Season Closer

We are in the 'post season' of baseball, and it's a double elimination tournament. We already lost one game, so every game we play now determines if and when we'll play again. Last night was a nail-biter, going into extra innings. We won, so first thing this morning we were back at the fields. Today's game was against the Bulls, which is the team of Eli's buddy, William.

Both teams played really well...we knew it was going to be close. Eli got a hit every time, two or three singles and a double. His fielding is what was so great though. In recent games, Eli has really stepped up his game, throwing more precisely and getting to the ball much quicker. Today he made an out at third by running the ball to the bag, and was involved in at least two plays that resulted in close calls at first base. Even though we lost the game, this was my favorite game of the season. Eli played hard, stayed really focused, and enjoyed every minute of it. Even after we lost (which means our season is over), Eli high-fived the other team and then asked me, through his smile, "Mommy, did we win?" I told him we didn't and he said, "OK", as he ran over to his team, still smiling. I hope he always has that much joy around this game!

As the coach debriefed the team, going through each boy's individual plays, he chose Eli to receive the game ball. So cool. During the regular season, every player gets a ball at some point. Not that they don't deserve it, but it's a given. In the post season, it is much more who really deserved it in that game. I was so happy that Eli's awesome efforts this morning were rewarded with the final game ball of the season.