Bottom of the Ninth

It's hard to believe our trip has already come to a close. We've seen a lot of incredible games the past few weeks, and tonight was no different. We made our way back to Kansas City, Missouri bright and early this morning to make a 7:10 pm game, the St. Louis Cardinals were facing the KC Royals. This game was the one that I had been looking forward to since day one of the trip. A face off between the Royals, my hometown team, and the Cardinals my favorite team of all time, what could be better?

As we walked into the stadium I couldn't believe the number of fellow Cardinals fans that I saw. As I looked out into the crowd, I saw the stadium flooded with Cardinal red, I couldn't wait to watch the game unfold! This game was by far the most exciting and energetic game that we experienced throughout the entire trip. Because there were so many fans present for both teams, there was applause for every play. You don't really realize how quiet a typical crowd at a baseball game is until you experience a 'rivalry' game like the one we saw tonight.

Michael Wacha was pitching for the Cardinals and Yordano Ventura was the starter for the Royals. Cardinals started off strong in the second inning when Peter Bourjos tripled and sent Jon Jay home to put the Cardinals ahead 1-0. In the top of the fourth the Cardinals scored their second and final run of the evening when Matt Carpenter singled on a sharp ground ball and allowed Jay to score again.

The Royals remained scoreless through most of the game, but in the bottom of the 6th, they came back with a vengeance. Nori Aoki, the Royals lead off batter, doubled on a ground ball to left field and allowed Escobar to score. Eric Hosmer then singled, allowing Aoki to come home. The game was now tied and the crowd went wild. We finally had ourselves a game! Salvador Perez singled on a ground ball to center field, sending Hosmer home for the winning run of the game. Royals defeated the Cardinals in a 3-2 victory, clenching the series.

I was sad my Redbirds lost, but I couldn't have asked for a better final game! We are spending the last evening of our adventure at the historic Muehlebach Hotel in downtown Kansas City, another perfect ending to our trip (thanks Dr. Bob!). In the morning we will have a final breakfast and get on the road to make our way back to Cedar Rapids. What an incredible journey!

Kaylie

Back at AT&T: Giants vs. Twins Round Two

The crew headed back to AT&T Park for another game of the Giants vs. Twins. We had already discussed how different this ballpark felt from the others. Sitting in the bleachers the night before, we felt that the fans were there for the social aspect, not necessarily for the baseball. At our afternoon game, we got a much different feeling from the third tier.

It was a beautiful day in San Francisco and our seats had a gorgeous look out on the water. We were surrounded by lots of families (although they left by the seventh or eighth inning). These were some of my favorite seats simply because I had such a nice view of the field (I really like the more arial perspective). 

For another sold out crowd (supposedly 42,590 in attendance), the Giants had a strong showing. With a quick top of the first, they got the bats going in the bottom with three hits scoring two runs. While the Twins answered with a run in the second, the Giant's right fielder Hunter Pence delivered a home run in the third to increase the lead to two. From there, the Twins were unable to score again, while the Giants put five more runs on the board (one in the fourth, three more in the fifth, and one in the eighth). 

The star of the game was definitely Giant's pitcher Madison Bumgarner who pitched for seven innings, struck out 10 batters, and only allowed three hits. For the Giant's offense, Michael Morse had three doubles and four RBIs. 

What was the most interesting was the announcement of Dodger's pitcher Josh Beckett who had just pitched a no hitter at Coors Field during the middle of the game. While I clapped (because come on, a no hitter is a big deal), all the Giants fans around me booed. It was incredible to hear over 40,000 fans boo a player who most definitely deserved applause. But a little bit different spin on Giants fans (at least for me). 

Blogger Up!

The trip has begun and it has been crazy! When we realized the Milwaukee game had been moved up to a 12:10 PM start time as opposed to a night game, the five and a half hour drive suddenly became a daunting task ahead of us.

Our journey today began at 4:55 AM from Eden Prairie and we arrived at Miller Park at 10:45 AM. Now, we're at our hotel and READY TO BLOG. Get ready for a lot of posts, and I mean, a lot of posts. Hopefully we can begin to regulate our posting once we get going. 

In the mean time, check out our group page for profiles of the students as well as the schedule page for a listing of all our games and seating location (in case you're in the area and want to hang out with the coolest Kohawks around). 

Hailley

Blog Captain 

Top of the First

Hi! If you're reading this post, you've probably found this blog via a link on Facebook or Twitter. You might be a friend, family member, or just someone who's curious about what this blog is all about.

So let's go back to the beginning. For as long as my 22 year old self can remember, baseball has been a staple of both my life and part of the fabric of American culture. A game begun in America in the 1840s with "baseball fraternities" eventually turned into a commercial and media event, complete with instant replays and aluminum bats. Regardless of the changes and advancements, baseball is still a timeless event. There's something thrilling about sitting in the nosebleeds at a major league stadium, eating hotdogs with a side of Cracker Jacks, catching fly balls, and arguing if the error should be given to the third baseman or the first baseman. Time seems to stop, three or four hours melting by (unless the pitcher is struggling).

But can you capture those feelings? Is there any way to record these moments in the park to share with others? Can we articulate our thoughts about baseball and what it means to us?

For the next three weeks we're going to try. We're eight students from Coe College and we are a part of the 2014 Writers Colony. We've dedicated our month of May to exploring 12 baseball stadiums in the Midwest and the West and writing about our experiences. We've got one professor who knows an awful lot about baseball, driving a 15 passenger van, and keeping score by hand. His knowledge, along with our own, and our two "textbooks," will add depth, helping to make our road trip more than "a bunch of college students go to a bunch of baseball games." This blog is our space for collaboration. We'll post about all sorts of things. It will be interesting, entertaining, informative, and fun.

Here's our schedule, jam-packed but sure to be exciting. (The team logos signal our geographic location). As we hit the road, we'll start posting more, so be sure to check back!

Hailley
Blog Captain