Softball Surprise Read online

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHAPTER 1: TEAM ASSIGNMENTS

  CHAPTER 2: MAKING THE BEST OF THINGS

  CHAPTER 3: FIRST PRACTICE

  CHAPTER 4: LUCK DOESN'T LAST

  CHAPTER 5: PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

  CHAPTER 6: THE TRUTH COMES OUT

  CHAPTER 7: TOO GOOD TO REFUSE?

  CHAPTER 8: CHOOSING THE RIGHT TEAM

  CHAPTER 9: ALL TIED UP

  CHAPTER 10: THE FINAL INNING

  Chapter 1

  TEAM ASSIGNMENTS

  “Henry!” Jo Adler exclaimed. “What are you doing? Draw on the paper, not on the baby!”

  Henry looked up from where he was drawing on his baby sister’s face and giggled. Jo sighed and picked up two-year-old Olivia, who now had green eyebrows drawn above her regular ones. She carried the toddler into the bathroom to wash off the marker.

  School had only been out for a week, and Jo was already bored. Babysitting her neighbor’s kids was a good way to make some money, but she was ready to do something fun. Something that didn’t involve changing diapers.

  As she washed Olivia’s face, Jo’s mind drifted to softball. The summer league started next week, and team assignments would be posted that afternoon.

  Last year, Jo had been the center fielder for the Green Hornets. She’d had fun, but the team’s name had sounded a lot fiercer than their playing. They’d lost more games than they’d won.

  This year, she was hoping to get a spot on the Red Angels. They were the best team in the league every year. They hadn’t lost a single game in the past two seasons.

  Jo smiled to herself. She couldn’t wait to know what it felt like to be on a winning team!

  Olivia giggled and squirmed. Most of the marker had come off, so Jo put her down and let her run back into the living room to play with her brother.

  Jo tossed the washcloth in the laundry basket and followed after her. “Hey, guys,” she said, “want to go outside and play softball?”

  “Yeah!” Henry shouted, jumping up from his coloring.

  “Ball!” Olivia shouted.

  Jo knew they were too little to really play softball, but at least running around outside would be more fun than sitting inside and dreaming about it.

  * * *

  When she got home later that afternoon, Jo ran upstairs to check the league website.

  Unfortunately, the page still said the same thing it had said all week. TEAM ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE POSTED ON JUNE 20TH.

  “It is June 20th!” Jo muttered. She went back downstairs to get a snack.

  “Hey, sweetie,” Jo’s mom said, looking up from washing dishes. “Are the teams posted yet?”

  “No,” Jo said, sighing. “I really hope I get the Red Angels. I want to be on a team that wins!”

  “I’m sure it’ll be fun no matter what,” her mom said. “You’ll get to make new friends and play ball either way.”

  “I know,” Jo said. “But it would be really nice to get to do all that and win too.”

  Her mother laughed. “I know what you mean,” she said.

  Jo grabbed an apple for a snack and headed back up to her room. She sat down at her computer again to check her email, and suddenly her phone beeped with a text message.

  It was from her friend Delia. “WE’RE TEAMMATES!” the message read. “Can’t wait for my first season to start!”

  The list must be posted! Jo thought.

  She clicked back over to the league website. Sure enough, the team rosters were up. Jo quickly scanned for her name and found it — on the Yellow Sonics.

  Chapter 2

  MAKING THE BEST OF THINGS

  Jo sighed. She’d really had her heart set on the Red Angels. Still, the news could have been worse. At least the Yellow Sonics were a better team than the Green Hornets.

  Reading over the rest of the names on the roster, Jo tried to get over her disappointment. Delia’s name was there, along with a couple of other girls she knew. At least it looked like it was going to be a fun team.

  Jo clicked on the link for the Red Angels’ roster. Most of the girls on the list were the same ones who’d been on the team last year. There were a few other names Jo recognized. They were some of the best players from other league teams.

  Jo sighed again and picked up her phone to write Delia back. It was her friend’s first time playing in the league. “Want to meet at the park to practice?” she texted.

  Delia texted back right away. “Sure!”

  Jo got changed and went downstairs again to tell her mother the news. “The teams are up,” she said. “I didn’t get the Angels. I’m on the Yellow Sonics.”

  Her mother stopped washing dishes and turned around. “Is that a good team?” she asked.

  “It’s okay,” Jo said, shrugging. “Better than last year, at least. And I know a lot of girls on my team, so that’ll be fun. But I still wish I was on the Angels. I guess I’ll just have to prove that I’m good enough.”

  Her mother smiled. “That shouldn’t be too hard for you,” she said. “Nobody works harder than you do when you put your mind to something.”

  Jo smiled back. “Thanks, Mom,” she said. “Is it okay if I meet Delia at the park to practice? I need to get warmed up for the season, and it would help to play with somebody who can throw the ball farther than two feet. Henry is cute, but he’s not much of a pitcher.”

  “Of course,” her mother said. “Just be home by six for dinner.”

  * * *

  Delia was waiting for Jo at the park when she arrived. “Ready?” she asked.

  Jo nodded. “Definitely,” she said.

  The girls played catch, starting close together and taking a step back after each successful catch. It was a good way to warm up after many months of not playing softball.

  Jo could feel her muscles stretching and flexing. It felt so great that she forgot all about her disappointment over the Angels.

  “I’m so glad we get to start playing next week!” she shouted to Delia. “I feel like I’ve been waiting for this forever!”

  “Me too,” Delia agreed. “And we’re on a team together! This is going to be the best summer ever!”

  Chapter 3

  FIRST PRACTICE

  On Monday, Jo’s dad dropped her off at the City Park baseball fields. As they pulled up, she spotted Delia and a couple of other girls from school standing near one of the diamonds.

  Jo quickly jumped out of the car and started to jog across the grass to join them.

  “Jo!” her dad called after her. “Forgetting something?” He laughed and waved her glove out the window.

  Jo shook her head and ran back to retrieve it. “Whoops!” she said.

  “Good luck, honey,” her dad said, handing her the glove. “And have fun!”

  As her dad drove away, Jo turned back to the fields. More girls had gathered around a tall woman wearing a baseball hat and a yellow jacket.

  When she reached the group, Jo saw a big box of yellow T-shirts sitting on the grass. “Are those our team uniforms?” she asked.

  The woman in the baseball hat smiled at her. “Yes,” she said, “but let’s wait for everyone to get here before handing them out. I’m Coach Johnson. What’s your name?”

  “Jo Adler,” Jo replied.

  The coach made a checkmark on the clipboard she was holding. “Welcome, Jo,” she said. “You played with the league last year, right?”

  Jo nodded. “I was center fielder for the Green Hornets. I’d really like to move to the infield this year, though,” she said.

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” the coach told h
er, smiling and making a note.

  A few more girls walked up, and the coach moved away to take down their names.

  “Okay!” Coach Johnson announced a moment later. “If I could have everyone’s attention, please. I think we’re all here, so welcome to the Yellow Sonics!”

  Everyone clapped. “Yay!” a couple of girls shouted.

  Jo raised her hand. “Do we have our schedule yet?” she asked.

  “We’ll have practice every Monday, and every Wednesday will be game day,” Coach Johnson replied with a smile. “Any other questions?”

  Nobody said anything, so the coach picked up a big box and started handing out shirts. The words “Yellow Sonics” were printed across the front of the T-shirts. Al’s Hardware, the local business sponsoring their team this year, was written across the back.

  “It’s time to play ball! We’ll start with some warm-ups,” the coach said. “Then we’ll move into fielding exercises. I’ll assign positions after I’ve had a chance to see everyone play.”

  Jo pulled her T-shirt on over the tank top she’d been wearing and headed out toward the middle of the field. She and Delia tossed a ball back and forth for a few minutes to warm up.

  “Let’s practice fielding,” Coach Johnson called from her position near home plate. She picked up a bat and began hitting balls into the outfield.

  Jo was determined to make a good impression. Every time a ball came toward her, she hustled after it. She snagged fly balls out of the air and kept her glove low to the ground to scoop up ground balls.

  After thirty minutes of fielding practice, Coach Johnson called, “Bring it in, girls! Everybody gather around to hear your positions.”

  Coach Johnson started reading off positions. “Jo Adler, second base,” she said.

  Jo grinned happily. Second base was a great position.

  “Delia Jones, right field,” the coach continued.

  Jo heard Delia sigh. Right field was a little boring, since few balls ended up getting hit there.

  Jo caught up to her friend as they walked toward the parking lot. “Don’t worry, Delia,” she said. “I’ll practice with you anytime you want! You won’t be in right field forever.”

  “Thanks, Jo,” Delia said, perking up a little. “Today was fun either way.”

  “Yeah!” Jo said, bumping Delia with her hip. “And we’re just getting started.”

  Chapter 4

  LUCK DOESN’T LAST

  The Yellow Sonics had their first game the following week. They were playing the Blue Sharks. Jo was so excited and nervous that she bounced in her seat the whole way to the park.

  The Sonics were up to bat first. Jo took a seat on the team’s bench and cheered on her teammates. Lucy, the first baseman, was up first. She let a couple of balls go by without swinging.

  “Good eye!” Jo called out.

  Lucy gripped her bat and waited for the next pitch. It came straight across the plate. Lucy swung but missed.

  “Strike!” the umpire called.

  The pitcher threw the next ball right down the middle of the plate again. This time Lucy swung and connected. The ball went sailing way out into center field.

  Lucy took off running. She made it all the way to second base before the center fielder chased the ball down and threw it back to the infield.

  Jo and the rest of the Sonics jumped up and down, cheering. What a great start!

  Their luck didn’t last, though. The next two batters both struck out, and Lucy was stuck waiting on second base.

  With two outs, Jo was up to bat. She couldn’t let Lucy’s leadoff double go to waste! She walked up to the plate slowly, taking a deep breath to clear her mind. Then she got into position, looked at the pitcher, and waited.

  The first pitch came toward the plate, and just as it reached her, Jo swung. There was a loud crack as the bat connected with the ball. It sailed out over the infield, and Jo took off running as fast as she could down the first-base line.

  As she reached first base, Jo saw the left fielder out of the corner of her eye, scooping the ball up from the ground. Jo stopped where she was and heard loud cheering from the bench. She turned just in time to see Lucy crossing home plate, scoring the team’s first run.

  Unfortunately, the next girl up to the plate struck out, which meant the Sharks were up to bat. Jo headed back to the bench to grab her glove and got a few high fives on the way.

  The Sonics had gotten off to a great start, but things went downhill from there. The second Sharks’ player up to bat hit a pop fly into right field, straight to Delia. She tried to get under the ball to catch it, but slipped and fumbled the ball. The runner made it all the way to third base before Delia recovered.

  Several more bad innings followed. The Sonics kept striking out, and their fielding errors gave the Sharks a chance to score more runs. By the time they were in the bottom of the ninth inning, the score was 4-1 Sharks.

  After the game, the two teams shook hands, and Jo gathered her equipment. She was walking back to the parking lot when she heard loud cheering from a nearby field.

  Jo turned and saw that the Angels had just finished their opening game too. The whole team was jumping up and down, giving each other high fives and hugs. The scoreboard read 10-0.

  Jo sighed in frustration. Must be nice to be on a winning team, she thought. Not that I’d know.

  Chapter 5

  PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

  A week later, Jo and Delia were back in the park practicing fielding techniques. They’d been running drills all afternoon on top of the practice they’d had that morning. Jo was determined to fix the mistakes from their first game.

  “Remember, don’t reach up for the ball until the last moment,” Jo said. She tossed another ball in Delia’s direction, this one high in the air.

  Delia positioned herself under the falling ball. Her fielding skills were improving, and she seemed more confident than she had been during the first game.

  “Awesome!” Jo called as Delia reached up with two hands and caught the ball securely in her baseball glove. “I think you’ve got it!”

  Delia grinned and jogged over to where Jo stood. “I’m feeling a lot better now,” she said. “Thanks for practicing with me!”

  “That’s what teammates are for,” Jo said.

  * * *

  At practice on Monday, the coach complimented Delia on her improved fielding. And when they showed up for the game on Wednesday, her name was listed for center field instead of right.

  Jo gave her a high five. “I knew you wouldn’t be picking clover in right field for long!” she told her friend.

  The first few innings were tight, with both teams scoring a single run. Delia caught a few pop flies and tossed them back into the infield with ease.

  Then in the sixth inning, Jo hit the first triple of the season, scoring two runs. Her teammates cheered for her happily. Jo jogged around the bases, grinning from ear to ear.

  The next two players up to bat both hit singles, scoring another run before the inning was out. But their energy and good luck seemed to rub off on the other team too. They started driving hits past the Sonics and into the outfield.

  Even though Jo made every play that came her way, it wasn’t enough to save the game. In the end, the score was 5-4. The Sonics had lost again.

  * * *

  At dinner that night, Jo picked at her grilled chicken.

  “What’s wrong, honey?” her mom finally asked. “You don’t seem like yourself tonight.”

  “I don’t know, Mom,” Jo said. She sighed and pushed her food around her plate. “I’m playing better than ever, but our team keeps losing. It’s really frustrating.”

  Her mom reached over and squeezed her arm. “I know it makes you sad to lose, but I hope you know that I’m really proud of you. You’re doing so well out there.”

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p; “It just doesn’t seem like enough,” Jo muttered.

  “I’m sure your coach knows how hard you’re working,” her mom said. “And you’re helping your teammates get better too! That’s real sportsmanship.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” Jo said. “I just wish I was on a team where it made a difference!”

  “Well,” her mom said, “just keep doing what you’re doing. I know those wins will start to come your way.”

  Chapter 6

  THE TRUTH COMES OUT

  “Can we go to the library, Jo? Can we, can we?” Henry begged.

  Jo was babysitting again, and going to the library sounded like a great way to pass some time.

  “Olivia, what do you think?” she asked the toddler cheerfully. “Books?”

  Olivia hopped up and down. “Books!” she shouted.

  “Okay, guys, into the wagon!” Jo said, heading for the front door.

  She loaded the kids into their wagon and pulled them along the sidewalk. The library was only a few blocks away, near the park where she and Delia went to practice.

  As they passed the park, Jo noticed a couple of players from the Red Angels tossing a ball around in the field.

  Jo felt a twinge of jealousy, but before she could give it too much thought, they’d reached the library doors. The kids quickly climbed out of the wagon. Henry tugged the big glass doors open, and they all filed inside.

  After a few minutes of reading, Olivia looked up from the pile of picture books and made a face at Jo. “Need potty,” she said.

  Jo sighed. “Okay, Henry, you stay here while I take your sister to the bathroom,” she said.

  She took Olivia to the bathroom and helped her into a stall. The bathroom door squeaked open and thumped shut again.

  “I mean, it’s almost too easy,” a voice said. “You’d think they’d at least leave some decent players on the other teams so we could have a real game once in a while.”