Extra Innings Read Online Free PDF Page A

slow his racing heartbeat. Breathe , he told himself. You can do this. He saw that the next pitch was high, and let it go by for ball one.
    The next pitch was right at him, and he had to duck out of its way. “Ball two!” the umpire said.
    Ronde swung through the next one and found it hard to believe he’d missed it. Truth was, he couldn’t catch up to the speed of the fastball. If the pitcher had noticed and threw another just like it, Ronde was doomed.
    But the kid threw a changeup instead, and Ronde let it go by as it dropped into the dirt.
    Lucky for him. He couldn’t have hit it if it had been a strike, because he was all geared up for the fastball.
    Ronde felt like he was about to jump out of his skin. He was so wound up that if the next pitch had been anywhere close, he would have leapt at it. But the ball was way outside, and Ronde took his base, blowing out all the tension when he got there.
    Lenny Klein came up to the plate as the Eagles started chanting and cheering for a rally. Ronde saw this as his chance to impress the coach by using his speed. When Lenny worked the count to 3–0, Ronde took off for second on the next pitch.
    Blood was pounding in his ears so loudly that he couldn’t hear anything else. Nor did he look toward the plate to see what had happened on the pitch. As he approached second, he slid, just like Coach had shown them in practice.
    But the ball was already in the second baseman’s mitt, and he tagged Ronde out easily.
    â€œWhat?” Ronde couldn’t believe it. How had they managed to catch him stealing, with his speed?
    Just as he sat back down on the bench, Lenny singled to left. I would have got to third on that one, Ronde realized. If only he had been more patient and given Lenny a chance to hit!
    A quick glance at Coach Raines, who was shaking his head in frustration, showed Ronde that the coach was thinking the same thing.
    They hadn’t flashed him the Steal sign. He’d done it on his own. When the next two hitters struck out, the Eagles went down without scoring, and the score remained 2–0.
    The Rockets did not score in the third. In the top of the fourth, Tiki started the inning by striking out for thesecond time in the game. Ronde patted him on the back as his twin came back to the dugout, but Tiki shook him off. Ronde understood. Tiki was mad at himself for messing up, same as he was.
    But that’s when things started getting interesting. Michael Mason walked, and Cesar Ramirez singled. Tyquan Brown grounded out, but then John Benson came up and doubled both runners in to tie the score at 2–2!
    Ronde came up with a chance to give the Eagles the lead—but he grounded weakly to first instead. Benson took third, and when Lenny and Chris both walked, it looked like the Eagles might break the game open. But Ian Lloyd grounded out to second, and the Eagles had to settle for two runs.
    Oh well, thought Ronde. At least we’re not behind anymore.
    After Benson shut down the Rockets in the bottom of the fourth, Tiki led off the Eagle fifth by striking out again. Ronde could practically see the steam coming out of his twin’s ears as he came back to the bench. Ronde knew better than to try and console Tiki when he was in this kind of mood. He turned back to watch the game, hoping that Tiki would put his frustration to good use, rather than letting it affect his play from here on out.
    Michael Mason and Cesar Ramirez hit consecutive singles, and again, it looked like the Eagles were in business. John Benson walked, and the bases were loaded for Ronde.
    He came to the plate, no longer thinking about how Tiki was doing, but only about himself. If he struck out, he would be totally humiliated! He tried to concentrate on just making contact . . . just making contact . . .
    He made contact, all right. He hit the ball straight back to the pitcher—a soft line drive that turned into an inning-ending double