Night 2: Out of Time

 

Braintree and Trumbull line up

Fact: I waited too long to post this but here I am.

The first pitch this morning was at 9:59.

The last pitch was roughly 11 hours later.

Four games, too many pitches, still too many pitching changes, a few disagreements with umpires, and so on.

I'm proud of the effort. Lots of baseball and lots of fun.

A few knuckleheads also because, hey, isn't that always the deal?

Fairly kind reviews of the broadcasts as well.

Eight games in we've had mostly so-so games and one epic game.

Truly, it was so much fun.

Obviously, I've become very close with Trumbull. But I've also gotten to know a few people from Braintree, MA. 

Those two teams locked in a dandy tonight.

After two innings it was 1-1.

It stayed that way through seven innings.

It looked like it might stay that way through eight.

What I love about games like this is that it isn't some sort of meltdown that really makes or breaks the game. 

An errant throw didn't cause the winning run to score. No clock violation or balk and anything else was involved.

Oh, to be sure, Braintree committed errors in both the seventh and eighth that potentially set up Trumbull to win the game. Still, Trumbull had to drive that winning run home.

In the seventh, the guys from Massachusetts were able to wiggle out of it.

In the eighth, they were so close.

Then Eric Story stepped up and launched a ball to left field that looked well hit but I thought it might be caught.

We seemed destined for a ninth inning.

But, the thing was, this was no routine fly ball.

Oh, it wasn't going over the fence. So far, no one has hit one out.

But it was going over the left fielder's head.

He circled and cycled and pirouetted but to no avail.

Ball...meet grass.

Base hit. In fact, a double.

C.J. Lenzen, running hard from second, scored with a slide, setting off a big celebration for Trumbull.

What a joy to watch it all, regardless of winner.

I like Trumbull. Their coach, Mike Buswell, is a close friend.

I like Braintree. Their coach, Gill "Tuna" Mannion, has become a friend. I even met his wife and kids after the game tonight. She was so kind to compliment the broadcasts.

Nobody should lose a game like this but that's not how sports works.

Trumbull 2. Braintree 1.

Cool selfish postscript. Eric's dad yelled to me from the street as they were heading back to their car. 

They get to head back to the hotel. I get to head back to my table for the last game.

His dad told me that the first thing Eric said to him was that he couldn't wait to hear how I called it.

Like ... really?

It's just such a humbling thing to hear. 

I got to watch this game. Better yet, I got to call it.

People are listening. It's been a fun ride.

But the clock is ticking and, weather permitting, four more games await tomorrow.

Teams begin departing after that as we turn towards the brackets.

A long day that could have brought sunburn simply brings what it's supposed to bring: exhaustion from a (hopefully) job well done.

The baseball is good even if the games aren't perfect.

I'm where I belong.