Garnet Blog: Baseball Spring Break Trip to Arizona Update 1
Sports Information Director Mark Anskis is traveling with the baseball team on its Spring Break trip to Arizona and will be periodically updating about the Garnet's journey. Update 1 covers Swat's first three days in Arizona.
Day 1
The Garnet's Spring Break journey began with a 45-minute trek from the hotel in Tempe to Boulder Creek High School in the city of Anthem to face Presentation (S.D.) in the season opener. Anthem - a suburban community about 35 miles north of Phoenix - couldn't have been a more perfect location for the first day of trip, as the seemingly endless view jagged mountains and sweeping desert vistas along the highway showcased the beauty of desert landscape surrounding us.
The view from the Boulder Creek field.
At the Boulder Creek High School Complex, the Swarthmore-Presentation doubleheader was just one of several events taking place on the hustle-and-bustle Saturday morning, which created a bit of a hassle getting around, particularly when it came to parking large cargo vans and hauling heavy equipment past a field filled with thousands of screaming Little Leaguers primed for picture day. But it was just a minor inconvenience on the way to a perfect opening of the 2010 season for the team.
On the field, the Garnet took care of business, sweeping the Saints with 5-3 and 6-0 victories. In the first game, the Garnet rallied from down 3-2 in the top of seventh inning, thanks in part to three perfectly-executed bunts to start off the inning. The second game saw the Garnet dominant all phases, as pitching staff held the Saints scoreless and the offense saw nine hits come from nine different players en route to the 6-0 win.
Back in Tempe following the game, several members of the team and coaching staff celebrated the sweep with a trip to the nearby In-And-Out Burger. For those (like yours truly) from the East Coast making the virgin trip to the burger joint, the first bite of a double-double cheeseburger can only be described as a religious experience. I'm just going to end this recap right now before I spend the next three paragraphs just talking about a cheeseburger. Just know that the Garnet won, and In-and-Out burger is amazing. Life is good after the first day.
Day 2
It's a tried-and true ritual: Schools from the still-chilly Midwest and Northeast send their spring sports to sunny locations in Florida and Arizona during Spring Break as a way of escaping the wicked winter weather while playing a slew of games in the warm air before the start of conference action. That's why this little fact was so disheartening to the team on Sunday morning:
Sunday's weather in Philadelphia - 59 degrees, sunny
Sunday's weather in Phoenix - 55 degrees, heavy rain
Yeah, it rains in the desert. Everyone on the team can verify that as a fact. On average, Phoenix gets 6.83 inches of rain per year. Unfortunately, 1/6th of the yearly average fell on Sunday, forcing the postponement of the team's scheduled doubleheader against Wesleyan.
The rain began smack in the middle of the Garnet's batting practice, increasing in intensity until it chased the entire team into the dugout.
Swat players help tarp the field on Sunday's rain out.
While the rain would eventually let up, the grounds crew at Seton Catholic High School - the location of the scheduled games - didn't feel comfortable beginning the games with such an ominous forecast for the rest of the evening - which turned out to be a good move, as the sky unleashed on the drive back to Tempe.
After regrouping back at the hotel, the team headed to dinner at the Pinnacle Peak Steakhouse, an Old Western restaurant located in the mountains of Scottsdale. The place was pure country western, right down to the aquarium filled with rattlesnakes located near the entrance. Keeping with the laid-back country theme, the place also had a pretty strict "no ties" policy, which fortunately everyone followed (even the freshmen); however, there was one fashion highlight from the trip to Pinnacle Peak, as Spencer Ross purchased an authentic ivory cowboy hat from the gift shop. Yee Haw.
Following the superb steak dinner enjoyed by the team, coaching staff and several parents, the party dispersed and the Garnet were on the road back to Tempe, hoping to catch a break from Mother Nature and preserve any chance of getting back on the diamond in the near future.
Day 3
I woke up with a glimmer of hope; maybe - in some absolutely miraculous occurrence - the rising Arizona sun had evaporated the lake-sized puddles of water covering just about every baseball field in the Valley while raising the temperature about 20 degrees - by 7:30 a.m.
Nope. Woke up to more of this:
View from the lobby of the Four Points - 7:22 a.m.
Yeah, once again, not exactly ideal weather for baseball in Arizona. Fortunately, this was one of the squad's scheduled off days, so didn't totally alter the schedule.
With a free day, the team decided to catch some Cactus League Spring Training action (they decided to play through the lousy weather) down the road in Scottsdale, as Giants battled the rival Dodgers. Despite the chilly and generally miserable conditions (by Arizona standards), the stands were packed to see these long-time enemies faced off in spring training for the time in history (the Dodgers recently relocated their Spring Training facility to Arizona after 62 years in Florida). To the delight of the surprisingly high number of Giants fans on the team - and to the dismay of resident Dodger fans Matt Lamb and Issac Han - San Fran won the game 3-2 thanks to a walk-off double in the 10th inning. Everyone else was just happy to see some real, live baseball after two days of weather delays.
Next update: Wednesday evening (with hopefully more baseball to report about)
Below: Picture and video from the first three days in Arizona.