Missouri State Bears 2 at Dallas Baptist Patriots 7 (NCAA Baseball, MVC) - May 14, 2016

Last year I visited Dallas in late February and had hoped to see Dallas Baptist baseball, but the game was snowed out when the region suffered a freak winter storm. This year, the Patriots were home on the same weekend that the Jays were in Arlington, and they had a Saturday afternoon game that didn't conflict, so I headed over to Horner Ballpark to check it out.



The campus of DBU is located on the western edge of Dallas, next to Mountain Creek Lake. The ballpark is on the northern side, and you should be able to find free parking close by, with plenty of spots in front of the residences. The stadium is named for Joan and Andy Horner, who were lifelong contributors to the school. A statue of an unknown ballplayer stands out front.



Horner Ballpark was opened in 2013 and is still brand new. Tickets were $7 to sit in the sections furthest from home plate, but as the park is not that full, you can move around. There is a roof that covers the last few rows in each section, which is quite useful on a sunny afternoon.



The visiting dugout is along first base, and so home fans sit on the third base side. This means that if you have no rooting interest, you should pretend to be a visiting supporter and grab a seat above first base, where you can get an entire section to yourself.



The campus is quite idyllic, and you have nice views beyond the outfield fence. There is a single concession stand offering your basic stadium fare, but you can also bring your own food in should you prefer.



In the main entrance, there are signs that list every Patriot All-American, as well as major league signees. Current Blue Jay Ryan Goins played here, hitting .371 with 22 homers in his junior year. Would be nice if he could get remotely close to those numbers nowadays.



Overall, Horner Ballpark is definitely worth a visit if you are in the Dallas area. It is a good way to get away from the crowds and traffic in one of the largest metro areas in the nation, and the Patriots have had a lot of success in past years, including their first-ever Missouri Valley Conference regular season title in history this season. At $7, it would be tough to find better baseball value in the Metroplex.

The Game

The visitors were the Missouri State Bears, who I had seen a couple of weeks ago in Springfield. They were struggling at 3-12 in conference play, while the Patriots were 12-3 in this rematch of Super Bowl XX nicknames. DBU is a Christian university, so they had an invocation before the game, during which the announcer prays for both teams and no injuries. I'm pretty sure he prays just a little bit harder for the home team though.

The Bears scored one in the first, but starter Darrick Hall settled down after that, giving up just 3 hits in 6 innings, while his offense scored single runs in the first and second and then a three-spot in the third to break things open. Two more Patriot runs scored on wild pitches in the sixth to pretty much end things, as the Bears added an inconsequential run in the 7th off reliever Landon Wilson that made the final 7-2. A rare quick NCAA ballgame that took 2:45, though I missed the last couple of innings as I had to get back to Arlington for the Jays game that night.

Notes

As mentioned, this is a Christian school, and so when they were advertising Sunday's game over the PA, they used the phrase "Drop by after church", something I have not heard before in any sports-related advertising.

Next Up

The rest of the baseball season will be focused on completing the AAA, AA, and High Class A ballparks. To start, I'll be visiting the Gulf of Mexico in mid-June to see Mississippi, Biloxi, Mobile, and Pensacola of the Southern League. Check back in a few days for the schedule for that trip.

Best,

Sean

Arkansas Razorbacks 6 at Missouri State Bears 14 (NCAA Baseball) - May 3, 2016

I spent an extra day in Springfield to see a Missouri State Bears game at Hammons Field, which had hosted a Springfield Cardinals morning game the day before. It gave me a chance to relax after a very busy past two weeks. I also discovered Big Whiskey's, a bar near the stadium that has half-price drinks from 4-6, perfect for a game that starts at 6:35. After a couple of beers (total cost, including tip, was less than one pint in NYC), I waddled over to the stadium. There were lots of people with extra tickets, and one guy wanted a little bit less than what I would have paid at the window. While I was going to check the prices, another guy came up and just handed me one, so I never did find out how much tickets cost. I was happy to get some free baseball, but I would later regret that.



I did take the time to wander around the venue, taking pictures of areas that were not accessible the day before. Above is the view from the Redbird Nest, which has $28 seats for the Cardinals, while below is the view from the berm behind the left field fence. Note the building in the upper left corner, this is also named for John Q. Hammons, as is the street that passes by the ballpark.



This is a really nice park when it isn't teeming with children (the same could be said of many public places), and the crowd here was much older, though there were a good number of Missouri State students on hand as well.



The visitors were Arkansas (coincidentally Arkansas were the guests the day before) and these two teams had met in a Super Regional (baseball's equivalent of the Sweet Sixteen) last year, with Arkansas winning 2-1 to book a place in the College World Series in Omaha. Arkansas lost player-of-the-year Andrew Benintendi to graduation and have struggled this year in SEC play (7-14) while Missouri State are last in the MVC at 3-8 despite a 28-14 overall record. As this was a midweek contest, poor pitching was to be expected as most schools only carry two or three decent starters, while Missouri State has a prolific offense, averaging nearly 8 runs per game.



It started with a couple of quick shutout innings, but the Bears scored 3 in the third, added another in the fourth and then batted around and them some in the fifth, plating 8 more to make it 12-0.  Arkansas finally got to starter Austin Knight in the sixth with a five spot, but Missouri State singletons in the sixth and seventh removed what little doubt remained. The game dragged on and on but the players and managers kept playing like it was the 7th game of the World Series. In one situation, Arkansas left a reliever in to start an inning and he hit the first batter, only to then be taken out. It is really frustrating to have a pitcher start an inning with so little room for failure. In the bottom of the 7th, up 12-5, a Bear batter was up with the bases loaded and watched six straight pitches and was called out on strikes. He had the temerity to glare at the umpire. If you are up by 7 in the 7th, swing the freaking bat! Why are you trying to work a bases-loaded walk? Insurance? Jake Burger was the star for Missouri finishing a double shy of the cycle.



I took the photo above a bit too early as Arkansas scored one more in the 9th to make the final 14-6. An absolutely terrible game that lasted 3:28 and had 90% of fans leaving before it had ended. Midweek college ball is always a crapshoot; I saw a great game in New Mexico two weeks ago, but this one will go down as eminently forgettable. Such is the sports road trippers life, you hope for good games but sometimes you have to live with a stinker.

Best,

Sean