I was in the on deck circle. Just put the ball in play I thought. I studied the pitcher to see what he would throw in a certain count.

“Strike one,” I heard the ump yell.
I watched the pitcher. The next pitch was a curve and he had a different arm motion for his curve than he did with his fastball. So I knew that it would be a curve if he throws it differently. it was low and outside to make the count 1-1. The next pitch was coming and I heard a thud. He beamed the batter and now I was up to the plate.
I walked up to the plate, the dirt crunched under my feet. There was a runner on first base and we were down 5-4. I looked over at my coach and he didn’t give any signs but he told me
“Swing away,” my coach exclaimed.
Watch his arm movement. If his arm is normal it’s a fastball. If he short arms it than it’s a curve. I stepped into the box and tapped the outer edge of the plate and I was ready to swing.
I stared the pitcher down: He looked at the catcher and shook his head once and then nodded and he went into the strech. He looked at the runner on first and then looked at me. The first pitch was a fastball that was a little outside. I stepped out and took a practice swing and I took a breath. I dug my back foot into the box again, took a breath, and stared down the pitcher again. The next pich was absolutley perfect it was a little inside so I could turn on it. I kept my eye on the ball the hole time; I swung my hardest. It was a foul ball. I was angry. I could have put that over the fence. I took a deep breath and took a swing. My coach pulled me aside.
“See the ball and make contact,” said my coach.
“Ok,” I replied with a nervous look on my face.
“Go out there and have fun,” my coach chuckled.
I walked up there, still with butterfiles in my stomach. It was a fastball way high and the catcher dropped it and the runner from first took off like a rocket to second and was safe. It was a 2-1 count. I stepped out of the box feeling a little better knowing that he was in scoring position. I once again took another deep breath and settled in. This next pitch was a fastball right down the middle...crack! I could see it hit my bat, I felt a tingle in my hands, and I could hear a crack from the bat. The crowd rose up a little bit in the bleachers and the next thing I saw was the left fielder looking at the fence and the ball dropping in Pinery Park’s parking lot.
The crowd was going ballistic. I gave my first base coach a high five as I was rounding first base. I was so happy I hit that homerun. I just wanted to jump in the air and scream - shout - and let all of my emotions out. As I was rounding third I gave my coach a high five and put up the money Manziel sign. My team was standing around home plate and when I touched it they were smacking my helmet and giving me high fives. As I got into the dugout everyone was screaming cause I gave our team the go ahead run and we only had to stop them from scoring one run.
“That was sick” yelled Nolan Collins.
“Thanks, let’s get this dub!” I added.
I learned that I can be depended on in a clutch situation. Not just in baseball but in a life situation. If my team needs me I can come through and get the job done.