Ryan Lollis
8361266
Claire Schmidt
Summer Catch
It was Clint’s first day of baseball practice with his new team the Astros. He was really nervous and did not know what to expect. Clint played t-ball and made his way through coach pitch making a lot of friends and really enjoying him self. But this was the big time; this was kid pitch, where runners can lead off and steal bases, pitchers can throw curveballs and worst of all hit batters.
When Clint arrived at the park he recognized some of his new teammates. Perry and Bradley who had played on his prior teams. Clint felt a little relieved when he saw his two friends standing at the park. When he got out of the car the three boys played catch and joked about who was going to hit their first homerun on the team and who was going to cry when they got pegged.
When the rest of the team got to the park including the coach, he had all of the boys introduce themselves to each other, Clint was really excited to be around a new group of ball players who got along. Next, the coach passed out the coolest thing the boys thought they could have received, their first fitted team hat. Clint told Bradley and Perry how he really felt he was in the big time now the boys were really excited for the rest of their practice.
After a couple weeks of playing the Astros were winning the majority of their games and in first place. Clint had never had as much fun playing ball as he had since starting kid pitch. The Astros were looking forward to playing in the Texas state tournament in Dallas and if they won they could advance to the CABA World Series in Oklahoma, where the top teams from around the nation play for the number one spot.
In the final game of the Texas state tournament. It was a tie game and Bradley was up to bat in the 7th inning with Clint on first base. The Astros were playing the Dallas Tigers and down to their final out and qualifying for the World Series was on the line. The Tigers pitcher threw a fastball on the outside corner and BOOM Bradley crushed it into right center. Clint ran as fast as he could around the bases and scored no problem. They did it; the Astros were going to the World Series in Oklahoma to compete against the best.
Clint and his team were so excited to travel out of state for a baseball tournament. They really thought they were big timers now. Staying in hotels like the big leaguers, man what could be better, the guys thought? The Astros’ first game was against a team from Kansas and they dominated 5-0. Perry pitched a great game. Clint and Bradley each had a couple of hits and rbi’s. Next the Astros played a team from Cincinnati who they also beat up on. The Astros third game was against at team from Puerto Rico. They were a big team and had a pitcher who threw absolute gas. During Clint’s first at bat the worst thing happened, he was hit by a pitch that hurt so bad, Clint walked down to first base and the Puerto Rican pitcher came over and shook his hand because of some sick tradition. The Astros ended up winning 2-1 and moved on to the third place game against a powerhouse team the San Diego Sting.
The game was close the whole time. It was a battle to the finish. The score was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the 7th with a runner on second and two outs. The Sting hit a line drive to left field and Byron dove caught the ball then dropped it and the scored and won the game 2-1. The Astros were devastated as the Sting continued on to win the World Series.
Even though the year ended differently then the boys had planned they had one of the best summers of their lives. They got to travel and compete against the top competition in the nation and the best part about it was they got to do it all over next year.
