"The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love." ~ Bryant Gumbel, 1981

Tuesday night was Davis' first tball game. What a great night! We had so much fun. There were lots of laughs, smiles, friends, and win to top it off! For the month of April, tball rules are a little different - every batter in the lineup bats, regardless of the number of outs, but the runs after three outs don't count (confusing - I know!) And on top of that, they don't keep score (just for April) When I learned this, I went to Walmart and purchased a notebook and became the unofficial April scorekeeper for our team. In May, we play by the "real rules" with a scoreboard. Since I was busy keeping track of runs and outs and Matt was busy being the "Dugout Dad", our dear friend Briana got some wonderful pictures of the special night. It is great to have friends, but it is wonderful to have friends with great cameras!

So here is our first tball game in pictures.....and lots of them!

Davis' first at bat!



"Don't forget to swing hard, in case you hit the ball." ~ Woodie Held



Running to first base



Safe!



A little encouragement from Coach AJ



A score!



A quick reminder for the outfield



Ready to play



Next time on First, a High-Five from Coach AJ! We love AJ - he is such an encourager, but also so knowledgable about the game.



These next few pictures are to me, the highlight of the night! The last inning, Coach Chris switched up positions a little and put Davis at pitcher. This was brand new to D, but he did SO good and gave us a lifetime of memories, laughs and some really great plays!

This was the first hit while Davis was at pitcher. Davis scoops up the ball.....



Throws it to Landon at First.......



And get the OUT!



Davis was SO excited! He even gave Mom a thumbs up!



A few plays later, he catches the ball and runs it to Home to get the out! Look at that proud Daddy looking on!



Davis did the exact same thing again a few plays later, got a boy out by tagging home plate, but this time he decided to tag the little boy as well. You can never be "too out"



Lining up to give high fives to the other team



"
You gotta be a man to play baseball for a living, but you gotta have a lot of little boy in you, too." ~ Roy Campanell



"I've come to the conclusion that the two most important things in life are good friends and a good bullpen." ~ Bob Lemon, 1981



My favorite part of each practice and game.....the team ends the night in prayer!



A quick word of advice to my most favorite ballplayer of all times:

"Life will always throw you curves, just keep fouling them off... the right pitch will come, and when it does, be prepared to run the bases." ~ Rick Maksian



The first game is now history. It was a huge win (27-4) and the beginning of a lifetime of sports with buddies. I am sure I will be posting more as the season goes on, but this game was one for the record books!