The bat!!!

After Nicholas had such a tremendous year in Bronco League he decided he wanted a new bat. He made up his mind he wanted a Louisville Slugger EXO Grid. I know very little about aluminum bats because back in the old, old days no such thing existed. It was lumber baby!!! A good wooden bat could be purchased for maybe $25. The EXO Grid.....$350!!!! Wow!!! Nicholas saved $250 of his own money and I put in the other $100 and here it is!!! He has already tested it and has a 310' foot shot over left/center wall (300') at Wea.

The Louisville Slugger EXO Grid!!!

Regular season is over

The regular season is now over and what a season it was. A&K went 13-1 for the year and locked up the #1 seed for the tournament. First game is Wed. night at 7:30pm. Nicholas (No. 11) finished strong with 2 doubles his last game, one nearly clearing the wall for what would have been another home run. The last game was close as we trailed 1-0 at the end of 3 innings. Nicholas, as usual comes in to close, gives up a run in the 4th from a base hit, 2 stolen bases and a sacrifice. 5th inning, he struck out the side and we had scored 2 runs to tie it at the end of 5. Top of the 6th, we get one run. Nicholas, knowing this is the end, strikes out the side on 10 pitches. Two incredible opportunities comes his way on this night. Making the all-star team and being invited to the high school development camp in January as a 12 year old.

All-star camp

That's Nicholas at all-star camp.

A dedication to my son, Nick Stone

It's over and we win!!! A&K lost a game in the tournament so we came thru the losers bracket which meant we had to beat The Athlete twice to win the tournament. The team was awesome in the 1st game winning it 3-0! Nicholas and Randy combined for a shutout with Nicholas getting the save. In the 1st game, after getting a double off the left field wall, Nicholas slammed one off the right/center wall at 235' & was never pitched to again including the 2nd game. 4 intentional walks for the day. He had a bottom of the 6th inning lead off home run in the tournament loss 2 days earlier to this team to make it 5-4. We coudn't muster another run and lost. The 2nd game today he came in to relieve while we were tied. Gave up one hit in his 3 innings, no runs and we won 10-3 to claim the tournament. Nicholas gets the win. In the tournaments 5 games Nicholas picks up 3 wins & 2 saves. One game he had a grand slam home run, a bases loaded triple and a single for an RBI, 8 RBI's in all that game.

The picture is his last pitch of the season with A&K.
A&K Championship Team 2006

An e-mail to Scott

If you were ever able to see Nicholas play tomorrow night (Tuesday) would be the game to see. A showdown with Reihle Bros after a controversy victory over them on Sunday night. Here's what happened both from my viewpoint and now after speaking with a couple of our other parents tonight. Randy, our starter struggled thru his 3 innings giving up 7 runs, but we had a 13-7 lead at the end of 3 innings. As Nicholas has been pitching, this game is a lock. Nicholas is now coming on to close which seems to be what he likes. He said he likes to come in and close and has dominated teams this year giving up 0 runs in 3 of those games, 1 run in each of 3 other games and gave up 5 runs in a 3 inning start. Tom's son Andrew plays for Reihle Bros obviously and is a really good sized kid and a good ballplayer. Nicholas has owned him since the year after Nicholas played on his team, striking him out 5 times and getting him to ground out to the 2nd baseman. He had struck him out in Nicholas' 1st inning pitched (actually the 4th innning) & proceeded to strike out the side. Tom's team had lost an earlier game. Nicholas struggled in the 5th and gave up 2 runs. As he walked off the mound & crossed the 1st base line heading to the dugout he turned back around and was heading towards Tom's dugout and stopped to talk to the umpires who had gathered between the mound and home plate but it was clear something was being said from Tom's dugout and I told some other parents next to me that I thought something was going on with Nicholas & Tom's dugout. After talking to the umps a couple of minutes Nicholas walked off and was due up after Randy. Nicholas was prepared to step into the batters box and the ump called time out and headed to Tom's dugout and discussed something for about a minute. Nicholas is pointing and focused on Tom's dugout. & I again told the parents next to me that something serious was going on between Nicholas and Tom's dugout. Time back in. Nicholas steps in the box and BOOM!!! they hit him with a pitch on his left elbow. A nice big gnot with a nice seam mark was left. You could clearly hear it so I started out on to the field and waited by the dugout. Then after a minute and Nicholas is not getting up went on out. Ok, now where I was positioned before this started was down the 1st baseline just beyond the dugout with some parents. Kathy is behind the plate with other parents so I did not hear anything that was said at the plate. I found out Tom had been harrassing Nicholas thoughout the inning about hitting batters. In the dugout kathy said something about hitting the batter but I was yet to comprehend the magnitude. I thought it a possibility. I asked Nicholas after the game what the umpire had said and said just as he called time out and went over to the dugout, "what did you say hit him"??????? & heading to Tom's dugout. Time is called back in and like I said BOOM they nailed him 1st pitch!! Now, not until tonight did I know what things were said behind the plate. I had sent an email to the 3 commissioners complaining about this behavior. Today, I felt a bit guilty, thinking I had over reacted and had been the only one to complain. I found out tonight 2 other parents had called the commissioners because they had corraberated Nicholas' story about what the umpire said as well as what the catcher said to Randy as he batted before Nicholas..."Hey, we're gonna hit your little pitcher"!!!! This part I did not know.

Tuesday is a rematch with all board members and commissioners attending. Although Nicholas struggled as a starter tonight because Randy was gone, he lit em up with the bat tonight. A shot off the left field fence (on the big field) at 236" over would have been 237" bringing in 2 runs in the 4th to keep them within a run of the opposing team. Next time up they played him deep in left field but very, very shallow in right. A 235" shot over the right fielders head and off the wall for an inside the park 2 run homer to tie the score in the last inning with 2 outs, sending it to extra innings. This is the 2nd time he as done this, the other was in the all-star game in Crawfordsville 3 years ago to send it to extra innings. That time it was over the fence tho and they lost too. This time they won.
We are now 8-1.

An e-mail to Scott

I don't know if I mentioned this the other email. Nicholas came back in after getting hit and pitched the final inning. Struck out the side but did give up one walk. Incredible composure. Now tonight's game. Wow!!! What an incredible performance by our A&K Team tonight & even more so with Nicholas. !!!! This team put what I hope is an end to Tom's bullshit as he kept it up tonight. More about that later. Randy was back and starts on the mound. Gives up 2 runs in the 1st on a shaky innning. We come up to bat in the bottom of the 1st. We get a run & with Nicholas coming up as the 5th batter in the order and 2 runners on, sends a tremendous shot over the left field fence for a 3 run home run and now an early 4-2 lead. Tom should never have pissed Nicholas off. It was 5-2 at the end of one. Randy shuts em down in the 2nd. Our 2nd inning we get 3 more runs, one of them on a Nicolas double to right center. At the end of 2 it's 8-2. randy shut em down again in the 3rd & they shut us down in the 3rd. End of 3, it's 8-2. On comes Nicholas in the 4th. & guess who he faces? Toms son is the 1st batter. This is where the shit started. Tom, the 3rd base coach, walks 1/2 way to home to bark out orders for Andrew. Quote, "I want you to hit it back at him and hit it as hard as you can"!!!!!!!! Let me say something about Nicholas and pressure. He loves it and thrives on it. Remember 3 years ago and the all-star game that he hit the homerun to tie it in the bottom of the last inning with 2 outs??? And the previous 2 times that he was left on deck in other games in which he had an opportunity to tie or win the game but never got the chance & got pissed??? He wanted to get up there and take a shot at either losing or winning the games. So, 5 chances in his career and each time he has produced. He struck him out on 3 pitches with Andrew tripping over his feet on the 3rd strike swinging. Nicholas gave up one hit, struck out 2, got one batter to dribble one back to him and threw him out at 1st, leaving a runner stranded.

We come back up in the 4th and explode, finishing the game off for the 13 run rule in 4 innings. 15-2 the final.

An e-mail to Scott

We finished in fashion, I guess. 13-1 for the season and some most incredible opportunities tonight for Nicholas. Tonight's game was very well played by both teams. A total of 3 errors for the whole game. The final score 3-2. Nicholas had a towering shot to left that fell 3 ft. short of clearing the wall at 224'. I did not pick the ball up when it came off the bat. I could hear the crack tho and know his cracks well. I saw the center fielder running towards the left center wall. I saw it drop just shy of the fence. Parents next to me were going crazy hollering, it's gone, it's gone!!! 2 things would have helped the ball over. More of a line drive and the wind was actually blowing in. I saw the flag above the fire station. Anyway a double. The team could not find any bats. At the end of 3 we trailed 1-0. Nicholas comes in and gives up a hit, then 2 stolen bases gets the runner to 3rd. A sacrifice brings in the run to make it 2-0 at the end of 4. Nicholas got his towering double in the 5th & actually had another double early but was left stranded. He scored the 1st run and we got another to tie it. Nicholas starts to really heat up in the 5th and struck out the side. We get a run in the top of the last inning (6th) to make it 3-2. All we have to do is hold em for this one inning. Now, I still get nervous when the game is this close and in the last inning but other parents when talking to them would bet their paycheck on the outcome with him on the mound and the game on the line. In the past, the players that had hit one over the wall has never got a hit off of Nicholas & has struck them out 75% of the times at bat. This team had a kid that has hit one over this year and is coming up 1st in the bottom of the inning. He hit one off of Randy off the left field wall foul earlier. Kids about 5'7" 180 lbs. Nicholas struck him out in an earlier game & that's the only time he faced him. 3 pitches and 3 swings and he was gone. He threw a strike to the next batter 1st pitch and I saw him actually pump his fist. He was feeling it!!! 5 more pitches and 5 more strikes and this one was for the books. Never threw one ball in that last inning.

Now for his opportunities. The smallest of them 1st. He made the all-star team! Next, one of the high school (Not sure which one now, shit was happening so fast after the game I could not keep facts together) pitching coaches has invited him to the high school development camp in January. I take it that high schools have programs in which they feel a kid might help them later and work with them, that's my guess. Never had stuff like that when I played. Next game is Wed. night and is the 1st game of the tournament.

An e-mail to Scott

What an incredible finish to an incredible season to an incredible team!!!! We won both games to claim the tournament championship!!!! 1st game was a pitching gem for A&K as we won 3-0. Randy and Nicholas both teamed up for a shutout. Nicholas did not give up a hit in his 3 innings the 1st game. Got a single and a double off the left field wall and rammed one off the fence in right/center at 235'. They never pitched to him the rest of the night including the 2nd game. I think it was 3 intentional walks, 4 for the night. I have never seen anyone try at something such as this and he just does not have quite enough umppppphhhh to get it over on the big field. He's had 4 off the wall, 3 more that have come within 5-10'. He told me a couple games ago that it is one of his challenges for the rest of the year, to get one over on the big field. Pitching, he gave up a walk in his 1st innings (4th of the 1st game) pitched, then a strike out that the catcher dropped 3rd strike and the runner got on. He left those 2 stranded. No one got on in the 5th nor the 6th, another save. 2nd game he gave up a hit to right field in the 5th, left him stranded. Struck out the side in the 6th, game & season over as regular season champs and tournament champs. Nicholas got the win because we were behind when he came in during the 2nd game. Final score of the 2nd game was 10-3.

For the regular season he was 3-1 with 7 saves. He never gave up a lead all season. In the tournament he picked up 3 more wins because A&K trailed or was tied when he came into the game in 3 games. He picked up 2 saves in those 5 games. He hit .690 for the season & had 4 home runs, all 4 of those in pressure situations. He avg. 2.3 K's per inning. His ERA was 2.24.

An e-mail to Scott
A baseball father's feelings of a son that had a rockstar season!!!

The last pitch of the season. The umps right hand I think would be a great symbol for Nicholas's pitching season. League champs & tournament champs at 18-2. Mrs. Washburn has the very same picture but with a much closer view. Now for an expressed feeling from a baseball father. The hours upon hours of pitching, practicing 3rd base and batting I have spent with Nicholas and with little recognition has paid off for this season anyway. The recognition for me is memories and the thought of knowing Nicholas has had fun & accomplished exactly what he wanted. You see, Nicholas does not like using a batting cage because of the challenge of The Wall. This means daddy gets to chase batted balls all over the outfield and in a lot of cases over the wall. Most of the time these sessions lasted 2 hours. Sometimes they lasted 3 hrs. These sessions were in 90+ heat and many a times in under 40 temps with snow blizzards. Yes, Nicholas did not let weather stop him from going out and attempting to slam one over the wall, nor did I ever complain.

Thanks for listening to the stories,

Preparing a game for A&K

Nicholas on the mound getting ready to close a game. A&K clinched the division on Thursday June 8, 2006 with a record of 10-1 with 3 games left. A wild, wild story to 2 of his games in upcoming reports. We have the No. 1 seed leading into the tournament.

A wild finish to an outstanding season for our A&K Team. A 13-1 finish!!!! More later!!!

Update June 2006

Big game tonight at 7:00pm. A&K Development is now 6-1 & in 1st place. Last game Nicholas came in and relieved the starting pitcher in the last 2 innings. He struck out the side in both innings giving up a walk in the 4th & struck out the side in the 5th on 10 pitches. At the plate Nicholas provided a double and 2 singles with a sacrifice in the 5th. We need a big time victory tonight. Nicholas will start his summer vacation with Daddy tonight. Many outdoor activities are planned. Behind the curtains happens to be Nicholas' drafting office.