{"id":2392,"date":"2026-02-18T00:01:48","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T05:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.cedarville.edu\/cedarville-stories\/?p=2392"},"modified":"2026-02-17T14:46:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T19:46:21","slug":"s14-e07-eeles-and-gillis-big-league-hopes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cedarville.edu\/cedarville-stories\/2026\/s14-e07-eeles-and-gillis-big-league-hopes\/","title":{"rendered":"S:14 E:07 | Eeles and Gillis: Big League Hopes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Big League Hopes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Payton Eeles and Tanner Gillis are living their baseball dreams. Both former Yellow Jacket baseball players are moving closer to the major leagues and learning that the climb is rarely clean and never entirely predictable.<\/p>\n

Baseball is a sport of failure that teaches a person to live between what\u2019s hoped for and what\u2019s in hand. There\u2019s always another series, another chance, and another day to get better. Payton has carried his dream since childhood, the sort of long-held desire that feels as natural as a glove on his left hand. Tanner\u2019s path has required the same steady grit \u2014 the willingness to keep showing up, keep competing, and keep believing that today\u2019s work matters even when tomorrow\u2019s roster is unknown.<\/p>\n

What sets their story apart isn\u2019t just the pursuit but the posture. The game can tempt players to measure life in innings pitched, box scores, and call-ups. Yet Payton and Tanner\u2019s grounding runs deeper. They\u2019ve learned to trust God\u2019s timing the way a good ballplayer trusts the process: staying disciplined, resisting panic, and letting the season unfold one pitch at a time. Some prayers get answered quickly; others develop like a slow-breaking curve \u2014 still true, still on the way, still under control.<\/p>\n

That big-picture perspective came through recently on the Cedarville Stories<\/em> podcast, where both players reflected on baseball, faith, and the steadying confidence that comes from believing there\u2019s a plan even when the details aren\u2019t visible yet. They shared that when Cedarville friends show up in the stands, it turns the whole thing into something warmer than a career climb. It becomes a reminder that the journey is meant to be carried with others and that gratitude can keep ambition from getting too loud.<\/p>\n

For Eeles and Gillis, the aim is still the big leagues, but the deeper goal is staying steady \u2014 playing hard, staying humble, and trusting the Author of the story to call the right pitch at the right time.<\/p>\n