The 16U World Series, located in Destin, Florida, was finally about to begin; fearless teams from around the country traveled many miles for the chance to become champions. The optimistic team named Sudden Impact was ecstatic to play, as they had been waiting the whole summer for this moment. The road to Destin was filled with many previous games ending in tears, anger, smiles, and joy, but nothing of the past seemed to matter as Sudden Impact took the field. On July 17, 2017, the team was getting ready to take the field as they were about to embark on the quest of winning their first game.

The starting line up was stacked, and there was no chance for the competing team to become victorious. Elizabeth Davis, the starting second baseman, was prepared both mentally and physically to do her part and win the game. During the first inning, the score was still zero to zero, and a ball was hit up in the air. Elizabeth saw the hit, and immediately knew this moment was her time to get an out for the team. The ball was hit over her head, so naturally her instincts told her to start running. Meanwhile, the right fielder also began running. Miscommunications occur, as both players thought they could reach the ball in time to get the out. No one calling the ball is a recipe for disaster. Both gloves reach into the air, and BAM! Elizabeth goes down and everything becomes dark. As Elizabeth opens her eyes, the world is spinning, and the only thing she could see was the red dirt and bright green grass that filled the infield. The sound of muffled voices is what made her realize that she was injured. Elizabeth was taken out of the game to

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receive medical attention, and the only thing she was worried about was getting back on the field to finish the inning. Her jersey was stained with blood from her mouth and nose bleeding uncontrollably, but this did not matter to Elizabeth. She was in pain, but her feelings were hurt more to watch her team from the dugout.
In the week following her accident, Elizabeth learned she broke her nose and deviated her septum; this new information meant she needed surgery. Elizabeth was scared to hear this news because, although she was undergoing a minor procedure, this would be her first time having any type of surgery. Her fear was soon relieved, because having surgery meant Elizabeth will be able to return to softball.

Surgery went great, and she was expected to recover within a few weeks. Summer ball was coming to an end, and this meant Elizabeth was not missing anything important in the upcoming weeks.

In the ever lasting weeks that Elizabeth was not playing ball, she realized her love for the game was very strong, but softball was not her whole life. When school tryouts came along, Elizabeth was faced with the tough decision of playing or ending her nine year career of playing softball. After contemplating long and hard over this decision, she came to the conclusion that the best solution would be for her to not continue playing softball. Elizabeth was very upset about her decision, but she knew she could do some great things in her time off. Without softball, Elizabeth filled her spare time with many clubs at school, and she spent more time to become closer with her family. She might not have realized the lesson at the time, but breaking her nose was the beginning of the end for Elizabeth’s softball career.