Peyton POV:
It's the day of the College World Series Championship and we're playing the defending champs, Oklahoma.
To say I'm nervous is an understatement. I could hardly sleep with how nervous I am. We are at Tennessee for the game and I'm happy that Paige was able to fly down for it because she's the only thing stopping me from having a mental breakdown.
"You're going to be fine. Just go out there and have fun" Paige tells me once I finish putting on my uniform.
"That's easier said then done" I say
"Do you remember what you told me the day of my national championship game?" Paige asks
"No, what did I say?"
"You said stop worrying and just go out there and play the game you fell in love with as a child. I'll love you no matter the outcome, so will your team, and so will your fans. Just have fun" Paige recites
"Yea but what if I mess up and we lose because of it" I say
"Then you mess up. You're human. You can't always be perfect. And losing a game isn't on one player, it's on the whole team"
"You're right" I say taking deep breathes to calm down
"Look, enjoy this moment. I know your stressed out right now but take this all in. You're playing in the College World Series National Championship today, not many people can say they have achieved that. So go out there and prove to everyone why you deserve to be on that field and win that trophy for our school" Paige says grabbing both of my hands
"I love you" I say making eye contact with her
"I love you too" she says before I pull her in for a kiss that makes all my worries go away.
—
It's the bottom of the 7th inning and it's tied 3-3 with 2 outs. If we don't score here we go into the extra innings. I'm on third base after hitting a double and then stealing third. Kenzie is up at bat and the count is 2 balls and 1 strike.
The pitcher gets into her stance and does her motion as I take a lead off of third. She releases the ball and Kenzie swings and misses. Strike 2.
What I've noticed is the third basemen isn't covering the base. So I can take as big of a lead I want and not have to worry about getting out. I've also noticed that the backstop is really big. Meaning if the ball gets passed the catcher then I have a chance of stealing home.
But with 2 outs that's a risky decision. If I steal I either get out and go into extra innings or I can win us the game. I have a 50/50 chance.
The pitcher gets in her stance again and does her motion as I take a bigger lead. She releases the ball and I can immediately tell she lost grip of the ball and it's a wild pitch. So I go with my gut and start running towards home.
Kenzie sees me coming so she backs up out of the way, but as she does that I see the catcher with the ball running towards home as well, trying to tag me. I know that I can't make it home without getting tagged so I look behind me quickly and see the third basemen waiting for the throw from the catcher. I'm in a run down.
As I start backing up from the catcher she throws it to the third basemen, so I run away from her now heading back towards home. This goes on for a couple more throws and I know if I don't do something soon I'm going to get out because I'm getting tired. But I also know that the more throws they make the more likely they are to mess up.
I notice though that the people guarding home plate only run towards me when I'm close to the bag. Meaning there's a small chance, that when they stop guarding the plate that I can slip through and touch home without getting tagged.
I decide to risk it and when the catcher throws it back to the girl behind me I take off sprinting towards home with all the energy I have left. They immediately know I'm trying to score so they throw it back to the catcher as soon as possible making the catcher block the front of the plate for me to slide into.
But as she catches the ball and tries to tag me I slide to the right of the plate and stick my left hand out touching the plate as I slide by, untouched. I look up at the home plate umpire to confirm that I was safe and when he does the crowd erupts into cheers as my team clears the dugout.
Kenzie immediately runs over to me and pulls me in a hug followed by the rest of the team. We stop celebrating to shake the Oklahoma's players hands and say good game. But as soon as I'm done with that I get Gatorade poured all over me leaving me in shock.
"You guys did not just do that" I say
"Oh, but we did" Kate says laughing which makes me laugh too
The next thing I know the NCAA president is walking onto the field with the trophy in his hands as we all line up behind him as he says "It is my honor to announce your 2022 Women's College World Series Champions are the UConn Huskies, congratulations girls" he says as he hands over the trophy to Mack and Kenzie who raise it into the air making the crowd cheer even louder.
"It is also my honor to announce the Most Valuable Player Award goes to Peyton, congratulations!" He says as I walk up to him in shock as I grab the smaller trophy from him.
All the families are allowed onto the field now and I make my way through the craziness to find that one blonde that has my heart, and once I lock eyes with her I full on sprint to her and give her a massive hug.
"I'm so proud of you, congratulations" she says into my ear as we sway back and forth
"We're both national champions now" I say as I pull back from the hug with a smile
"Yea but I have the ring already, you don't" Paige says putting her hand in front of my face to show off her championship ring.
"Whatever" I chuckle as I pull her in for a kiss
"Your lips taste like Lemon Lime Gatorade" she says with a laugh
"Maybe that's because I got it dumped on me" I say laughing
"It tastes good tho" she says kissing me again
"Well I'm glad you like the product your partnered with" I joke which makes her laugh as I pull her in for another hug
As I look around I notice all my teammates celebrating this win with their mom and dad and it honestly doesn't hurt that mine aren't here. If you asked me that a year ago, I probably would be upset. But honestly, I wouldn't change anything in the world for celebrating this moment with the girl I love most as I'm wrapped in her arms. She is all I need.
The end.
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Behind The Cameras
Fanfictionwhat happens in paige bueckers' life behind the cameras and interviews? does she meet someone she can't stay away from or just focus on basketball? peyton is a freshmen at uconn who's on the softball team and unexpectedly runs into paige and the tea...
