A Slice of Little League Heaven

Kyle's team (Red Sox) is fighting for their lives in the Loser's Bracket after being upset in their first game of the tournament. Tonight they played their third game of the tourney against another Red Sox team from Bellevue West L.L. I'll boil this one down quickly. Kyle was the starting pitcher and threw three shutout innings and our Red Sox scored 10 runs quickly to bring on the mercy rule and win the game 10-0. Kyle got the game ball. (I'm not a proud papa or anything.)

Joshua played tonight as well and was the starting pitcher for his team's (Twins) game as they played the #1 seed (Rockies) in the whole tournament. He threw phenomenally - allowing only three unearned runs in the first inning and shutting them out the next two innings. Here is where the story gets intense - cause this was probably the most emotionally exhausting game I have ever seen played - at any level! When Josh left after three innings, the score was 3-2 in the Rockies favor. In the top of the fourth, we went ahead 4-3 and held them in the bottom of the inning. The fifth inning got dicey. We did not score and they came up, scored the tying run with guys on first and second with one out. At this time we inserted our ace pitcher who had been on the shelf with a sore arm for the tourney thus far. He came in throwing BB's and struck the guy out (out #2). He and the catcher thought that was out number 3 and started celebrating as the guy from second took off for third. He realized (parents are screaming at the top of their lungs) what was going on and gunned it to third in time to nail the guy for out number three. (Whew!) The sixth inning was stressful, yet both teams failed to score - but not without dramatic moments. (I'm sorry, I can't relay every dramatic moment to ya'll - you had to be there)

Now it gets a bit heated because there are some different interpretations of the rules. Little league games only go 6 innings. Thus, many on the Twins side of the fence believe that the game should be called due to time constraints - reverting back to the last full inning in which a team had the lead - making us the winners. The Rockies obviously did not see it that way. And as it turned out - neither did the umpire, who declared that we would play until we had a loser.

Up come the Twins to put 10 runs on the board in the top of the 7th; thus invoking the mercy rule, and we emerged victorious 14-4.

That was simply the most amazing little league game I have ever seen played - and these are 10 year olds.

Now we both move on - the Twins in the winner's bracket still and the Red Sox fighting their way through the loser's bracket. The Red Sox play on Friday night (they play four straight days if they continue to win) and the Twins play again on Saturday morning.

Stay tuned for more updates.