Chapter 18: The Final
Nobody had expected Nueva Esperanza to be there.
Northside Academy had gone 3–0 in the group stage, and most people thought they would walk into the final. Instead, Nueva Esperanza had beaten them 3–2 in the other semifinal, with Gabriel Torres striking out eleven batters. By the time Rafael heard the result, the whole school was already talking about it.
"Of all teams," Joshua said on the bus. "Him again."
"He said he’d be ready," Miguel reminded him.
Rafael looked out the window. The road to the venue was crowded with students wearing school colors, and someone had painted "GO DAVAO" on a bedsheet and hung it from a jeepney. For a moment, he felt calm. This was the last game, and there was no next round to think about.
"Let him be ready," Rafael said. "I’m looking forward to it."
Joshua shook his head. "You’re weird."
The stands were the fullest they had ever been. Rafael found his family in the same third row as the semifinal. Lia was holding a sign that said "KUYA 2 HOME RUNS AGAIN," and Manuel was pretending he didn’t know her. Elena waved, and Mia, sitting next to her, raised both thumbs.
In the dugout, Daniel gathered the team one last time.
"Nueva Esperanza has a good coach," he said. "Coach Salazar knows what he’s doing. Their catcher, Enzo Marquez, calls a smart game. Their shortstop, Kenneth Bautista, has a strong arm. And you all know Gabriel."
"We know him," Paolo said. "We’ve seen him get everyone out."
"Not everyone," Daniel said, glancing at Rafael. "But remember what I told you. If he pitches around Rafael, someone else has to step up."
Joshua raised his hand. "Still me."
"We’ll see," Daniel said, smiling.
The umpire called both teams onto the field. Nueva Esperanza would bat first, and Davao Central took the field. Rafael jogged out to right field and looked across the diamond at the mound.
Gabriel Torres was warming up in the bullpen area, throwing easy. When he saw Rafael, he nodded once.
Rafael nodded back.
Davao Central’s pitcher started well, but Nueva Esperanza did not take long to answer. In the top of the second, Kenneth Bautista lined a single into left field. He stole second on the next pitch, and Lucas Mercado, their center fielder, drove him home with a hit up the middle.
Nueva Esperanza 1, Davao Central 0.
"Relax," Miguel called from center field. "One run."
Rafael nodded from right. He was watching Gabriel in the dugout, sitting with his cap low, not talking to anyone.
Then Davao Central came to bat.
Joshua stepped in first. Gabriel’s first pitch was a fastball that Joshua never saw. The second was a slider that broke away so sharply that Joshua swung and missed. The third was another fastball, high and hard.
"Strike three!"
Joshua walked back to the dugout, shaking his head. "That’s not fair."
Miguel was next. He fouled off two pitches, then struck out on a curveball that dropped below his bat.
Two outs, and Rafael walked to the plate.
The crowd got loud, and Lia stood up on her seat again. Rafael ignored the noise. He took a slow breath and looked at Gabriel.
Gabriel had changed something. In the first game, he stood tall and relaxed, but now his shoulders were tight and his eyes never left the catcher. He wanted this at-bat more than any of the others.
Rafael stepped into the box.
The first pitch was a fastball at the knees. He let it go. Strike one.
The second was a slider, a very good one. It started at the middle of the plate and dropped away. Rafael watched it, and something small caught his attention. Just before the slider, Gabriel’s glove had risen a little higher on his chest.
It was tiny, so small that most people would never notice.
But Rafael noticed.
He stepped out of the box, tightened his gloves, and stepped back in. Gabriel came set, and the glove was low.
Fastball.
Rafael waited for the third pitch. The glove rose a little, and he already knew what was coming.
He swung at a slider that hung in the middle of the strike zone. The ball went over the right-center fence, and it wasn’t even close.
The crowd erupted. Lia screamed, and Manuel put both hands on his head. Rafael circled the bases at an easy pace, and when he touched home plate, Joshua was waiting with wide eyes.
"How did you do that?"
"He raises his glove," Rafael said.
"He what?"
"Before the slider. His glove goes up a little higher. Watch it."
Joshua stared at him. "You saw that? On the first at-bat?"
"I saw it in the last game."
Joshua looked toward the mound, then back at Rafael. "You know, you’re kind of scary."
Davao Central 1, Nueva Esperanza 1.
Rafael told the rest of the team in the dugout. He didn’t make it a big speech. He just crouched beside the bench and explained it quickly.
"When his glove is high, it’s a slider. When it’s low, it’s a fastball or a curve. If it’s a slider, don’t swing at it low. Wait for it to come up."
"That’s it?" Paolo asked.
"That’s enough."
The next two innings were still hard. Gabriel struck out three in a row in the third, and Nico and Andre both swung too early on the slider even though they knew it was coming. Knowing was one thing. Doing it against a pitcher like Gabriel was another.
Meanwhile, Nueva Esperanza added a run in the fourth. Dennis Ocampo, their first baseman, doubled to the gap, and Enzo Marquez hit a sacrifice fly to bring him home.
Nueva Esperanza 2, Davao Central 1.
"They’re playing well," Daniel said as the team came off the field.
"They are," Rafael said. "That’s why this is fun."
Joshua looked at him. "Fun?"
"Yeah."
"You’re the only one who thinks so."
Rafael smiled. "Then go make it fun."
The bottom of the fourth started with Joshua at the plate.
He looked at the mound and took a deep breath. Then he looked at Gabriel’s glove.
Low.
Fastball.
Joshua swung and lined it into right field for a single.
The dugout jumped up. Joshua stood on first base with both arms in the air, laughing like he couldn’t believe it. "It worked!"
Miguel came up next and worked a long at-bat. Gabriel threw a slider, and Miguel laid off it because the glove had gone up. Then Gabriel threw a fastball, and Miguel drove it to the left side for a hit. Runners on first and second.
Now Rafael was up, and the crowd rose.
Coach Salazar stood on the top step of his dugout. He called something to Enzo Marquez, and the catcher stood up and stretched out his arm.
Intentional walk.
Some people in the stands booed. Rafael only shrugged and took first base, and the bases were loaded.
"Sorry," Enzo muttered, looking away.
"It’s fine," Rafael said. "Good decision."
Enzo blinked. He looked like he wasn’t sure whether to say thank you.
Paolo was next. He stepped into the box, and Gabriel looked at him, and then at Rafael on first base. His jaw was tight. He did not like this.
Paolo watched the glove. It was low. He swung at a fastball and hit a line drive over the shortstop’s head. Joshua scored, and Miguel came in right behind him.
Davao Central 3, Nueva Esperanza 2.
Paolo stood on first, pumping his fist. "Coach! Did you see that?"
"I saw it!" Daniel shouted.
Carlo followed with a fly ball deep enough to score Rafael from third, and the score became 4–2.
Nueva Esperanza did not fold. Kenneth Bautista made a diving stop on the next grounder, and Gabriel struck out the last batter. But Davao Central was ahead, and the whole dugout knew it.
Gabriel wasn’t done. In the fifth inning, he changed his routine. Before every pitch, he kept his glove at the same height. Rafael noticed it right away from the on-deck circle.
He can’t hide it now, Rafael thought. He’s hiding it wrong.
It was a smart change, and Rafael respected it. Gabriel threw three fastballs to Ethan and struck him out. He struck out Andre with a curve. Nico hit a weak grounder to the second baseman.
The score stayed 4–2.
At the same time, Davao Central’s defense held. Nico made a great catch in shallow left field. Joshua stopped a hard grounder at first and stepped on the bag. Miguel ran down a deep fly in center that looked like a hit. Nueva Esperanza put runners on base, but none of them crossed home plate.
In the sixth inning, Joshua led off with a walk, and Miguel followed with another single. Rafael stepped into the box with two runners on.
This time, Coach Salazar did not walk him.
Gabriel stood on the mound and looked at Rafael for a long time. Then he came set.
The first pitch was a fastball outside. Ball one.
The second was a fastball inside, hard. Rafael stepped back.
The third was a curveball, low and away. Strike one.
Gabriel was doing something new. His glove stayed at the same height every time, but his eyes were different. Before a fastball, he looked at the catcher. Before a breaking ball, he looked at the ground for half a second.
Rafael smiled.
The fourth pitch came, and Gabriel’s eyes went to the catcher. Fastball.
Rafael swung.
The ball went so high and so far that the left fielder didn’t even turn around. It cleared the fence and landed in the parking area beyond it. For a moment, the whole stadium was silent.
Then everyone screamed.
Rafael trotted around the bases. Joshua and Miguel had already scored, and when he crossed the plate, three runs had come home.
Davao Central 7, Nueva Esperanza 2.
Gabriel stood on the mound, staring at the sky. He lifted his cap, ran a hand through his hair, and let out a long breath. When Rafael passed the mound, Gabriel looked at him.
"How?"
"You look at the ground before a curve," Rafael said.
Gabriel laughed. It was short and surprised. "I’ve done that my whole life."
"I know. Good pitcher. That’s why it took me two tries."
Gabriel shook his head, smiling in spite of himself. "Two tries. Unbelievable."
The seventh inning was quiet. Nueva Esperanza’s first batter grounded out to Ethan. The second struck out on three pitches. The third hit a fly ball to right field.
Rafael settled under it. He heard Lia’s voice from the stands, screaming his name. He heard Joshua yelling from first base. He heard the drums, the banners, the shouting.
The ball dropped into his glove.
The game was over.
Davao Central Academy 7, Nueva Esperanza High 2.
The team ran into the middle of the field in one big pile. Joshua jumped on Miguel, Paolo lost his mask again, and Nico cried openly, wiping his face with his sleeve. Even Andre, who never showed much emotion, was shouting at the top of his lungs. Daniel stood at the dugout railing and finally let himself smile, and nobody could tell whether his eyes were wet.
Rafael stood with the ball in his hand for a moment, looking at the sky. Alex Sterling had won six World Series. He had held trophies in front of forty thousand people.
This felt different. It felt like something he had earned with people he was beginning to love.
His teammates found him, and they lifted him onto their shoulders.
"Put me down!" Rafael laughed.
"Never!" Joshua shouted.
In the stands, Lia was crying and laughing at the same time. Manuel was hugging Elena. Mia was standing on her seat, clapping with both hands over her head.
Rafael looked up and found her. She was smiling so wide it made his chest ache.
He raised the ball above his head.
The champions of the tournament were Davao Central Academy.
End of Chapter 18