Page 129 of Left on Base

Focus, Ryan. Focus.

But it’s impossible when all I can think about is her getting back from Utah tonight and I’m half-hard, trying to hide itbehind my mitt. It’s not ideal, not when every thought is about making good on those late-night promises. The way she said my name, barely a whisper as she finished...

Fuck. Stop!

“That’s enough,” Jameson says, heading over to his bands, mist clinging to his purple jersey.

I’m taking off my gear when King walks in, hunched over his phone, trying to keep it dry.

“You seen this?” King asks, his face more serious than when he took that line drive to the nuts last season.

“Seen what?” I nod at him.

“This.” He shows me his phone. It’s a blog post. The title hits me right in the gut:

Madness on the Mound: The Untold Story Behind UW Star Pitcher’s World Series Collapse

My stomach drops. Inez’s name is at the top. The featured photo is Camdyn, last year’s World Series semifinal, staring at her glove. That sixth inning. The one none of us talk about. The one that broke her.

I read, hands shaking:

While fans watched Camdyn O'Hara’s public meltdown in the sixth inning of the Women’s College World Series semifinal—a game that could’ve sent the Huskies to the championship—few know the private tragedy that came before. Sources say O’Hara’s struggles started weeks earlier, during Super Regionals, when a medical emergency forced the freshman phenom to leave a game in the fourth inning. This same stretch coincided with rumors that her relationship with UW catcher Jaxon Ryan had ended…

“The fuck?” I stand so fast I knock gear and heavy balls off the bench. “When did this go up?”

King says something, but I don’t hear him. I can’t stop reading:

The pressure of keeping her athletic career afloat and a rocky relationship with Ryan created what insiders call ‘an emotional powder keg.’ Sources whisper about a devastating loss during Super Regionals, when O’Hara left the field bleeding—an incident that fueled rumors of a miscarriage. Witnesses confirm seeing Ryan rush from his own game in Arizona that night, though both players have stayed silent about what happened.

O'Hara’s performance started to spiral, leading to what fans remember as her Oklahoma meltdown. With the ace on track for a no-hitter and the Huskies up 2-0, five outs from their first championship in fifteen years, her hidden heartbreak finally cracked through. Errors, walks, wild pitches. Teammates wondered if it was more than freshman nerves…

My vision blurs. Holy shit. How does she know about this? About the miscarriage? About Super Regionals? Camdyn didn’t even tell her parents, let alone the team.

“Brynn sent it to me,” King says. “She said Camdyn’s on the bus from Utah. Doesn’t know yet.”

I grab his phone, hands trembling. The article keeps going:

Multiple sources confirm the fairy-tale romance between O'Hara and Ryan collapsed after the Super Regionals tragedy, with their final split days before that World Series game. “You could cut the tension with a knife when they were together,”one teammate says. “It wasn’t just a breakup—there was something deeper neither would talk about.”

The aftermath has cast a shadow over O’Hara’s sophomore season, with the once-dominant pitcher’s erratic performance raising eyebrows among coaches and scouts. Some call it a sophomore slump, but those close say the scars are deeper. “Some things change you forever,” a source close to Ryan says. “And some losses aren’t just about baseball…”

Struggling? Camdyn’s leading the league in strikeouts and homers. She’s one of the only pitchers who bats cleanup—or hits at all.

“She wrote this?” My voice sounds nothing like mine. “Inez wrote this?”

“Yeah, on her blog.” King takes his phone back. “Brynn’s freaking. Camdyn’s been in a good mood after Utah. She doesn’t want her to see it. Can you get Inez to take it down?”

“I don’t know… Jesus, King. How the fuck does she know this?” I’m pacing between the mound and the fence. “I never told her anything about Camdyn. We talked for two weeks. That’s it. I never said more than we dated.”

He glances between his phone and my face. “Wait, you didn’t...?”

“No!” I shout, hands up. “I’d never do that to Camdyn. Ever. None of this is even true…” I can’t finish. Parts of it are. But that’s not my story to tell. Never was. “Someone else told her. But who?”

Camdyn didn’t tell anyone. Not her parents, not Callie. Only the coaches knew, and no coach would ever spread that.

“I gotta call Camdyn.” I reach for my phone, but Coach Lou’s whistle cuts through the air.

“Ryan, get over here!”

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