It Was The Best of Times and The Worst of Times

Monday May 28, 2012. It’s a single elimination game in the Minnesota State High School Section 4AAA High School Baseball Tournament featuring Cretin-Derham Hall versus Roseville at Midway Stadium in Saint Paul, MN. It’s a night game with a big crowd under the lights. Roseville has their tall lefty on the mound. We won a tight one against him earlier this season, but he is dominating us tonight. High school Section playoff games only go 7 innings and we are already in the bottom of the 6th trailing 4-1. We have a rally going with men on 1st and 3rd and only one out when Coach O’Neill calls over to the dugout for me to grab a bat. I’d delivered as a pinch hitter a few times during the season and I felt confident. I lined the 2nd pitch to left for a clean single driving in Miley with our 2nd run and advancing Connelly to 3rd. Our fans exploded. During the season I would be lifted at this point for a pinch runner, but this time Coach keeps me in the game. He gives me the steal sign and I take 2nd base uncontested. Now the score is 4-2 with men on 2nd and 3rd. Dylan hits a sacrifice fly to make it 4-3 and I’m able to advance to 3rd. Griffin walked next. Now we have runners on 1st and 3rd with 2 outs. Before the next pitch is thrown Griffin takes off for 2nd base. I see the catcher spring forward to throw him out and I take a hard step off 3rd towards home. It’s a trick and I fall for it! The catcher wheels around with the ball still in his hand. I’m a dead duck. Now it’s Roseville’s fans that explode while ours fall silent and look stunned. Roseville tacks on an insurance run in the top of the 7th. We fail to score in our half of the inning. The score ends up 5-3 and we are out of the playoffs.

I felt bad for the team, for myself, for Coach, and especially for the seniors. The ride home with my parents was quiet that night. They knew I wouldn’t want to talk about it right away. We pulled into the driveway and I was the first to speak. I said, “I really blew that one.” My folks told me how proud they are of me and they reminded me that I had a big hit. That’s when my dad asked, “Did Coach talk to you afterwards?” I said, “Yeah. He asked me if I was OK. I told him I was, and then he asked if I know now how to handle that play the next time and I told him I do. Coach said OK.” My dad said he can’t think of a better coach or a better thing he could say at a time like that.

I’d like to hear from you now. Have you ever experienced the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat back to back, and did you have someone like Coach O’Neill to help pick you up afterwards?