State Tournament and Fathers Day

Well, we came home a day early from our Hilton Head trip to make it in time for the State Tournament. And as much as I was kinda dreading it, it ended up being worth it! In fact, the whole family ended up leaving a day early so it worked out well. 

It was HOT!!! Just as I would expect it to be in the middle of June. But the girls were rockstars and it barely even phased them. And Hudson was a rockstar brother once again. The state tournament fell on Father's day weekend and also happened to be right next to the lake. So it worked out well for us to stay at the lake and hop back and forth spending time with family, playing on the lake, and playing some softball. Friday night (before we were in town) the Pixies lost their first seeding game to the OK Angels. We got in town late Friday evening and made it to the Saturday morning game at 12:45. Unfortunately, the girls played great but we ended up losing to the Perry Predators. We immediately had another game at 2:00pm so we warmed up and were ready to start. Once again, we lost to the Homerun Honeys  (our first loss in the actual tournament play). So we had one more loss before being out of the tournament. We didn't have another game until 9:30 so we drove over to the lake and got on the water for a little bit!

What loss? The lake can cheer anybody up! In all honesty, Hadley doesn't have the most competitive spirit at 8 years old. She loves to play and loves to win, but if she doesnt win she can shake it off pretty quickly. And she was pretty pumped to spend some time with family!

Matt left to warm up a little before me and sent this pic of Hadley in the truck on the way. PASSED out! With all the travel, a busy day, and not being very rested, this girl was worn out!

I love our girls warming up to the Whip Nay Nay! We may not be the very best team but we sure are the most fun! Unfortunately, a big storm came rolling through and they had to cancel the game after we had played only 2 innings. They rescheduled it for 8am! So not only was it a late night, it was going to be a super early morning.

We woke up Sunday morning and left the lake bright and early. We met at the ball fields and Hudson stayed with Ryan and Lisa at the lake. I kinda assumed we would be out early and come join them but the girls proved us wrong!

Here is Hadley and her favorite coach before the first game. 8am and its already hot. Daddy is pretty awesome to spend his Father's day at the softball fields and even more awesome that there probably isn't anything he would rather be doing! They ended up winning this game agains Enid Select 10-9. Whew! Close one. Hadley had some pretty awesome plays at 2nd. She has developed into quite the 2nd baseman!

Our next game was right afterwards at 10:30 against Edmond Heat. This is a team at the same skill level as us and one we always love competing against. And this became my favorite game of all the season because of one special play. We were tied 9-9 and they were up at bat...bottom of the 3rd. There was a player on 2nd and a player on 3rd and we had two outs. A pop fly was hit right towards Hadley. Looking back I'm not sure if it was hit really high or if it just seemed to over in the air forever but I thought the ball was never going to drop. Hadley made a great catch sending us into overtime! If she would have dropped the ball they would have scored and the game/tournament would be over. The screams coming from our stands were incredible and seeing the smile on her face made me so happy! It was a moment I will never forget. We ended up winning the game 16-10!

Matt took Hadley to lunch after the game and snapped this picture on the way back to the game. She sure is a pro at falling asleep in the car!

Our final game was against the Ok Angels again and we lost 7-8. Definitely a disappointing loss but we ended the season on a good note of playing well. The girls had fun which is all that matters and, of course, the parents did as well. We finished up with cookies for the dads and the girls to celebrate Father's Day!

Back on the water and all is right with the world. Happy Father's Day, Matt! You finally got to leave the fields and then spent the rest of the day driving the boat. You truly are the best!

Del City Tournament

Another tournament! This one was such a fun and disappointing tournament all at the same time. Fun because Mama and Papa brought the RV again and we had a great time hanging out together as a team. Disappointing because the weather was unbelievably hot (like the hottest we have EVER played in) and it rained which changed up the entire softball schedule. 

We started our first game Friday evening at 8:00 pm against the Edge. Such a disappointing loss as this is a team we could definitely beat but they played their best and we seemed to play our worst. Hadley made some pretty great stops at 2nd and got on base twice. Last game tonight and we would come back in the morning. 

Saturday morning wake up and Hudson has his sunglasses on and is ready to go. We got totally prepared with tons of water and iced down towels. Mama and Papa got to the ball fields really early so that we could get a good spot with the RV for lunch. We hung out in the RV for a bit and then made our way inside for our 11:00am game.

Warming up before the game and its already 95 degrees! On top of that the humidity was insane and the girls were exhausted before the game even started. Their eyeblack stickers wouldn't even stay on their faces and the sweat just made them slide off! We played the Lady Aces for our second seed placement game and lost. This one didn't hurt quite as bad as they were the best team in this tournament. Its unfortunate how often we get a bad draw!

After the game we went outside for a cookout and to rest between games. Mom and dad had grilled hot dogs for everyone and had cookies and chips. Lindsey's mother-in-law had brought gatorades and waters for all to have. The girls had fun dancing, playing in the RV, and just hanging out as a team. I am so thankful for parents that want to be at everything and love to see the kids in all their activities!

It started raining causing a rain delay and our game got pushed back to Saturday evening at 6:10. So we all ended up leaving, heading home to rest some more, and coming back for another game. We played the Texas Reign and ended up losing 6-12. I love this pic of the girls before the game sitting with the opposing team. Our girls play their hearts out but in the end they really just want to have fun and will be friends with everyone. I don't ever want them to lose that. 

Hadley with her favorite coach!

Caught this picture of Hadley watching the team we would be playing for our 4th game. She was focused in on watching 2nd base and it was fun to see her so interested.

Our final game against the Lady Aces (again) ended in another loss to end our tournament. Its our first time to not win a single game in a tournament and that was a little disappointing for the girls. But they played great, just against hard teams. Hadley fielded so well and I was able to video some really great plays. Hudson was a trooper to endure the heat for another weekend. He has earned his share of Hadley watching him in the future!

Best of all...these girls don't get down. They smiled, took pics, and got excited when Brooklyn invited them all over to swim after the tournament. All was well and they had a great Sunday afternoon!

Both of them were completely worn out!!!

Oklahoma Christian Softball Camp

Hadley loved her softball camp last year so when they sent registration out again we were quick to sign up! This time the entire team was able to go making it even more fun. They got lucky with a pretty cool week and had lots of fun. The camp was from tues-fri so I was able to go eat lunch with the girls on Tuesday and Thursday and then I was off on Friday to watch the scrimmage and see her get her awards. They worked a lot on hitting but also how to be more ready when in the field. I think she learned a lot of valuable tips to take with her to this next tournament!

Last year they gave a certificate stating what awards they got. This year they just read them off in the ceremony that I thankfully taped. Here are the 5 awards she got. Hadley's biggest strength is her thowing so I was honestly a little suprised that she got 4th in the 30 ft accuracy. But, even at that, those awards are pretty impressive in her age group.

2nd in the speed throw
3rd in the long throw
4th in the 30 foot accuracy throw
2nd in the 40 foot accuracy throw
2nd in bunting