pennsylvania baseball

over this past weekend we travel to pennsylvania
christopher was playing in a baseball tournament

we were supposed to be in akron, oh
but that didn’t work out – they cancelled on us
a week before we were going to be there
which was part of what contributed to this

luckily a team dropped out of this tournament
so there was a place for us at the last minute
and we made it work

we got into the hotel late friday nite
once everyone got over the excitement of being in a hotel
they crashed (almost literally) into bed for a short sleep

the next morning we went to find the fields
which was no small task
the park was out in the middle of nowhere

and while the middle of nowhere in ks
is like a piece of life cereal
(ever notice the grids on a piece of life cereal?)
the middle of nowhere in pa
is like a plate of spaghetti

the park was beautiful once we got there
there was ample shade and seating
places for the kids to play
bathrooms right behind the snack bar
which was right next to the field

and there was lots of good baseball
the tournament was divided into 3 pools
4 teams in each pool

we started in pool a
with all the best teams
talent wise we were right there with the other teams
but it seemed like they had a bit more experience

they were better prepared
for some of the mental aspects of the game
the ability not to rest in a lead
the ability to pull it back together after a setback

we lost 2 and tied 1
we could have won all 3

it was a great learning experience
for this team that has had
so much success
so easily

**notice the guy sitting on the bucket – ask me about him sometime – great story!!**

saturday we had 2 games
one loss and one tie
and then the rest of the afternoon and evening off

we went to jeff and karen’s for dinner and relaxing
the boys got to swim and catch fireflies
and we all had more than enough wonderful food

thanks guys – it was a great time

the next day started bright and early again
(at least this time we knew how to get to the park)
with another hard loss
then we had several hours to wait
while they finished all the games
and reseeded the brackets

we had to say good-bye to grandpa
and uncle nolan, aunt nancy and baby georgia
they had a long trip home
and we’re glad they were able to come at all!

the long wait got even longer when it started to rain

but they kept playing and eventually it was time to play again

they had moved us into the c bracket
shortly after starting the game
it started to rain again
and after waiting it out
the ground crews returned to fix the field

**this is real baseball**

after about 30 minutes the game continued
it ended after the 4th inning
we mercied our first playoff game

the second playoff game was much of the same
(we probably could have played in the b bracket)
after the second inning it was like 17-1
there was no mercy rule in the finals
but the game was called early due to darkness
i think the final score was 23-1

so after a rough start they breezed their way into a championship
and their first trophies of the year

everyone had a lot of fun and maybe even learned something along the way
hopefully this can continue through the rest of the tournament season

we finally got on the road about 9pm and arrived home about 1:30am
needless to say mom and dad are still trying to recover!

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