Gators 17, Jaspers 3 - Regroup

Florida is a pretty good team. Actually, they're a very good team, the #1 team in the country.

To our credit, after the first 3 innings, we won 3-1. Problem is, we let up 16 in the first three and lost 17-3. Our starter didn't have his good stuff and they made him pay - they hammered mistakes and basically anything else we threw up there. I made a trip out to the mound after three batters - and I'm sure I was on TV - so there it was, that's me for you followers out there. Tomorrow I will vow to make a few more trips and get myself seen on national TV again.

I am not going to sit here and make excuses about this and that - they dominated every aspect of the game and we and are a better team than us. And they should be - everything is in place to succeed at the highest level.

Tomorrow is a new day, a noon time game. And we did win one thing today - the coin flip - so we'll be the home team against Jacksonville tomorrow. Again, it's on ESPNU.

There's really nothing you can do about a game like this - 4-3 or 17-3 - a loss is a loss is a loss.

After tomorrow, I will create a timeline of events on both WRT and DDP - a little documentation of our trip by means of photograph.

As for now, family time. I hope this kid sleeps a little tonight. Him and Lindsay both had a long day - first flight for the little guy and Lindsay hates flying.

Good night!

Location:UF

Game Day is Here

The day ha finally arrived - NCAA Regionals - Day 1.

The first game of our regional - Jacksonville vs. Miami - is probably right around first pitch. We aren't going to the field until 1:45pm, then we hit, then we get it going.

This morning, we went over to America's favorite interstate restaurant - Cracker Barrel - for a team breakfast. Talk about bang for your buck, you spend $9 for breakfast and walk out of that placed stuffed to the gills. I got me some french toast and grits with two scrambled eggs. I tend to get something in the country store every time I frequent a CB, but not this time. Sure, they had some cool little birdhouses, but I don't know if I have any room in my travel bag to transport it back to NY. So I saved some $$ there.

I spoke to Lindsay right after she boarded the plane and heard Nolan crying in the background - he was hungry. She said there were a lot of kids on the plane, headed to Disney no doubt. She's with the head coach's wife and two kids - she mentioned that it's a good thing our kids are too young to realize they're going to baseball games instead of to see Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Sooner or later, we'll take Nolan down there for some Disney action.

I am about to take my pre-game shower and relax for a few before we depart for McKethan Stadium. I am getting anxious - I mean it's not often a school of 2,800 students gets to play the best team in the country in an NCAA Regional and have it be nationally televised.

You can follow it on ESPNU or on the web (for those of you who are at work) at D1 Baseball. It's an exciting day to be in green.

Be back later on after the game to give a little recap. The best part is - win or lose - we're playing with house money. We're not supposed to win these games - any of them - so we should be loose. It's a great experience for the kids on the team and something they'll never forget.

Play Ball and Go Jaspers!

woo!