Now they faced each other, King holding his shoulder, Billy holding his hand across his burning chest, then lurched at each other like crazed animals. They flailed, grunted, shouted, kicked, swore. Billy and King rolled in the choking, coarse dust


The bad blood between Billy Baggs and King Kenwood runs deep. Deeper than the feelings they both have for Suzy Langen, the best-looking girl in the ninth grade. Deeper than both of them wanting to catch the eye of their baseball coach, or that of a few college scouts. The bad blood has been there for so long no one is sure when it began.


After the horrible family tragedy on the farm, this year Billy's hoping he's finally getting his life back on track.And he is -- until one summer night when his long-standing rivalry with King turns violent, shocking both boys' parents and the small-town community with its brutality.


Using baseball as his bargaining chip, Coach Anderson devises an extrodinary plan to keep the peace between Billy and King. Resentful at first, then startled, both boys come to realize that the problems between them begin much closer to home -- with their own fathers.


Filed with passion for baseball, family and life, Hard Ball explores the mysterious complexities that begin between fathers and sonsAfter a family tragedy on the farm, Billy Baggs's life is finally back on track. He's starting high school. He's caught the eye of the baseball coach and even a few college scouts. He has prospects for a girlfriend--Suzy Langen, the catch of the ninth grade. But blocking Billy's path is King Kenwood, town rich kid and ace pitcher. As the two boys' rivalry turns violent, it is left to Coach Anderson to find a solution. In the process, both Billy and King come to find their real problems might lie closer to home--with their own fathers.