My definition of “true friend” is as follows: someone who I can hang out with consistently and both them and I trust each other with our lives, talk to each other when either of us need, and are always there for each other no matter what. I seem to only have 2 people that fit that description plus more. This day starts with one of those people.

That person is my friend Liv, who I literally met in September of this school year, and we already have a sisterhood-brotherhood type relationship. Knowing me and my one hobby, she got me Railriders tickets for my birthday. My birthday is/was in April, and it’s May. Well worth the wait honestly.

This game was also extremely emotional for me. As some of you may have read in this entry, I recently lost my grandmother unexpectedly. Well, her service happened to be this same day. I was looking forward to the game because of that, as it would take my mind off everything and put my focus on being with Liv.

Oddly, this day was a doubleheader, however Liv had to be at the local carnival by 7, so we’d only end up staying the 1st game. Got to the stadium much later than I would have liked, but I’m perfectly fine with that since she was with me. In fact, it worked out great as far as numbers. Got in just as the Railriders were starting to play catch along the 3rd base line…

…and got back to back toss ups within a span of less than 4 minutes. First from TJ Rumfield, then Oscar Gonzalez.

After that, I told Liv that whatever we did after that point was completely up to her. So, we ended up grabbing food and then headed to our seats along the 1st base line. I was excited from the day she gave the tickets to me just based off where they were:

They’d be even better if the huge net wasn’t in the way. But hey, I wasn’t going to complain.

The game moved along rather quickly, and each time the Mets stormed off the field, I payed close attention to where 1st baseman Ji-Man Choi was chucking the 3rd out balls. I noticed that he always threw them past the middle of section 16 to my right. So, after the bottom of the 4th ended, I moved to that same spot. Positioning is everything, and it payed off here.

That ball, in case you’re wondering, was a Kevin Smith strikeout to end the inning. As seen in that same entry linked above, I got a game ball that game the day after my grandma passed, that one just so happened to be a home run. I was hoping to get a home run during this game as well, however I didn’t see that happening, so still getting a game ball felt just as good.

So my total on the day was 3 up to that point. What now? Well, Liv and I wandered around for the rest of the game. Somewhere around then, I remembered that I had given her the 2 balls that started the day. She has 2 little brothers, so I knew I had to get a 4th ball. That way, she and both of her brothers had one.

As soon as we got back to the seats, the game was just about over, and I didn’t think getting #4 was a possibility. After the final out, I randomly called out to a ball boy with the most generic request for a toss up I could give. Thank God I did, because he tipped me off to a spot right next to the dugout behind home plate. Another ball boy was there, and using that same generic request, he put a ball in my glove. Mission accomplished!

That was basically it. I couldn’t leave without a final photo, so I won’t leave you all without one either.

STATS FOR THIS GAME

4 BALLS TOTAL:

– Toss up from TJ Rumfield

– Toss up from Oscar Gonzalez

– 3rd out ball from Ji-Man Choi, Kevin Smith strikeout

– Handout by ball boy postgame

LIFETIME TOTAL: 274