Before the morning game, Rick asked if I still wanted to pitch. I said “As long as I’m not tired from catching.” So he had me pitch the first inning.

The progress I’ve made over the last year showed. I was always around the plate, though usually at the upper end of the strike zone. No walks, but two wild pitches. I ended up giving up 3 runs, but via some hits. I’m happy with the result. I threw strikes and that’s all you need to do for now.

I caught the next two innings for Rick Power. One inning was scoreless and the other was a max (3 runs).

We were making contact, but not getting hits out of it. They held us scoreless through 5 innings.

In the bottom of the 5th, Mike went to catch, so I slid over to short. Chandler took third. With a runner on first and a lefty up, I positioned myself close to second. The ball was hit right to me on a manageable hop…

Last year, during the ‘specialties’, I went with the infielders. Darren Garner was giving the instruction and among the many pieces of wisdom be passed on was that if you dropped the ball, you should just remain calm. Panic might cause you make a second error or more. Remain calm and pick up the ball.

I’d done that at third earlier in the game, remaining calm and making the throw. So when that grounder up the middle bounced off my glove, I just told myself to pick up the ball and get the lead out. There was time still – after all, the average age here is 62 – and I completed another double play to get us off the field.

In the top of the 6th, down 7-0, we needed to at least get on the board. Chandler got single, stole second and advanced to third on Evan’s single. Normally, I’d take that first pitch, but it was perfect. I hit a nice liner between 2nd and 3rd to get us on the board. We couldn’t get another hit, but we weren’t held scoreless.

We’re 2-3, but still competitive. I added another hit and RBI, so the bat is alive. Most importantly, it’s all a lot of fun.