Softball All Star Game

Today was the church league slow pitch all star game. I went out early to help get everything set up. At 3pm the skills challenge got started. I competed in three events and I won two of them. I won the Most Accurate Infielder challenge. Going into it I figured I had a chance to win. The other event I won I had no business being in. I won King of the Mat. Those who entered threw ten pitches to see how many strikes they threw. I tied two other people with six, we then had a tie breaker and the first guy with 2-5, the second went 3-5, and then I went 5-5. Don't ask me how I did it. I've never pitched before but somehow I won.

My team ended up winning the game like 20-7 or something like that. Good day all around.

First Time For Everything

Last night I hit my first career homerun. In our softball game I hit it over the left fielder's head and then I ran around the bases like people were chasing me. No it didn't go over the fence, but it still counts. This is my first homerun ever. In my fifteen years of baseball I never hit one. Now, I can say I have a career homer. Feels nice, except for the fact my hamstrings are super tight. Oh well, I'll be good to play in the All Star game tomorrow.

Productive Morning

I usually sleep until about ten or eleven every morning. Today I woke up at seven and could not go back to sleep. So I got up, ate a small breakfast and then went for a run. I almost threw up because I'm not used to eating breakfast.

After returning home I showered and then read the Sermon on the Mount in the Bible. I hadn't really read much in my Bible lately so it was a good thing for me. Good morning.

Two big softball games tonight. Gonna be fun.

All Star Game

This was the first time I've seen the All Star game in like eight years. I've always been at church camp or on a mission trip so this year was so exciting for me.

The homerun derby: bust. Something needs to happen to make it more exciting. It takes WAY too long. Let's fix it.

The actual game was great! I seem to enjoy rooting for players more than actual teams so this night was great for me. Many of my favorites were on display. About five or six guys from my fantasy team were in the game. Carl Crawford is on my team and he won the MVP! Very exciting night all around. Really glad the first one I've seen in years was in St. Louis.

Umpiring

Since my internship did not end up working out (thank you Lincoln Christian College internship department) I have been umpiring at night to make a little money. This is the first time I have really gotten involved in umpiring. Now, I've been playing this game for 15 years and my dad umpired for years but actually getting behing the plate and taking control of the game is a totally different experience. It is more difficult than I imagined but I enjoy it. Tonights game were played in the first signs of heat we have had this summer. At the end of the night I was extremely sweaty. Little by little I'm getting more confident and having fun with it. I love baseball.

Summer Days

I've been home for a few days now. I finished my independent study of Statistics and got an A on Thursday. I arrived home at 5:00pm and then was at softball practice at 5:30. That was really fun, can't wait for the season to start. Right after practice I came home and my family surprised me with a new car. I'm now driving a 2005 Ford Escape with less than 29,000 miles on it. Super pumped about that. Then later that night I went down to Herrin to watch an amazing 80s rock cover band.

Not everyday has been great. Friday morning I woke up early and threw up and haven't felt quite right since then. Although I'm better now, still not 100%. Tuesday I'm driving down to Texas for a few days. I'm really looking forward to it. It's my own mini vacation before I start my internship.

End of Baseball

The season ended just over a week ago. We never won a game - no, not even one. We did have a lot of fun and it was great to get out and play the game I love so much. I ended up playing Catcher most of the time but I also played 8 of the 9 positions at some point in the year. Here are a few pics...