With adrenaline and anxiety duking it out in his own bloodstream, Nick had to remind himself this was only a game, a thought he refrained from sharing with Scotty.

“Time to look again,” Nick said as the next batter approached the plate.

Scotty returned his attention to the game, clapping and shouting his encouragement to the team.

Sam’s grip again tightened on Nick’s arm, but since he loved being her main squeeze, he didn’t complain.

Two fouls and three balls later, Nick was looking for something to squeeze. The tension in the ballpark was palpable, especially after the runner on second stole third, landing in a diving slide that took the Feds completely by surprise.

“Crap,” Scotty uttered, echoing the sentiments of Feds fans everywhere.

With runners at the corners and one out standing between the Feds and the World Series, every player was on full alert, and every fan was on their feet.

“Come on, come on, come on,” Scotty chanted as Lind went into the windup.

Another foul into the seats behind home plate.

“I don’t know how much more of this I can take,” Scotty said.

“Spoken by a Red Sox fan who has only lived through the decade of success,” Skip said from the other side of Sam.

“That’s not my fault,” Scotty said, making the others laugh.

“Hang in there, pal,” Sam said, leaning in front of Nick to address Scotty. “You want to hold hands or something?”

“Nah, my hands are too sweaty.”

“I don’t mind.” Sam extended her hand to Scotty, who grabbed it gratefully.

She and Nick shared a smile, and then she let out a whistle that nearly deafened him. Who knew she could do that?

“Come on, Lind!” she screamed. “Get it done!”

“I think we’ve made a fan out of her,” Nick said to Scotty.

“That’s what we get for dragging her to games all summer.”

“I can hear you two talking about me.”

Nick’s retort was swallowed when Lind let loose with another fastball. The crack of the bat silenced the screaming crowd as the ball arced to center field where Willie Vasquez waited patiently. Only because Nick had switched his focus to the giant TV screen in the box, did he see Vasquez take his eye off the ball for a fraction of a second to check the runner on third base.

That fraction of a second was all it took for the stiff breeze to intervene, sending the ball sailing over Willie’s head. It took another fraction of a second for Willie to realize what’d happened. By then, right fielder Cecil Mulroney had grabbed the ball and returned it to the infield. But the damage was done. Both runs had scored, and the Giants had taken the lead.