Remember the last weekend in May I told you of my trip to the USA Baseball complex in Cary where I watched our three men from Rocky Mount a player Thomas Berry and two coaches Britt Johnson and Jim Leggett who were part of the Lander University Baseball team. A 13 inning game in the game before the Lander 8pm game was delayed until 10:05 pm. The last pitch finished at 1:14 and I arrived home at 2:45 just in time to take a nap and be at church by 8am.
N C State hosting the Raleigh Regional D I baseball playoffs this past weekend and what has turned out to be into the mid week. I am all lined up to go with son Brooks Friday night to Raleigh and watch the Wolfpack in their opening game until I get this e-mail from Joe Bell stating that Post 58 Legion had picked up a game with Ahoskie at home Friday. I disappointedly stay to do PA for Legion but kept my eye on game tracker following the Wolfpack.
An exciting Legion game made it worth staying to see and a three hour rain delay in Raleigh was only in the fifth inning when I got into the house Friday night. 11:50 the Navy /NC State game resumed and I was able to catch the last four innings on ESPN3. The game did not get over until 1:38am and as I cut off my I-Pad the word was Navy would have to play their losers bracket game at 1pm.
I arrived at the ball park at 1:15 expecting the Navy/St Marys game to be into the first inning. Lo and behold the game was pushed back to 2pm to give Navy an extra hour since it was near 3am before they returned to their hotel. All that did was give me an extra 45 minutes to burn up in the humid 90 degree temperatures.
The losers bracket game has reached the ninth inning about 4:45 and in tournaments when you have a ticket for every game you still have to exit the stadium and when they have cleared out the stadium they will let everyone back in about an hour before the next game which the State-Coastal Carolina winners bracket game is scheduled for 7pm. Brooks and I headed for food and wouldn't you know it sitting in the grill watching the Navy game it goes extra innings and does not end until about 6:20.
Pack baseball twitter announces first pitch for the state game is 7:20 and they will start letting people enter the stadium at 6:50. While in the grill we were watching all the NCAA games going on including the ECU/UVA game. Once the announcement was made to reenter the stadium at 6:50 we got up and left just as ECU was batting in the bottom of the ninth of their dramatic come from behind victory over Virginia. Didn't see it.
Now back in the stadium it is always a bad sign while you are standing there and the grounds crew starts putting the tarp back on the field when it is not raining. A gentleman with a megaphone walks around the complex and announces that severe weather is approaching and everyone please clear the stadium. I just did make it back to the car when the bottom fell out and lightning that rocked the place. Finally Twitter says play ball at 9:25 and you can reenter at 8:55.
Coastal Carolina pitched two kids that kept the Pack at bay but here it comes again. Coastal is ahead 3-0 top of the ninth with one out and here comes the tarp out once again and the same guy with his megaphone. This time some lightning but man does it rain. Here it is 12:35 and I decide they are not playing any more tonight and head home. I was just getting on I-440 when Tony Haines announces on the radio they will pick it up at 12:30 Sunday afternoon.
Brooks already had made the decision he wasn't going to the Sunday finish up game or to the loser bracket game so I have two tickets and I am going to tell you between the Saturday afternoon sun beat down and all night baseball I decided on the way home I was taking the day off from baseball to rest.
Luckily our work was off on Monday so we are back at the Doak on Monday to see the Pack beat Coastal in a must win game. The forecast doesn't look good for Monday night so I give my ticket to Brooks and head home after the first game. Even before the first pitch Monday night an hour an a half rain delay. Later a 45 minute delay and finally again at 12:30 in the ninth inning rain sends everyone home and I cut off my I Pad without knowing whether they would finish or not Monday night. Didn't think they would and sure enough they came back Tuesday and finished without me.
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Coastal Carolina deserved the opportunity to host as they were ranked higher in the nation. ESPN analysts are calling for indefinite suspension without pay for Coach Elliot Avent in his tirade.
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