Holy Roller-Coaster, Batman!

Wow. Eli's baseball season has been amazing, but tonight takes the cake. The Twins finished the regular season, undefeated. Even through a few tough games, even when three key players were gone for Spring Break, even when they didn't have their "A" game. So far the difference Lehr and I have seen setting this team apart from any others we've been a part of is the consistency across the board with the boys. We have two or three older, better players, as each team has, but what we don't have is a big drop-off to the rest of the team. These boys are all at a very solid playing level, on the field and at bat. It's been really fun to watch in amazement at some of the fielding that happens with the Twins.

Saturday's game was so crazy; we only played three innings because at that point we were so far ahead that the other team couldn't come back to win. Eli hit TWO doubles in that game. Tonight was the second or third tournament game (I can't remember!).We started out getting five (the max allowed) runs in the first and the other team matched us. Then we shut them out and they shut us out. Then we got two and they got four. Then they got a few more runs ahead (maybe a total of six?), and it wasn't looking good. Unfortunately what a winning season has done to a few boys is given them a false sense that success is only found in a "W". There were several tears by a few, but we rallied back and ended the fifth inning tied up again. Now we're in extra innings and we played two solid where we matched whatever they threw at us. The third extra inning went to tournament rules which meant the other team started at the beginning of their line-up and batted through. They could score up to 11 runs, but outs still counted. We held them at three runs. Our turn and we had two runs on the board before they got the first out. Eli smacks it outfield and advances to first. Then third, and we're tied. One of our sluggers hits it deep outfield and Eli gets to score the winning run.

Adrenaline. Emotion. We were all drained...I can't stop smiling and yet I feel like crying in pride. Even when the few boys struggled to keep an optimistic outlook, they STILL played their best. The fielding on this team is amazing. At least three innings started with one of our players catching a pop-fly or line drive. One was a diving catch!! When it came time for coach to talk to the boys, he held up two balls. He reminded the team that he really needed 12 game balls because each and every boy had contributed so much. The first went to one of the kids who hit solidly every time at bat and really helped us advance the runners. The second went to Eli for his outstanding hits. (I forgot to mention: Eli hits HARD now, usually to the grass or beyond, and he hasn't been tagged out in several games.) Coach said he was 'just so proud' of Eli.

This was very unexpected and reaaaaallllly cool to me. During the regular season, it works out so each player gets a game ball; the coaches make sure of it. But the tournament games are 100% based on who showed up and put the work in; no quotas to fill. Eli has never received a tournament ball before, and we've played many tournament games. Life is good.

I was way proud of Eli, but what I reminded him the whole ride home was that I wasn't proud of the win - I was proud of the playing. The boys never played like they were giving up; they left it all on the field each time and THAT'S why they ended up with the win. I also drilled into Eli's head that I was proud of his hits, but I was even more proud that he listened to his coaches and kept the love of the game in focus. Eli has yet to get down or beat himself (or the team) up when a play doesn't go right or when they are losing. He has a happy innocence about it that I hope he never loses; Eli loves baseball and that's all that matters to him right now.