Chapter 5
After the playing of the national anthem via a recording, umpire Wilson finally said the words everyone had been waiting to hear. "Play ball!"
Since Rangeman was considered the home team, they took the field first. Stephanie eased onto the bench in the dugout and watched as the guys assumed their assigned positions. She was a bit surprised to find Ranger standing in center field. She'd expected him to take a more active position like second or first base. Of course, he'd admitted that he wasn't much of a ball player.
Vince walked over and sat down next to her. "I just want you to know that you will get some playing time."
Stephanie grinned as she glanced from the field to him. "I only found out you guys wanted me to play yesterday. So, no worries, Vince. I'm ready to go in whenever and wherever you need me."
As the leadoff batter for TPD, Eddie Gazzara stepped into the batter's box. Cal's first pitch flew past him with a quick 'Strike' called by umpire Wilson, followed by an immediate protest from Costanza. "What in the hell was that?" he yelled from the steps of the dugout.
Cal, Ram, and umpire Wilson all turned to look his direction. "Problem, Costanza?" Ram asked as he pulled off his catcher's mask.
"This is men's slow pitch," Carl replied. "Slow," he repeated as he moved his hands apart in front of him. "That pitch Cal threw was not slow."
"He didn't windmill his windup and he followed the arc rule," umpire Wilson replied. "You may not like the speed of the pitch, but it wasn't out of line."
Costanza's face screwed into a look of disgust before he cursed under his breath and turned back into the dugout.
The next pitch followed just like the first with a second 'strike' called on Gazzara.
Apparently, catching onto Cal's rhythm, Eddie swung and fouled off the next pitch, before finally making contact with the fourth throw. The crack of his bat had the TPD dugout cheering, but the joy was short lived, as with the efficiency of a pro ball player, Lester raced forward to scoop up the ground ball and throw it to Zero at first base.
Big Dog and Pancheck rounded out the top of the first inning with a strike out and a fly ball to center field, which Ranger easily caught. By the looks on their faces, it was obvious that the various members of the TPD team weren't used to being shut out of an inning.
"I think they're a bit peeved," Vince said as Steph stepped next to him to watch the guys get ready to bat.
"Their egos are bruised," Steph replied as Santos walked up to the batter's box.
"Let's hope that bruising gets in their heads and doesn't give them motivation instead," Vince replied.
Gaspick threw the first pitch and Lester swung. The crack of the bat confirmed he made contact, and they all watched as the ball fell just behind the short stop, giving him a single.
Brown was next, and after two strikes, he managed to hit a driving ground ball that slid between the first and second basemen, giving him a single.
"Lester looks like he's itching to steal third," Steph said to Vince who shook his head.
"No stealing allowed."
"Really?" she glanced from Lester who was practically bouncing on his toes at second base, to Vince and back. "Why?"
"Besides the fact that it was a concession on our part during the rules negotiation, it does make sense in this type of ball. With the way the pitcher throws the ball, picking a player off would be difficult. Plus, with the slower pitch, the catcher would struggle to get the ball back out to the bases in time."
"Oh." Steph nodded as Ram stepped up to the plate. Just as Lester and Bobby had done, he hit the ball to a location just out of reach for any of the TPD players. With the bases now loaded, Tank stepped up to the plate. Gaspick's first pitch was a strike, but his second was a meatball placed right in Tank's wheelhouse. He swung, catching the ball in the sweet spot of the bat, driving it deep into left field.
Rich Spanner, who had been playing mid field, raced toward the warning track, but the ball dropped just beyond the fence at the three hundred- and thirty-feet marker. Cheers went up throughout the Rangeman dugout as the guys rounded the bases and crossed home plate one at a time.
By the time TPD managed their third strike, Rangeman had turned over their lineup and was up eight to nothing.
During the next three innings, TPD began to find their rhythm and learned how to hit Cal's faster pitches, repeatedly dropping the ball just over the heads of the infielders. At the top of the fifth inning, Gazzara was back up to bat. Despite Rangeman adding to their run totals, TPD was now only down by two runs. With two out and the count three balls and two strikes, with two runners on base, it felt like a turning point in the game.
Stephanie held her breath as Cal threw the pitch. Gazzara contacted the ball sending the line drive back up the middle. With Cal's body blocking his view, Binkie didn't see the ball in time to get his glove up. The ball slammed into his face, then took a sideways bounce, right into Lester's glove.
Lester immediately threw the ball to Zero at first base, as insurance they got the out. The moment he let go of the ball he raced toward Binkie, who was now laying on his side on the ground, not moving. Vince was out of the dugout running toward them at the same time Bobby raced over to Binkie from where he'd been positioned in right field.
Steph wanted to run out to help, but knowing she'd probably just be in the way, especially with everyone on the field now surrounding him, she remained in the dugout with Manny, Woody, Zip, and Rodriguez.
After a couple of minutes, Ranger turned and waved to someone she couldn't see. The next thing she knew, EMTs were rolling a gurney onto the field and her fear ratcheted up another notch. Just how bad was Binkie?
Several long minutes passed before they lifted him onto the gurney. Bobby followed as the rest of the team slowly made their way toward the dugout. "How's Binkie?" Steph asked when Ranger stepped into the dugout.
"He definitely has a broken nose and Bobby's pretty sure he has a concussion," he replied.
"I'm guessing he's headed to St. Francis," she said.
Ranger nodded. "Bobby wants x-rays to make sure nothing else is broken."
"His injury requires me to re-arrange the lineup," Vince said. "Manny you're going to replace Bobby in right field. Steph, you're going to take Binkie's place on second base and Zip will take over pitching next inning."
Steph angled a thumb over her shoulder. "What about Rodriguez and Woody?"
Vince nodded. "They'll get to play too, but I don't want to burn through everyone so soon. The last thing we need is another injury and no one to use as a replacement." He motioned to the bat storage. "Binkie was supposed to be first up to bat this inning. So, pick out your weapon of choice and warm up, while I go make the changes with the umpire."
Stephanie's nerves were dancing as she grabbed a bat, then stepped out of the dugout to take a few practice swings. Out the corner of her eye she caught her mother's scowl. She already knew her mother disapproved. She didn't need visual proof too. So, she turned to watch Vince, umpire Wilson and Carl Costanza discuss the changes being made.
Carl also wore a sour puss expression. Why in the hell was everyone so against her playing? She would have thought the TPD team would have been excited about Rangeman using her. Especially since they all knew she didn't normally play sports.
Once everything was settled, she walked to the batter's box and took up her stance. She could hear the words of encouragement flowing toward her from her team's dugout.
"You got this, Babe."
"Come on, Beautiful, show them what you got."
"Let's do this, Bomber."
"Let them have it, Steph."
Gaspick's first two pitches flew past Steph followed by a called "Strike" from umpire Wilson. Damn it! Cal and Zip's pitches were faster than Gaspick's. So, why was she having issues with Gaspick?
She held up a hand, indicating a brief time out as she tried to regroup. "What's wrong, Cupcake?" Morelli called from the TPD dugout. "Did you finally realize you're in over your head?"
Steph paused to shoot her best burg glare at him. "The only thing I'm over, is you, Morelli." Her quick retort had men in both dugouts laughing. She turned back to see Ranger standing on the dugout steps. He looked like he was thinking about smiling. Then he gave her the slightest of nods. With him as her grounding stone, she took a deep breath and stepped back into the batter's box.
Gaspick threw his next pitch and Steph swung, surprising herself and everyone else when she made contact, sending the ball directly through the gap between the second baseman and short stop. She dropped the bat and raced for first, getting to the bag well before Neeley's throw.
Junior was next up to bat and he drove Gaspick's first pitch deep into the gap between left and center fields. Stephanie took off at a run, glanced over her shoulder to see Brian Simon scoop up the ball. Instead of stopping at second she raced for third and slid feet first into the bag.
Because Simon threw to Vince Roman at third, trying to get Steph out, Junior was able to make it to second base, on a double.
Ranger was next up to bat, but before he stepped into the batter's box, Costanza was out of the dugout and waving to Ryan Laski. Apparently, Gaspick was done for today. As it turned out, the pitching changed didn't make a difference. It was obvious that Ranger was a man on a mission.
He connected on Laski's first pitch, driving the ball far into the left field. TPD's Brian Simon tried to get under it, but the ball cleared the fence, giving Ranger a three-run homerun. Steph crossed the plate, then turned to wait for Junior, giving him a high five as he stepped across the plate next, with Ranger following close behind.
Ranger stepped on the plate, then scooped her into his arms and planted a kiss on her. "Nice work, Batman," she whispered against his lips.
He grinned. "Babe."
By the time Rodriguez flied out to Spanner in left field to end the inning, Rangeman had widened their lead by six runs.
They started the sixth inning with Zip pitching and Manny taking Junior's place in right field.
Costanza made a couple of changes to his lineup which put Morelli at the plate. He sneered at Stephanie, then turned his attention to Zip. Two pitches and two swings brought two quick strikes against Morelli. Steph could tell even from where she stood that he was getting frustrated.
Zip threw his next pitch and Morelli swung, catching a piece of the ball, and sending it high into the air. "Mine," Steph called off Zero and Lester, before catching the pop up with ease.
Joe threw down his bat and stormed back to the dugout as Santos laughed. "Aww…is somebody's ego bruised?"
"Shut the fuck up, Santos," Morelli yelled as he huffed down the dugout steps.
Lester chuckled then looked over at Steph. "I think you got under his skin."
"Good," she replied. "Serves him right after what he said."
"Damn straight," Lester agreed.
TPD managed to maneuver through half their batting line-up to score three more runs before Laski hit the ball straight up, giving Ram the opportunity to easily catch it just in front of home plate.
Rangeman batted through their lineup in the bottom of the sixth inning, adding four more runs with the help of Stephanie's base hit that drove in Ram and Tank.
Coming into the top of the seventh and final inning, Woody replaced Zero at first base and handily caught two throws to first base giving TPD their first two outs. Much to all their frustration Big Dog hit a single, followed by Gobel, and Morelli, loading the bases.
Pancheck stepped into the batter's box and on Zips first pitch swung, making contact. Everyone on base began to run as the ground ball slowed in the infield grass. Santos rushed forward and scooped up the ball. "Steph!" he yelled before throwing the ball to her at second base instead of going to first.
Big Dog crossed the plate while Steph hurried to cover second base. She caught Lester's throw then turned and swept her gloved hand down, tagging Morelli on his slide before he made it to the base.
"Out!" umpire Dervish yelled, giving Rangeman their third out and the win.
Steph leaned over Morelli. "How does it feel to be bested by your ex-girlfriend…cupcake?"
Before Morelli could reply the guys surrounded Steph, with Lester and Woody lifting her onto their shoulders to carry her to the pitcher's mound.
Vince ran towards them from the dugout, as the crowd cheered. The other members of the TPD started to make their way from their dugout to shake hands when everyone stopped as Ram motioned for them to wait. "Hang on for just a second," he said. "We have one more piece of business to take care of, first."
The TPD guys glanced at each other, their faces revealing their confusion.
"What's left except the handshake," Costanza asked?
"Just wait," Ram replied.
At the base of the pitcher's mound, Ranger stopped in front of Stephanie, then dropped to one knee and opened the box.
Morelli had stopped halfway to the dugout and was watching. "What the fuck are you doing, Manoso?"
Neither Steph nor Ranger spared a glance for his outburst. Instead, they kept their eyes on each other as Ranger began to speak. "Babe. I love you more every single day and I would be honored if you'd would agree to become my wife. Will you marry me?"
The smile on Stephanie's face widened even as her eyes welled with happy tears. "Yes, Carlos. I will marry you."
The Rangeman crew let out a cheer as Ranger slid the diamond onto her finger. She looked down at it, and her eyes widened with recognition. "This is the ring from Hawaii."
Ranger stood and pulled her to him. "It is. I knew then when I saw it on your finger that I wanted it there again someday."
Steph wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. "So, I guess that means someday is finally here."