The ball came flying towards me, it was just SMACKED off the bat. It was cloudy and it was suppose to rain . It was very chilly with a smooth breeze. The ball was coming fast ,the crowd had oohs and ahhs.

I had not ever been in a varsity baseball game before, and no one expected me to catch the ball.My cousin was the  pitcher so if I had dropped the ball I wouldn’t hear the end of it.

Everyone was excited for me.

I was so nervous seeing the ball in my area, knowing I was the only one that could catch it.

I took big gulps as the ball came closer and closer. It was like everything was in slow motion.

I could see everyone shifting their attention towards the ball.

After I got out of a daze I came to my senses and I put up my glove up ,not really expecting to catch the ball just expecting it to hit my glove so I can make the throw to first. I looked in my glove and I seen the ball, I tried to play it cool and I pretend I was checking the runners on 2nd and 3rd.

My cousin couldn't do anything but laugh. We were down by at least 20 and he probably didn't care if i caught the or  not! My friend Karron congratulated me, saying,”AYE BRUH I KNEW YOU WERE GONNA CATCH IT”.I looked back trying to seem calm and I smiled  while shaking my head. Inside I knew he was lying. They knew I was a good player they just thought I would crack under the pressure of this being my first varsity game.

I heard my coach in the dugout saying with a baseball voice” DADA BOY SINCERE”. I knew he was shocked , I was shocked myself. I knew this catch put me in a position battle with a 10th grader at the time, for 2nd base.

 After the inning was over we headed back to the dugout. The team was beating us by at least 15 points! My teammates were still excited because of my inning saving catch. My cousin came and sat beside me on the bench while everyone was watching the game. He said “you were nervous weren’t you. Since he was my cousin and we were really close I was going to be honest. I said” yeah”, rubbing through my hair while chuckling. He tapped me while slowly getting up off of the cold bench.I waited as my teammates went  through the pitcher and wound up 2 batters in front of me.

I was stuck in a daze not expecting to hit this game as one of the coaches called out the next three batters. He said with his loud and raspy voice “Alright, I need Karon ,Tyler and, Sincere to get ready to hit, so get your bats and get some swings in”. As everyone started to friendly but roughly push me, to try to get me excited for the at-bat, my cousin joey mushed my hat down to were I couldn't see because of the lid of the hat. He looked and then gave a smirk as I picked up my bat and started to slowly swing  behind the gate.

As my teammate Karon hit a double to left center field ,Tyler a off and on hitter approached the plate. He was off this game striking out 3 straight times prior to this attempt. With already 2 outs,

Tyler getting on base  would solidify my first at-bat  as an varsity freshman at Henrico High School. As tyler continued to struggle, being down in the count 0-2 he needed one more strike to get out and ruin my shot at having a balanced first game.As the pitcher through the pitch we started to pack up thinking tyler would get  out on that 3rd pitch.Surprisingly Tyler fouled the pitch off to keep the at-bat alive.Coach told us to stop packing to cheer on tyler for fighting through the tough hole he was in.

Next the pitcher threw 3  straight balls making the count 3-2.Now it was a 50/ 50 chance on weather tyler got on base or not.As it was springtime it felt like it was the middle of january with the lower 30 degree weather we were facing. It seemed it didn't matter as the entire bench for both teams were up and making noise as the game could have went either way. The pitch came and tyler swung,the ball went high and flying somewhere near the left side of the right fielder as we could not see the ball due to the clouds being in sync with the color of the ball.

The right fielder went as far as the warning track as if he could see where the ball was. All of a sudden he lifted his glove to catch it and the way the wind was blowing it was hard to detect witch way the ball was going. He dove to the right unfortunately coming up with the ball.The catch was nothing short of amazing but it couldn't come at a better time for the other team.I continued to pack my bags while the other players shook hands with the other team, telling them good game, so by the time I had came over I was the last person via players.

The guys on the other team asked me what grade I was in and I told them I was a freshman. They told me I made a great catch and to keep working.I appreciated the words of encouragement but I was still disappointed I didn't get a chance to show my skills on the offensive end.we headed back to the school as it was a quiet bus ride due to the loss.I went into the locker room as I usually did to change my clothes. I stumbled into a conversation with my coach and he said he loved what I was doing on the defensive side of the game but he said he would have loved to see what I would’ve done with my at-bat. I agreed and then he told me I wouldn’t be starting but to see an increased role with the team.That was a guarantee,the following week I ran the bases for our catcher and with my speed I helped us get a hard fought win .After the season was over my coach told me I would probably be starting next season if I have the same drive and fire I did last year!