Day 8: Softball

"Come on, Beca. We need another player, or we have to forfeit. You'll play catcher. It's easy."

But Beca has no experience with softball. She can't catch or throw. And she certainly can't bat.

"Come on, Beca; we need one more player, or we have to forfeit. And if we forfeit, the Bellas don't have any chance of getting into the playoffs." Stacie was whining as she looked down at her friend. "Please? She fell short of stomping her foot in a hissy fit. "We'll put you at catcher, by far the easiest position in slow-pitch softball."

Beca whipped her head up and glared at her friend. "Catcher? Multiple balls flying at my face. That's a hard pass Stace. Again. No." The small brunette felt a body slide next to her and looked over and saw Chloe sitting by her side.

The redhead's angelic voice sweet sounded like sweet tea on a hot Georgia summer day as she flashed her gorgeous smile at her friend. "Becs." Choe's voice was thick as honey, and Beca knew she was sunk before her pal went any further. "Beca honey, you know how important this game is for us. As Stacie said, catcher really is an easy position. The ball comes in on an easy arc. I'll work with you a bit on catching, and if any runs come your way, normally the first baseman comes up to cover."

Beca thought Stacie was mean to sic Chloe on her yet immediately relented to the redhead's request. "I suck at sports," she whined.

Chloe gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "That's okay; I just want you for your body." Beca's head snapped around as a flush crept up her chest to her cheeks with Chloe's innuendo. "As Stacie said, we need a warm body to play this game." She winked at the tiny brunette and went off to get Beca's gear.

Once Beca was suited up in her full catcher gear, Chloe worked with her a while practicing catching a pitch and throwing it back to the pitcher. Beca groaned as she stood again to throw the ball back to the redhead. "My knees are going to kill me."

"At least runners can't steal bases in softball; otherwise you might have to pop up quickly and fire off a throw." Chloe's chipper voice only brought an eye-roll to Beca's face. "Ready?"

"I suppose." Beca took off her facemask and backward cap. She pulled her hair into a fresh ponytail and pulled her cap and facemask back on. The other team was at bat first, so Beca took her place behind home plate. Chloe was the pitcher and took some practice tosses so the brunette would see what the experience was actually like.

The first batter stepped into the box – much too soon for Beca – and rested her bat on her shoulder. Because she was concerned for Beca, Chloe was having a hard time concentrating and ended up walking the woman. Beca trotted out to the pitching mound, and Jessica came over from first base.

"I can handle myself, Chloe. Don't be scatterbrained. You wanted me to play so you could advance to the playoffs. Don't make me regret it." Beca sucked at pep talks but knew Chloe need to shake off whatever was bothering her.

The next batter caught Beca off guard when she connected with the ball. The pop-up hit was easily caught by the short-stop for a quick out then she fired off a swift throw to first base where Jessica tagged the first runner out. The substitute catcher found herself pleased when her team got through the top of the first inning, allowing no runs.

Stacie was up for the Bellas first. Her bat hung in the air, circling the space over her shoulder. The first pitch was perfect over the plate, and Stacie wasted no time in connecting with the ball solidly sending the sphere soaring into left-center field dropping between two outfielders. The long-legged softball player took off like a streak towards first base. She took the inside of the base and headed towards second. Stacie pulled up at second base, pulling off her batting gloves and shoving them in her back pocket.

Up next was Emily, a surprising addition to the Bella team. The youngster seemed awkward, often falling over her feet when she simply walked upstairs at the house. When she opened the front door closet and saw the bat bags stacked there, she squealed in delight. "Oh em aca gee. I love softball. I played all through high school, well up until I broke my ankle for the second time, and my mom made me quit." This admission scared Jessica, who immediately called Ms. Junk to make sure she was okay for her daughter to join the intermural team.

The Bellas were excited about Emily's up at bat since she had an uncanny ability to hit the ball on the sweet spot on the bat and immediately knew when it was going to be a good hit. She always exclaimed the feeling couldn't be compared to anything else save winning an acapella competition. And this at-bat brought her one of those hits. Stacie was brought home for the team's first point, and the shortstop was left on second, jumping up and down.

By the time the first inning ended, the Bellas lead the game 2-0. But they had six more innings to hold on to that lead.

With each batter, Beca's confidence in her catching abilities improved in leaps and bounds. Despite the game being slow pitch, the smallest player had managed to strike out each time at bat. Chloe made sure that none of the other Bellas booed or chided the catcher in any way. They could afford to have a not-so-confident batter in exchange for the catcher Beca was becoming, not to mention the extra player they needed to maintain their eligible gameplay.

The two teams exchanged leads a few times and found themselves down one point going into the bottom of the seventh, the last inning of the game.

There were two outs, and Chloe was up next. Her height let her squat low to the ground, creating a small strike zone. The count was 2-3, and the redhead was concentrating hard on the next do or die pitch. When she connected, the sound of the bat cracking drowned out her team yelling with Beca cheering out the loudest.

After the metal bat rattled her hands, she tossed the stick aside and concentrated on making it down the baseline to be safe. The hit was only a single, but it was the best feeling in the world. Despite the two outs, having Chloe on base gave them a chance to at least tie the game to force extra innings.

Not want to face Chloe's wrath, none of the Bellas brought up that the next batter was Beca. Inevitably she was the worse batter the team had ever seen. But… she was their only chance even to tie up the game. As any good team members should, they cheered their loudest and clapped the most as Beca approached the plate.

Chloe cupped her hands around her mouth and called out from first base. "Come on, Beca. You can do it."

The brunette was even more nervous because despite this being her first time on any team other than the Bellas and playing any sport, she never wanted to let her teammates down. She knew she had to pour her heart and soul into this last turn and to end this game on a high note.

She stepped up to the plate and tried to remember exactly how Stacie had told her to position her feet. She kept her right hand held up, indicating she wasn't quite ready for a pitch. Finally, she gripped her bat with both hands. The first ball came lofting towards her, and the catcher easily caught it.

"Strike!" The umpire called out.

Jessica called time out as she ran over to Beca who had stepped out of the box and was fiddling with her batting glove. "Beca," she whispered. "It's slow-pitch. The umps almost always call strikes because each pitch is a strike. Just swing. Whatever pitch comes your way? Swing. Okay? We have faith. You can do it." She slapped Beca on the butt before running back to the team area.

The brunette again stepped into the batter's box with her hand up as she settled her feet into position. She glanced over at Chloe, who gave her a thumbs up. Beca took a deep breath and settled both hands on her bat. She concentrated on the pitcher sixty feet away.

The woman took a step back on her right leg, swung her hand back along her hip, and threw the ball underhanded as she stepped forward. The arc was slow and easy. Beca's vision zeroed in on the ball as she forced herself to keep her eyes open. As the ball approached the plate, the catcher set her jaw and swung with all her might.

The bat connected with the ball sending a sharp sting up both her arms. She heard a faint yelling from the Bella bench, something about running. She looked up to see Chloe racing to second base. Beca was stunned she'd connected with the ball and began to race towards first base.

By the time she reached the base, she could hear better. The redhead was already past second and headed to third. Beca couldn't understand why the other team was just standing. None of the outfielders were chasing after the ball, and the infielders were standing with their heads down. Confusion sat in as she passed second and continued to third unaccosted. As she rounded the last base and headed home, she saw her entire team surrounding home plate.

Chloe jumped up as she landed on the plate, scoring the tying run. The rest of the team was blocking the plate, waving her in. As soon as her foot hit home plate, she was lifted in the air and tossed around by the rest of the Bellas. "We won, we won, we won! Beca is our hero!"

Stacie had her friend hoisted up like a sack of potatoes. Beca was laughing as she tried to tap out on Stacie's grip. "Let me down Legs." Her taller friend put her down in front of Chloe, who immediately grabbed her hands before wrapping her arms around her neck. "What's going on, Chloe?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "You got a homerun! We won! And we playoff-bound."

"I got a homerun? Seriously?" Beca could hardly believe her ears, especially over the roar of her teammates. She nonchalantly grinned and said, "cool."