base.
Time was called for Will to get a jacket to keep his arm warm.
Manager Charlie Wilson signaled for Rollie Pender, the Thunder shortstop, to lay down a sacrifice bunt and try for a suicide squeeze play. He squared at the last second and put a perfect bunt between the pitcher and first baseman. Rouke broke from third on contact and raced toward home as the first baseman fielded the ball and threw home. Rouke executed a perfect slide to the back side of the plate and Sanchez missed the tag.
Thunder 1, Vaqueros 0.
Will, standing on second base, knew he had a chance for a winner if he could hold things together for the next two innings.
Somoza struck out the next batter to end the inning, but the damage was done. Juan Somoza had lost his chance for a no-hitter in the World Series.
Will, on the other hand, knew he had a possible no-hitter. The question was whether or not he could keep it.
As he shucked his jacket and picked up his glove, Will glanced at Manager Charlie Wilson. Charlie was chewing a wad of gum like there was no tomorrow. As he caught Charlie’s eye, the Manager gave him a quick nod and brought his forefinger to the brim of his cap in a quick salute. Will smiled and took the mound for the top of the eighth.
Inning 8
The inning was a quick one for Will with three batters up and three down. As Will came into the dugout, his teammates again avoided looking at him and left him a place on the bench at the far end. No one was near him. Will sensed the tension among his teammates.
Vaqueros had gone to a lefty in relief of Somoza. Digger Lewis, the Thunder’s steady third baseman, worked the count to three balls and two strikes before going down with a swing at high “cheese” (fast ball).
Teddy Otoro was up next. Taking a fast ball strike at the knees, Otoro asked for time to adjust his batting gloves. He went after the next pitch, a slow curve, a hit it off the end of his bat toward the hole between third and short. The shortstop backhanded the grounder on the edge of the outfield and made the long throw across the diamond. Otoro beat the throw by a step.
With a man on first, rookie Kent Clarkson came to bat. Clarkson was a good hitter but had gone one for 14 in three playoff games. The Vaqueros lefty bore down and blew two fastballs past him for strikes. The third pitch was a knuckleball that drifted inside. Clarkson went for it and hit a slow roller up the middle. The pitcher stabbed the ball, wheeled and threw to second base, catching Otoro before he could touch the bag. Two away but the Thunder had the speedy Clarkson on from a fielder’s choice.
Lopez stepped in. The catcher had been moved higher in the lineup because of his current hitting streak. He watched two sliders go by for strikes without taking the bat off his shoulder. The Vaks reliever tried to get him to bite on a pitch low and away. Then, he came in with an inside pitch just above the belt, trying to jam Lopez. The umpire called it a ball, which caused the pitcher to come off the mound and take two steps toward home plate. Quickly Sanchez, Vaquero’s catcher, called time and went out to cool off his pitcher.
The count was two and two when Lopez saw the pitch he was looking for – a low slider that caught a bit more of the plate than the pitcher intended. He whipped the bat around and drove the ball deep to right center field for a base hit.
Clarkson was off on contact and going full speed from first to third. The third base coach gave him the sign to hold up but Clarkson either didn’t see it or ignored it. He never broke stride as rounded third and raced for home. A hurried throw from the cutoff man to the catcher was off line and Clarkson slid in for the second score of the game.
Up next was Ricky Wilson, the Thunder’s second baseman. He lined out to his counterpart to end the bottom of the eighth.
But now Will had a two-run cushion to protect.
Inning 9
Will grabbed his glove and paused on the dugout steps. He looked at his teammates as they prepared to take the field and saw the tension in their faces. They all knew that Will was on the verge of making history with a perfect game to start the World Series.
“Hey guys,” called Will unexpectedly. “Whadda say we wrap this baby up one-two-three and go eat. I’m hungry!” Grins appeared on their faces and someone whooped as the team ran onto the field for the final inning.
Epilogue
In Cooperstown, there is a glove, cap and a Thunder jersey with the number 22. By the memorabilia is a plaque, honoring William Hickok Farrell for becoming the first pitcher to throw a perfect game to start a World Series. Will’s plaque was next to the one for Don Larsen, the only other pitcher in history to throw a perfect game in World Series play (1956, Game 5, Yankees 2 , Dodgers 0).
In a nursing home in Plainville, Ohio, a baseball in a glass case sits on a shelf above a small TV on a chest of drawers. On the ball are written two words – “Thanks, Dad.”
The End
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