It’s Friday, March 18th, and baseball has finally started. We’re on the road for our first game against Kelly High School, located in Benton, Missouri. It’s a long 4 ½ hour drive from our side of the state in the southwest to southeast Missouri. The kids don’t seem to mind much since they’re missing half a day of school. I’m just hoping the trip doesn’t tire them out before they even take the field.
I’m nervous. I’m a brand new coach, and the papers have picked us to narrowly win our district this year. I thought the team looked good, but I didn’t realize they were that good compared to the competition. It’s just one more thing on my plate….the pressure of winning the district in my first season at the helm. Kelly, on the other hand, is one of the basement teams in the preseason predictions in District 2.
First pitch is at 4 pm. The guys look good in warm-ups, and I’ve picked Doug Parlier as my opening day starter. He’s the ace of the team, and I’m hoping he lives up to the hype and doesn’t let the pressure get to him. When the game starts, the guys look nervous but confident. Fortunately, there’s not a lot of pressure from the hometown fans, as only 33 people sit in the bleachers.
We start the game with two groundouts but then reel off three straight hits. We score a run and have an early 1-0 lead. Parlier gets his first strikeout of the season in the 1st. In the 2nd inning, Parlier gets out of a bases-loaded jam with no outs. The kids are looking good under pressure so far. We cling to our one-run lead until the bottom of the 4th, when Parlier gives up a two-run shot to right. Down 2-1 in the top of the 5th, the guys respond, getting runners on the corners with only one out. It’s enough for them to chase Kelly’s starter from the mound. Samir Shivers comes up to the plate. He’s gone 2 for 2 so far, with a single and double. His hot bat continued, as he smashes the ball over the center fielder’s head for another double to tie the game!! Two batters later, junior right fielder John Graham comes up. He’s 0 for 2, with a fly out and pop-up. But he connects on the first pitch he sees and sends the ball over the right-center field wall for a three-run homer!!! Now up 5-2, I let Parlier pitch the 5th, but that will be it for him. After five innings, he’s sitting at 97 pitches, and I’ve got plenty of pitching in the bullpen I can use. The 6th is scoreless, but our bats come out blazing again in the 7th. We score three times to push the lead to 8-2. Freshman center fielder Jon Stevens highlights the inning with a two-run triple! Freshman righty Jeremy Williams pitched the 6th and 7th for us. He gave up a run in the 7th, but we still hold an 8-3 lead. The guys score three more runs in the 8th to make it 11-3, highlighted by Graham hitting a two-run double to left center. I bring in another freshman reliever, Mike Biggerstaff, to pitch the 8th. He gives up a couple of hits and a run but strikes out two as well. Going into the bottom of the 9th, we have an 11-4 lead. Biggerstaff stays in the game and gets two more K’s, but he also loads the bases. Freshman Darius Turner is called into the game. He’s my closer, and I want to see what he can do under pressure. He gives up a base hit and allows a run, but then strikes out the next batter to finish the game. We win 11-5 and are off to a good start. Sure, we have some things to work on, but I’m more confident now that the first game is under our belts. Our home opener is on Monday, so I tell the guys to enjoy their win and have fun during their weekend.
