March 7 – baseball

Sunday my mom came over to my house and we sat at my dining room table in front of my laptop for 3 hours. Her grandson, my brother’s youngest boy, is a freshman at the University of Tennessee and is a pitcher for their college baseball team. Sunday his game was streaming live on the SEC website.

During the 5th inning began, Garrett was called in to pitch! He looked so focused, so serious as he threw 90+mph baseballs from the mound to home plate. Being the pitcher, he was constantly on our computer screen. We watched as he eyed the signals from his catcher, nodding no and then yes. He threw the ball, his whole body in motion behind it to send it lightning speed across the plate. He got strikes. He watched his pitches get hit – some foul balls and only 3 base hits. Once the ball was bunted back at him and he calmly caught it and delivered it to first base for the out.

A summary on the UTenn website states, “Sophomore Will Neely got the start for the Vols, giving up three earned runs and striking out four batters in 5.1 innings work. Freshman Garrett Stallings provided strong relief again for Tennessee, only allowing three hits in 3.2 scoreless innings. However, Jon Lipinski (2-0) got the win, shutting out the Spartans in extra innings.”

I predict that I may spend more hours in front of my computer watching more college baseball this year and I’m counting the days until Spring Break. My mom and I are taking a road trip to sit in the stands at the University of Tennessee to watch Garrett and his team play.

Batter up. With Garrett, be ready to strike out! Go VOLS!