The Freshman
by arlyn stewart
Early in the season after watching a tournament, Lin and I were leaving the parking lot when we observed the team bus. Hanging out the window is a player catching his dad's attention and yelling, "Be careful driving home... I love you." It's the kind of thing rarely seen these days, and Lin and I both comment about how nice it is and that there must be a strong bond. Obviously, this is a good kid. She informs me that he's the freshman that made the team.
Later in the season during the playoffs, Harmony dug themselves out of a bind. Up against the number two ranked team in the state, they lost the first game of a series by one run to a very good pitcher but came back to win the second by performing a seasons worth of miraculous defensive plays.
In the breaking game, the number two ranked team went back to their ace but Harmony's best had thrown 135 mostly curve balls in the first game and wasn't ready. The coach went with his freshman... the boy who had shouted "I love you" to his dad. It was Harmony's most important game of the season.
The freshman threw a great game with a mix of pitches and surprised the crowd and opponents with his young abilities. Harmony's slugger (left in picture below) had homered to scrap a winning run if the freshman could hang on during late innings. Grinning and throwing pitch after pitch on the corners, he hung tough but his arm gave out in the bottom of the last. When the coach walked to the mound... young Jake just continued to grin... he had done his thing without intimidation by the importance of the game or who they were playing.
When relieved... even though things were in a bind with bases loaded, one out and up by only one run, there wasn't the least sign of frustration or disappointment and rightly so. The relief was known for his ability to throw strikes and got the save and Harmony moved on and after the next series went to state and the final four.
When Lin and I returned from our summer cruising, we learned that Jake's dad had died unexpectedly... He had lived long enough to witness the caliber of his son...
It is Jake holding the water cooler. He had resourcefully refilled the cooler that the coach had quickly emptied after the sweet win for district against arch rival, New Diana, on their field. His desire to show his coach affection, was no surprise to Lin or me... We'd seen it before with his dad...