I’ve been blessed to know many incredible people throughout my life.

A bonus is that I am related to many of them.

My nephew Jack is a junior at Xavier in Cincinnati. He is living his dream of playing baseball at a Division 1 school. And also getting a college degree. Which also makes his parents happy.

He does it AGAIN! 3⃣ more K's in the 5th give him a career-high 6⃣ for the ball game!#LetsGoX pic.twitter.com/mR74Q8ZFrq

— Xavier Baseball (@XavierBASE) April 16, 2022

His dream continues to expand and he hopes to make it even further. To the Big Show. We’re talking Major League Baseball. As a southpaw beast who can throw a fast ball in the 90s, it’s not unrealistic.

I pulled these statistics, as well as most of these pictures, from the Xavier website:

“All-BIG EAST First Team honoree Jack Lynch has pitched in a team-high 26 games, boasting a 2.70 ERA and team-best 1.04 WHIP. He has a 9-0 record, pitching 56.2 innings and striking out 67 batters.”

I like that you can pitch .2 of an inning. I think that means two batters. But I have no idea what a WHIP indicates. Apparently he has a good one.

The Big East Baseball Tournament begins today in Mason, Ohio. Hopefully, Jack will be called up from the bullpen to stare down a few batters. There are only four teams in this tournament. Xavier is the #3 seed and they will face #2 Creighton. #1 Connecticut and #4 Georgetown round out the field. Each game will be tough and Xavier can only advance to the College World Series by winning the whole tournament. The stakes are high in this double elimination format.

Yesterday, Jack was named to the First Team All Big East. Which means he is exceptional, not just for Xavier, but the entire conference. This should give him even more confidence heading into today’s game.

The Xavier game begins today at 2:30pm Eastern Time. I thought I would post about this as I know many of my readers enjoy watching novel things online. There isn’t a direct link to the broadcast as there are a variety of ways to watch. If you click on the tournament page, look at the top for the WATCH menu. There are options for a You Tube channel, Fox Sports 1, and CBS Sports.

Jack had an incredible comeback moment recently. Last year, he pitched a terrible game at the worst possible moment. It happens even to the best players. But it was heartbreaking nonetheless. Instead of wallowing in despair, Jack used it as motivation to train harder and grow stronger. Jack has an eternally optimistic attitude and believes in his abilities. He’s also surrounded by a huge support network of family and friends.

So he spent hours working out in the summer, often blasting music from the garage while lifting weights. He got stronger. He gained more control. He stayed hungry for the opportunity to prove himself again. The hard work paid off as he enjoyed a sweet moment of redemption. Facing the same team under similar pressure, Jack had a stellar outing and recorded the win. It was the highlight of his regular season.

I’ve had little to do with Jack’s development as a pitcher. With the exception of a well-timed present when he was a toddler. Jack was obsessed with two things growing up: Bob the Builder and machines. One Christmas, my brother-in-law called Jack, impersonating Bob the Builder. He also loved machines, particularly vacuums and lawn equipment. He watched construction or landscaping crews around the neighborhood. He would talk about growing up to mow lawns and maintain greens at golf courses.

Jack’s favorite toys were a play blower and a vacuum. I think we gave him the vacuum and my sister gave him the blower. So, I’d like to think these toys built up arm strength.

Which will be on display in the Big East Tournament today.