Flashbacks and Faith

Wednesday against Wheaton felt like old times, playing a conference foe with something on the line.  Wheaton won’t be going to the CCIW tournament next weekend, either.  Thank you, Clare.

In game one, we were down to our last out in a 3-0 game with two runners on and Clare up.  The first pitch she launched in the vicinity of the space station, over 250 feet, which in softball qualifies as Frank Howard-like.  It’s not that my daughter hits homeruns all the time, it’s just that she looks so normal (outside of the biceps and shoulders) and hits them so far.  But never fear, we managed to lose the game in extra innings, starting with two out and nobody on base.

In game two, we score a run in the first, but Clare strikes out on a two-strike changeup.  The second inning, we score a run, but our leadoff hitter Meg strikes out on a two-strike changeup.  Meg and Clare then compare notes before heading to the outfield.  Third inning, Clare’s up with a runner on, and she has two strikes on her.  Here comes the change, and there it goes a very long way.  Elmhurst wins 6-2, and everybody forms a prayer circle before going home.

We do this because Wheaton is an evangelical Protestant school and the alma mater of Billy Graham.  I don’t like us praying with them because ten years ago Wheaton fired a professor who had the temerity to convert to Catholicism.  If we’re not good enough to employ, we shouldn’t be good enough to pray with.  On this at least, my daughter agrees.