7th Inning Stretch: Journey of a Prodigy – Part IV

Q: How can you pitch a winning baseball game without ever throwing a ball?

A: By only throwing strikes.

After another break in the season, the Bulverde Braves finally had the opportunity to get back on the Diamond to showcase their talents and demonstrate what it truly means to be a prodigy. It was on full display at Jumbo Evans ballpark Saturday night, from the hard-hit balls of Eli “Dwayne” Johnson to Caleb “Smooth Operator” Owens flashing the leather and throwing darts. Unfortunately, none of the exceptional qualities of these prodigies led to a victory on Field A against the Cardinals as they fell 14-16.

The head coach, Garrett “Absent” Owens, was inexplicably missing from the game, leaving the team wondering who would lead them. Those duties fell to, none other than, assistant coach Jerry “Sugar Cube” Cobb to come in to get the boys focused and motivated. At one point during the game, coach Cobb took a visit to the mound to provide those magic words to motivate some strikes out of his pitcher. “I’ve got two beers left in the cooler” Coach Cobb started. “And you’re on pace to throw 900 pitches this game…we got a problem.” he continued. “Chili’s happy hour with $3 appetizers starts in less than an hour. I need you to throw strikes.” Unusual motivational tactics that ultimately did not hit the target as the Braves pitchers combined to walk 15 batters.

Although the pitching did not flash, Caleb Owens glove sure did. “As soon as the ball was hit, I told myself ‘glove down, butt down’….and you know what, I did.” Owens said. “That one was for you, dad” he continued looking up and pointing at the sky. Kind of a weird gesture because Coach Owens was just out of town.

On the offensive side, Eli Johnson highlighted a borage of hits with a rope down the third base line for a double in the bottom half of the fourth inning. “See the ball, hit the ball” said Eli Johnson. “I was able to use quick hands on an inside pitch and drive it. I mean, my hands was redic quick. The kind of quick that’ll win you a game of rock, paper, scissor against anybody” Johnson continued. No doubt the kind of confidence one needs to produce at the plate to keep up with the runs allowed by the Braves.

The Braves continue to show why this media outlet has decided to feature them week after week. For highlights like we saw on Saturday. The only question remains, can you, in fact, win a baseball game without ever throwing a ball? To this point, the answer is absolutely no.