Hilo, Hawai'i -
Day 3 - Saturday, Jan. 24
Today our season finally got under way, as the weather finally cooperated. The clouds parted, the rain went away, the sun came out, and it was time to play some baseball. We started out with a very interesting breakfast. For the first time in my life (and the 4th meal in a row), we had rice for breakfast. I was a little reluctant to go with the rice for breakfast, but when mixed with eggs, it was all right. We also had some kind of spicy sausage that had such a strong flavor that three rounds with the toothbrush and 12 hours later, I could still taste it on my breath.
We found out at breakfast that we were going to play one game, and hopefully in Hilo before going to a field on the other side of the island to finish our series. We got to the field and we were all pretty pumped up to play. The sun was out, and it was hot and very humid, but a major improvement from the non-stop thunderstorms we had yesterday.
This is probably a good time to talk about something that really became evident to me while we were at the field today. That is that we are incredibly fortunate to play at such an awesome facility as we have in San Diego. Don't get me wrong, we work very hard for the things we get, but we have definitely been spoiled by the comfortable confines of Tony Gwynn Stadium. This point was really hammered home as I was trying to hit batting practice in a cage that had a trough running down the middle of it and a batter's box that was softer than a sandbox. To top it off, our coach had to wear a helmet while he pitched to keep from getting drilled in the head when the balls ricocheted off the unpadded walls. Next, our dugouts consisted of a couple concrete benches sitting against the cement bleachers and the ground was covered with small rocks and pebbles. The fans were protected by a chain-link fence that hung from the top of the stadium down to the ground and every time a foul ball crashed into the fence it reminded me of bottles exploding against the protective fence as angry fans tried to hit the Blues Brothers during a bar concert. Obviously, the facilities were as nice as possible for a small school on the islands, but I'm definitely looking forward to some home games.
Unfortunately, we only managed to split our two games today, but at least we've hopefully gotten out the first-game kinks and are ready to start playing some good baseball.
Now, we're off for a 3-hour bus ride across the island to Kona as the rain starts falling again and the lightning keeps flashing and lighting up the night sky. Hopefully, tomorrow we'll be able to play well enough to sweep our double-header.