Saturday morning, I set out with Miles and Mason to the State Tournament in Memphis. Darrin had camp all weekend and Carson went to stay with Granny & Pa. We hoped it would be a long weekend of baseball, and it was!
This was the mood after two of the worst baseball games I've ever seen the boys play. Miles told me later that they were talking about what they needed to do on Sunday to win.
There are usually several families that stay when we play out of town, which is tons of fun for the boys, but Miles and I were the only ones that were staying on this weekend. I didn't really like the idea of staying in Memphis by ourselves, but decided to push through b/c Miles loves to stay in a hotel. I thought it would be fun for the two of us. After checking in and not feeling great about the area or the hotel, we went to our room. As soon as we opened the door, I knew we weren't staying b/c it reeked of smoke. We told the front desk we weren't staying and got our money back. Then, we called some of our best friends that happen to live in Memphis and asked to stay with them. They immediately said yes (even though it was almost 9pm) and we were on our way. We had such a nice time staying with them and were spoiled by all their goodies for guests :) After feeling pretty unsure about the hotel, their house felt so safe and comfortable. It was such a blessing. When we walked out the door on Sunday morning, Miles said, "5 stars!"
Since we lost both games by a big margin on Saturday, we were the 10th seed out of 11 teams. We had to be at the field at 8am to get ready for the first game at 9am. As are all the tournaments, it was win or go home. It would take four wins to win it all. After a long day and three wins, they made it to the championship game, which started at 7pm. We were up 5-4 and Miles had to go in and pitch the last two innings. To be the end of a long day, he was slinging the ball with speed and accuracy.
He and his teammates held it together and won the 10U AA West TN state championship!
This is the fourth year for travel baseball and this goes down as the best day of baseball ever. Having to win four games is a huge challenge, especially at the state tournament, where every game is against good competition. Darrin was able to come for the last two games!
In the end, we were at the field for 12+ hours. It was unbelievably hot, but every single boy stayed in it. I don't know how they did it, but it was a complete team effort. Throughout the day, each boy had a key moment that helped the team. That was special to watch.
I can't not mention the drama that ensued. Baseball is a very heated sport. Emotions run high. In the final inning of the championship game, the umpire called batter's interference which gave the other team an out. We never solicited the call or said anything, but the other team erupted calling us cheaters and asking if that is what we wanted to teach our kids. There's a lot more to it, including their fans invading our side after the game to continue yelling at us. I've seen a lot of drama over the last four years, but this was the craziest. We are easy target b/c our coaches our loud and our boys are good, so we've learned to ignore the other team for the most part. This was next level.
The coaches did a fantastic job of keeping the boys focused and stretching out our pitchers throughout the weekend. Without this, I don't think we could have won.
Best friends since first grade.
One of the dirtiest weekends of baseball ever. I guess four games in one day will do that.
It was an absolute joy to watch him play on Sunday. It was blazing hot, but I truly loved every minute of it b/c he did. He was intent on doing well and it was awesome to see him rise up. His biggest hindrance is a lack of confidence. I'm thankful that he has a coach that believes in him when he doesn't believe in himself. His coach went around the huddle after the game and said something that each kid did well to contribute to the win. He told Miles that he did a great job closing out the day and that "it's in there, even though he may not know it".
Way to go Hornet Nation!
