A day of fall baseball at CCSU

Yesterday was the last day of fall baseball scrimmages at Central Connecticut State University. I went down to see Ryan (my 19-year old son) play. He caught all 12 innings of the intra-squad contest, as he has done in almost every game this fall. He was 1 for 3 at the plate, including two sacrifice flies (each ball traveled more than 380 feet), was hit by a pitch, stole a base, knocked in two runs, and scored two runs. His final at bat, the only one I didn’t photograph, was a base hit. He ripped a line drive double off of the top fence in right field, just to the right of the 375 foot sign. He came around to score the deciding run, and five hours of batting practice and scrimmage came to an end.

The sun was warm, it was bright, and the day was perfect for baseball. Every once in a while a nice breeze kicked up out of the south and made matters that much more comfortable. The field is all turf, enclosed by fences and nets, and it sits at the north end of campus. Trees line the right field fence and continue as a backdrop even out past the scoreboard in center field. It’s not the most intimate field I’ve ever seen, but it’s a nice facility for a quality baseball program.

I enjoyed sitting in the bleachers watching all the details unfold before me. One of my favorite pastimes is our national pastime, and I added five more hours of taking in this great game while sitting in the sun on a gorgeous fall morning. Ryan had a great fall of baseball, hitting well over .400 in more than 60 plate appearances. I am so glad I was able to see Ryan play and spend time with him last night and then again this morning. It some small way it seemed like old times, watching Ryan on the ball field, completely in his element, playing in a day of fall baseball at CCSU.