It's the end of my eighth grade year. I haven't played baseball in 4 years. My brother is really good at baseball and looking to get drafted next summer. He had been telling me the whole time that I should play again and that he thinks I could be really good. He believed  that I would really enjoy it. He said “ this is a great sport to play” He was right. I love baseball now but then I was still so unsure.

                He finally convinced me to at least give it a try. I had decided that I was going to play my freshman year of highschool baseball. I didn't know if I'd even make it or if I could still hit or throw the same ways i used to. I mean i didn't have any gear or anything it was like a completely fresh start. The night I decided was right before some of the highschool workouts. We went into the garage that night and found some of my brother's old cleats, his old college bat and he had just gifted me his old infield glove.

          I felt like I was ready. I went to my first baseball practice in 4 years 2 days later. I was so nervous and so excited at the same time I didn't know what to expect. I got there and it felt like I had neve stopped playing. I was having so much fun talking to my friends and playing the sport I had no clue how much I missed. I felt like nothing could stop me. I was ready for the season to start after one practice. Boy was I wrong I had some much to work on. I hadn't seen live pitching in 4 years and had no clue what it was like anymore. It was so much different than I remember. 

        I was getting better and better each practice and was actually feeling comfortable in the box and on the mound. We had our first outside practice and I played shortstop. I loved it so much and knew from then on that's what I would become. I worked on fielding and hitting every day. I was so ready for our first game.

       The next practice we were on the field and it was one of the first times I had hit on a highschool field. We were taking batting practice and the third swing I took I hit out to the bottom of the scoreboard in left center field. The rest of the practices leading up to my first game were so much fun I loved every single moment.

      It was the first game against Beaver Creek. It was a sunny cold day out and there was a lot of people there because it was our first game of the season. They are one of the better teams in the state. I heard I was starting on the mound for our varsity team. I was so scared. I haven't thrown in like 4 years and I got the start against the best team we will play all year. I pitched horribly. I walked 4 and gave up 3 hits in my first inning. I was so mad at myself  for not taking advantage of such a good opportunity to prove myself to the team. I only pitched two innings this game before I got taken out. The second inning was just as bad as the first one.

     Our second game was against Wayne.  It was gloomy and sad out with heavy winds and cold rain. There was like no one at the game.I was playing with varsity. I only played two innings this game. I played one inning at first base and I pitched one inning. It was so cold I couldn't feel my hands and then it started raining as well. Coach told me I needed to go play and inning of first and I was pretty excited. It was the first time I had actually been in the field playing and not just pitching. I played well in the field but didn't get an at bat. I was going out to pitch and my sister and some of her friends showed up after their softball game. I was warming up in the bullpen. I was so nervous to throw again. This time was a little better but still not very good. I pitched one inning one 1 strike out 2 walks and 2 ground outs. It gave me a little bit of confidence back.

        We had like two practices in between the next game and I was really bothered that I hadn't played well yet. I knew our next game was against North Union who wasn't very good. I knew there was a good chance I played with jv because it was their first game and I was still a freshman . I was working on every little thing I could to make my swing better and field ground balls so that I could prove I belonged on varsity. We were told we had our first pre game meal that day and that someone had to provide it. `

       When we got out of school on game day we went straight to the cafeteria to eat . I don't remember what it was we had to eat but I remember having so much fun after school hanging out in their waiting on the bus with my friends. We went out to get on the bus. Both teams traveled together so all the freshmen had to get water bottles. I had to get them that day and got them out of the sac and put them on the bus.On the way to the game the bus started bouncing and making really bad noises and nobody knew what it was. We ended up having a flat tire and had to get all our stuff off the bus and switch buses and we were already like half way into being there so they just met  us where we were.Once we got to the game I was told I was playing with both teams. I was excited to get my first at bats. The game started and I was playing shortstop. I was also leading and I was pretty nervous but so excited. My first at bat I hit a hard ground ball at the shortstop and he booted it. It wasn't a hit but gave me a little confidence. My next at bat I got my first hit. It was a bomb. It was a line drive off the wall in left field. I was one for two but haven't got a ball in the field all game . I ended up being 2-3 for the game and was pretty happy with how I played. 

      Next practice I had a lot of confidence, probably too much after playing pretty decently. I was wanting to hit the ball way too hard and not staying the fundamentals. I was struggling so much to hit. I was so upset with myself and wanted to take a break already. There were so many ups and downs at the beginning that I didn't know what to think. All I knew was that I loved playing again and that I would try my hardest to be the best I could. Even if that meant I would lose a little bit of my free time to get better.It was going to be worth it. I wanted to start varsity next year at shortstop. 

       The next 3 games were against london. The first game I pitched the whole game. I felt really good about it all game and had no clue if theory had gotten any hits or how many strikeouts I had. I was just so glad I was actually playing good for once. My first at-bat I hit a double in the gap and it made me feel even better about it. The next at bat I hit the hardest ball I have ever hit in my life. I got a high inside fastball and turned on it and everyone there thought it was a home run it was going to be but the left fielder reached just over the wall to catch it. I was still so happy that I smoked the ball so I tried my hardest to realize that not every good swing is going to have a great outcome. I was still pitching i had given up a hit and had struck out 14 people i had one inning left and was just starting to realize that i was throwing really really well and could throw a no hitter i tried not to think about it to much and ended up doing it i threw 7 innings on 120 pitches 16 strikeouts and went 2-4 hitting it was the first good game i had since playing baseball and all it did was make me fall in love with the sport all over again it was all i thought about and all i wanted to do. 

       The next day at school a bunch of people were talking about it. I felt so “cool". It made me really happy that some of my hard work was starting to pay off. I was smiling all day. We played them again this day and the day after as well. This game I played shortstop and hit third. I was really excited to play them again. This game was at home. It was one of the warm games we had played all year. It was actually sunny out. The pre game meal that day was chicken and waffles and I had never had it before but it was so good . Right after the meal we hit in the cages before warm ups and my swing had never felt better in my life. I felt really good about the upcoming game. It started and the first ball that was hit to me was so far to the left and I ended up making a diving play and throwing the kid out at first base. It felt so unreal . My confidence was way too high but it wasn't a bad thing because I had the confidence to make plays I had never made before. My first at bat I hit a single over the third baseman's head. It was a bad swing but I'll take every hit I can get. I only had like two more plays the rest of the game and the were both east basic plays in my next two at bats it had a hard hit single and lofted ball over the second basemens heads i was 3-3 and was getting on more at bat I was excited to go hit but didn't want to mess up the 3-3. I got a fastball right down the middle and was early and smoked it way foul. Could have even been far enough to be a home run. The next pitch was a curveball low and away and I got made look stupid by it but I knew that most likely next pitch he was going to come back with another slider or curveball. I was right he gave me a curve low and away and I took it so I had a pretty good feeling the next pitch was gonna be a fast ball being in a 1-2 count. I was right again it was high and inside and I turned on it again smoking it fair this time and it was just below the yellow on the top of the fence. I ended up with a triple and went 4-4. I was really happy with how I played. 

        The day after that we played London again and my last two games against them were really good. I was super excited to play again but only got one at bat and pitched in relief that game. Hitting a designated hit for one of our pitchers that had just come out of the game. The first pitch I got was a dead middle fastball and I missed it. The next pitch was a hanging slider that I pulled down the line foul. He was up 0-2 in the count so I figured the next two pitches were going to be just to try to get me to swing. He gave me a high fastball for a ball and a low and in slider for a ball as well. After that he gave me two fastball that I fouled off. It was still a 2-2 count and the next pitch was a slider away for another ball. The count was 3-2 and I was already happy with the at bat. I made him waste a lot of pitches. The next pitch was a high fastball for another ball and the walk. Once I got on first I stole on the first pitch. After I got on second one of my teammates hit a double in the gap for me to score and put us up 2-1. After that I was going into the pitch. I was so scared it was one of my first times pitching on varsity and i didnt want to blow the game. I threw to four batters and struck out two on 6 pitches each then hit the next batter which got ame pretty nervous. I threw a fastball dead middle on accident and it got destroyed to left field. I got lucky and  the left fielder caught it right before the warning track. I wasnt to mad with how I pitched and was just glad I was still getting opportunities to prove myself. I was still having so much fun and never wanted baseball season to be over and it just started. I was so glad I played it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. 

              After that we didn't have a game for a couple of days and we had 2-3 practices instead. I was waiting every single day so excited to go to the practices and the games. I loved all the guys I got to play with and I was becoming great friends and building great relationships with them. Every practice was us pushing each other to become better and better so that we could win more and more games. We would all push each other to hit the ball harder, field the ball better and throw the ball harder. We were trying to get everything out of the practices as possible. Even the running was fun cause I got to do it with the people I like and everyone made it fun and made the best of it.

                    Before the next game we had a big team meal that someone's parents had provided and it was really good the game was a little later this day so we got to spend a lot of time in the cafe .Before we had to get ready  we all just sat around and hung out until the cages were dropped before the game. Once they were dropped everyone got a couple of rounds of swings and I was feeling pretty nervous about the game. This day it was against Graham who I had heard like nothing about all year so I had no clue if they were any good or not. The Game was away at graham and their field is in the wide open surrounded by fields and a couple of trees. It was freezing out overcast with 20-30 mph winds. This was one of the most miserable games of my whole life so the whole game I could not get warm. It was so bad. I hated being in the cold but still loved that I was getting to play baseball again. In my first at bat I struck out and was mad. I didn't take advantage of the fastball down the middle that I got but I tried my hardest not to be mad at myself the rest of the game and tried to take advantage of the pitchers' mistakes next time. In my next at bat I hit a single over the second baseman's head which made me feel a lot better even though it still wasn't a good swing. I only got two plays in the field this game and they were both normal ground balls to shortstop and I made the play on both. I got two more at bats in this game and ended up 1-4 with two strikeouts and I was super upset that I didn't play as well as I should have. I was trying to put it behind me and burch it off so that i didnt i affect me in the next games or practices.

          The next practice we ran a lot because we played really bad against a team we should've beat. We did a little bit of hitting and took a lot of ground balls and fly balls. During the hitting part I was trying to take advantage of every swing and get the most out of it that I possibly could. My swing felt really good but I was struggling to find out why it wasn't all coming together in the game. Like my mechanics and swing felt good and looked good but when I was in the box against live pitching I was struggling to put it all together to form good at bats and get hits. I was getting the barrel to the ball quickly with power. I eventually figured out it was in my load and that I was loading back too much instead of keeping my hands still coiling and going straight to the ball. Fixing this made for a lot more good contact and power. We hit live in the cage that day as well and I was 3-4 with 3 really good swings. It felt like I might finally know what has been wrong with my swing this whole time and gave me some more confidence which I really needed. 

  The next couple of games were all about the same. I was like 2-4 ish in all of them and played pretty well in the field. I still loved baseball so much and was so glad I came back to it. I was having so much fun with all my friends and having even more fun bettering myself and being back on the field. In those couple of games nothing much really happened. I was going back and forth between varsity and JV but I was actually enjoying jv more. I was getting to start every game there was getting a lot more chances to get better and was having so much fun with my friends cause they were all in the same grade as me so I had been friends with them forever. Baseball was giving me a new time of happiness and was helping have motivation to do a lot of other stuff. All around it was really really good for me so far and I couldn't wait to see what was still to come. Practices were going really good too. I was getting a lot of good work in and was getting a lot better than I was at the beginning of the season which was one of the goals I made before I started playing. I wanted to get as good as I could and not just go and play for no reason. I always thought if I was going to do it I might as well be the best I possibly can at it.

      The next Big game was against our schools main rival. Kenton Ridge. We were playing them back to back days and I was super excited. This was my first time playing a highschool sport so I had never experienced a rivalry like this before. Both game i was playing with jv but I wasn't mad at all. I knew all the people we were playing against so it took the rivalry to a whole new level. In the first game I started on the mound. The first pitch of the game I gave up a normal pop fly to center field but our outfielder missed it and it dropped right in front of him and bounced over his head for the kid to get a triple but I wasn't worried about it at all. The next three batters I struck out and we were out of the inning without giving up a run. The whole game I pitched really really well and I only gave up two more hits the whole game and no runs. We weren't really scoring either though so we all were a little worried that the game could flip at any moment. In my at bats I was 3-4 with 2 singles and a double. We ended up winning by a couple of runs and we were all super hyped and excited that we just pulled out the win against our rival. 

        We played them again a few days later. In between we had two light practices to work on the little things that would make all of our games better but would help us have and easier chance at beating them again because now we knew their strengths and weaknesses, In these practice we worked on lots of ground balls and trying to find the barrel while hitting they were fun light hearted practices trying not to overthink too much.In my rounds I was having really good swings and hitting the ball what felt like harder than ever. We were feeling pretty confident as a team going into the next game. We all had a really good practice and got a lot of good work in and we had gained some confidence back.

      The day of the game we were all looking forward to the game that night. Before the game we had a team meal in the cafe and it was a lot of fun talking about the game that was to come and hearing what positions we all would be playing and where we would be hitting in the lineup. After we ate we went into the gym and dropped the cages and took bp so that we could take some swings before we went to play. After that we loaded the bus because this game was away. Getting On the bus we all seemed like we were having too much fun and didn't really care about the game to come. We all were cracking jokes and having fun thinking we had nothing to worry about because we won the last game against them so why wouldn't we win this one too. Once we got there we had a good warm up and looked pretty good going into the game. None of us knew that was far from what was actually going to happen. Once the game started we had already given up 3 runs in the first inning. It was 3-1 already in the first inning and we only scored off of my RBI single. The next inning we gave up 2 more runs and we didn't score any more runs. The game stayed at this pace the whole game whenever we would score they would score more than we would we couldn't come back. Once we got down by so many we all just started messing around and having fun again even though we were down like 10 we were still having fun. We ended up losing 13-3 and the bus ride home was horrible. We weren't allowed to talk and if we did we would have to run more than we were already going to have to for losing by 10 to a team we could beat. 

     The next practice after was horrible. We had to run so much. The coaches thought we didn't care that we lost and that we were messing around too much. Right when we got there we did our warm ups and stretches like normal. Then we went straight into hitting and cage work right away but that didn't last long. It was a short hitting session before we started running for the rest of practice. It was making everyone mad that we were running over a loss because we're not going to win every game. It's not realistic. So everyone started just messing around which made it so much worse. The coaches were getting mad because we didn't care what they were mad about. 

     After that the season kind of started to go downhill. We were still winning games and having fun as a team but I feel as if we lost a lot of respect for our coaches and no one enjoyed practicing anymore. We lost a game here and there but we were mostly still winning. That was pretty much the rest of the season up to the tournament.

          The last big game before the tournament was the game right before I was up with varsity the rest of the year and I was getting the last start for the team before it was the big game. It was against a good D1 team. I was starting on the mound this game and I had non clue what I was in for. I didn't know if they were good or if they were bad. All I knew was they were a D1 highschool team. I pitched really well but I only pitched two innings so that some of our other pitches could get some work in too. I faced 8 batters, walked one hit one and struck out 6. I was really happy going into the tournament hoping I would get my opportunity. I didn't get one, we ended up losing and the season was over but I was still really happy with how my freshman year turned out. I had a lot of fun with my friends and got a lot better at baseball.