Endings

A heavy air of sentiment breezes through the Wright Place tonight as Cole's baseball season draws to a bittersweet close. The season lasted far longer than anyone expected for a team entering the second round of playoffs with a record of 8 wins and 8 losses. Ten boys who seemed to have come together at just the right moment in the season, were the underdogs in every match up on their playoff path. As the playoffs began, the boys matched bats with two teams with perfect records, beating one group and dropping into the "loser's bracket" at the hand of the other. That the loser's bracket was a challenge is no surprise. That our 8 and 8 team continued to be victorious was a thing to behold. Victory evaded our little guys tonight, however. . .


Another thing to behold was most likely the bleachers filled with the parents of the ten. Every game except one was a nail-biter. Every game except one caused many a nervous mom or dad to pace behind the bleachers as the stress multiplied with each pitch and each swing. Many of us on cell phones, giving play-by-play commentary to loved ones absent. Most of us yelling warning or encouragement to the whole team, or at least "our boy". All of us wanting it to end with our team taking the tournament. Victory evaded us tonight as well. . .

It was a good season. It was a great season. It was a memorable season. Our guy's first big hit. His game ball winning catch in the outfield. Another big catch to save some runs by the other team, causing him to be target of a pile up of congratulations by his team mates. His mom trying to remember to get his uniform clean and dry before he needed to be in it on game day. Calling grandparents to report on big wins and little victories. His dad taking him to the field to attempt to remedy a batting slump --successfully. The girls enduring game after game after game. Cole sliding safely into third base and covering the spectators with dirt and in the next game getting controversially called out on that same base. Watching 10 little boys grow together as a team and grow individually in to 10 wiser boys as this season's lessons were learned on and off the field. Victory is surely ours!