Is this high school or college? Who is your true audience? What I mean is who will get the pictures, what paper(s) will it run in, are you shooting games regularly or is this your only assignment? For the paper, at HS or college level, I assume that they just want A picture, and won't need THE picture.
To some degree, it's not about the equipment. Follow the game, think about what's the most important thing that'll happen next, and be ready for it. Is there a runner on third? Prefocus on home plate and stay there. Runner on first who might steal? Pick whether to follow the pitcher, catcher, 2B, or runner. Slugger at the plate? Stay on the hitter. If you have the access, go for a walk - pick a different location each inning. I force myself to keep walking during "assignments", to scout those odd/unique shots that the campers don't get. Put your 12-24 or 17-85 on before going for a stroll.
Consider a monopod, or a tripod with the legs kept together. Don't be surprised if your nifty fifty never comes out of the bag, and don't fret about it either. Don't fuss about getting a lens that covers 400mm any time soon - learn the gear you have. I suspect you'll realize a need for a "fast" telephoto (135/2 or 70-200/2.8) long before you have a need for a "slow" supertele (100-400, 400/5.6). A crisp, loose shot is usable AND croppable. A blurry tight shot doesn't need cropping, but isn't usable either.
This next section is purely my opinion: set your drive mode to single, and LEARN the timing of your camera. You'll never learn it when you machine-gun away, and you'll rely/hope for success when you'll actually get luck (if at all). AI Servo AF mode, center point only. White balance on K, set to the "right" temp, maybe 100-200 higher than ambient neutral (see below for how I do this). NO CHIMPING!!! Glance at your LCD to verify that you're getting good shots, but don't review them all and miss a shot because you were erasing a shot you didn't like. Exposure mode Av, lens set wide open to one stop below wide open. JPEG if you have tight deadlines, RAW if you want some leeway to recover some "off" shots, JPEG+RAW if you have the card space.
White balance, the Pete Templin way (disclaimer: work in progress!): you'll need a gray card. Shoot the gray card at 5000K, review the image, bring up the RGB histogram. Is the R further right than B? If so, dial a lower K. Is the R further left than B? If so, dial a higher K. Repeat until you at least have R and B vertically aligned with each other. If you're feeling ambitious, use the WB Shift functionality to get the G aligned with R/B. Then, boost your K by 100-200 for more pleasing skin tones; if you've fiddled with WB Shift you may need to boost your G a little for a good balance. Why do I do this? Simple: if I know the color temperature of the ambient, I have an immediate clue which gel belongs on my flash so it matches the color temperature of ambient. Custom WB would be fine (and easier) if you aren't using flash at all, but this method is easier to document for future gigs.
Most importantly, enjoy the game.
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