On the ride in to batting practice before the game, OB admitted to me that he was nervous. What if he made the big mistake that cost his team the game? I reminded him that he is a talented young man. He should focus on doing his best. While he may not always get the win or the hit, all you can do is your best. I told him that I believe you find what you are looking for. You should look for success and more often than not you will find it!
Due to scheduling conflicts, his younger brother had a math class that overlapped with the beginning of the game. I was able to pick him up and get him there to cheer his brother on while the bottom of the first was still in progress. We had missed OB's first at-bat, but he had walked. He was now standing on second and the bases were loaded with one run already in. Walpole would eventually score three in the inning and lead, 3-0 going into the second inning.
Our opponent, Whitman, had already changed their pitcher in the first inning shortly after we arrived. Meanwhile, our ace was on the mound and performing like an ace should. He set the side down in order in the second. We couldn't get anything going, either. The new Whitman pitcher was really tough and struck out three kids looking. In the third, there was a little trouble. A Whitman player hit a high fly to right center. OB moved over to get it, but slowed up because the right fielder was also charging. The ball would fall in for a hit. It rolled past the right fielder, but OB was in great position to back him up and then fired to second to hold the runner to a single. I checked after the game and he admitted he probably could have caught it, but didn't want to collide with his teammate (who was closer). It ended up without incident as the next batter was retired on a lazy fly to right.
In the bottom of the third, OB came up with one out. He hit a line drive to right for a single on the first pitch. I had asked him about his approach before the game, and he told me that he looks for a specific area of the plate on the first pitch. If it's there, he swings. If not, he'll take it (even if it goes for a strike). Whatever he's doing, it's working well for him. Unfortunately, the next two batters were unable to put the ball in play and we went down with a whimper.
In summer ball, you are not limited by pitch count. Instead, your pitcher can only pitch three innings (no matter how well they are doing). We turned to our #2 pitcher. This fireballer throws really hard. I'm estimating that his pitches are in the high 50's. It's significantly faster than most kids (who generally throw in the mid- to high 40's). When he's accurate, he mows down the opposition.
The downside to high velocity is that if the ball is struck well, it tends to go a long way. In this case, they got to him. The first batter launched a ball to left center that got all the way to the wall for a double. At that point, our #2 started aiming his pitches or trying to throw with a little something extra to blow it past the batters. That caused him to jerk the ball high. The balls were sailing at eye level or above. With his wildness, the ump also squeezed the plate. At 3-2, there was a pitch that (from our side angle) appeared to catch the corner of the plate but was called a ball. It seemed to be in the same location that two of our batters had struck out on in the previous inning, but it didn't make any difference now.
In the lone regular season loss, we had also had trouble in the fourth inning. It was eerily similar. Our ace had only given up one run. With a 6-1 lead, we brought in another hard-throwing pitcher. Through bad fielding and walks, he proceeded to give back three runs in the fourth and then two more in the fifth. With runners on first and second, coach called on OB. He allowed a fly ball to right that the fielder settled under. It fell into his glove and then just popped out. That would load the bases. A chopper through the middle got booted by the shortstop and the go-ahead run came across. Another ball went to the same right fielder and he again dropped it. A ball dropped in just behind the mound and by the time the short stop got to it and threw to first, it was too late and more runs scored. We would trail 12-6 by the end of the inning.
In this game, our #2 tried to settle himself. He ended up walking the next batter. Coach pulled the infield in. Another walk scored a run to make it 3-1. You could see the pitcher desperately trying to regain control. He would walk another run in to make it 3-2. Coach went out to talk to him hoping against hope he could somehow find the plate. Again, it didn't matter. With his wildness, he was getting no help from the umpire on any close pitches and missing badly high. He would walk in the tying run and coach walked out to the mound to replace him.
Coach called on the first baseman to be the relief pitcher. This young man throws a little less hard than the #2, but still misses a lot of bats. His main issue is his control. In the previous game, he had gone through the first inning without issue, but ran into trouble with two outs in his second inning. His meltdown allowed two runs to tie and forced coach to bring in the ace in the last game. Still, he's a solid pitcher and we hoped he could get us out of this pickle.
The first batter hit a soft fly to left. It was caught for the first out of the inning. Still, it was deep enough to score the runner from third. The infield still remained in to try to throw home and prevent a run if there was a weakly hit ball. The next batter walked to reload the bases. The batter after that hit a soft flare just over the reach of the second baseman. While he didn't catch it, he was able to keep a glove on it and keep the runner at second from scoring. It was now 5-3. Our pitcher struck out the next batter. Coach moved the infield back and everyone was hoping to stop the bleeding here.
The pitcher started tossing two strikes. He then deliberately threw high hoping the batter would swing through, but he wouldn't bite. A ball in the dirt and it was 2-2. The next pitch was the same one that seemed to catch the corner. We thought we were out of the inning. No dice. It was called a ball. He wasn't close on the next pitch and another run came across. The next batter was almost the same. He ended up walking and it was now 7-3.
At that point, coach called in OB from center. He jogged in and seemed surprisingly calm. After the game, I talked to him and he told me that he felt with a four run deficit, he would just concentrate on throwing strikes and getting outs. Here was the end of the first at-bat.
He was able to get a weak grounder to short to get out of the inning.
Walpole loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth, but we just couldn't push any runs across.
OB pitched well in the fifth. He struck out the first two batters and then got this result:
OB led off the fifth. He fouled off a pitch and then worked the count to 3-1. He took a ball in the dirt for his second walk of the game. We needed base runners. The next batter hit a slow roller to short. The shortstop fumbled with the ball and OB hustled down to second. He was able to slide in just ahead of the throw and now we had two runners on. A walk would load the bases. The next batter hit a flare just over third base. The third baseman and shortstop both ran over. With his back to home plate, I saw the shortstop reach out for the ball, which popped out of his glove. I was about to yell when I saw him reach out with his bare hand to snare it in mid-air. The runners had thought the ball was going to drop and now had to dash wildly back to the bag. They were able to double off the runner on second. Instead of two runs scoring, we now had runners on first and third with two outs.
A weak ground ball later, we now had nothing to show despite loading the bases in back-to-back innings.
OB was back out on the mound for the sixth. The first pitch to the next batter induced a high popup that drifted towards our dugout. The catcher, first baseman, and OB came running over. OB was able to make a diving catch right in front of the dugout for the first out. The next batter was able to hit a ball to center for a single. Right after that, there was a grounder to short that was bobbled, but the throw caught the runner in a close play at second. The play was so close that the Whitman coach actually walked out to confront the umpire. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and the game continued. On the very next pitch, our catcher tossed back to OB. The runner from first took off (hoping to catch us off guard). OB turned around and calmly threw to short to gun the runner down. We were out of the inning.
We now needed a big rally. The first batter ran the count to 3-1, but ended up striking out. That brought up the top of the order. OB was due up fourth in the inning, so we needed someone to get on. The leadoff batter got too far under a ball and popped up meekly. The next batter lifted a ball in the air to center and the game ended with OB in the on-deck circle.
It was a sad ending to the season. In the other semi-final, Westwood beat Milton. We had beaten both teams during the regular season, so we would have been a favorite if we could have advanced.
It feels a bit bittersweet. I was really thinking they could win it all. That said, OB could not have played better in his final game. I think he really won over some of the coaches with his hustle, heart, and heady play. I think it will carry over to fall ball and potentially next season.
OB was surprisingly serene on the ride home. He normally gets really upset when they lose. I think he realized (as I told him) that he could not have played any better than he did. He was remarkably upbeat--probably because he had personally done so well. He told me that he is looking forward to working on a few things to improve his game.
It may not have been a championship, but I think, in the end, it's so much more....
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