But I felt fifty pounds lighter,
    and I could breathe normally again,
    and my hands weren’t shaking.
Pete Preston, Compton catcher
    At practice today, Coach told us Kyle had left the team.
    It would be an understatement to say he was pissed.
    He all but called Kyle a quitter.
    I already knew what Kyle had done.
    He’d phoned me the night before
    and told me he was turning in his uniform.
    I didn’t try to talk him out of it.
    Maybe someday he’ll be ready to pitch again,
    but not now.
    No way.
    Â 
    All Coach cares about is wins.
    If he gave a damn about Kyle,
    he’d worry that he hasn’t been to school since it happened—
    except to turn in his uniform.
    I phone Kyle a couple times every day now,
    because I’m afraid he might do something to hurt himself.
    He’s got me scared as hell.
    It’s as if the ball had hit
him,
    as if it had smashed
him
up inside
    just as bad as it smashed Wallace’s face.
    Â 
    I was closest to Wallace when he got hit.
    I heard the bones shatter.
    I saw his bloody face.
    Maybe Coach can forget about it
    and pretend it doesn’t matter,
    that it’s just part of the game.
    But it does matter. It has to.
    Â 
    If it doesn’t matter, we’re all in big trouble.
Red Bradington, Compton coach
    If we could play that last inning over, I’d rather
    Wallace had gotten a hit and Oak Grove had beaten us.
    I wish I’d put him on base
    and taken my chances with Anderson.
    At least then we’d have Dawkins for the rest of the season.
    Â 
    I can’t believe the kid quit on me,
    quit on his teammates.
    Now I have to figure out which of my other pitchers
    can pick up the slack, get us those wins
    I was counting on from Dawkins.
    Â 
    We can still do it,
    but the kid just made my job
    a hell of a lot tougher.
Andy Keller, Oak Grove third baseman
    I started at third today against Palo Cove.
    My first start.
    Coach moved Julio from right to left
    and Gordie from left to center.
    Ricky went back to right field.
    Â 
    I’d been hoping I could break into
    the starting lineup, but not this way.
    I felt guilty going out there.
    If Luke hadn’t gotten hurt, I’d still be on the bench.
    Â 
    I did okay.
    Fielded three grounders cleanly.
    Coach hit me eighth.
    I didn’t get any hits, but it didn’t hurt us.
    We still won, 7–3.
Michelle Wallace, Luke’s mother
    Luke talked to us today,
    thank the Lord.
    Â 
    It’s been three days of waiting, of watching him,
    unrecognizable beneath the thick white bandages.
    Â 
    Three days of doctors working to stop the swelling,
    to repair fractured bones in his face.
    Â 
    Three days without hearing his voice,
    of wondering if he would live through the surgeries.
    Â 
    Three days of prayer,
    never certain if God was even listening.
Luke “Wizard” Wallace
    They say I’ve been here for three days.
    I had no idea.
    Today is the first day that doesn’t seem like a dream.
    Â 
    I try to picture how it happened.
    Dawkins was in his stretch, I remember that.
    I can see him looking in at me or at his catcher.
    That’s the last I remember.
    I don’t remember seeing the ball at all,
    or even getting hit.
    Â 
    When I woke up in the hospital the first time,
    I had no clue why I was here.
    All I knew is what people told me.
    When I was finally able to mouth some words,
    I asked them about the game.
    They told me Coach stopped it,
    gave the win to Compton.
    Â 
    He shouldn’t have done that.
    Gordie was up next.
    We’d have won it, for sure.
Dr. Wesley Hunter, ophthalmologist
    It’s always a tough decision:
    Tell the good news first—
    or the bad news?
    Â 
    The good news:
    Luke’s gotten through the most dangerous time.
    It was touch-and-go those first few