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Remembering Little League
days
By L. Schroeder
Special to The Monitor
MABANK–One summer, my dad signed me up for Little League baseball. Of
course, there were tryouts to see what team you would be on.
I did terrible, but to my surprise, a lot of other boys did just as bad.
When the teams were put together, I realized that all those bad players
were all on the same team, mine.
The way my team played was humiliating, we lost every game. As a team,
we longed for the last game of the summer, so this nightmare could be
over.
The last game of the summer came, and we were down to the bottom of the
ninth.
Now, for some reason, we were one run ahead. We had never been one run
ahead, yet I knew this score was about to change.
The other team was up to bat and the bases were loaded. There was a man
on first, second and third. All I could see was the other team beating
us in a big way.
For some reason, the coach put me in centerfield. I guess he wanted me
to have the sun fully in my eyes, because it was. I could hardly see
anything.
Then the next boy came up to bat. He was a strong hitter, having hit a
home run early in the game.
I felt defeated. It did not matter that the other team had two outs –
this guy was going to hit another homer. Then we would have a perfect
losing score for the season.
The pitcher let the ball fly, and sure enough, he hit the ball hard and
high, really high.
Where was the ball going?
Why, to me, in centerfield.
I knew I needed to catch that ball. I started running forward to get in
position and suddenly I was struck with the sun fully in my eyes.
I lost sight of the ball. I have no idea where it is, yet gravity was in
play. I was sure I was going to miss that ball.
The next few seconds were probably the best seconds of my life. As I
moved forward with the sun fully in my eyes, unable to see, I felt the
ball land in my glove – and it did not fall out.
I caught it! I really caught the ball!
That was the third out – we won the game. I won the game for the team. I
was a hero.
I have to admit, it felt so good to win, it almost made the entire bad
baseball season worthwhile.
Kemp students qualify for regionals
Kemp High School athletes who qualified for the Region II Class 3A track
meet last weekend included (from left, front row) Dustin Wilemon, Nick
Lane, Jamie Hunter and Steve McKinney; (back row) Tiffany Oppelt, John
Farmer, Oliver Lacour, Bryan Svoboda and Jacob Hetrick.
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