By by Chris Moffett/MCC sophomore pitcher
May 31, 2004
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. This morning (Sunday) felt a little different from (Saturday). It was our first game (Saturday), but we knew it was do or die (Sunday).
We knew we were going to have to play our best ball today, and we hit the ball well (Sunday).
We out hit (Grayson County (Texas) College), and if you would have told me we were going to score 13 runs and put up 18 hits, I would have said there was no chance that the other team was going to win.
It came down to pitching and defense early on, and that is something we just didn't do very well.
(Grayson defeated Meridian Community College 18-13 on Sunday to eliminate the Eagles for the Junior College World Series. Chris Moffett entered Sunday's game in the third inning, and he gave up one run on three hits in 2.1 innings with three strikeouts.)
When I came into the game, I thought I would have been more nervous than I was.
I didn't really pay attention to the stands, and my parents told me, I know I can pitch in front of a crowd now.'
It never crossed my mind that there were that many people watching me pitch. (The announced attendance for Sunday's game was 4,837.)
After the game, we went to a bar-b-q picnic that our sponsors and host group did for us.
It was kind of hard to be at the picnic after we lost our second game, but we knew our season was over.
We just made the best out of the picnic, and we are going to have to make the best out of our bus trip back home.
The bus drive back is really the last time we are going to be with each other as one group on the same team again.
The ball season is over and you can have your regrets, but now is the time to spend with each other. We just needed to try to have fun one more time together.
The best part of going to the World Series this year was just seeing the reactions from the freshmen of being here in Grand Junction. You could also see it in the sophomores, just being out here again.
You could really see how excited everybody was to be here. You could really see it in the freshmen n they were just like "Wow!" You could tell how awesome it was for them to be out here for the first time.
If the freshmen can take back that feeling, they will be back here next year. There is no doubt in my mind.
compiled by Tony Krausz