UNTI FAMILY

Baseball has key moments in a game which are filled with pressure. You wish as a coach or a parent you had the right words to say to take the pressure off and/or give your kids the confidence to succeed. Soccer moves and flows constantly and there are rarely any one on one showdowns. I'm less nervous watching soccer than baseball.

Anyway tonight we faced the best team in the tournament. A team that was 3 and 0 and coming off an 18-2 win over a pretty good team. We had lost to these guys twice, once in a scrimage and another time in a prior tournament.

We were the away team tonight and I was extremly excited that the Reds were down only two runs in the final inning. I was also extremly nervous as Max was to lead off the final inning. Above is a picture of Max taking a pitch. He worked the count to two and one and I was very proud he put a good swing on a pitch. On the fourth pitch Max got hit in the butt. He shook it off and ran down to first. I have to say the kids are great when it comes to being hit by a pitch. The pitcher always goes over and shakes the runners hand. Maybe the pros should try this? Anyway the next batter was walked and Max found himself on second. The third batter struck out and Max stole third somewhere in that at bat. The fifth batter grounded out to first but drove Max in. Now the Reds were down one run in the top of the last inning with the tying run on second. A sharp hit was snarred and the next runner was thrown out ending the Red's comeback attempt.

It was a great effort by the kids tonight and they appear to have come along way. They have one more game on Wednesday and if they win there is a chance they can still make the playoffs.

Go Reds!