Midland, MI

 

For the 2nd year in a row, Coach Kathy Peariso brought her Midland Dawgs (along with a couple members of the Midland Slammers) to Emerson park for an exhibition game with the Explorers.

 

There were 18 players from the Dawgs and the Slammers who came to play as they were at the park an hour before the game to play catch, stretch, exercise and get ready to play.  Before the game, one of the players wanted to know who the Explorers best hitter was so they could have him on their team.  The team's shortstop also reminded the Explorers manager that if he ever needed any players, he'd leave his phone number.

 

We played for about an hour, everyone got a couple at-bats, the ISC umpires provided (a little) structure to the game, and more than a couple laughs.  I think it's safe to say that everyone enjoyed themselves and took very positive things out of the experience.

 

I've included a couple pictures, and I hope I can accurately describe the sequence of events for one of the last batters of the game.  Kevin was one of the members of the Special Olympics team and in the 1st inning, he stood up off the bench in the dugout, and like hundreds of players before him, bonked his head on the concrete ceiling in the dugout.  For the next 3 innings, he rubbed his head, muttered 'Ow' to himself more than a few times, and was a little wary of the dugout from that point on.

 

In Kevin's first at-bat, he struck out...as did a couple other members of the Dawgs/Slammers (and I think there were one or two Explorers strikeouts as well)....it's part of the game that the coaches find important for their players to experience.  The game itself is full of ups and downs, and while the downs aren't fun, they are key to learning and appreciating the whole of the sport.

 

Kevin's second at-bat looked like it might be similar to the first...a couple nice swings, but no contact...we decided to give Kevin a couple more pitches...still no contact.  On the 'One more pitch' offering, Kevin found the sweet spot of the bat to the middle of the ball and ripped a base hit to right field.

 

When he got to first, the high-fives he got from his coach and the team members around him were only interrupted by his jumping up and down on the base, while he laughed and enjoyed his moment in the sun.

 

For the 2nd year in a row, both teams won.

 

Kyle