Anticipation and Tournament game

I can't wait for my mission. I don't have time to get a job, but yet I need something fresh to do. If I wasn't coaching little league, this would be a rough summer!

Speaking of which, my team is doing very well. With an 8-2 record, we clinched the #1 seed overall and have an automatic state tournament berth. Last night we had our first city tournament game, and we played the Cubs. The Cubs play dirty. The are extremely aggressive on the basepaths, and that has no place in little league. The catchers are generally not good enough to throw out the runners stealing second and third, let alone the 2nd and 3rd baseman good enough to catch the ball every time. But, this team steals on every pitch. Walks turn into doubles and sometimes triples or home runs. It is very aggravating and as close to cheating as you can get without actually breaking a rule. They beat us the first game of the season, and we beat them quite soundly the second game of the season because they had a rough pitching game, and our pitcher pitched a gem. This time, they scored 5 runs in one inning and 3 in another, thanks to their relentless base running. Our kids were getting down, and to make things worse, we got the worst umpire in the league. I hate having to yell at umpires, but I had to protect my team from some of the absurd calls he was making, so I gave him an earful a few times. Tim (the head coach) and I urged our team to keep their chins up and go and play hard. We ended up getting lots of great hits, lots of smart baserunning, and some phenomenal pitching. We were down two runs going into the last inning, and they had to switch pitchers because the other one had already filled his alloted outs for the day. We got a few walks, some more great hits, and loaded the bases, down one run. The pitcher walked in the next run, so it was a tie game. The next batter was Austin, who is a very nice kid, and sometimes he bats like he is a nice kid. This time, he saw a pitch and hit it through the infield and brought in the winning run. Final score was 9-8. Boy it felt good to beat that coach again! I don't put any blame on their players, but instead on their head coach. There were 2 coaches from other teams that congratulated Tim and I and also thanked us for beating them. Our next game will be on Thursday night.

Other than that, I've just been cleaning up the yard a bit to get ready to sell our house, and getting ready for my mission. I got three shots yesterday, and have to go back for two more in a month, and then another one in the MTC. I will get my clothes later this week or next week.