In the first inning we weren’t doing so good, and all of the sudden we got an out at first from a grounder to Eli and then we took them down.
The coach said we gave them 7 outs in the first inning instead of just the normal three. I remember the first 3 we gave away as being easy fly balls and we dropped all three. Eli, Nathaniel, and Nathan, I think, were the ones that missed them. It was either the sun or something, but this gave the Red Sox team a big boost.
My Dad was late to the game and I was trying to catch with the team catchers glove, which is really lousy. It is a hard glove and does not open very well. It also doesn’t close and it hurts. It is rock hard inside and really rough.
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Adam prepares to steal 2nd
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I called my Dad at least a dozen times and he did not answer. I just knew that I had left it in his mini-van. When he finally showed up at the game in the second inning I learned that the glove was not in his van but in my little brother Aaron’s bat bag. He borrowed it for his practice the day before since he also plays catcher on his Cardinals team. When my Dad tossed the glove to me over the fence between pitches I put it on and it was soooooo soft, it closed, it opened, the ball would actually go into the web and I could catch the ball. It felt so good to be back in that thing. I just remember that feeling of ahhhhhh... Yesssss... It felt soooo good!!!
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Nathan holds the runner back at 3rd
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In the next at bat we started to make contact and we got a bunch of guys home and it was just awesome.
There was a play at home in the third inning and some of the Red Sox fans said that I covered the plate really good and that felt great. For the other team’s fans tell me to stop covering the plate so good is just awesome. This happened on a deep hit to left center and Aaron threw the ball into Eli and he hucked home and I got the runner sliding in trying to score.
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Adam behind the plate
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Our team only had 3 strikeouts in the whole game. Our team was hitting amazingly. We played awesomely. We learned the hard way about the foul tip rule to end the game, but Julian’s jump/dive back to second was awesome. It was just like split second instinct and he dove over the top of the shortstop but was called out.
That was our best game yet. I think that we really played almost 100%. That was really amazing. We hit, we ran, and we scored!!!
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Matt takes charge on the pitcher's mound.
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Matt did really good on the mound. He was throwing really good strikes and struck out more than 5 guys. He threw 94 pitches. He was really consistent and threw it right where I placed the target. They hit it but that is because he was throwing strikes. Matt could count on our team to get the ball. This took the pressure off of him having to strike the other team out to have a chance to win. He had only one walk and that loaded the bases with two outs. He then did a pick off play at first on the runner that he had just walked and that ended the inning.... Bases loaded and picked off at first. That was totally amazing.
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Dylan chased down a fly ball.
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I hit this really nice one right over the second baseman’s head and yet it was too short for the right fielder so it fell in and I like jogged to the base because I was watching it the whole way. I got on first and then stole second and third. They then struck out Nathaniel but the catcher dropped the ball and I stole home while Nathaniel was safe at first. It was awesome and I just remember yelling “Goooooo Nathaniel!”
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Brian preps to hit with power.
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Earlier in the game I hit a good shot to left center and I just started running fast. It was perfectly placed and they couldn’t catch it. When I got to first I just remember clenching both fists by my sides and jumping up and down on the base and under my breath I kept saying “Yes”... “Yes.”... “Yes.”
Dylan had a powerful hit in the fourth inning deep to left field. He got a double and brought runners in on the play.
Late in the game Matt threw a really bad pitch and I ran to the backstop and I grabbed the ball and tossed it to Matt at home. He was positioned in front of the plate and he caught the ball and tagged the guy and made it so that the runner never even did touch the plate. The ump looked down and said “Do you have the Ball?...... You’re OUT!!!”
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Brian leads off third base.
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When we realized that the game was over we all got down on ourselves and many of the team said “We didn’t win, we suck!” I told them that we played a great game. We fielded the ball, we hit the ball, and we scored more runs than in any other game. We lost because we did not know the foul tip rule. I tried to boost the players up and it did not really work. Some of them got really mad at me for saying we played a really good game when we lost.
The coaches gathered us together and said, “Don’t be down on yourselves guys because you played a great game. We gave them seven outs in the first inning and then played a great game. You never gave up!”
