The newest Shorebird!

Memorial Day had such a wonderful ending this year. As many of you know, Randy (Chris's brother) is the voice of the Shorebirds. The Shorebirds are the minor league baseball team to the Baltimore Orioles. So we are big fans of the Shorebirds!

On Monday morning, Randy called with the news that Luke could throw out the first pitch of the game that evening! The second I told Luke he was beyond excited! In fact, that's about all he could talk about the whole day!

We practiced a little that afternoon...and I think all of us were wondering how the pitch would actually go. I was just hoping he'd get out there and give that ball a good throw...but there were also images of him running away...falling down crying...throwing the ball with his mitt... running through my head too. =)

Finally the time arrived that we could leave for the ballpark. It was spitting rain, so we were hoping that there would be no rain delays. We got there found out where to go and took our places at the side of the field. Luke was in awe of the baseball players - and they were all really nice to him.

This game also happened to be the first game that Luke Scott (the Baltimore Orioles baseball player who is currently rehabbing right now) was playing with the Shorebirds this season. Though we didn't get to meet him, it was pretty cool that our Luke was participating in the same game as that Luke Scott was.

So, the game begins and Luke is called out to the field. The player catching the ball was Oliver Drake who attended the Naval Academy. Which was pretty cool since it was Memorial Day.

I followed Luke out just to help him if he needed. We got out there, got the go ahead - I reminded Luke to throw it with his hand and not the glove - and he threw it with no problems! He was so proud of himself - and we were all super proud of him too! Oliver Drake signed the baseball and took a picture with him - he was so nice to Luke! It was a really really awesome experience!

So a HUGE thank you to Uncle Randy and the Shorebirds for making this happen. It was an incredibly memorable moment!

Here's footage and pictures from the game (updated):