My phone buzzed
in my pocket as I walked toward the gym after school. I looked at the lit up
screen and saw I had a new text message from our captain Molly. As I read the
message, excitement overwhelmed me. The message read, “I’ve been playing
softball my whole life and this is the moment I’m going to shine. Everyone
needs to go out there and play their hardest. We need to be confident and
forget about everything but who we are, and what were made of and the reasons
were playing. I love you guys no matter what happens so let’s go out there and
show them what we do”. This was the day
that we were going to show the town and all other softball programs what we are
made of. It was the first round of state playoffs and no one was ready for our
season to end.
As
I walked out onto the field I looked up to see the sky covered with a ceiling of
gray clouds. Perfectly cut green grass shielded the field and bright white
lines marked the dirt of the infield. A light breeze blew through the air but
it was a perfect day for a softball game. Not being able to play because of a
concussion I sat on the cold metal bench in the dugout and watched our team
warm up. As I watched through the fence it seemed like a clip from a movie,
focus and determination sat among our players faces as neon yellow balls flew
through the air and were caught in a brown softball glove while upbeat music
played in the background. Our players ran back to the dugout after warm-up and
sat on the bench and their shadowed faces were then illuminated by the sun as
they turned to look at our coach at the end of the dugout. “No one is ready for
the season to end, and no one wants to turn in their jerseys just yet. Don’t
change anything we have learned and let the game play itself out”, our coach
said.
The umpires walked
to home plate, the game was about to start. The first Dedham batter was a tall
girl with blond hair. As Molly threw her first pitch of the game, the batter
swung and missed and the yellow ball flew into our catcher’s mit. On the next
pitch the girl hit a single and sprinted to first base. The next batter our
pitcher Molly struck out with three perfect pitches. On the third batter the
girl hit the ball to left field and the batter runs to second. At the end of
the first inning Dedham was in the lead with one run. By the end of the second
inning the game was tied 1-1. In the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs
Dedham gained another run. For the remaining two innings both of the teams
played with amazing defense. Molly continued a great game and struck out five
batters. As the sky started to darken around us the game entered the seventh
inning.
In the bottom of
the seventh inning Lauren got up to bat. With a solid stance Lauren watched the
pitcher. The pitcher threw the ball right down the middle and Lauren right away
makes contact with the ball. The balls fly’s over the first baseman’s head and
shoots into right field. The right fielder drop steps and sprints for the ball.
From this moment it seems that everything happens in slow motion. Lauren has
already rounded first base and her feet slap against the ground as she sprints
towards second base. Our runner on second then sprints to third base, prepared
to run towards home plate. But the right fielder is just under the softball. I
look at the crowd and they are on the edge of the bleachers, silent with
anticipation. The sky is dark and cloudy when I look back over to right field. Two
feet short of the fence the right fielder towards and faces the descending
ball. The right fielder looks eager but also scared. I looked again at Lauren who
was then rounding second base, and her face revealed pure determination. Just
then the ball dropped right into the right fielder’s hand. She covered the ball
with her left hand and her team exploded with excitement. In the bottom of the
seventh inning, with our winning run waiting on third base, the right fielder
had caught the last out. Shock overcame our team as we couldn’t come to believe
our season was over.
Sitting
in left field after the game it is hard not to cry. As a team we have been
through a lot together and this marked the end of our journey for the year.
Scanning the circle small tears drip from almost every one of my teammates
faces. We cry because the season is over, but we also cry because it is the
senior’s last game in high school softball. We have bonded with the seniors for
almost three months and it will be sad to see them go off to college. Our coach
makes his way over to the circle we have formed and kneels down. He looks
around the circle and begins to speak. “I know that right now this feels like
the worst thing in the world. But in the big picture it is going to be okay,
you all are going to be okay. Sometimes things don’t work out, but I am so
proud of each and every one of you girls. I am so happy to be coaching in this
town and to have finally found a home”.
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