Intimidating Adversity: Day 10

Word Count: 60,018

Summary of Events:

Lane pitched his first home game and got an enthusiastic welcome from the crowd, which he really appreciated. Lane went on a local radio station to be interviewed by the morning show personalities who opened things up to the fans once their interview was done . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

"Now we've got our first caller here, Dave," Jason said. "How're things going Dave?"

"Good," Dave replied, from wherever he was, Lane wasn't sure.

"So what do you have for Lane?" Jason asked.

"Well, I was wondering, what's the best thing that's happened to you this season?" Dave asked.

"Hmm," Lane said. "Probably getting to pitch, and getting a shutout. I mean, I was totally freaked out the whole game, paranoid they were going to get a hit off me, but I wanted to shut them out. I wanted to absolutely smoke the Legends and get revenge for all the beating they've done of us, and getting that done, once the realisation that I had actually done it hit me, that was the greatest thing. And, I mean, even though my stepdad got me totally mad before the game, that's what I needed, the best encouragement I've ever been given was to be called a coward by the man I trust the most, as weird as it sounds."

"Alright, now we've got . . . um, Queenie-Lee?" Jason said.

"Yeah," a very black female voice replied.

"Okay, what do you have for Lane?" Jason asked.

"Well, I was wonderin' what your favourite thing 'bout bein' in Kannapolis was," Queenie-Lee replied.

"I mean, aside from the baseball stuff, probably the people, well, aside from that one old lady, she was a little bit freaky, but everyone else has been great," Lane replied. "The fan support is fantastic, because I came off a really bad finish to my season in Montana, and Mr. Quilley and I didn't get off the best in our relationship — as evidenced by the fact that he considers this string of wins all flukes — having the fan support has been great, having you guys all get behind me has really been great."

"Now we've got Harlem," Jason said. "What's your question Harlem?"
"My question is, what do those drag chute things do for you?" Harlem asked.

"Well, you strap them on and then run and they build up resistance, and so then you have to build muscles by fighting against the drag, and then, when you go in-game, without the chutes, you run faster because you've built up the strength," Lane replied.

"That's cool," Harlem said.

"You've got to be careful with them, though," Lane said. "This winter I'd put mine on and was going to run laps in my stepdad's one barn and I didn't have them properly secured shut, and it was a miserable, windy day, and the wind caught all my chutes and just about I was airborne and flying hard for Saskatchewan. That was kind of freaky, and yet hilarious at the same time. I definitely tested my strength there.""