Warning: Shameless Bragging Alert

Before I get to the "meat" of the entry, I have been contemplating a few details that I neglected to mention in my last post as pertains to Darcy's last softball game that she narrowly lost by two runs. It is worth mentioning (and how!) that the team she faced had only four players on the team that night, so the only reason they did not have to forfeit the game was because we loaned them eight of our girls. (That's right, isn't it? 12 players on a team?) So technically, the Tar Heels won no matter how you slice it, because it sure wasn't the four little Red Raiders who blew the rest of the team away! Okay, I feel better now.

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So have you tired of my baseball play-by-plays yet? I know I have--why do you think I go so long between posts? There's nothing else to talk about besides baseball! (Actually, I do have another story that will knock your socks off, but I'll save it for later.)

I think I've mentioned before that after awhile all the details start running together and I forget what Tyler did when, but I do know that at the game Monday night Tyler pitched the first three innings (which is all you're allowed in a game), and he dispatched the opposing team so quickly there was time for a fourth inning! He caught for the first time this season, and here's a fun little detail: Every time Tyler pitches, his catcher is a kid also named Tyler. We call them "The Two T's" (except I avoid writing that down because I hate that apostrophe that doesn't really belong, but "Ts" looks awkward . . . okay, back to the story) and they make a good team. And coincidentally, when my Tyler caught, Tyler K. pitched. Further confusing matters was the fact that the opposing team had a Tyler also, so several times during the game there were three Tylers pitching, catching and batting. The first base coach for other team was so confused the first time his Tyler was up to bat because there I was, screaming my head off for my Tyler. He finally walked over to me and said, "Is the pitcher's name Tyler too?" Well, duh. Except I didn't say that out loud.

But back to Tyler pitching: In the first inning he threw only 13 pitches, 9 of which were strikes. That's pretty good, right? He walked the first kid on four balls, then proceeded to strike out the next three batters bam, bam, bam. It was a thing of beauty. The second inning was much the same except I can't remember every little detail (this is where you breathe the sigh of relief). His arm was starting to bother him because he had just pitched two (three?) innings in Saturday's game, but his coach was determined to use him as long as he could. And Tyler has shown an amazing ability to battle back and focus and concentrate just when he needs to the most. As a matter of fact his coach, whose comments to me are usually confined to, "Hey Mrs. Todd, how are you?" walked up to me and muttered, "What I need are nine _ _ _ _ (rhymes with "ham") Tyler Todds on this team!" Alrighty then.