First Pitch!

The BIG game was lastnight where Ryder got to go out on the field for the Richmond Flying Squirrels and throw the first pitch! 

He did such a good job, but before I get to those details, let me just tell you…we brought a storm to Richmond.  Literally.  We (as in all the people who bought tickets) drove in the exact path of a huge storm the entire 1.5 hour drive at about 20 mph.  As soon as we pulled into Richmond we were in front of the storm, but about 5 minutes later it caught back up with us and showered us with even more rain, as if we needed or wanted to see one more drop. 

The game had a rain delay and as soon as the storm passed they worked very hard to get the field cleaned up and ready.  It was supposed to start at 7:05 but Ryder didn’t end up going out on the field until about 8:15.  He did get to go into the guys locker room though and meet all the players!  He was such a trooper, it was past his bedtime, he had SUCH a busy day with the Podiatrist appointment and his therapy session, then hung out at the baseball game for 2.5 hours waiting to throw his baseball. 

He was VERY excited and was totally prepared, he kept saying “Beee-Ballll!  THROW!” and would swing his arm, he knew what he had to do…and he did a great job!  He loves being the center of attention, so being out on the field with all those people cheering for him didn’t intimidate him one bit, it only made him want to show his stuff even more, he actually stood up all by himself and threw the ball!  I wish that I could have somehow captured the smile on his face, it was priceless.  I did get a video, I apologize for the quality, the only way I could get it onto the computer was to play it on my TV and then re-record it with my digital camera (creative, right?!).  So here it is:

Right after we ran off the field, the sky let loose again and there was ANOTHER down pour!  They finally decided to cancel the game.  So basically, everyone drove all that way to watch Ryder throw a ball, which took all of 10 seconds…but it was SO worth it!

Here are a few other pics from the night:

 

 

 

 

He has some souvenirs from the game!  Here is his Team Ryder shirt which has some of the players signatures on it, and the Nutsy bobble head that the Coach gave him in the locker room!  Aunt Brenda also bought him a baseball that he practiced with before he got the real deal on the field…and as you can see in the video the catcher gave the ball he threw back to him and let him keep it!  Plus, Auntie Ressa bought him his 1st Flying Squirrels t-shirt.  It was definitely a fun night and a great memory that I can’t wait to share with Ryder one day!