CHAPTER XIX.
THE GAME AT BROOKSIDE.
Contrary to expectations, both sides failed to score in the first and second innings of the game. Brookside got a man to second and Lakeport two men to first, but that was all. Each pitcher sent two batters out on strikes.
"This is certainly going to be a close game," said more than one. "The nines are very evenly matched."
When the Brooksides came to the bat in the third inning the second player up made a safe base hit. This was followed by a sacrifice hit which took the runner to second. Then came another base hit.
This was more interesting than before, and the crowd watched the next batter take his position with interest. He was a long hitter and knowing this Joe motioned to the fielders back of him to be on the lookout for a big drive.
"One ball!" cried the umpire as the first ball was pitched. And this was followed by a strike.
"Run on anything," cautioned the coach to the two men on bases. "Two out."
Again the ball came in. It was swiftly delivered by Joe, but by good luck the Brookside player struck it squarely and sent it high up in the air towards leftfield.
"Run! run!" shouted a hundred voices. "Run!" And the batter, as well as those on the bases, started to run with might and main.
"Catch it, De Vere!" came the cry from the Lakeport supporters.
"It's an easy fly!"
"Those runs won't count!"
The ball was well up in the air and almost directly over Augustus De Vere's head. But strange to say the dudish player ran first backward and then forward and then skipped from side to side.
"Don't miss that, Gus!" yelled Joe. "It's your ball and it's easy, old man!"
"He's going to miss it as sure as fate!" groaned Harry.
"Oh, he can't miss that," came from another player.
One runner was already home and the others were well on the way when the ball came within a foot of Augustus De Vere's hands. He put up one hand feebly, stared hard at the sphere, and then let it roll behind him on the ground.
"He's dropped it!"
"Come in! Come in! You've got dead loads of time!"
"Get the ball!" screamed Joe and some others. "Throw up the ball!" And now Paul Shale ran toward the spot where the ball lay. De Vere turned around, stared blankly in one direction and another, and fell flat upon the ball and rolled over. Then Paul Shale came up, snatched the leather sphere from the grass and sent it to the home plate with unerring accuracy. But it was too late—the three runs were in.
"Oh, what baby play!"
"That gives Brookside three runs!"
"Hullo, butter-fingers! You had better go home to your mammy!"
"Give him a crab-net to catch with!"
"He did it on purpose! Send him off the field!"
By this time Joe was approaching Augustus De Vere.
"Why didn't you hang on to that ball, Gus?" he demanded.
"I—er—I—it slipped before I knew it!" stammered the dudish youth.
"It was the easiest kind of a fly to catch."
"Was it?"
"Certainly it was. You were going to do such big things, and here you go and get badly rattled the first thing!" continued Joe, bitterly.
"Humph! if that's the way you're going to talk I won't play any more!" grumbled Augustus De Vere. "You pitched the ball and let him hit it!"
"I don't deny that, but you ought to have made more of an effort to catch it than you did."
"Put him off! Put him off!" came in a chorus from the side of the field.
"I—I guess I won't play any more," said Augustus. "The sun makes my head ache." And he turned and hurried for the bench. A minute later he disappeared and that was the last seen of him during that game.
"Teddy, go down and cover leftfield," said Joe. "And don't you drop any flies."
"Not on yer necktie!" cried the Irish lad. "If I do, you can duck me in the lake be the heels fer it!" And off he scampered, his freckled face on a broad grin.
The rest of the inning was short, the next player going out on a pop fly to third. Then the Lakeports came in, to try their luck again and talk over De Vere's error.
"I always said he was a stick," grumbled Matt. "A stick and a gas bag combined."
"Perhaps he thought the ball too dirty to hold," suggested Bart, with a grin. "He loves to keep his hands lily white."
No more runs were scored until the sixth inning, when Brookside added one more to its total. Lakeport also scored twice, much to the satisfaction of its supporters.
The seventh inning was also a blank for each side. Then came the eighth which left the score Brookside 7, Lakeport 4. One of the runs put down for the latter team was made by Teddy Dugan and of this the little Irish lad was wonderfully proud.
"Good for you, Teddy!" cried Joe, slapping him on the back. "I am sorry now I didn't put you on the nine in the first place."
"We've got to do some tall hustling, to beat that lead," said Fred, with a doubtful shake of his head.
"It looks like we were up against it good and hard, don't it?" came from Link. "Well, we must expect to be beaten sometimes."
"We are not beaten yet," added Matt, determinedly.
By good pitching Joe managed to put the Brookside players out in one-two-three order in the ninth inning. When this was over he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank fortune, they can't get any more runs!" he said to his brother.
The batting order was the same as when they had played the Excelsiors and Fred was the first player up in the ninth inning.
"Now, Fred, do something!" pleaded Joe. "Don't let them down us too easily."
The first ball pitched was a good one and Fred drove it down to center. He flew rather than ran to first.
"Good!" cried Joe, and ran down to coach him. "Now, make second if you can!"
Matt next came to the bat, and knocked a safe hit to rightfield. Up came the ball to second, but it was too high and passed over the base player's head. The pitcher of the Brooksides caught it, but by that time Fred was safe on second and Matt safe on first.
"That's the way to do it!" sang out Joe. "Keep the ball rolling, boys! We've got 'em on the run!"
Frank was next to the bat, and with two strikes on him knocked a short ball into centerfield. The second baseman went after it and likewise the fielder and as a consequence both bumped together and neither got the ball. Seeing this, Fred, who had already reached third, tore up to home, while Matt leaped and slid down to second. Frank, of course, got to first with ease.
"Hurrah! one run in and two men on base!"
"And nobody out!"
It was now Harry's turn to bat. Evidently the pitcher of the rival nine was worried, for he soon had two balls called on him. Then Harry let another go and it was called a strike. The next ball was all right and Harry banged it down to shortstop. It was a fatal spot, for the rival player picked it up and put Matt out at third. Then he threw it to second, but Frank was declared safe by the umpire on a somewhat close decision.
"Joe Westmore to the bat, Link Darrow on deck!" sang out the scorer, and Joe came up and took his position beside the home plate. The ball came in so close to him that he would have been struck had he not leaped back. The catcher let it pass him, and up came Frank to third, while Harry ran down to second.
"That's the way to do it!" cried one of the Lakeport boys. "Keep the ball rolling."
Joe watched his opportunity and with one strike on him, hit a safe one to leftfield. This took him to first and brought Frank home.
"Another run for Lakeport!"
"One run more and the score will be a tie!"
"Now, Lakeport, do your best!"
Harry was now on third and Link was at the bat. The latter tried to "line the leather out," but failed and sent the ball halfway down to the pitcher. Off he sprinted for first while Harry flew towards home. The ball came in, but it was too late. Harry was safe.
"A tie! A tie! Seven to seven!"
"Now, Lakeport, bring in the winning run!"
"Don't you let them do it, Brookside."
The excitement was now at a fever-heat and the majority of the spectators were standing up and crowding forward.
Paul Shale now came forward. He knocked two fouls and then sent up a pop fly which the pitcher gathered in with ease.
"Too bad!"
"One more chance, Lakeport. Now see what you can do!"
Teddy was already in position, with a grim look of determination on his freckled face. With all the strength of his arms he struck at the sphere and it went high up in the air, in the direction of first base.
"Run!" was the yell. "Run!" But running was useless, the baseman got the ball; and the inning came to a finish. Score, Brookside 7, Lakeport 7.
"They have got to play another inning!"
It was quickly begun and as quickly finished, neither side scoring.
"We will play one more inning," announced the umpire. "It is getting too dark to play more."
"I'm satisfied," said Joe.
"So am I," added George Dixon.
The Brooksides were soon to the bat. One man managed to get to second, but that was all.
"Now, Lakeport, is your last chance!"
The first player to the bat went out on a foul. The second got to first and then to third. But the next man was struck out, and a short fly followed which was gathered in by the second baseman of the Brooksides.
"All over!" announced the umpire.
"Seven to seven! Eleven innings and a tie!"
"Boys, that was a swell game, wasn't it?"
"Best game I ever saw in my life!"
So the comments ran on, while the rival players gathered together and shook hands.
"We'll have to play another game some day," said George Dixon to Joe.
"All right, I'm willing," answered the captain of the Lakeports.