If a ball could talk....

Matt finally got what he wanted: a chance to pitch six innings and, if he was lucky, a no-hitter.

"Play ball!" called the umpire.

"Go get 'em, Matt!" the Blue Streaks yelled.

Matt stepped onto the pitcher's mound and rubbed the ball in his mitt. "OK, Mr. Ball, bring me good luck," he said quietly.

Matt stood completely straight and still for a moment, then went into his windup and threw his fastball.

"Strike one!" the umpire screamed.

Matt threw fastballs for the next two pitches and struck out the batter.

The next two batters were easy outs. The Blue Streaks were up. Matt felt like he was pitching his best as he trotted to the dugout. "Can't be overconfident--got to stay focused," he reminded himself.

The Red Socks pitcher was nervous and gave up two walks. The third Blue Streak batter came to the plate and slammed the ball out of the park.

"Home run! Home run!" the Streaks chanted.

The next two batters struck out. The third hit a pop fly that was caught by the Red Socks' second baseman. Still, the inning ended with the Blue Streaks ahead, three to nothing.

Matt returned to the mound and continued pitching better than he had ever pitched before. He looked down at the ball resting in his mitt and said out loud, "This could be it, Mr. Ball."

The Blue Streaks scored five more runs in the next four innings. The Red Socks were not able to get a single hit, and Matt was getting closer and closer to pitching a no-hitter.

In the top of the sixth, the first batter for the Socks popped out. Matt was getting tired. His arm was starting to ache. He had never pitched a whole game before.

Matt threw three balls to the second batter. "Concentrate, Matt--I know you can do it!" shouted his coach. Matt took a deep breath and fired in three more fastballs to strike out the Socks' batter. "One more to go, the game will be over, and I'll have my no-hitter," Matt said to himself.

Matt looked at the Red Socks' dugout. His friend Josh was on deck and would be the next batter--possibly the final batter--up for the Red Socks.

"Oh, great, Josh is up. We might as well all just go home," groaned one of the kids from the Red Socks. Several of the other Socks players sighed loudly.

Matt and Josh and some other boys played ball in an empty field near Matt's house when they weren't at Little League. A lot of the kids teased Josh because he wasn't a good ballplayer.

When the other boys weren't around, Matt had tried to help Josh with his batting. Josh could never hit Matt's fastball, but he almost always whacked the high pitch.

"I'm not going to be in Little League next year," Josh had told Matt. "I stink and the other kids make fun of me. If I could just get a really good hit, just once in a game, maybe they wouldn't bother me anymore."

Matt felt sorry for Josh and had practiced with him as often as he could.

"Matt-EE! Matt-EE! Matt-EE!" the Blue Streaks shouted.

Josh pushed his helmet down on his head and stepped up to the plate.

"Strike one!" the umpire called. "Strike two!"

"One more pitch," Matt said softly.

He looked et Josh and remembered how much his friend wanted to hit the ball so that the other kids would stop teasing him. Matt also knew that one more well-thrown fastball would mean a no-hitter.

The score was eight to zero with two outs at the bottom of the Red Socks batting order. Matt stood still on the mound, looking at the ball cradled in the web of his glove.

"OK, Mr. Ball, do your thing," Matt said.

Matt went into his windup, then let the ball fly. The pitch was high, and Josh swung with all his might. The sound of the bat smacking the ball was loud and crisp. Josh sprinted to first base, crossing it just seconds before the Blue Streaks' center fielder threw the ball to the first baseman.

A tiny smile crossed Matt's face, then he rolled his shoulders and shook his right arm a little. His expression was stern and serious by the time the next Socks batter stepped up to the plate. Matt hurled three more fastballs, striking out the final batter. The game was over. The Blue Streaks had won eight to zero.

Matt's team cheered and patted him on the back as he returned to the dugout. "Great game, Matt-almost a no-hitter!" said the coach.

Josh's team cheered for him, too. "Way to go, Josh!" shouted one of the boys who had teased him before. The Red Socks' coach gave Josh the ball he'd hit. That night at home, Josh put the ball on his dresser and went to bed. When he finally fell asleep, he still had a grin on his face.

Matt went to sleep that night tired but happy that both he and the team had done so well.

If the ball could talk, would it say that Matt deliberately threw a high pitch that Josh could hit? Or would it say the pitch just went wild?