Mark played for two teams this year, a super-league team and a city league team. His super-league team, the Diamond Thieves, played in a very difficult division. Mark had a lot of great friends on this team, and he really enjoyed the high level of competition. Pitches came in fast, and fielders didn't make errors. Mark's strength has always been fielding, and he didn't disappoint, playing primarily middle-infield, but moving to the outfield when the other team was showing a lot of power. Mark proved to be an on-base guy, batting second for most of the season, even though he saw curves, changeups, and a lot of fastballs.
Mark doesn't like when mom videos him. He thinks it is bad luck.
Mark made some great friends on the Diamond Thieves.
The team went out for ice cream one night after winning.
Mark became confident at the plate!
Mark's city league team, the Mariners, were a band of misfits. His coach didn't know much about the game, but he got a lot of help from Dad. Dad even coached three games, all of which the Mariners won. Though Mark started out in the outfield, he quickly moved to middle infield, and eventually became the team's go-to pitcher. He carried them on his back for most of the season. In the city tournament, they played the number one team, comprised almost entirely of super league players. Mark pitched four innings and kept his team ahead until the last at-bat. They lost by a single run in extra innings. This leadership role was really great for Mark, and he learned to love playing with the Mariners as well.
Mark pitched a lot for the Mariners.
Mark is a great baserunner on both teams.
We loved watching Mark lead his Mariners team!
Mark often came in to close the end of the game.
The team ended on a great game. Even though they lost, they scored 9 runs in the last inning to bring it close.
After taking fourth in the Lehi City Tournament, Mark's team advanced to State. They played well and made it out of pool play, and Mark still had a lot of innings remaining. Unfortunately, his team ran into the eventual winner of the tournament in the next round. They lost a close one and ended up tied for fifth place.
He also played in tournaments in Cedar City, Logan, St. George, and Heber City with the Diamondbacks. They would play four games over Friday and Saturday, usually winning one or two against the top teams in the State. This level of competition really helped Mark to improve his game, and he had a lot of fun.
Mark and Mom spent a lot of evenings together!
They took 3rd in their league for Diamond Thieves.
We decided to play Dax up into Mustang league and skip the Machine Pitch, the same as we'd done with Mark. Since Dax is so small, and we didn't know too many coaches, we were worried about who'd pick him up, but he was a standout at the tryout. He got picked up by a great coach, and even though we didn't know anyone else on his team, we were so glad for his experience.
He is a cute little baseball player!
The Royals baseball team
A serious Royals baseball team. Dax looks the same in both pictures.
Dax's coach was intense and knew the game of baseball really well. We were happy that Dax learned so much and worked so hard. Even though it was a third-fourth grade team, and Dax just finished second grade, he was still a star. By the middle of the season, he was the starting shortstop. He even turned a double play by fielding a grounder, stepping on the bag and throwing to first! Later he pitched in two games, recording twelve outs and giving up only 1 run! This was a big boost for his team, and he was awarded the game ball. Dax was a great hitter, too, batting third in the lineup and regularly hitting singles to get on base. It was a pretty spectacular start to Dax's baseball life!
Dax loved pitching! He only pitched twice.
He pitched really well.
Dax started as the 2nd baseman but moved to shortstop.
Dax is a great contact hitter. He always puts the bat on the ball.
He is also speedy around the bases!!
Dax's team had a very successful postseason. After taking a disappointing fifth in the Lehi City Tournament, they advanced to the State Tournament. At State, Dax's team played well an advanced out of pool play. Then they won the next two games, which put them in the Championship. It was the greatest Championship game ever! They played very well against a team from Salem coached by Dad's old friend. At the end of six innings the score was tied! They needed extra innings, and they'd already played a semifinal game that day. The scored remained tied through the seventh. In the eighth, Dax took a ball off the elbow and came around to tie the game again sending it to the ninth. The other team scored four in the ninth. On the final play, needing two runs to tie Dax's team hit a single. The first run scored, but the second was thrown out at the plate. We were so proud of Dax and his team for taking second! They'd been on the field for 5 hours and given it their whole hearts. Dax's smile was even nicer than the medal he earned.
Dax loves this medal.
The boys played so well and it was a heartbreaker when they lost.
A full 9 innings for these little 8 and 9 year-olds was a long game!
Seth had his first season of T-ball, and he was so excited! He worked really hard with each of his family members to improve his game. He became an exceptional fielder. Even though he is only five, he can play catch, throw the ball a long ways, and shuffle to either side to pick up grounders. His biggest problem was hitting off the tee. Since all we've ever done with him is pitch, the tee was brand new. Eventually, though, he came around, and he was regularly slugging the ball to the outfield.
Seth was always ready to field the ball!
He was quick around the bases, too!
Seth was a great hitter!
We all enjoyed watching Seth play T-ball!
He was also a character on the field!
One of his favorite things was to wait at home and tag everyone running around the bases.
Nothing got by Seth!
He didn't need to slide, but he loved to because his brothers were always sliding.
Dad didn't sign up to coach this year, but he did spend a lot of time coaching first base. During one game, as he sat on the sideline, Seth beckoned to him to get to the base, so he could tell the other kids when to run. Seth knew perfectly well when to run, though. In fact, he knows about all the rules to baseball, which is a good thing since we spent dozens of hours driving between fields this year.
We were proud of Seth. It was also really fun to watch his games because there was a low stress level, unlike any of his brothers' games.
This is pure Seth right here!
Leading his team in their last victory lap around the field!
