I’m so proud of my boy.
Back to that in a moment.
Capping off the weekend with a loss in the championship in Stockton may not be much to cheer about. But Atticus and his CGE teammates proved otherwise.
Our weekend opened with a win, including an early morning grand slam in game one by Cruz (center).
We ended the first day of play with a win and a loss.
Atticus sat out for some of our second game because he wasn’t feeling well. And things only got worse. He slept during the drive back home, didn’t eat much, and rested into the night. We decided to keep him home on Sunday morning, and watch his buddies play via livestream from our living room.
His teammates battled back from a 10-3 deficit in the quarterfinals, storming back to tie the game 10-10, and then winning 13-10 — with a game-ending 3-run dinger by Colten (left).
The team lived up to what Yogi Berra said long ago: “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”
Despite being weary, lethargic, and drained, Atticus wanted to return to Stockton to help his team. Still, he spent most of the time sleeping in the car, and even sat alone on the bench between innings — rarely interacting with teammates. Before our final game he slept on a chair next to his mom.
Incidentally, upon our return on Sunday, one of the dads said “I never thought I’d be happy to see Dodger fans.”
I got a kick out of that.
While I hoped Atticus would pitch in the ship, I realized it was probably best for him to contribute in other ways. But after a brief conversation with his coach, I learned that he would be on the bump.
In the championship — against one of the best teams around — my boy showed fortitude I hadn’t seen from him at this level. He wasn’t at his best, but he kept us in the game longer than I could have asked for.
And while the scoreboard reflects a loss, it doesn’t show what I saw from my son yesterday: heart.
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