I wake up on a peaceful 70 degree day with no sign of clouds anywhere. I look at my shirt that says “Reds” on the front and I know that today will be the most exciting day of my life. I don’t eat breakfast as the butterflies in my stomach are at full effect. After I get my uniform on and get my baseball bag ready, I scream to my Dad, “C’mon we’re going to be late”. Even with so much time to spare, I can’t help but get so overwhelmed with emotions for my championship game. My dad and I get in the car and I tell him to play the song “Hall of Fame” by The Script as this is part of my pre-game ritual. Closing my eyes with a smile on my face pretending I’m hitting a homerun like Babe Ruth or Closing out a baseball game like Mariano Rivera knowing that today I will shine. I arrive at the stadium 45 minutes before out game starts. I spot my teammates and coaches but I don't recognize the big muscular, hairy man standing right next to my coach. Who could this man possibly be and why is he at our championship baseball game. My coach tells our team to take a seat and introduces us to a man named Brian Calhoun. Brian Calhoun was a running back for the Wisconsin Badgers and a running back for the Detroit Lions. Brian was very motivating and He said something that I will never forget that day and he said “Treat this game like it were your Last”. “You never know when you could get injured or your career could be”. I took what he said to heart and I was going to have a great time regardless of the final score of the game. After the speech is done and pictures are taken with Brian, I get in the batters box for batting practice and I am locked. I crush the ball each time with the bat making a loud noise, line drive after line drive, I am connecting with the ball and destroying the ball, Literally. After I’m done batting and about to pick up the balls, a ball rolls over to me with what I picture to be a frown on its face and I see that the cover is starting to peel off. I feel loose and ready to play. I head back to the field with all the confidence in the world as I get my glove on and I am ready to take center field. I was hoping I would get a chance to pitch but center field was my best position. The announcer says “Play Ball” and I dig my cleats into the grass and get in my ready position knowing if a ball was hit to me, I would have to be like the Flash. Our pitcher on the mound struck out the first 2 batters and the next hitter was known for having power. I back up 10 feet and I am ready for anything to happen. Here comes the first pitch and bang, It’s a high pop up that was coming in my direction, It's like finding a needle in a haystack, I’m freaking out. Where is it? I look and I finally see the ball about to land, I am near it but I have to do something to catch the ball. I dive feet first hoping it gets me closer to the ball, the ball is coming down and my glove makes a noise, did the ball pop out? I check my glove and I caught the ball. The crowd erupts in excitement, My teammates and I in shock. My coaches have their jaws dropped. My teammates all patted me on the back and we were ready to get some big hits on offense. I was the lead off man because I had the most base hits out of anyone on the team. But I wasn’t going for a base hit, I was going for something I have never done before, a home run. The pitcher was slower than molasses on the mound and I was ready to take him deep, I point my bat towards the fence out in right field and tap the base twice aggressively. The first pitch is in the dirt and now I’m ready to pull the trigger and swing. I take a big load and I am ready to swing with all my might, every ounce of muscle I had. The pitch is coming right down the middle, I step and hit the ball high in the air, I run as fast as I can not even watching the ball. I round first not seeing the ball anywhere as the Umpire shouts “Foul Ball”. So much for that home run I wanted. The next 2 pitches I both fouled off and the count was not in my favor as I had to switch to a conservative approach instead of an aggressive one. The next pitch was low but the Strike Zone was what I imagined to be bigger than the Eiffel Tower so I had to swing and I grounded out to the shortstop. My confidence went from 100 to 0 really quick. I slam my helmet on the ground and almost get ejected. Now I feel how anger feels when sadness messes up in the movie “Inside out”. I go back in the dugout and drink some water and relax. My teammates still support me as this is only the first inning, I will get another at bat. After the first 2 innings of the game, the score is 6 to 5. We are ahead. In the 3rd inning, I am up to bat once again. Runners on second and third with 2 outs, one base hit can give us some insurance runs. It’s a long stare down between the pitcher and I. I dig my feet into the dirt and bend my knees. The first pitch pitch is right over the middle. “Swing”. I screamed to myself in my head, I connect with the ball, the bat makes a loud noise. I hit the ball to left field on a line drive. The fielder dives for the ball and misses it. It dribbles past the left fielder and goes to the fence. 2 runs are in and I am going to third base no matter what, I round second, the fielder throws the ball as fast as a rocket, I feel like I am usain bolt running a race as I slide feet first. I touch the bag and the umpire yells “Safe”. The crowd erupts in cheers, we are up 8 to 5. I let out the biggest scream of my life and say “Lets gooooooo”. I deliver with a triple and our team is on top right now shaking the fences, losing their voices with all the screaming coming from the dugout. Although, the batter couldn’t drive me home, that was the biggest hit of my life but my next at bat would show my true character. Bottom of the third and our picture is on fire retiring all 3 batters with ground outs but that chapter would quickly end as the 4th inning approaches. 7 hits and 5 runs given up, we were now down 10-8. Only 2 outs in the inning and my coach goes out to talk to his son on the mound and then I heard “Nick, come in to pitch”. I was thrilled because I wanted to save this game and try to be like spiderman or superman and save the day. I take the ball from coaches hand before he even says anything to me. I’m ready to go. I warm up on the mound and I feel like Clayton Kershaw in a  postseason game throwing some great pitches. I face a very short and weak kid but I can’t judge a book by a cover with 2 runners. I pitch him 3 straight strikes and I am fired up but I know that my teammates are going to have to hit if I can have a chance to close this game out. Top of the 5th inning and we have our 2,3, and 4 hitters at the plate. The best opportunity to score runs. We attack the hitter early and get bases loaded with no outs. I’m cheering as loud as possible with a struggling hitter at the plate. He gets retired with 3 straight pitches but I give him a hug and say to him “Don’t worry about it, we’re going to be champions soon” Although I didn’t know that answer for sure, it sparked confidence in him for his potentially next at bat in the last inning. Bases loaded and 1 out, we need to get some runs. Our next batter is up at the plate looking determined. He jumps on the first pitch and it’s a high hit ball but right towards the second baseman. Nobody can tag and we have 2 outs. I can’t even watch the next at bat. My hands shaking and my heart beating so hard like it was going to fall out of my chest. Our batter takes the first 2 pitches for balls and then fouls two pitches off. 2-2 is the count. This next pitch could determine the whole game. The pitcher puts the ball in his glove and his arm moves back, as he winds up and throws it to what seems like slow motion. He connects and hits the ball on the barrel of the bat. It’s a line drive and hits third base, “Gooooooo” we scream. It's dribbles into the outfield as one run scores and 2 runs score. We shake the fence and are going crazy. We all high five each other and smile so big. It’s a tie game, 10-10. We have a runner on second and we need another run to take the lead but something I had never seen has happened before as one of my good friends hits a ball deep to right field, it may have a chance to go out of the ballpark… but it hits the fence in right. My friend Carson comes around to score and Drew the batter at the time, rounds first and headed to second. He slides into second but wait, the throw gets away from the second baseman and goes all the way to the opposing team dugout. AS he gets back up, there is no one at third base and he races to third. But what was even crazier was that the catcher and the third basemen went for the ball so nobody was at home. I scream “Keep Running” as Drew runs into home and is safe touching the base with leaving a footprint. We were now leading 12-10 with only one more inning to go. I go out to pitch for the bottom of the 5th and I was on fire striking out another 3 batters. Nobody could even touch my pitches as I was as dominant as Randy Johnson back then. We get to the top of the 6th and I am batting with nobody on and a two run lead. But life works in crazy ways as the pitch comes and hits me in the hand. The pain was indescribable and excruciating. I could barely move my hand and had to be taken out for a pinch runner. As we go down without scoring a run, the last at bats were coming up and i had a crucial decision to make, to play or not to play. I grabbed my glove and hat and immediately charged out to the mound thinking about my great grandma watching over me of her death that year. I crouch down and make a fist with my right hand and tap the left side and right side of my chest. I point up to the sky and say in my head “This is for you Great Grandma Peterson”. I am not thinking about the pain, the only thing I want to do is close out this game to win the championship. With my hand injured, my fastball speed was down by a wide margin. I had to lob every pitch over but I knew that I was not going to come out of the game as the decision to come out would haunt me forever. The first batter approaches and this inning will be such a roller coaster ride. I give up back to back singles and a passed ball so there are runners on second and third with no outs and a 2 run lead. Finally, I get a ground out to first but a run scores so now I have one out but only up by a run. I am sweating and so nervous that my hands start to shake. The next pitch I throw is a prayer as the batter pops the ball ip right to me! 2 outs, 1 to go and this will be the hardest out to get. The pain is playing a factor as my pitches get slower and slower as I get more fatigued. The batter gets me into a full count. The next pitch has to be a strike or I was going to get taken out. I throw a lob right over the middle as the batter hits a ground ball that is a couple feet away from me. I run as hard as I can and I pick it up with my bad hand. I throw to first but it’s a high throw! Oh no, I’m freaking out,but then I see my first basemen jump really high and make the catch and tag the base! “Out”, the umpire screams! Everyone goes nuts and everyone jumps on me starting a dog pile! We just won the championship! I will never forget this moment as I keep the first place plaque right above my tv looking at it every night before I go to bed.