Round One

The weekend baseball tournament got under way tonight. Strange how the level of excitement, nerves and pressure can change from the "regular" season games. And I'm not just talking about the kids!

We started our game off on the right foot. Got some hits, including an inside the park "home run" -- one of those singles or doubles riddled with enough errors to get the kids around the bases. Carter had one of those two years ago and it was awesome to watch. Tonight was Nate's turn. And it was pretty darn exciting, too. The team was on a high.

Then, unfortunately, the Bad News Bears showed up for an inning (this scorekeeper couldn't write enough E's in the book) and our opponents scored 7 runs. Then a few more the next inning. Before we know it, we are down 9-3 and everyone is stressed and cranky (the kids, too!).

With some refocusing, thanks to our capable coaches I'm sure, the Tigers made a comeback. Going into the last inning, we were tied 10-10. Simply amazing! All we had to do was hold 'em.

But we didn't. They scored. And we didn't. Game over. 11-10.

So we get up at sunrise and do it all over again. Our first game is 8:30 a.m. If we lose, we're out. If we win, our record will be compared to the others in our pool. And we still may or may not go onto another game.

We had a meeting of the minds at our house afterwards -- with thought-inducing beverages for some. I think the coaches want to start off strong out of the gate again, but be sure defensively we can keep control of the game. Logical, yet not so easy sometimes.

It's supposed to be only a high of 54 tomorrow so I expect it will be hovering in the mid-40s at first bat in the morning. If we're all dragging our butts out of our toasty beds, we better stinkin' win! Or at least give it a honest effort.

I know there's that saying about winning and losing not counting, just how you play the game, blah, blah, blah. That doesn't apply to tournaments, baby! Winning matters.

Losers have to go home and help their moms clean house ... or make mints.

C'mon, Tigers!