No one in the stands last night bothered with the whole bleacher. We only required the edge of our seats to keep a sharp eye on the field, the coaches, and especially those umps.
Each team had scored dramatic wins in the previous week, bringing them to this third, tie-breaking match for the season championship. Those of us holding our breath were blue by the time a score finally blinked onto the scoreboard in the fifth inning.
As we neared the end of seventh inning, the score had climbed in such a way (6-1) that the fans for the opposing team began to quietly celebrate their (inevitable) win behind me. In all fairness, their optimism was understandable.
At this age, they only get seven regular innings.
It was all but over. Only the technicality of one last 'at-bat' for our team remained before the other team could get on with celebrating their win.
With gloves of resignation on their heads and the threat of tears in some eyes, our boys made the switch.
I'm not very keen on offering a good play by play; technical sporting terms escape me. All I know is, pretty soon, the bases were loaded and the score was tied.
It was Chandler's turn to bat.
No pressure there, right?
Here's where it gets beautiful. His coach is also his dad. I heard Clay calling encouragement to our boy, using words that between them are kindling... In that moment, my heart swelled over them both. Regardless of how the next few minutes unfolded, I knew I was going home with champions either way. All heart & passion & emotion those guys of mine :)
Still, the inning had to be wrapped up:
It was awesome.
(Thanks to Luke for the video)