1114 V3 ch348 CIF Semifinal: Gridley HS (2)

During warmups, the stands filled up. Family, friends, classmates, scouts, coaches, reporters, strangers. It started to feel like a championship game just because of how many people made it. I found Mom, Dad, and Grampa. The three sat in a bleacher behind our dugout and all three waved when we made eye contact. I relaxed my shoulders and Noah slapped my back encouragingly. 

"Today's going to be a good day." Noah declared with a grin. 

I nodded, trying to find the same feeling. 

We did a pregame ceremony of sorts and the starters took the field as our name and positions were announced. We did a short warmup with Sean rolling the three of us ground balls and us throwing it back to him. I felt better than when I first got off of the bus, which was good because the leadoff batter hit a sharp grounder to me. I was able to make a backhanded stab, turned back to first and get the throw off to Sean for the first out.