Last night was a big night for this young man. Joshua has dreamed of playing college baseball for a long, long time. And last night, this dream became a reality.

From the very beginning, Joshua was obsessed with baseball. I’m thinking he was probably around two years old when we started rolling the ball back and forth on the living room floor. Sunny didn’t love it when he would pick up the ball and throw it overhand in the house — and we’ve had plenty of bruises and broken glass along the way. But I can remember holding my breath when I saw that he kept throwing with his left hand. And that’s where it all started.

I’m not setting out to write a sappy retrospective on how much this game has meant to him — and to me. But on a night like last night, you can’t help but look back. I thought of all the coaches he’s had along the way, men who have believed in him and poured into him and challenged him to be better, as a player and as a young man. And my heart was filled with gratitude for them. I also couldn’t help but think about all the hard work that’s gone into this — the countless hours of throwing and running and throwing some more. The long tossing. The videos about pitch grips. The hundreds of times he’d say, “Dad, do you want to throw?”

I guess this is getting sappy despite my best efforts.

All of this to say, I’m proud of Joshua. People say stuff like, “It’s just a game.” And to you, maybe. But not to him. Not to me. He’s poured too much of himself into this game for us to say, “It’s just a game.” This game has been one of the greatest teachers in his life. It’s hard and it’ll test your mental fortitude in unique ways. But I’m proud to say that Joshua has learned these lessons — and he’s still standing.

And the game isn’t through with him yet.

That day will come — it always does.

But not today.

Last night, his dream became reality: a clean inning of relief with one strikeout and two ground outs on 12 pitches. Also of note, he set new velocity PRs (personal records) on his fastball and slider.

And just like that, he’s a college pitcher.

Here he is coming out of the bullpen for the first time:

This is the first batter he faced and his first collegiate strikeout:

Filthy slider:

And a great play by his shortstop to end the inning:

He wore #32 in middle school and high school. Might take me a while to get used to seeing #33 instead!