A New Bat (week 338)

This weekend I got a new bat!  Using money from my piggy bank and my savings account--money given to me for Christmas, birthdays, holidays, and on a daily basis from Dubby--I was able to pick-out my first real Easton two piece composite bat.  It is beautiful.  Although I am not hitting with it very well just yet, I want to thank all of my friends and family for helping me to pay for it.  It is truly a family bat.

With school winding down and the weather heating up, you can tell that Summer is coming. We had another weekend of baseball--this time in Fountain Valley--with games on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  

We took 2nd place again, losing twice to the team (Irvine) that won the tournament.  I am not sure if they were an All Star or a Travel Ball Team, but they beat us pretty badly on Saturday with the umpire invoking the 10-run mercy rule after only three innings.  We had only two hits which was an anomaly, but the Irvine team was also very good at defense and made all the right plays when they needed to.   Since we only sent 14 players to the plate, it means that I only hit once--a ground ball out.  On Sunday, we won the semi-final by beating Fountain Valley with the mercy rule...only to fall again to Irvine in the final that afternoon in a similar fashion.  It definitely gives us perspective as we prepare for the Pony Regional Tournament that will determine which teams go on to the World Series in July.

It has been a strange experience for me having to ride the bench on this All Star Team.  Of course I am one of the few Kinders among the 1st Graders on the team, but it is weird having to play right field and hit 13th out of 13 batters.  I have always been plugged into the heart of the line-up and have been the starting 1st baseman or shortstop because I can catch and throw.  Among the All Stars, I play more of a supporting role.  Daddy says that it is good to have this experience so we are practicing hard.  Our team is kind of set for the upcoming Regional Tournament, but my goal is to go to the batting cages and show that I should move-up in the batting order by the end of the Summer.  I am grateful to be included on the All Star Team, but it is really a learning experience.

It is also a new experience for Chris who has to watch all of these games.  He is not the best fan in the world, but he should be commended for spending almost an entire weekend in the car or on the field waiting for my games to be over.  Most of the time, Mommy and Daddy rotate between taking him to the playground to swing or slide.  However, sometimes they both want to watch the game.  He generally gets a lot of sunflower seeds, ice cream, trail mix or other snacks out of it, but I know that I owe him big time.