Everyone has weekends that they look forward to, for a variety of reasons. There is Memorial Day weekend, which is a personal favorite of mine because I really enjoy three-day weekends. Then there are the event weekends, like Final Four weekend, or opening weekend in either MLB or NFL. We all, as sports fans, have those weekends that we mark on our calendars and set our social schedule around. This weekend was one of those weekends for me – it was Super Regional weekend. The NCAA baseball tournament is bracketed exactly as they do the basketball tournament; however, when they get to the “Sweet Sixteen” in baseball they have a best two out of three series to see who gets to be one of the eight teams to advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
You see things during this weekend that you may not see any other time of year, and you especially may see, and hear, things that you may never see or hear on a major league diamond. On Saturday I watched N.C. State attempt, unsuccessfully, a suicide squeeze in a one-run game in the bottom of the ninth inning. So what happened on the next pitch? They tried it again – successfully this time –and went on to a come-from-behind win against Rice University. You would be lucky to see one suicide squeeze attempt in the major leagues in a season, much less two attempts on consecutive pitches.
There are other things unique to college baseball, like all-turf fields. I know what you’re thinking… there are turf fields in Toronto, Tampa, etc. And you’re right, but when I say all turf fields, I mean the only dirt on the entire field is the pitcher’s mound. And for some reason they do not allow the eating of sunflower seeds on these turf fields (it probably has something to do with the shells). But as a former player that has probably chewed a field of sunflower seeds in my time, that was difficult for me to imagine – playing a game without seeds?!
Other unique things I noticed over the weekend:
Well, there’s the obvious example – the “ping” of the bat when it makes contact. That noise has been muted over the past few years, as the NCAA got the bat manufacturers to change their bats to make them behave more like wooden bats. And thank goodness for that, because someone was going to get seriously hurt.
And then there’s Oklahoma, whose colors are red and white, but they wear light blue shirts underneath their sleeveless uniforms. I haven’t figured that one out yet.
I’m also convinced that if LSU played 81 home games they would out-draw some major league teams. They had 11,500 fans on Friday night and 12,000 on Saturday. They have led the nation in attendance for the past 18 seasons. LSU ‘s number three hitter is hitting .342 this season, and this is considered an offseason for him because his average has dropped about 100 points from last year. There are a lot of hitters, professional and amateur, who would love to have such an “off” year. Oh, and LSU has a Jacoby Jones also. And guess what, he’s pretty fast (but I’m sure our version is a better dancer).
So, if you love watching baseball, the next week of games, starting with the “win or go home” game three between North Carolina and South Carolina tonight, all the way through the championship series in Omaha, should be required viewing. The passion for the game, from the dugouts and the stands, is the reason why I love this time of year.
