Dodgers game six

Will’s Dodgers beat a tough Mariners team in Powder Springs last night, 10 – 7. As I had suspected, Will was given the nod as the starting pitcher. The first pitch of the second inning was grounded back to the mound, and Will threw the batter out at first. The next pitch was popped up, and Will made the catch for the second out. The third batter reached on the shortstop’s error, but was thrown out stealing on the first pitch. Will retired the side on six pitches! With the game close throughout, Will pitched the first four innings…tying his longest stint of his career. It was encouraging to see him work through what to do in his head…if a pitch missed the strike zone, you could see him reminding himself to come through and release the ball out in front of his body. Will said that when a Mariner hit an off-speed pitch hard, it made him buckle down mentally and vowed not let it happen again. Indeed, after that the only ball hit out of the infield was a bloop single. The Mariners only had nine players show, so Will faced the meat of the order three times. Will stranded four Powder Springs runners. Will finished with five strikeouts, and the victory upped his record to 5 – 1. Will leads the team in every pitching category, including innings pitched and fewest runs allowed per inning (ERA). In the fifth inning Will played shortstop, and handled his one grounder flawlessly, throwing out the runner at first. He leads the team in assists, and has committed the least number of errors (one, in a practice game). Will continues to hit the ball hard, but right at people. In the first the pitcher made a nice play to field Will’s sharp grounder up the middle. He also had a bases loaded walk, and took second on a single, then third on a wild pitch, but he was stranded there. After every game Coach Chris and I put our heads together on who should get the game ball. I made a couple of suggestions, but Chris felt strongly that Will should get the award. While the girls stayed home to shop for Matthew’s birthday, Matthew tagged along to the game, and entertained the Mt. Paran crowd. Halfway through the game, while playing behind the bleachers, he accidentally flipped his sandal onto an adjoining field. After the game I had an umpire track it down. Matthew had come based on the promise of a stop at Burger King, for a beloved kid’s meal. With no time before the game, we stopped afterwards. We got our order, but had to go back in, as the toy had been left out of the bag. Then Matthew wanted to trade toys (they graciously gave him a second one). Since the shake machine was down, we made a second stop at Wendy’s, for Will’s promised ice cream. Then Matthew found mustard on his burger…bad for him / good for Will. So we made a third fast food stop, at McDonalds. We secured a Happy Meal, then I realized I’d forgotten to hold the mustard. Matthew wanted McNuggets anyway, so I had to go back and make a switch. Eventually we made it home, but the girls were asleep in bed.