2013 SPRING BREAK BASEBALL IN TAMPA BAY / CLEARWATER BEACH (MARCH 14TH—24TH) The Bulldogs completed an 11 day road trip to Tampa, Florida where they won 5 games, lost 2 and tied 1. The 15 young men departed from Van Meter on March 14 th in two 15-passenger conversion vans. Their first stop was in Hawkinsville, GA where they scrimmaged the Hawkinsville Red Devils on Saturday, March 16 th . The Bulldogs came up short, losing 3 – 7, while utilizing all 15 players in the batting order and pitching a different player every inning. They found it was a great experience to finally get outside and play some ball for the first time this year. Hawkinsville’s Coach McDuffie and their entire town made the Bulldogs feel welcomed and showered them with Southern hospitality…including a BBQ lunch after the game! BULLDOG RECORD: 0-1 Next up was a game with Tabor Academy out of Massachusetts on March 17 th . The Bulldogs jumped out to a 6 – 0 lead after 5 innings but ended up tied at the end of regulation time. The boys played hard in an incredible minor league stadium (Al Lang Field) nestled up against palm trees that looked out onto the bay through left field. The Bulldog’s bats were hot with 3 doubles and the pitching was good but they let off the accelerator towards the end as they were just trying to hang on. BULLDOG RECORD: 0-1-1
Transcript
2013 SPRING BREAK BASEBALL IN TAMPA BAY / CLEARWATER BEACH (MARCH 14TH—24TH)
The Bulldogs completed an 11 day road trip to Tampa, Florida where they won 5 games, lost 2 and tied 1. The 15 young men departed from Van Meter on March 14thin two 15-passenger conversion vans. Their first stop was in Hawkinsville, GA where they scrimmaged the Hawkinsville Red Devils on Saturday, March 16th. The Bulldogs came up short, losing 3 – 7, while utilizing all 15 players in the batting order and pitching a different player every inning. They found it was a great experience to finally get outside and play some ball for the first time this year. Hawkinsville’s Coach McDuffie and their entire town made the Bulldogs feel welcomed and showered them with Southern hospitality…including a BBQ lunch after the game!
BULLDOG RECORD: 0-1
Next up was a game with Tabor Academy out of Massachusetts on March 17th. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 6 – 0 lead after 5 innings but ended up tied at the end of regulation time. The boys played hard in an incredible minor league stadium (Al Lang Field) nestled up against palm trees that looked out onto the bay through left field. The Bulldog’s bats were hot with 3 doubles and the pitching was good but they let off the accelerator towards the end as they were just trying to hang on.
BULLDOG RECORD: 0-1-1
The next day (March 18th) saw the Bulldogs taking on St Francis out of Canada in a double header. The Bulldogs jumped on the Canadians quickly and often in the first game collecting 5 doubles and 1 triple on 13 hits for a .433 team average. They went on to win 10-4 and 11-2 to take both games. This game was played at Jack Russell Park which was the former spring training field for the Philadelphia Phillies. So this was the second big league style stadium that the Bulldogs got to play in! The St. Francis team is a club team out of Canada where they rent out Jack Russell Park and play all their games there. They use the clubhouse for their lockers so when they show up at the field their laundry is done and their shoes have been cleaned and shined…..a real MLB experience for them. It was humorous at times to hear their catcher yelling out to his own pitcher to….”Throw it down the middle…eHHH!”
BULLDOG RECORD: 2-1-1
Our last game (March 19th) before our day off was against Principia, a private school out of St. Louis MO. After leading 7-5 through four innings the combination of sore arms and errors allowed Principia to blow the game open with an 11 run 5th inning that was too much for the Bulldogs. The Dawgs hit well with a .417 team average but lost the game 16-10.
BULLDOG RECORD: 2-2-1
The next day, March 20th was our day off at Bush Gardens. A much needed break for the boys found them riding some extreme roller coasters and seeing giraffes and elephants. Another highlight of the day was the unlimited eating wristbands the boys used to go through and get as much food as they could consume! Quote of the day from one of the young ladies with our group: “Let’s go grab a boy with a wristband so that we can get a snack!” The other intangibles that made this day so special was that it was overcast but still in the mid 70s. Additionally the park was not busy and you could go from one ride to the next with less than a 5 minute wait! Add these all together and the boys were wiped out by the time the park closed! So much for the needed rest!
Thursday, March 21st and we are back at it with a double header against the private school Promfret out of Connecticut. The Bulldog’s bats stayed hot hitting .414 and .421 in the first and second games respectively beating Promfret 12-10 and 20-12. These games were played at Walter Fuller complex…..former spring training complex of the Tampa Bay Rays. So once again the fields were immaculate with true infield bounces!
BULLDOGS RECORD: 4-2-1
Our last game of the trip was a rematch against the private school Principia out of St. Louis, MO. The Bulldogs were ready and wanted to make sure that this school understood who was the better team. The Dawgs jumped out to a 12-0 lead after 3 innings and went on to win 19-3 after 5 innings. The team hit .391 and played some really good defense!
BULLDOG RECORD: 5-2-1
On Saturday, March 23rd we said good bye to our home away from home and headed back to Iowa. We pushed hard to make it back before the snowstorm hit St. Louis….missing it by less than 1 hour. We rolled into Van Meter around 10am on Sunday March 24th brining to an end our 2013 Spring Break.
