Run rule
6-4-3 Weekly show (Bonus episode)
“Hello double-play nation! Toni Miller and Janet Bilts are here. Since all teams are starting their first Friday-Sunday series this weekend, we thought we’d come to you live from the studio on this fine Thursday to discuss how exciting this season is shaping up to be as we push forward toward the world series. Our top four teams have flip flopped a little bit with Ionia now taking over the top spot, Demacia is in second, Piltover has fallen to third, and finally Noxus rounds out the bunch at four. Going into the weekend, Ionia travels to Demacia so I imagine one of those two might fall to a lower ranking here after we see the first series of games. Piltover takes on Bilgewater at home which should be a series where we see the return of ace Caitlyn Kiramman to the rubber. Finally, Noxus travels to Zaun. Janet, what are you looking forward to out of that top 4?”
“Well, Toni, I think that Ionia vs Demacia matchup is going to be interesting. Though Ionia has only lost one game, they’ve been struggling offensively to get runs the past few games. Aside from Sarah Fortune and Grace Kelly, there haven’t been many RBI producers in that line up as of late. In their last 3 games they’ve left a staggering 24 runners on base. You can’t leave that many stranded and expect to continue to win.”
“I personally am interested in seeing how Coach Sevika eases Kiramman back in. Though word out of Piltover is the ace is healthy and ready to go, you just never know when lingering side effects will hamper you, especially as a pitcher. I know she injured her knee when she landed weird in Noxus and is supposedly going to be wearing a hefty brace on her knee this weekend. I wonder if that will hinder her performance any or if she’ll be used to it by then.”
“Also, I don’t know if you’ve heard but word is Piltover catcher Vi Lanes has the flu and may not be able to take her place behind the dish this weekend. If that’s the case, that’s a huge loss for the Commodores not just on defense, but offense as well.”
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Vi’s head rests against the wall of her cubby as she waits for stomach to stop flipping. She’s unsure where she caught the bug, most likely from the heathens in educational psychology class, but she wishes the illness would either go away or just kill her already. Nonetheless, she is determined to make the start, even if it means puking in the dugout in between innings.
“Lanes you look like hammered shit. You’re not playing.” Sevika lays down the law as she walks through the dugout.
“I’m fine. It’s just a stomach bug and I don’t even feel anything.”
“You sure Kiramman didn’t get you pregnant?” Derst quips.
“Fuck. Off. Derst.” Vi emphasizes each word before rushing toward the bathroom.
Sevika and Cait look toward one another, Sevika unable to control her eyeroll. “Look, if she thinks she can keep anything down long enough to handle catching, then I’ll put her in. But the second she pukes in my dugout, she’s out.”
Vi returns just as Sevika exits toward her office. The catcher gingerly sits in her seat, resting her head against the cubby wall once more. She closes her eyes, willing every germ in her body to leave so that she can feel some semblance of normal once more. Cait gently rubs her hand up and down her back to soothe her.
“Love, I really think you need to sit.”
“It’s the last time I have my first home series. I’m playing.” It’s matter of fact and leaves no room for argument. The discussion was done.
Game one of weekend series – Bilgewater (6-8) vs Piltover (13-2) Collins vs Amik 95 strikeouts until record
“Welcome to live coverage of Commodores softball. I’m your friendly neighborhood Huck and we are about to kick off a great weekend of softball for Pilt as they play their official home opener of the season against Bilgewater. The Buccaneers come into town with a 6 and 8 record having already faced Pilt once, barely losing in what could have been the upset of the early season. We’ll see how the Commodores handle the Buccaneers the next three games. Stick around for some exciting coverage of Piltover University softball.”
Somehow Vi had made it to the fifth inning without throwing up. Numerous times she had felt the bile and water coming up through her throat only to use all of her willpower to push the liquids back down into her stomach. Amik had been on it, only giving up a single run in the four innings she had pitched on a single shot homer over the right field fence. At that point in the game Piltover was up 5-0 so the single homer didn’t do much damage as long as they kept it together the rest of the game.
Vi leans against the pole of the dugout entrance, watching as Graver grounds out to short for the last out of the top of the fifth. Slowly, her body willed itself to grab her mask that rested at her feet and march back on to the battlefield toward home plate. Amik would be coming out and Cait would be going in with the intent of seeing how she handled being back on the rubber. If things went well, she’d do another second half appearance on Saturday and then hopefully pitch the full game on Sunday.
As soon as the crowd realizes it’s Cait, not Amik taking the field a loud thunderous applause begins to fill the stadium. No, it’s not the level one might hear at a professional baseball game, but it’s still loud enough to be heard for a few blocks down the road. The ace can’t help but smile at the warm greeting that meets her as she returns to the field for the first time since the Noxus games. The cheering helps remind her how lucky she is that’s she’s still able to pitch.
The brace had been an annoyance and a pain to get used to, initially hindering her movements while pitching. Dr. Fisk had been adamant she had to wear it, at least for the next month or so. If Caitlyn was going to remain healthy through the season and into the world series, she would have to wear the damn brace. Eventually, after quite a few pitches, she figured out how to move her leg like normal without thinking about the metal contraption that was being used to support the muscles and ligaments in her knee.
After a few warm-up pitches and Vi’s throw down to second, Caitlyn was ready to get back in the game. Vi met her in circle, like she always did before the inning started. “Look what the cat dragged in. Fancy meeting you here, Cupcake.”
Caitlyn smirked and feigned annoyance. “Just shut up and get back behind the plate.”
“Oh so, you want me on my knees?”
“You’re insufferable and no, I want you squatted ready to go.” As soon as the words leave her mouth, Caitlyn realizes nothing she says will ever come out in a way that Vi won’t make it a dirty joke.
“Damn, I like it when you take charge.” She winks. Even sick, this woman does everything in her power to make Caitlyn’s stomach feel butterflies when she’s simply talking to her. Before turning and returning to her position, Vi adds something useful to the conversation. “Don’t pitch this girl high, no matter what Sev says. You do and it’ll be in the river before you know it.”
The battery looks to Sevika for the first pitch call. It’s a fastball, low and outside which pleases Vi. She knows that’s the best pitch location to keep the towering first baseman from cranking another single shot over the outfield wall. Cait’s pitch lands exactly where Sevika wants it, low and outside just barely on the black of the plate. “Strike one!” is shouted by the ump behind her, but all Vi can think is how she’s missed watching Cait pitch.
Drop ball is the next pitch which the first baseman offers a swing at and somehow fouls it off. With the batter down in the count with no balls and two strikes, Sevika calls for Cait’s change up. When the pitch comes in at 49 miles per hour as opposed to the 62 mph the batter had been used to, she locks up on strike three. Caitlyn’s first batter she’s faced since playing Ionia in Noxus ends with up being a strikeout looking. She feels like that little kid getting her first strikeout all over again.
Tutler bloops a single to right field which was followed by Derst lacing the ball right back up the middle of the infield. With runners on first and second, Ansin, Bilgewater’s pitcher, made the mistake of putting Shunt on base with a four pitch walk. As Vi strode to the plate, the nervous energy was building inside her gut. These were the moments she lived for. The bases were loaded, and it was an opportunity for her to end the game with one swing of the bat. The team player in her told her to just make contact to get one or two runs in. The selfish player in her told her to swing for the fences and get a grand slam to shut the door on the day.
The first pitch Ansin throws to her was a ball high. When Vi looked down to Sevika at third, she watched as the coach signaled for her to take pitches until she was thrown a strike. Nodding, she placed her left foot back in the batter’s box and waited for the next pitch. Finally, the woman that was 43 feet away from her managed to pump a ball into the strike zone. Another look down to third at Sevika and the signal now was clear as day. Swing away.
If anyone were to ever do an analysis of where exactly to pitch Vi in order to ensure she wouldn’t get a hit, they’d learn the pitch should be low and outside. It was obvious in the moment Vi watched the next pitch leave Ansin’s hand this ball was going to be stomach height and inside which meant it was right in Vi’s wheelhouse. Sure enough, with one swing she made the pitcher regret the mistake. The hit wasn’t just laced to the outfield, it ended up being an absolute moonshot to deep center field and over the fence. She’d hit one other grand slam in her career, early on off Mel Medarda. As awesome as that first one was, this one meant more.
This one meant more because it just happened to be on her mother’s birthday. She’d not told Cait, not told anyone really. Sevika most likely knew since they’d been friends growing up and even played ball together.
As she jogs home toward her waiting teammates, once she slams her foot and celebrates with her girls, she looks to the sky, making the same two finger wave against her forehead that they’d always done to lovingly greet each other. Sure, she wanted to play today because Cait was coming back and it was the official home opener, but really, it was because it was her mom’s birthday. So, she pushed through the nausea and forced herself to gear up. She hoped her mom was watching on the other side, proud of the woman she’d become.
When the dust settles for the evening and the two of them find themselves back home in bed, Cait lays her head in its usual place, on Vi’s chest. Vi watches as Cait absentmindedly plays with the ring on her finger. “I like seeing you wearing that ring.”
“It was weird taking it off to pitch today. I felt naked.”
Vi chuckles. “I mean, I like seeing you naked, but not without the ring.” The pitcher playfully slaps Vi’s arm that’s wrapped around Cait’s back. They both chuckle a little and let the silence settle over them. She’s not sure what makes her say it, but Vi announces, “Today would have been my mom’s birthday.”
Cait hums. “Sevika told me. I asked about the little wave you did after you home run. I’d never seen you do it before. She said it was your greeting with one another growing up.” Cait pauses and anxiously asks, “Do you think she would have like me?”
Waiting a few moments, Vi responds, “She would have loved you.”
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Game three of weekend series – Bilgewater (6-10) vs Piltover (15-2) Collins vs Kiramman 92 strikeouts until record
“Welcome to live coverage of softball on RSN. We’ve got a final from Piltover as the Commodores once again run rule for the third time this weekend the Buccaneers of Bilegwater 15 – 0. After taking yesterday off because of some lingering stiffness in her knee following an appearance against three batters on Friday, Kiramman was absolutely lights out this afternoon on the rubber striking out 10 and only allowing 2 hits all game. I’m sure Coach Sevika is pleased to see the ace looking healthy again. Next week the Commodores will battle Pilt tech for a Wednesday night showdown and finally they will travel to Zaun to face an up-and-coming young team that has the potential to give them a good run. However, everyone will be eyeing their calendars in two weeks when Coach Ambessa Medarda brings her squad from Noxus in to battle with Piltover. A lot of folks have had that weekend circled on their calendar since the fall game where Nolen and Lanes had a moment. We’ll have live coverage of all three games for you here on RSN. Until then, I’m Toni Miller and we’ll see you around the horn.”