Well here I am in Ft. Worth, Texas after an 11 hour bus ride. We left last night after our game against Wichita at about 11 pm (MDT) and arrived in Ft. Worth about an hour ago. We are staying at a beautiful Spring Hill Suites Marriot just off the highway.
I recieved some excellent news yesterday morning as it looks like I am going to be playing in Australia this winter as a member of the Geelong Baseball Club. Geelong (pronounced guh-long), is in the province of Victoria and although it is about an hour from Melbourne, its just 10 minutes away from beautiful Bells Beach. The season starts at the beginning of October and concludes at the end of February. The league takes about a month break during the holidays so hopefully I can get back to America during that time.
We went 4-2 on our past homestand including a three-game sweep over Shreveport. The week began with a hellacious 23 hour bus ride back from Pensacola (no joke). This put us back into El Paso at around 10 pm (MDT). My girlfriend, Katie, was supposed to fly into El Paso at 11 pm but due to a delayed flight in Baltimore, she missed her connector flight in Dallas. She would arrive the next morning. In the first game of the series, Juan Camacho knocked in the game winning run to cap a four-run ninth inning rally as we defeated the Captains 7-6.
I had the ball in the second game of the series on Saturday, May 30. I gave up a run in the first inning and escaped a jam in the second before cruising into the seventh inning. We were winning 2-1 going into the seventh but I would allow a single tally in the frame to even the game up. Garvis Romero relieved me with two outs in the inning and proceeded to strike out the only hitter he faced. We went on to score another run in the bottom half of the inning and our bullpen threw two scoreles innings to preserve the 3-2 Diablo win. The game marked my second consecutive game with seven strikeouts and I had the luxury of recieving the "hat pass", which is when a pitcher strikes out atleast seven hitters in a game people come down and put money into a helmet and it is given to the player. The money wasn't much but hey, I'll take it.
We registered the three-game sweep on Sunday as we picked up an 8-7 win. This time Jorge Alvarez was the game hero with a double to knock in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. The win streak continued into the first game against Wichita when Nick Martin and two relievers blanked the Wingnuts. We scored one run in the first inning and it proved to be enough as we were victorious, 1-0. The fortune did not stay the same for the final two games of the series as we fell in both games.
I was talking to a few of the guys the other day in the locker room about how quick the season is going. Did you know after this roadtrip that 1/4 of the season is over? I have been out here for almost five weeks now and it is just flying by. Maybe its because we are winning or maybe its because we are having fun but regardless, I do not remember it going this fast last season. On a side note, it really was special having Katie in El Paso for the past six days and seeing her in the stands during the homestand. I look forward to seeing her in a month.
I am slated to throw the first game of the four-game series tonight against the Cats at 7:05. It is a big series for us because Ft. Worth holds a three game lead and is in first place in the South Division. I did not sleep that well on the bus last night so I am going to get some sleep before the bus leaves for the field at 5. These sleep number beds are so comfortable that I going to make sure I set my alarm!
I recieved some excellent news yesterday morning as it looks like I am going to be playing in Australia this winter as a member of the Geelong Baseball Club. Geelong (pronounced guh-long), is in the province of Victoria and although it is about an hour from Melbourne, its just 10 minutes away from beautiful Bells Beach. The season starts at the beginning of October and concludes at the end of February. The league takes about a month break during the holidays so hopefully I can get back to America during that time.
We went 4-2 on our past homestand including a three-game sweep over Shreveport. The week began with a hellacious 23 hour bus ride back from Pensacola (no joke). This put us back into El Paso at around 10 pm (MDT). My girlfriend, Katie, was supposed to fly into El Paso at 11 pm but due to a delayed flight in Baltimore, she missed her connector flight in Dallas. She would arrive the next morning. In the first game of the series, Juan Camacho knocked in the game winning run to cap a four-run ninth inning rally as we defeated the Captains 7-6.
I had the ball in the second game of the series on Saturday, May 30. I gave up a run in the first inning and escaped a jam in the second before cruising into the seventh inning. We were winning 2-1 going into the seventh but I would allow a single tally in the frame to even the game up. Garvis Romero relieved me with two outs in the inning and proceeded to strike out the only hitter he faced. We went on to score another run in the bottom half of the inning and our bullpen threw two scoreles innings to preserve the 3-2 Diablo win. The game marked my second consecutive game with seven strikeouts and I had the luxury of recieving the "hat pass", which is when a pitcher strikes out atleast seven hitters in a game people come down and put money into a helmet and it is given to the player. The money wasn't much but hey, I'll take it.
We registered the three-game sweep on Sunday as we picked up an 8-7 win. This time Jorge Alvarez was the game hero with a double to knock in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. The win streak continued into the first game against Wichita when Nick Martin and two relievers blanked the Wingnuts. We scored one run in the first inning and it proved to be enough as we were victorious, 1-0. The fortune did not stay the same for the final two games of the series as we fell in both games.
I was talking to a few of the guys the other day in the locker room about how quick the season is going. Did you know after this roadtrip that 1/4 of the season is over? I have been out here for almost five weeks now and it is just flying by. Maybe its because we are winning or maybe its because we are having fun but regardless, I do not remember it going this fast last season. On a side note, it really was special having Katie in El Paso for the past six days and seeing her in the stands during the homestand. I look forward to seeing her in a month.
I am slated to throw the first game of the four-game series tonight against the Cats at 7:05. It is a big series for us because Ft. Worth holds a three game lead and is in first place in the South Division. I did not sleep that well on the bus last night so I am going to get some sleep before the bus leaves for the field at 5. These sleep number beds are so comfortable that I going to make sure I set my alarm!
