Luke “Wizard” Wallace, Oak Grove center fielder
A ballfields the best medicine I know.
Ive been sick as a dog since last night.
I had to run out of class third period.
I didnt even stop to get the teachers permission, because I thought I was going to throw up right there at my desk.
Talk about embarrassing!
Luckily, I didnt.
Anyway, the minute I stepped onto the field this afternoon, I felt a lot better.
Almost normal.
And now this. This is what I live for: bottom of the seventh, our last at-bats.
Tying run on third, winning run on second.
Hitting against Kyle Dawkins, the hardest thrower in our conference.
Hes a senior now. Hes fast but wild.
Last year as a sophomore, I swung against him, and I couldnt touch his heat.
I might as well have been batting with a toothpick.
The Compton coach just came out to talk to Dawkins.
I can guess what he told him.
They dont want to risk walking me.
Dawkinss control is shaky; the last thing they want is to have the bases loaded. Ive already pulled an inside pitch for a double, so the smart play is for him to curve me outside.
Ill be ready for it.
Ill poke it to right, and the game will be ours.
Last week we won a game with defense in the final inning.
Today weve got a chance to win with our bats.
Andy Keller, Oak Grove backup infielder
The Wizards the guy you want up in a situation like this.
Gordies on deck. Hes our best hitter, both for average and power.
But in a clutch situation, Lukes the guy I want up there.
Hes amazing.
For some reason—I cant explain it— the pressure never seems to bother him.
You might think Im biased, since Lukes my best friend.
But I could fill a book with all the times hes come through in the clutch.
In fact, I can hardly remember a time hes failed.
Sure, Dawkins might get him out; hes got the stuff to do it.
But if I were going to bet, Id put my money on the Wizard.
Red Bradington, Compton coach
This is one hell of a situation to be in.
Their best hitters on deck, so we cant walk Wallace.
Wallace has already hammered Dawkinss fastball, so the best bet is to bust him inside one time.
Thatll move him off the plate.
Then well curve him away.
Dawkinss wildness doesnt give us much margin for error.
I wish I could bring somebody else in, but hes still the best Ive got.
Pete Preston, Compton catcher
Coach just told Kyle to brush Wallace back.
You kidding me?
Kyles already walked two this inning.
We cant afford another walk.
Coach wants us to waste a pitch?
Hes an idiot.
But were still ahead 3-2, in spite of him.
I just hope Kyle has enough sense to ignore anything Bradington says.
Im going to give him a target in the middle of the plate.
I hope he tries to hit it. Even right down the gut, Kyles got good enough stuff to get anybody out.
Even Wallace.
Tim Burchard, umpire
Its the worst sound Ive ever heard in all my years of umping. Oh, Ive heard plenty of pitches hit a helmet. But this . . . this fastball, up and in.
This one hit bone, right in the face.
Not even a scream or grunt from the kid.
He went down like he was shot.
I know him.
Ive umped and reffed maybe a dozen of his games.
Not just baseball— football and basketball, too.
The kids a great athlete, a natural.
Thats why it was such a shock to see him go down like that.
The screams come from everywhere: bleachers, dugouts, infield, mound.
Even from me.