Monday, July 20, 2009

9U State Baseball......Experience Gained and Memories Made

We set out on our adventure to the State Baseball Tournament in Western Kansas on Thursday morning and it was an adventure we won't soon forget.

Upon arriving in Lakin, Kansas we were greeted by the kind of people you only find in Western Kansas: people who are glad to see you even though they have never seen you before, people who are proud of their small town ways and everything they have to offer you, and who have worked hard on ball fields that have been manicured immaculately and can't wait for the games to begin. We walked into the Lakin Recreation Commission building where we would meet with the Babe Ruth Official and the Tournament Director and get the layout for what was ahead of us in the coming days.

And So It Begins.......

We were all fed a wonderful BBQ beef meal and it was on with the competition, however, it wasn't baseball that we were playing this night it was...

Baseball Throwing At A Target

Filling A Bowl With Water Relays A Balloon Toss

Pie Eating

Tricycle Riding

Dressing Of The Goat!

A good time was had by all, then it was off to the hotel in Garden City. We all managed to turn in for the night and the boys were up and ready for practice the next morning. Phil took Caden to practice while Reece, Ellee and I went to pick up my nephews, Ethan and Austin, who came to spend a couple of days with us while we were there and to watch Caden play baseball.

It was a pretty laid back afternoon as we prepared to play ball at 7:30 on Friday evening. We needed to be at the fields in Lakin by 6:00 for the opening ceremony of the tournament. So we were all loaded and vehicles assembled in a line to make our way to Lakin when the storm clouds came rolling in.

Phil and I both said as we made our drive to Lakin with this storm rolling in that we loved Western Kansas when it was storming because you could see it forever.

We arrived safely in Lakin to make it to the batting tunnels when a meeting was called and the games cancelled for the evening. We headed back to Garden City with some disappointed boys. We arrived back in Garden City only to find out that while we were in Lakin a hail storm had hit Garden and it looked like it had snowed while we were away. So we did what we do best--eat! A wonderful meal for 30 at El Conquistador and then off to bed in hopes of playing tomorrow.

Saturday arrives and it's raining again. We get word that the games are going to be played as scheduled, so we loaded up with boys dressed in full uniform and made our way to Lakin again. It continues to rain but they give the go ahead to play ball. The boys line up on the field the baseball pledge was


read, the national anthem was suppose to play, but didn't due to technical difficulties. However, there was a game waiting to be played, so they shouted "God Bless America, now lets play ball!"Bats were swung, balls were hit and missed5 Innings of amazing pitches by none other than Caden Bressler. Going into the 5th inning it was a tie ballgame. They scored 3 runs on us and we couldn't recover in the top of the 6th. The game is over, they shake hands with the other team and line up for the MVP and WOW awards to be handed out.

The MVP for Haysville goes to Caden Bressler. Good thing I had my sunglasses on because my eyes welled up with tears and it was a memory worth remembering for a lifetime.

Most Valuable Player

My tears were dried up quickly and in true Caden fashion he thought it was cool, but to him he was just doing his thing and that thing just happens to be playing baseball.

One game down and now it is on to the opening ceremony.

Color Guard enters the field
each player is announced and given their participation certificate.

Pictures were taken the National Anthem sung off key by two brothers,

and the opening first pitch thrown by the Garden City Community College Broncbuster Baseball Coach.

On to our second game of the tournament. We face none other than Cimarron River which is the Liberal All-Stars. They are a team whose coaches showed little sportsmanship. Despite a commanding lead, they continued to steal bases and take extra bases at every opportunity. Avery Harjo was pitching for us and did an amazing job at throwing strikes and they hit them. When the top of the 1st inning came to a close the score was 18-0. Caden was behind the plate and did an amazing job of stopping ball after ball and nevergave up. We ended up losing that game 21 to 2 but they had a tough time getting any more runs on us after they scored 18 in the first inning.

We were done for the day. We went back to the hotel, the moms did some grocery shopping for a cookout while the boys, siblings, and dads did some swimming. We enjoyed watching the boys just have a good time, running around outside with a few water balloon fights busting out, great food was prepared by the dads while the moms washed some pretty smelly ball uniforms.

Sunday arrives and we took my nephews to meet their dad in Sublette. It was hard to say goodbye and Aunt Trasie cried, because that is what she does. However, they were excited to be going back to spend the day at the water park in Liberal. They helped me out while they were

with us by watching Ellee so she didn't roll off of the bed and they took Reece everywhere that he wanted to go, not to mention Caden loved having them there to watch him play.

Ethan and Austin,
Thanks so much for all of your help! I love you bigger than any ocean and I hope you will come and stay with us again soon!

Game time begins at 3:15 so after lunch at A & W we head back to Lakin for what would be our final game. Caden had a little extra support from a friend of mine from the good ol' days. Trudi, her daughter Darian, and son Dalton came over from Syracuse to cheer him on and it was so fun to get to spend some time with them.
3:15 p.m. and it's time for us to meet up with Columbus and Caden is standing back on the mound. After another 6 amazing innings of pitching by this boy, we lost our 3rd game 13-5.
It proved to be a little bit disappointing for a boy who gave it 100% in all three games. Once again the line was made and they stood there waiting for the announcement of the MVP and WOW awards to be handed out and that frown was soon turned upside down when the announcement was made that he was once again the MVP for Haysville.
Most Valuable Player

And so with that the state tournament ends for the Haysville 9U Boys.


Caden,
I would have been happy for you had you won a game or two or the whole tournament, but you couldn't have made me any more proud. I am proud of you for winning 2 MVP awards in this tournament, however, what makes me the proudest is the attitude, the sportsmanship, the determination, and the giving 100% no matter how tough it got. This was a great experience for you and even though you didn't walk away a tournament champion with a trophy in your hand, you walked away with a new respect for the game and memories worth remembering. I know I will remember this for the rest of my life.

Once again your Dad heard someone commenting about your size and how it was going to be easy to hit off of you, and once again your proved them wrong. You proved that big things really do come in small packages!

Thanks for the memories and thanks for being the amazing kid you are.

I love you more than you will ever know and then some,
Mommy

Stats

11 Innings Pitched

18 Strike Outs

12 Hits

7 Walks

19 Put Outs

5 Assists

3 Runs

2 Stolen Bases


For a 7 year old playing up 2 years, those stats are something to be proud of!

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