Baseball Season

Hunter and Ryan had their first baseball games of the summer today. Unfortunately, both games were at noon at different parks. So, Stacey went to Ryan's game and me being the assistant coach of Hunter's team, I had to attend his game. Ryan is playing modified tee-ball, which is where the batter gets 4 pitches and if they don't hit the ball then they hit off a tee. Ryan did not play baseball last year, but has really picked it up strong. Apparently, he got a great hit his first time at bat and had to use a tee his second time at-bat. Ryan has been practicing with me all spring batting left-handed, but in the game today he hit right-handed. Either he is going to be a switch-hitter or he is a little confused at how he bats right now. Ryan got to play first base as well today. Stacey said it was a fun game and Ryan did great! Hunter played his first game of kid-pitch (the equivalent of The Minors in Idaho Falls). He begged the coach to let him be catcher, and the coach reluctantly agreed. Hunter actually did a fantastic job as catcher, but has a lot to learn - the coach let him take the gear home this week so he could practice the catcher position. Hunter only got one at-bat today, as the team we played was very good and they had some excellent pitchers. With the 1 hr 30 minute time-limit, and our team's inability to pitch, that made it so each kid on the team was only able to bat once. In the last inning (3rd inning), the coach let Hunter pitch. He did a pretty good job, but had a little trouble getting the ball to 45 feet each time. Many balls bounced in front of the plate, but he was throwing them in the right direction. Hunter wants to work hard at being a catcher and pitcher - though it could be tough for him to do them both at the same time!! Stacey will be taking pictures soon and we will post them on the family blog as well as this one. By the way, Hunter's team lost - they got killed actually...