The day of the little league championship game has arrived. Two teams of eleven to thirteen-year-old boys are evenly matched. One team is eighteen outs away from victory. Inning by inning, this action-packed baseball game reveals the underlying stories of the players -- their friendships, challenges, dreams, and fears.

More than just a sports story, this book creatively uses the structure of a six inning game to develop the characters lives off the field. Twelve-year-old Sam has cancer (osteosarcoma) and is undergoing chemotherapy so he can't play but is the game's announcer. Best friend Mike feels guilty about playing without Sam. It is also implied that Mike has some sibling rivalry issues with his sister who is a star basketball player and seems to have the lion's share of their parents' attention. Carter, whose police officer father was killed when he was a baby, deals with his fear of losing loved another one. Baseball lovers will be able to relate to the camaraderie of the team and the feelings of some of the less confident players. The underlying theme of Sam's battle with cancer and its effect on his life may make this book more appropriate for the older readers in the publisher's recommended age range of 9-14.

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