Baseball Week

Towards the end of April we had a baseball-filled week.  Some of the games had been scheduled from the start, but I think we had at least 2 make-ups from previous cancellations.  As a result, we had 7 games in an 8-day period.  We had 2 days during that stretch where nobody played, and they both played on Saturday.  We had a picnic at the fields just about every night.

It started off with Zachary’s team’s win against the Tigers on Monday 4/21.  Then Liam’s team played on back-to-back days, Wednesday & Thursday 4/23-24.  His team is kind of hit or miss (no pun intended).  Sometimes they look as if they are handing it to their opponent – making great outs, hitting really well, etc.  But then other times they are climbing the dugout fence, and generally running amok (both on and off the field).  It doesn't help that the assistant coach’s kid whines every time about the position Josh assigns him to – UNLESS he tells him to go to first base.  That’s the only position he seems to like.

Then Zachary’s team played on back-to-back days, Friday & Saturday 4/25-26.  Both of these games had us a little bit worried.  Their head coach (and main pitcher) had to be out of town, so they were going to have a substitute pitcher.  The last time they had a sub, the kids couldn't hit the pitches and the game turned out badly.  But they tried someone else this time, and they kids hit his pitches just fine.  It was tied after the first inning, but then they gave up 5 runs in the 2^nd.  Zachary got a hit but was then called out at home – followed by the ump calling another kid out at home.  The Cardinals were up 5-4 after 2 innings.  The umps really weren't doing the Dodgers any favors – it was some of the worst I've seen.  They kind of had a meltdown in the middle innings – lots of overthrows, combined with bad calls made it hard to watch.  At that point the Cardinals were up 9-5, which had us all questioning if Friday was, in fact, considered a weeknight (they were still undefeated on weeknights).  After the 5^th inning, the Cardinals were up 11-8 – I really thought it was over.  All they had to do was score 3 runs, and they would have won the game, but somehow our scrappy Dodgers held them to no runs – this meant they needed 3 runs to tie, 4 to win.  They scored 1 run.  Then another.  Next thing we knew, the bases were loaded with one out – 1 more run scored, and it was a tie game.  At this point, Zachary was on 3^rd base.  The batter hit a single, and Zachary scored the winning run!!  We all just shook our heads wondering how in the world that had just happened.  It was great!!  We asked Zachary how it felt to score the winning run, but he was just sort of ho-hum about it.  I couldn't believe he wasn't more excited, and he said he was just practicing being humble.  Lol!  I’m pretty sure that’s the first time he’s ever been humble in his life.  After this 13-12 won, the weeknight undefeated streak continued.

The next day, both boys played.  Fortunately, their games were back-to-back, so we were able to watch all of both games.  Zachary’s team was going for their first Saturday win – that was the one thing they had yet to do (because with the win the night before, that meant they had now beat each team once).  Because everyone was at the game (meaning, I wasn't texting updates to anyone), I don’t recall all the specific game details.  I do remember that there were some more questionable calls against the Dodgers, and Zachary didn't score as many runs as he usually does (due to being stranded on base, or being tagged/forced out on base).  They were the home team again though, and I remember it was another situation that came down to the bottom of the 6^th inning.  Somehow, they pulled it off again – they really are the comeback kids!  It was their first Saturday win, and the first team they had beaten twice.

Then we went over to Liam’s game.  This game didn't go as well.  Their opponents pretty much rolled right over them, and it was kind of ugly to watch.  Liam was on deck for his 2^nd at-bat, but in that play, the other team got the 3^rd out, which meant he wasn't going to get to hit that inning.  He got so upset that he refused to go back onto the field for defense.  He would have gotten to hit first the next time around, but he was still busy pouting (and the assistant coach’s kid pushed his way back out to hit first again).  I finally got Liam to agree to go back out & hit, so he went to the on-deck circle.  Just as it was about to be his turn, the other team got the 3^rd out, and he didn't get to hit AGAIN.  This time though, he pulled himself together enough to play 3^rd base, and he got to hit first in the next inning.  It was still a really ugly game to watch – I was glad they weren't keeping score…

We wrapped up our 8-day baseball adventure with another game on Monday 4/28.  They were playing the Red Sox again, a team they had already beat handily once.  After the first inning, the Red Sox led 5-3.  Then one of Zachary’s teammates hit a 3 run HR – it was great!!  All of the HRs hit this season are in-the-park – nobody has hit it over the fence yet.  Zachary came up and hit an RBI single, and then went on to score the 5^th run of the inning for his team (5 is the max).  At this point the Dodgers now led 8-5, and that remained the score after the 3^rd inning too.  This game had more shady umpiring – kids being called out on base in a tie situation (which should go to the runner).  Zachary was a victim of being tagged out in the 4^th inning, but by this time the Dodgers were up 11-7.  In the top of the 5^th, the Dodgers allowed 3 runs, getting the Red Sox to within 1 run.  Zachary hit a fly ball right to the first baseman (his friend William), and he was out.  This was the first time in a while that Zachary hasn’t gotten on base.  He has become pretty reliable to at least make it to first base.  After the 5^th inning, it was 13-10, and our coaches were getting a little angry about the bad calls – they started to argue about it, but gave up.  One of the ups is always kind of pissy – you can’t really push him too hard.  He takes his position (and “power”) very seriously…Anyway, the Red Sox scored 2 more runs in the top of the 6^th, and we were all getting a little nervous (even though these kids have proven more than once that they can come back in the bottom of the 6^th).  But they held them to just 2 runs, and the game ended 13-12 – another one-run nail biter, but another victory!  With one game left, their record is now 7-4.  This is quite remarkable, considering they lost their first 3 games, and 4 of their first 5 games.  They then went on to win 6 in a row.  Crazy!  These kids have really amazed and impressed us.  They have turned out to be a pretty good little team.