By Mack

Benny, excited for the championship game, walks into the dugout with all his baseball equipment with him.

“Hi, Benny!” says his coach. “How do you feel about starting on the mound today?”

“Sure, I’d love to!” replies Benny.

Benny puts down his stuff, grabs his glove, and runs onto the field to warm up.

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“Play Ball!” calls the umpire.

As Benny’s team, the Delran Bears, finish their talk, Benny hustles over to the mound. “Okay, you got this,” Benny thinks to himself. He throws the first pitch…”Strike!”

“I did it!” Benny whispers, surprised.

He resets himself but then throws a ball. The next pitch he throws, he lets up a double. “Oh no.”

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“Wow, finally,” says Benny. It’s the last inning. They got the last out, they are up to bat, and down 15 runs. Benny is a great and powerful hitter, so he bats clean-up (4th). “It’s the top of the line-up, guys, we got this!”

“Let’s go, Tommy!” screams the crowd and his teammates. The first pitch is a ball, the second…a single! The second batter, Dom, walks. The third gets hit in the back on a wild curve ball. It’s finally Benny’s turn. The first pitch is a ball, so is the second. Third, a strike. Fourth is a ball. And then a foul ball. With all the pressure on him with a 3-2 count, the pitch, a home run off the foul pole! 20-9.

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15 minutes later, the score is 20-19. Benny’s up again, and there’s a runner on second. They bring in a new pitcher, and while he warms-up, Benny talks to his coach. “Let’s hit a home-run, Benny. You got this!”

“Balls in,” calls the catcher.

Benny steps in the batter’s box, digs his back foot in, and the dust splashes off the ground. The pitch flies in, and Benny lifts his foot of the ground. Wham! The ball hits Benny right in his stomach. All the coaches rush over to see if he’s okay as he starts crying. About 3 minutes later, Benny finally gets up, and instead of taking his base…

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He asks to bat again. The umpire agrees, and lets him continue his at-bat. Benny stands up, brushes himself off, determined to start again even though he is in pain and surprised. This time, he starts a little further back in the box. Now this time, the slow riser comes in and Benny takes his prep step then starts to swing. Crack!  Benny crushes it out of the park to win the championship for his team. The teams shake hands and say good job before his team celebrates the win.

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Benny shows all his friends the photo of their win. 

“Wow, that’s so cool,” said his friend.