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know where they were! And now they were heading for a fruit stand that might be impossible to find. How could so many things go wrong?
    She looked at Benny, who had his eyes tightly closed. “What’s wrong?” she whispered.
    “I’m sending a secret message to Stockings wherever he is,” Benny said softly. “We need a mascot right now”
    Nicole overheard the conversation and smiled. “Tell Stockings we’re counting on him,” she said. She shifted her weight as the truck bounced along the bumpy road. “Because I’ve got the feeling that it’s going to be a long, long way to Clarksville!”

CHAPTER 7
Play Ball!
    “Just play your best,” Coach Warren said an hour later as the team huddled around him. “That’s all anybody expects of you.” The van had been fixed and he’d made it to Clarksville before the others.
    Chuck had gotten lost three more times, but the Bears had finally arrived, and the big game was about to begin. Everyone’s nerves were on edge.
    “And be a good sport, whether you win or lose,” Chuck added. Jessie nodded, but she was beginning to wonder if the game was doomed from the start. So many things had gone wrong! She nervously checked out the opposing team. They all looked so confident! A girl close to her own age was taking practice swings with her bat, and the pitcher was throwing pitches to the catcher.
    “They look pretty good, don’t they?” Nicole said under her breath. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was feeling a little nervous. Would doing her best be good enough?
    Coach Warren had assigned their positions at the last practice. Jessie was at first base, Ann at second, and Michael at third. Susan was playing shortstop. A boy named Tom was pitching and his brother Steve was catching. Nicole and Violet were in the outfield with a boy named Bobby.
    The Pirates were batting first, so the Bears ran to take their places on the field.
    Once the game got under way, Violet felt some of her nervousness vanish. The Bears played well, and soon it was their turn to bat. When Violet came up to bat, she was thrilled to hear a satisfying crack as the bat hit the ball. Henry had told her that there was no other sound in the world quite like it, and he was right!

    Violet watched as the ball flew out toward center field, and she raced around the bases. Rounding first base she saw Coach Warren waving her on. She headed to second base and saw that the center fielder hadn’t caught the ball, so she ran hard to third base. As she reached third she saw that the center fielder had thrown to second base, and the second baseman had dropped the ball. Violet took a deep breath and ran as hard as she could. As she tagged home plate she heard her teammates cheering. She’d hit a home run!
    Jessie’s big moment at first base came late in the game. The Pirate batter hit a hard grounder along the first base line. Jessie charged into action. She snatched up the ball and stepped on first base just before the runner.
    “Way to go, Jessie!” Chuck yelled from the sidelines. She looked over and saw him give her the thumbs-up sign. I did it! she thought happily. Suddenly what Coach Warren said earlier made sense. It didn’t really matter if the Bears won or lost. All she had to do was do her best!
    As the game went on, it was obvious that the Pirates had more experience than the Bears, and had practiced a lot. The Bears managed to keep up at first, but in the last inning the Pirates scored two runs to win the game.
    The final score was Bears 5, Pirates 7. The two coaches shook hands, and the Bears headed toward the van.
    “You mean that’s it? It’s over?” Benny said. He looked sad.
    “Don’t worry, Benny,” Henry said. “We can always play them again.” He took a long swig of water from Benny’s bottle.
    “I wanted us to win now,” Benny said. He immediately thought of Stockings. He knew everything would have turned out differently if his mascot had been with them.
    “You should feel