Opening Day

I know I am going to leave myself with a lot of things to come back and discuss but here is a quick rundown of opening day...

Reid "Big Horse" Jackson set the tone right off the bat, starting the game by striking out the side. He continued that tone the whole game with a dominating performance. 9 inning, CG, 12 K (including 3 for Namur's American), 1 ER and only a few hits and couple walks. However, after some defensive lapses, we found ourselves down 3-0 after a few innings. In the 5th or 6th (it escapes me now after celebrating with a half dozen pintjes in the post game), Bram started a 3 run, two out rally. In the 7th we took the lead and never looked back. I played the three bagger and hit 2nd. I was 2 for 3 with an rbi, run and sac bunt on the day (maybe 1 for 3, depending on the scoring... not sure because I was running with my head down). Despite making an error on a hard hit ball that took an unexpected skip, I played 3rd base pretty well considering my limited time spent playing there. It will take some getting used to, but I think I showed some decent range and ability to make tough plays. I had a few nice plays and a few more that would have been nicer had the umpire gotten (what I perceived to be) the right call.

All in all it was great to be back on the field and even nicer to get that W. It is so much more fun to play ball when you feel a connection with the people you are playing with, and this certainly falls under that category (unlike in arizona). This may seem unlikely since I have only been here for 2 weeks, but spending time with the youth programs and working out/getting to know the guys on the team has been great. It is a great group of guys, and I can honestly say that wanting success not only for myself but for my teammates and wins for the guys around me makes me play harder and care more (another thing missing from arizona).

I'm looking forward to game number 2 tomorrow when we travel to namur to play the angels in another 9 inning battle. Today's game ball to Reid... Stay tuned for updates on tomorrow.

Also, I bet a case of beer on the U.S. winning the world cup... we'll see how that goes.