Chapter 16: The Semifinal
The stands were full by the time the first pitch was ready. Students from Davao Central sat in one section, holding banners they had made the night before, and their cheering could be heard all the way to the dugout. On the other side, San Lorenzo’s supporters were just as loud.
Rafael stood near the dugout and looked up at the crowd. He found his family in the third row without much effort. Lia was waving with both hands, Elena was trying to make her sit down, and Manuel was smiling like he had already won something. Mia sat next to them, and when she saw Rafael looking, she gave him a small wave.
Rafael waved back, then put his helmet on.
"Focus," Joshua said, walking past him. "You can look at your girlfriend later."
"She’s not my girlfriend."
"Then look at her anyway later."
Miguel laughed from the bench. Daniel clapped his hands once, and the dugout went quiet.
"Same as always," Daniel said. "One pitch at a time. Go."
San Lorenzo went down in order in the top of the first, and Davao Central came to bat. Adrian Reyes took the mound, and Rafael watched him from the on-deck circle. His tempo was quicker now, just like Rafael had seen during warm-ups, and he no longer paused before the changeup.
Joshua stepped in and fouled off two pitches. On the fourth one, he slapped a fastball into right field for a single. The Davao Central side of the stands jumped to their feet.
Miguel came up next and did his job. He didn’t try to hit a big shot. He hit a grounder to the right side that moved Joshua to second base, and Miguel was out at first.
Then it was Rafael’s turn.
He walked to the plate slowly and took one practice swing. Adrian looked in for the sign, and the catcher shook him off once. It was small, but Rafael noticed it.
The first pitch was a fastball on the outside corner. Rafael let it go. Strike one.
The second was a changeup, and this time Rafael could see it early. The arm speed was almost the same as the fastball, but the ball came out a little slower. Adrian had fixed his tempo, but he couldn’t hide the changeup completely. The pitch drifted over the middle of the plate, a little too high.
Rafael swung.
The sound of the bat was clean and sharp. The ball went straight over the left-center fence, and the whole park went silent for half a second before the noise came crashing back.
"Yes!" Lia screamed from the stands. She was standing on the bench now, and Elena was holding her sleeve so she wouldn’t fall.
Rafael jogged around the bases with a calm face. In his mind, the swing was fine, but he had let his front shoulder open a little early. If he had kept it closed, the ball would have gone even farther.
Joshua was waiting at home plate with his arms open.
"Bro! First inning!"
"Good pitch to hit," Rafael said.
"Good pitch? That was in the parking lot!"
Davao Central led 2–0.
San Lorenzo did not fall apart. That was the first thing Rafael noticed from the dugout. Adrian shook his head once and walked back to the mound like nothing had happened. He got the next two batters out to end the inning.
Their team also fought back. In the top of the third, Tristan Navarro led off with a double into the right-center gap. He was fast, and he took his turn around second like he had planned it. Jared Castillo followed with a single to left, and Tristan scored easily.
Davao Central’s lead was down to 2–1.
Daniel stood at the edge of the dugout with his arms folded. "Okay, that’s fine. Nobody panic. Get the next two."
They did. Nico made a good catch in shallow left field, and Andre threw out a runner at first on a hard grounder. The inning ended there, and the team ran back to the bench.
"They’re good," Miguel said, drinking water.
"Of course they are," Rafael said. "They’re in the semifinal."
In the bottom of the fourth, Rafael came up again with two outs and nobody on base. Adrian’s first pitch was a fastball a full foot outside. The second was another one, even farther away.
Rafael stepped out of the box for a second. He looked at the San Lorenzo dugout and saw their coach signaling from the bench. Adrian was not going to give him anything to hit.
He drew a walk on four pitches.
Some of the crowd booed, but Rafael only shrugged. A walk still put him on first base, and that was fine. Paolo was next, and Paolo had been waiting for this.
He drove the first strike he saw down the left field line for a double. Rafael ran hard from first and stopped at third. Carlo stepped in next and hit a line drive into center field. It landed just in front of the outfielder, and Rafael walked home before the throw even came in.
Davao Central led 3–1.
Paolo was clapping so hard on second base that Rafael could hear him from the dugout. Daniel looked over at Rafael and gave him a small nod.
"See?" Daniel said. "That’s how you beat a team that pitches around you."
The top of the fifth brought another San Lorenzo run. Jared Castillo hit a ground ball through the left side, then stole second on the next pitch. A sacrifice fly brought him home, and the score was 3–2.
Now the game felt tighter. Rafael could see it on his teammates’ faces. Joshua was gripping his glove too hard, and Andre kept looking at the scoreboard.
"Hey," Rafael said, sitting beside Joshua on the bench. "It’s only one run."
"I know."
"Then relax your hands."
Joshua looked down at his glove and laughed. "You’re like my dad."
"I’m younger than your dad."
"Are you?"
Rafael almost answered, then just smiled.
In the bottom of the fifth, Davao Central got the offense going again. With one out, Nico worked a walk after a long battle with Adrian. Ethan followed with a double into the corner, and Nico stopped at third. Andre hit a fly ball deep enough to right field for a sacrifice fly, and Nico scored to make it 4–2.
Then Joshua came up and lined a single up the middle. Ethan scored from second, and the crowd went crazy again.
"Five to two!" Lia yelled, even though nobody had asked her.
The next batter grounded out to end the inning. Rafael was on deck, and he walked back to the dugout without swinging.
The top of the sixth was tense. Tristan Navarro came up again and hit a hard line drive to center. Miguel ran back, jumped, and caught it against the fence. The whole Davao side of the stands stood up.
Miguel held the ball up like he couldn’t believe it either. Rafael ran in from right field and hit him on the shoulder.
"Nice catch!"
"I didn’t think I’d get it!"
"You did."
But San Lorenzo was still not done. After Miguel’s catch, Jared Castillo doubled, and the next batter singled him home. The score was 5–3, with the game getting close again.
Rafael made the third out himself, catching a fly ball in right field. He held the ball for a moment, thinking about how the game had changed. San Lorenzo was no longer just trying to survive. They were playing like they believed they could win.
He liked that. A good opponent made the game worth playing.
The bottom of the sixth began with Adrian still on the mound. The first batter grounded out to second, and Miguel followed with a single. That brought Rafael to the plate with one out and a runner on first.
The crowd was already standing. Rafael took a deep breath and stepped in.
Adrian did not throw a changeup. He didn’t throw the fastball on the outside corner either. His first pitch was a fastball inside, hard enough to make Rafael step back. The second was a breaking ball in the dirt that Rafael let go.
Rafael thought about it for a second. Adrian had changed his plan. He wasn’t hiding a changeup tempo anymore, and he wasn’t just staying away from Rafael either. He was pushing him off the plate first, then trying to make him chase something soft and low.
The count was 1–1.
Rafael moved his feet a little closer to the plate. He looked at Adrian, then at the catcher’s glove, then back at the mound.
The next pitch was another fastball inside. Rafael let it go, and it was called a ball. 2–1.
Adrian wiped his hand on his pants. He looked tired now, but he was still trying hard.
Here it comes, Rafael thought.
The pitch left Adrian’s hand, and Rafael could see the spin right away. It was a curveball, low and away, exactly where a pitcher would put it after two inside fastballs. Most hitters would swing too early and pull it foul.
Rafael waited.
He let the ball drop a little, then swung with an easy, smooth motion. The ball rose into left-center field and kept going. Nobody moved for a moment as it cleared the fence.
Seven to three.
This time the whole stadium exploded. Lia jumped so high that Elena had to catch her. Manuel was cheering with both fists in the air, and his eyes were wet. Elena was covering her mouth with her hand, laughing and crying at the same time.
Mia was standing too, clapping and smiling so widely that people around her were smiling as well. When Rafael crossed home plate, she shouted something across the stands. He couldn’t hear it, but he knew it was his name.
Miguel jumped on him at home plate. "You read the whole thing!"
"He set it up," Rafael said. "But he showed me the pattern."
"What pattern?"
"Two inside, then low and away."
Miguel stared at him. "You’re not normal."
Rafael laughed. "You can say that again."
The seventh inning was quick. Davao Central’s pitcher struck out the first batter and got a ground ball for the second out. The last batter lifted a fly ball to right field, and Rafael settled under it. He caught the ball, held it in his glove for a moment, and then raised it above his head.
The game was over. Davao Central Academy 7, San Lorenzo High 3.
The team ran onto the field together and crashed into each other in the middle. Joshua was screaming, Paolo had lost his cap, and Nico was crying without hiding it. Daniel stood near the dugout with his arms crossed, smiling like a man who was trying not to cry.
Across the field, the San Lorenzo players shook hands with each other. Adrian Reyes walked toward Rafael. He looked tired, but he held out his hand anyway.
"You knew I was going to throw the curve," he said.
"I guessed," Rafael said.
Adrian shook his head, half smiling. "Good guess. Nice game."
"You too. You changed your tempo, and it worked. I saw it in warm-ups."
Adrian blinked. "You saw that?"
"Yeah. That was smart."
Adrian laughed and walked back to his team. Rafael watched him go and felt a small kind of respect that he hadn’t felt in a long time. San Lorenzo had come prepared, and they had made him work for it.
Later, near the exit, Rafael found his family waiting for him. Lia ran to him first and nearly knocked him down.
"You hit TWO home runs!"
"I know."
"I screamed so loud I lost my voice!"
"Yes, I heard."
Manuel put a hand on his shoulder. He didn’t say much at first, but his eyes said enough. "I’m proud of you, anak."
"Thanks, Pa."
Elena hugged him tight. "You did so well."
Mia stood a few steps behind them, smiling. When the hug was over, Rafael walked toward her.
"You were loud," he said.
"I know," Mia said, laughing. "My throat hurts."
"Same as Lia."
"I couldn’t help it. I was really happy for you."
Rafael looked at her. He didn’t have anything clever to say, so he just said the truth. "Thank you for coming."
Mia smiled. "Of course. I’ll be there for the final too."
Rafael nodded and looked back at his family, who were arguing about where to eat. It was such a small, ordinary moment, but it made him feel warmer than any home run.
Behind them, the scoreboard still showed the final result. The championship was waiting somewhere ahead, but tonight it could wait. Rafael looked at the numbers one more time, then followed his family out of the stadium.
End of Chapter 16