Took my talent to the the t-ball field for my nephew’s games.  I actually photographed two games.  The first game I just took my 70-200mm lens and I was not happy with all the cropping I had to do later.  Do not even get me started on the backgrounds of that field.  School buses and box trucks do not make for a pleasing background in this situation.  So for the second game I decided to be the obnoxious aunt and bring the 300mm lens.  Luckily the background was better for that field as well.  I was much happier with the images after that game than the first.  I had a great time watching and photographing the game.  Here are a few of my favorites from the games:

Powering down to first base.

He is determined to get a big hit.

Wants to make sure I’m paying attention to him.

Those batting helmets can get heavy:)

Getting ready for the ball coming his way.

Trapping the ball.

Throwing to first.

Running to home.

Another defensive stop.

Why they only play 3 innings.  Attention spans only last so long at this age.

The Ohio High School State Baseball Championship Game.  Those few words brought so much excitement to players, coaches and fans.  Lakota East and Perrysburg high schools were in the Division I finals held at Huntington Park in Columbus.  The Lakota East Seniors missed their graduation but came out State Champs.  Below are a few of my favorites from the game, all are available through the Game Images link above.

Lakota East warming up.

Fist bump from his son before fielding warm-ups begin.

Throw from short.

Love all the details the scoreboard provided throughout the game.

Coach Hamilton gives the sign to the catcher for the next pitch.

Getting the bat around to make the connection.

The pitch.

East fan supporting the team.

A little rain came through but play continued.

A running catch.

The final out.

The pitcher celebrates.

The team celebrates.

Got to have the team picture with the scoreboard

The Ohio High School State Semi-Final baseball game pitted Lakota East against Grove City.  The game was played at Huntington Field which is home of the Columbus Clippers, a minor baseball team.  What a great stadium.  I arrived early to scout around a bit as I knew I would be photographing from the stands.  Since I was there for Lakota East I set up along the first base side so I could see into their dugout.  Towards the end of the game I did move to the third base side to get a different angle and the team celebrating their win.  All the images are available through the Game Images link above, here are a few of my favorites:

Stopping the pitch.

Trying to get to the plate but the tag was applied for the out.

Throw to first.

Great stop and a throw to first.

Making the catch for the third out.

The pitcher gets out of the way at the last minute on a short pop-up.

Making the pitch.

The District title game between the Centerville and Lakota East baseball teams was my second game of the day.  The game was played at Miamisburg HS.  Another game was in progress when I arrived.  With it being a close game it was running a little long.  The field does not have lights so I was really hoping the game would not start too late and the threat of rain would stay away.  The light held for us but we did a few sprinkles.  Lakota East won on a run rule which made any worries of sunset go away.  Below are a few of my favorites from the game, all are available through the Game Images link above:

Flip on to the pitcher covering first for the out.

Attempting a bunt.

A small leap on the catch.

Trying to turn the double play.

A solid hit.

Throw was in plenty of time to get the out of home.

Later Lakota East celebrates the winning run.

East seniors accept the trophy while the Centerville team looks on.

It was a beautiful Friday evening and my schedule was actually clear.  I saw that Loveland was taking on Moeller up at Lakota East High School in a tournament baseball game.  Having a friend with a son on the Moeller baseball team I decided to go up and have a little fun shooting a game.  It was nice catching up with my friend in person and photographing a game just a little bit different than normal.  Moeller won giving their coach his 100th victory.  Here are a few of my favorites, all are available through the Game Images link above:

Throw is on time to get the runner.

Battling the sun to make the catch on a pop-up.

A hit.

I like the trail of dust from the ball jumping off the bat.

A side-arm pitcher.

Handling the bunt attempt.

Coach’s 100th victory.