I Made the Final Play Leading into the Championship Game – Did We Win?

My softball team is awesome.

I know, everyone wants to think that about their team. And listen, we make our fair share of errors. Those over throws, fumbled balls, misjudged pop-ups - they happen and I won't make excuses for anyone when they do. But, we know our strengths and our weaknesses and we work together to get better.

Last summer season, we were miserable. It was a failure of a season. It caused fights and less than stellar moments. We even had a couple people leave the team after the season ended.

Going into the fall, we were hoping for the best. To learn from our mistakes and it definitely worked in our favor. A team that was basically last place in the summer ended up with the championship trophy in the fall - who knew that could happen?!

The question now was, could we hang onto that trophy???

We had a pretty rocky season at points. We had some inconsistent players on the roster, which lead to picking up a couple mid-season. We had some pretty crappy fields that we played on and had to try to get used to during the games. We played during a down pour that almost took out my ankle rounding second (I ended up losing my balance and falling flat on my face...the game still wasn't called.)

Last weekend we went into our double header knowing that if we took both games we were headed to the championship games. We gave it our all and to the next weekend we went. Those final games were yesterday.

We went into the game with smiles on our faces in the dug out and game faces on in the field. It was my mentality to go for whatever came my way and do whatever it took to make the play - that meant getting eve dirtier than usual. We definitely had two games to play, with a possible third depending on the outcome but we didn't want a third.

As we went into the final inning of the first game, we were up 16-6. I turned what should have been a double play with the help of a toss from our short stop. It was too close to tell at first. The next ball is hit to my left at second base, I have to run and dive a little for it while maneuvering the guy running from first. I get the ball while on my belly and most would've given up, but I flipped it to first and made the final out of the first game leading us into the finals.

We had a tough first inning. All of the errors that could have happened did. Maybe we were tired. Maybe we gave our all in the first game. We headed back to the dugout 0-3, but we didn't let it get us down. As the innings rolled by, we scooted ahead 10-3. But could we hold them?

The other team had last ups and while we were up now 13-7, we knew it was still close enough, with any error this could be what lead us to game three. A pop up out to the outfield. A sweet throw from the right side to get the lead runner at second.

We just need one more out.

The ball is hit and pops up in the air. Will the mid-afternoon sun take it or will our short stop be able to snag the championship. With a thhhhp heard, the game is over and the championship trophy for the second consecutive season goes to the 518 Ballers!

We used to be the underdogs and in a lot of ways I think we still are to people. We have a team that has some pretty consistent players, a few hot heads but a whole lot of heart and together, it's like a little family. I can't be more proud than I am of this team with how far we've come and how hard we've worked! Until next season...