MVP

This is a picture of Amanda holding her MVP game ball from tonight's Challenger league game.  As you can see she is VERY proud.

I always say that her games are the best hour of the week and this one will be the best game of the year I'm sure.

Our little team has so much fun.  The young woman playing first base caught a pop up for the first out of the game.  In our league, that is a huge deal.  Then our short stop caught one.  The third baseman threw out a runner at first and it was a rare three up and three down inning

The opposing team had nine infielders and their helpers.  It looked like a marching band had lined baselines between 1st and second and second and third.  Amanda hit the ball too well and was thrown out at first.  When I told her she was out she gave me her, "Out, ah crap!"

Our team still scored four runs that inning.

The second inning Amanda and I made a play in the out field.  I scoped up a grounder and handed it to her.  She threw it in the ten feet to second base.

She got a hit in the bottom of the second.  The next batter advanced us to second base.  But the batter after that hit the ball far enough where Amanda did something she has never done before.  She scored from second base.

The top of the third we were playing deep left field, a very good player hit the ball almost to to the fence.  I caught it out of instinct, he is safe because helpers don't make outs.  But Amanda took the ball into the in field and held the runner to a double.

The spirit of the challenger league happened then.  We moved up to play shallow outfield.  A friend of ours on the other team who uses a reverse walker and is helped by both her parents was thrown out at second.  Our short stop who is actually fast enough to be on a varsity track team said he was so sorry he did that.  She told him it was okay, that is how the game is played.

In the bottom of the third, Amanda got another hit.  The next batter advanced us to second.  And the batter after that repeated his hit from before and we scored.  Amanda couldn't believe it, she said it was "AWESOME!"

After the game she high fived everyone on both teams and the umpire gave her the game ball.

Now that is softball.

Softball pics

Now that is softball.

Better than golf

Last night was opening ceremonies for our softball league. Our Challenger League is made up of four teams, The Alley Cats, Superstars, Angels, and New Horizon. We gathered at the field along with all the other tee ball teams and softball teams for girls 14 and under. We Alley Cats wear a bright yellow t-shirt jersey with a kitten on the front that says, "Around Here The Cats Are In Charge." Amanda jumped into the middle of the team and hooked up with her best friend, M. From that point on she had nothing to do with me.

The team went out onto a field and from the air must have looked like 200 spilled Skittles. Amanda was in the front of our group and I just hung out in the back with the coach. I looked down and there was our newest player. Her name starts with a J. She is 16 years old, stands 4 ft 6 inches and and has Downs Syndrome. She is a living cherub. I squatted down and said hi and she waved back at me. Then she pushed her older sister away who had brought her on the field and and grunted a "GO" to her. She decided I was her friend. Before I knew it she was holding my hand and smiling at me. She doesn't speak much, which is something I'm very familiar with, she just kept waving to her parents who couldn't see her in the crush of people on the field.

While the commissioner was explaining the need to have all the paperwork turned in on time I felt a slap on my backside. I turned around and there was J. hopping up and down with a distressed look. I knew all about this, "You need to go potty?"

"YESSSSSSSSSS!" So she took my hand and we toddled off the field. Tina helped her sister get her to the bathroom and I went back to the field. About five minutes later there was another swat on my butt, I turn around and J. is back and smiling.

A few minutes later we did the balloon release. I gave her a couple of balloons and she smiled hard enough that my face hurt. Then we left the field. I delivered her back to her family and Amanda and M. were ready to play ball. It was tough to tell them we had another week before our first game because they are more than ready.

The whole hour was just a blast. We'll have six games and I will pitch to our players who don't need a tee. Amanda is deterimed to run to first base by herself this year. After that she said she wants me with her, so we'll have to set the batting order up accordingly. It should be a fun little season.

20 Frames to go

It is the last bowling night in the Challenger League until the fall. Next week we have the opening ceremony for softball.

What does the end of bowling mean to the world. Well, for one thing my Bacardi consumption may drop a bit. It takes an extra couple of double rum old fashions to knock the edge off a bowling night. It also means I'll have an extra $6 in my pocket Tuesday morning. The $6 is the price of two bowling games in the league and it always comes out of my pocket and not Tina's purse, which I find odd because she almost always pays for everything when we are out as a family. That way she doesn't have to ask me for a receipt that I may or may not have. I don't know what happens to those things.

But most importantly, the end of Monday night bowling nights means I stop having dreams of thundering cannons. There really is nothing like the sound of 40 people bowling at the same time and being trapped in the middle of it like a traffic cop directing new drivers. While our bowlers are actually pretty good, they just don't seem to grasp the concepts of personal space or the etiquette of allowing the bowler on either side to bowl first. At times it is like a mob armed with bowling balls and the rum doesn't even help. Softball is much more controlled and civilized, at least until a ball is hit into play. Then more often than not all hell breaks loose. But that is my game and I'm OK with it.