It was a rough night for the Paulsen Clan on the baseball diamond.  I was pinch hitting as coach for my son Sam’s team and we were being beaten.  Beaten by a lot.

Sam was also struggling at the plate.  A strikeout here, a grounder there, you know the story.

On the mound, our pitchers kept forgetting to cover home on wild pitches and there were a lot of wild pitches.  Sam was playing first and after he noticed that the pitchers were failing to cover home, he would sprint in to cover home plate.  Again and again and again.

Eventually, the sun set as we were run ruled.  Lining up to shake hands, the other team’s coach (who I had never met before that evening) approached me and asked, “Can I speak to your number 7 (Sam’s number)?”

I called Sam over and the other coach leaned in to tell him, “You were really hustling out there.  Good job.”

A compliment from the opposing bench.  Priceless.

Some nights you go 0 for 4.  Some nights you lose by 12 runs.  Some nights you receive a compliment and that moment can be considered a save.