More Baseball 2021: Joseph, Dominic, Nathanael, and Isaiah's seasons

Michael wasn't the only one who had an incredible 2021 baseball season...all of our boys did in one way or another...

JOSEPH had his first season playing baseball at the college level for Franciscan University!  He had an fabulous season playing for Franciscan as a pitcher---his favorite position!  We were blessed to be able to watch most of his home games live-streamed.  It brought me so much joy to see my son with his crazy curly hair walking out onto the mound on our computer screen :)  Grandma Theresa and Grandpa Pat (my parents) were his BIGGEST fans though!  They didn't miss a game and my mom even took notes about all the amazing things the announcers said about her very own grandson :)

This first photo below is the only picture I have of Joseph playing for Franciscan University.  The other ones are from his last year on the Senators when he was a senior.  His senior year was a very rough year with an untimely knee injury right before baseball season. Even after he healed, the coach did not give him as much playing time as he deserved (there's the mama bear coming on in me), but Joseph kept an amazing attitude through it all. We were so proud of him, and we told him this baseball season is just a short chapter in his life and God has better chapters ahead for him.  That sure turned out to be true; his time so far at Franciscan has been blessed beyond what he could've ever imagined---not only with playing baseball, but with finding holy friends, experiencing top-notch teachers, adventuring abroad in Austria for a semester, and even dating his first girlfriend! :)  Maybe someday I'll post some pictures of Joseph and Bailey once I get his permission :)  But for now,  here are a few of my baseball favorites of Joseph.

I love this photo!
It truly captures Joseph's humble personality.

I picture him walking away from his high school baseball career,

and moving on to bigger and better things in college and beyond.

DOMINIC has not played baseball since the 3rd grade (it just wasn't his thing), but this year he decided to try being an umpire!  I guess he figured that he's always at the baseball fields anyway for his brothers' games, so he might as well get paid while being there! :)  H did an amazing job as an umpire!  He is our most analytical son and loves rules (and making other people follow the rules), so this was the perfect job for him :)  We were super proud of him.  Umpiring can be a very stressful job, with parents and coaches complaining and heckling, but Dominic handled it with confidence and didn't let anyone stress him out.  This was so amazing to me because this is our son who used to experience legitimate anxiety attacks a few years ago (sometimes a few panic attacks per week!)---so this job was a true testament of the miraculous healing power of God and how the struggles in our lives can be used to make us stronger and shape us into who we were meant to be!  Here are a couple of photos of our brave umpire...

NATHANAEL had a super exciting baseball season!  He was one of the team's star pitchers, and pitched 1 or 2 innings in nearly every game of the season.  Their team had the best record going into the final tournament and ended up winning the whole tournament!!!  A few of the games were real "nail biters" too!  The best part of all, though, was how much fun his team had.  These kids all got along so well, loved every minute on the field or in the dugout, and had super-positive and caring coaches.  It will certainly be a season that he won't forget!

A rare and special blessing to be the trophy-holders at the end of the season!

I love how this photo captures Nathanael's "chillax" personality

and the fact that he was always munching on sunflower seeds during the games :)

And last, but not at all least, our little ISAIAH also had a season worth talking about.  This kid LOVES the game of baseball, and it was so awesome watching how intense he was at every second of every game.  This quiet and sweet kid was "all business" when it came to baseball.  Even though he is small, I think he hit the biggest "dingers" into the outfield, and he also loved playing every position on the field.  No matter where the ball was hit, he wanted to go get it, so it took some training to teach him to only go for balls in his general area :)  He was super excited to be able to play the catcher position in one of the games, so we will see if he gravitates towards that position in the future, or if he is going to take the path of his older brothers, which has always been pitching and infielding.  He was super happy that his team color this year was "green," which is his favorite color (probably because it reminds him of his favorite game:  Minecraft) :)  The other awesome part about his season was that his daddy got to be one of the assistant coaches, which made Isaiah super proud.  

I am SO PROUD of ALL my boys this season!  I never dreamed that I'd be a baseball mom (after all, all of my brothers were wrestlers and I didn't even know anyone who played baseball growing up!), but it has truly become my favorite sport, and I can't imagine our summers without it anymore.  I pray that the virtues and life-lessons that my boys have learned in baseball will serve them well their entire lives.

Totus Tuus,

~Maria