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March 5, 2011: George Mason Patriots vs. Niagara Purple Eagles

By Ashley on March 9, 2011

On Saturday, March 5, the First Ladies of Baseball kicked off spring, and the baseball season with a trip to watch George Mason’s team take on Niagara. We arrived 10 minutes later than the start time, but the game was already off to a quick start, with Niagara leading 1-0 at the top of the third. Things turned around fast, and we were privileged to watch as Blaise Fernandez got his first college home run! This milestone was later relayed to a late-arriving father by his small son, who yelled at the top of his lungs, “DADDY! Number 9 hit a HOME RUN!!!”

There was lots of good baseball to be seen – some solid bunting (which is always a pleasure to see well done), solid line drives directly over 2nd base. The game is amazingly close to what you might see in the minor leagues – the players are talented, and only lack a certain slickness that you see in major league players. The game being played is good, but the atmosphere around the game is what makes it special.

What is that atmosphere? Well – to start, the soundscape is different. There is no “crack of the bat” – instead, there’s a solid ping from the aluminum bats the players use. There are parents around: filming, taking pictures, keeping track of their sons and generally worrying in the way that parents do during athletic events. There are scattered friends and other university athletes, for whom the game was either convenient or just something to do for free on a Saturday. The teams are comprised of a mixture of young men and boys – some of whom are less than 5 years removed from their little league days, and still show that eagerness and support for their teammates.

Watching the pitchers was interesting – from the close vantage point behind home plate, you can really see different pitching styles begin to emerge. Mason’s starting pitcher (#20, Ryan Pfaeffle) was a little slower and more deliberate in his delivery. Niagara’s starting pitcher (#2, Kody Kaspar) had a quicker release and seemed more anxious to be rid of the ball. Both patience and impatience are virtues in this game where the players are still trying to figure out what it REALLY means to be a man playing a game.

We had a great time. $5 apiece got us in, though if we were cheaper, there was a hill beyond the outfield that provided great views, and was a lovely spot to eat our concession-truck lunches (italian sausage, chips and a sprite for Maggie for $7; soft pretzel and a soda for Ashley for $5). We enjoyed our lunches on this hill as the game ended, and then got to watch as players, coaches and umpires alike all walked past us to buy snacks from the truck, or use the facilities in the field house up the hill. You can’t get that close in any level of professional baseball, and it made all these participants in the game that had just finished like us. There is not much of a pedestal in college baseball.

A few final thoughts: the game ended in an 11-6 win for the Patriots. The Niagara Purple Eagles (and oh, how the announcer made sure to repeat that team name) were all wearing matching purple stirrup socks – a cool retro look that we both enjoyed. And as a bit of trivia for all the Nats fans who are trying to figure out how this game relates to what they’ll be seeing either in Spring Training or at Nationals Park in a few weeks – Bryce Harper is younger than all these guys. Something to think about.

(the rest of the album from this game can be seen here)

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Waiting for Spring

By Ashley on January 29, 2011

As our DC readers are aware, there is snow everywhere! However, the First Ladies have been keeping warm by thinking about all the baseball that’s starting soon. What? You don’t think that baseball starts until March 31? Here are some of the events we have our eyes on:

College baseball starts up on February 18. There are four local teams that we’re hoping to go see: Georgetown, George Mason, George Washington, and Maryland. If you have any suggestions for other local college teams, let us know! Or, if you’re interested in joining us for a game or two, we’re open to that as well.

Auditions to be a Racing President are scheduled for Saturday, February 19. Neither of the First Ladies are trying out (we’re both too short), but if it’s possible we might try to sneak in and watch the tryouts.

Probably the biggest thing we have going on is that Maggie will be heading down to Florida the weekend of March 11 for some sunshine and spring training. Expect a full report from her on how the team looks and how nice it is to be back at a Nats game.

On the flip side, neither one of us will probably be at Nats Fest. Taking two days in a row off work just isn’t an option for either of us right now…

…because we’ll both be at opening day! Both Maggie and Ashley are Season Ticket Holders this year, and they’re both really excited about it! Both of the First Ladies plan on bringing their dads to the game, so expect lots of pictures and a full report.

March 19, 2010: Maryland Terrapins vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

By Maggie on March 23, 2010

Game: Maryland Terrapins vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets; Friday March 19.
Starting Pitchers: Brett Harman (#24, 2-2, 5.81) vs. Deck McGuire (#25, 3-0, 0.87)
Final Score: Terrapins: 5, Yellow Jackets: 2
Who was there: Ashley and Maggie
Where did we sit?: All seats at Shipley Field are $6, so we sat anywhere we liked. In this case, “where we liked” was on the far side of the Georgia Tech dugout. From that vantage point, we were out from behind the net (which made for better photographs), were right next to the dugout (which was interesting to see how the players watched the game), and next to the Georgia Tech bullpen (which made for VERY interesting sights). But since the field is so small, really any seat has a good view.
What did we eat: Ashley had a soft pretzel (meh – just okay) and M&Ms (half the bag was deformed). Maggie had a hot-dog (her first of the season, and for which she had to wait 20 minutes, since they were initially out), Cracker Jack (all the peanuts were at the bottom!), and pink lemonade.
Favorite Moment: One of the GT catchers asks a teammate to grab his jock-strap from his bag. He then proceeds to the far corner of the bull-pen (far from the prying eyes (and cameras) of lady baseball bloggers.
Favorite Non-Baseball Moment: Two frisky squirrels hopped the fence and spent 15 minutes making skritchy noises as they ran around on the bleachers. We think they wanted to get closer to the game. Or else wanted some peanuts and crackerjacks…
Other Observations: We had two reasons to go to this game – Ashley is a Georgia Tech alumnus, and Maggie was interested in seeing Deck McGuire pitch. Deck (great baseball name, btw) is one of the pitchers on the radar of the Nationals as a potential 2010 Draft pick. Finding the field itself (and where to park once we got there) was a bit of a challenge since neither of us had been to the UMD campus before. For others looking to venture out to Shipley for a game – take a map of campus with you. One of the first things we noticed once we got to the game was the oddness of the playing field. It appears that the field is all artificial turf, except for the area around the bases, which are dirt filled, and almost appear to be at a lower level than that of the turf running path. And unfortunately, the night didn’t end so well for the Yellow Jackets – McGuire had a not-so-great showing, allowing a 3-run homer in the first inning, and another solo homer in the 8th. The Terps seemed thrilled by their win (apparently, the first win over a top-5 team in two years), and the Jackets dejected by the loss. Fortunately, Georgia Tech would come back to win the series with back to back wins on Saturday and Sunday.

(full album from this game can be seen here)

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