Today My Son...

Today my son proclaimed his faith in front of a crowd of fans and proceeded to pitch his heart out in a 1-0 loss. 10k's, 1bb and 5 hits. Pitched well enough to win, but didn't get the run support. Team played flawless behind him with no errors, but just couldn't put a few hits together to pull out the win. I couldn't be more proud of the young man that my son has become! He knows his savior and creator and represents his family with dignity! He is a warrior and is willing to leave everything he has on the field. Well done, Wes!

 

Thursday, May 6

Our son was honored by the NC High School Athletic Association with the Pat Gainey Award. All of us are very proud of him and the character he displays on & off the field.

Our 6-year old daughter spent a long day riding to & from the Dean Dome with us to help honor her brother. That night, she got her 1st hit in her 1st season of playing softball. What a great day!

One journey nears its end & the other begins!

 

I have twins and one son just completed his Freshman year starting for the varsity team. The other son had to go through some shoulder re-hab but still was able to contribute to the JV team. They both played excellent defense in the outfield with each throwing runners out from RF to 3rd and LF to home. The JV kid's hitting picked up throughout the year but the Varsity kid didn't get many at-bats due to a DH who can knock it out. His hitting time will come next year. They both handled themselves with self composure and humility at all times and that is what I am most thankful for.....and of course not getting injured.

 

Great job dad! Excellent example of what we all should do in that situation.

 

Thanks for the memories!

Today my son played his last high school baseball game. He was saddled with the loss but left everything on the field. It seems just like yesterday that he started as a freshman in high school. However, we are very fortunate because his baseball career is not over; we are just moving to a different phase. He will be playing legion ball this summer before hitting the football and baseball fields for the Wingate Bulldogs. I am so proud of the young man he has grown up to be and look forward to cheering him on in college. Parents of underclassmen, cherish this moment. It will be gone before you know it. Thanks, Olen, for being a great son!

 

I love this young man also. I know his HS days are over, but I feel blessed
to be able to follow him in his next phase. He demonstrates with his poise, humility, character and friendship what every parent wishes their child to be. He is a role model for the young people and a leader with his peers.

I feel fortunate to know him.

 

Today i don't have a son, but I am blessed with two wonderful daughters. But today, i am turning in work to go watch my "son" play his first round game. Chase Ragland, of Louisburg High School and has awesome parents, has been my "son" since he was 8. If I had a son I would want him to be Chase.
Chase has not been as heralded as some of the kids on this board, but this kid is a helluva baseball player who's moving on to play at Louisburg College next year. He has started every varsity game in his four years in both baseballand soccer. In four years of soccer, he has been all conference, scored 102 career goals, and helped lead the school to its first ever playoff win.
In four years of varsity baseball, he has pitched every big game for Louisburg, been all conference all four years, hit over .400, and has carried that team as a leader for four years. I can't believe where the time has gone as I remember being so excited as he roped a double in his first hs at bat.
I expected this out of Chase but I am still proud. So today, Im ditching work to watch my "son" and I couldnt be happier!

 

Omg...the tears are already flowing -- I'm going to be a basket case tonight.

 

My son had a solid game at 2B for my beloved "Wonders" in a 1st round loss at Catholic. After talking to him after he came home, he was beating himself up over plays he thought he could have made, if only... I explained to him, 100% is all you can give and sometimes it seems that darn baseball has eyes. He felt he let his "senior" teammates down, especially the one who "toed the rubber". That's when it really hit me, those little fellows that we rememember playing "Coach Pitch" and slinging the ball around as runs scored (LOL!!!), just played their last HS game. However, the next words out of his mouth was, "Dad I need to get better for next year", thats when I realized one of those seniors he spoke of, just taught him a very valuable lesson. Lead by example and whatever the outcome, you take it on the chin for the "team" and move on in life to the next challenge. I have nothing but respect for a player, who gets that type of respect from an underclassmen without saying a single word. Baseball is a game of "passion", learning to control it is the hard part. Thanks and good luck to the Class of 2010, its been an honor watching you play over the years.

 

"Ode To My Son"

It is what some fathers dream of, and what some fathers dread--we are down by one run in the 7th inning, 1 out, tying run at second. He is 2 for 2 with a walk and 2 RBI'S.....1st pitch--swing & a miss...

He has pitched the entire game, only given up 2 balls past the infield, and 1 earned run despite a mailbox-size strike zone. I have long before quit counting pitches(78 through 3 innings), because....well, it could be his last game and it's his blood-oath to put the Wonders on his broad shoulders, muscular back, and lean waist and carry them to victory, despite a noticeable limp and blood-stained right knee from a poor slide at first to beat out a grounder earlier, to allow our 2 runs to score and tie the game....2nd pitch--called strike on the inside corner....

My mind flashes back to the little 4-year old that slept in his Dixie Youth uniform, with his bat on the pillow---and having to always check his batting bag to see what he forgot----and showing him how a cup fits, and his toothless grin when he tried it....3rd pitch--ball high and outside....

Now I think about how HE talked with the college coaches and finalized his scholarship, and HE talked with the newspaper,(where did the "DAD-can't you take care of that for me" go)--- and how HE talks with people at church and the neighborhood about his coaches and his team-mates, and his opponents---and the respect he has for all of them, and the poise and ease he's shown in the past 2 months....4th pitch waist-high--mighty swing and strike 3.....

I now watch him turn to the dug-out, amid the shouts and flag-waving of the opponents, and gives a little shake of the head, and his lips in a whistle-mode, that says to the pitcher, "You whipped me"---and with his eyes straight-ahead, he trots off the grass for his last time as a high-school player.....

....I now look at the 6 seniors hugging after the game, and remember thinking when 4 of them were 10-years old on the same field, that they might be champions one day---all 6 are drug-free, college-bound honor students-I think all are in the top 50 in the class, and 2 are tied at the top. I don't want to check this, but that class may have the worst winning % in school history, but I was right---they are champions and will all be wonderful men, fathers, and leaders in their communities one day. Thank you, boys, for making us proud.....and thank you, Son, for the man you have become, and the memories I will cherish.