We are closing in on midnight, nearly Monday morning. Everyone is excited to finally get home. We stopped in Chamberlain, S.D., for supper at McDonald's. Everyone was looking for a "Welcome Home Derek West" sign as we pulled into his hometown, but nothing up yet.
Finished supper and began our last leg of the tour home. Currently on highway 23 about 20 minutes from home.
It's been a pleasure to post throughout this championship week for SMSU baseball and all our loyal fans. I thank you all for the comments that you've posted on this blog and also through e-mail and phone. It was a blast, just like it was on the trip to Springfield, Mass.
It was a memorable week for our ball players and something they'll never forget. A chance to play at a great ballpark, against great teams and show everyone that you can compete was tremendous thing for everyone involved.
Fans, you'll be happy to know the team was true class the whole week and represented SMSU in a positive way to everyone in Grand Junction.
I hope everyone has a great summer and remember to support SMSU athletics in any way you can. Booster club membership, season tickets, golf classic participant, in-kind donations to facilities, etc. We love your support.
Until next time we meet...Go Mustangs!
Kelly
Sunday, May 17, 2009
May 17 - 6:45 pm CDT - In South Dakota
We are now in South Dakota driving on US Highway 83 heading towards Murdo, S.D. We will then hit I-90 and begin our way east towards Sioux Falls.
The drive from North Platte, Neb., to Murdo, S.D., is something else to see...well, there is nothing to see. Just wide open spaces and spaces and spaces.
Movie update. We watched Grumpy Old Men and another Dane Cook movie (I can't remember the name). good stuff. now Me, Myself and Irene is playing on the bus.
Thank goodness internet is working on the bus. Helping me pass the time. I followed the Twins suffer another walk-off lose to the Yankees and also followed Mesa State win the regiona title over Wayne State 8-2.
Greg Laughlin and Andrew Kinney both named to the all-tournament team. Doug Stearns and Matt Bauer both could've been named as well.
later
The drive from North Platte, Neb., to Murdo, S.D., is something else to see...well, there is nothing to see. Just wide open spaces and spaces and spaces.
Movie update. We watched Grumpy Old Men and another Dane Cook movie (I can't remember the name). good stuff. now Me, Myself and Irene is playing on the bus.
Thank goodness internet is working on the bus. Helping me pass the time. I followed the Twins suffer another walk-off lose to the Yankees and also followed Mesa State win the regiona title over Wayne State 8-2.
Greg Laughlin and Andrew Kinney both named to the all-tournament team. Doug Stearns and Matt Bauer both could've been named as well.
later
May 17 - 2:16 pm CDT
We continue our drive home from Grand Junction. Update, Mesa State leads Wayne State 6-0 in the fourth inning of the championship game.
We stopped in eastern Colorado at a Wendy' for lunch. I have no clue what town it was. But it was the middle of nowwhere. The cool thing was seeing two people ride in on horses, tie them up and go eat lunch. You know your in ranch country.
Here are some pictures from today. One pic is the sunrise before we left, another is Coach Nikkel next to an elk that he wishes he could shoot someday. Other pics are from the views we had on the bus. Also one picture is from Thursday's opening round game vs. Mankato. The team on the base line following introductions.
We are closing in on Nebraska
May 17 - 10:30 MDT - Heading Home
Good morning Mustangs fans. The SMSU baseball team is on its way home from Grand Junction, Colo. I'm writing from the bus as we close in on Sterling, Colo., in eastern Colorado.
We awoke around 5:15 am MDT, finished packing and had some breakfast in the hotel before leaving GJ at 6:06 MDT.
As expected, the views from the bus during the first three hours were awesome! GJ is at 4,500 feet and two hours in the trip we were cruising through the Rocky Mountains at 10,000 feet. Still snow on the ground in many spots. The views make the trip go a little quicker. Now as we continue east, the mountains are now just a distant memory in the rear view mirror. I'll be posting some pictures later today.
Update from the tournament late last night. Wayne State eliminated CSU-Pueblo 6-1. Yeah, can you believe it? Wayne State held CSU-P to just one run. I'm sure CSU-P was just tired from its comeback versus SMSU :)
Following last night's game, the team split up and ate at either Sonic or Taco Bell and then met with Coach Blanchard at 10 pm. Coach thanked the team for a great season, making school history and thanked them for letting him be their coach. The players then gave Coach John Petersen a bat signed by the entire team thanking him for his efforts as pitching coach at SMSU. Coach will not be returning next season. John played five seasons at SMSU and has coached another five years. He is a true Mustang.
The team hung out the remainder of the night, while Coach Blanchard, Coach Nikkel, Chris Hmielewski and I headed to McDonald's for a late night shake/snack. Only the drive through was open, so we walked through drive thru and knocked on the drive-in window to order, cutting between cars. The worker said, "sorry have to order at the first window." So we back-pedal (honestly) to the first window and order, then walked forward again to get our order. (you had to be there, sort of funny).
Back in the room, we sat around and talked about the season, the highs and lows (lots of highs) and looking to next year.
We continue heading east before stopping for lunch sometime around 12 pm. Not looking forward to losing an hour, but will be nice to get back to Central Time Zone. We are now on our third movie on the way home. The first was Detroit Rock City, followed The Running Man and now Little Big League.
More coming later. We hope to return to Marshall around midnight.
We awoke around 5:15 am MDT, finished packing and had some breakfast in the hotel before leaving GJ at 6:06 MDT.
As expected, the views from the bus during the first three hours were awesome! GJ is at 4,500 feet and two hours in the trip we were cruising through the Rocky Mountains at 10,000 feet. Still snow on the ground in many spots. The views make the trip go a little quicker. Now as we continue east, the mountains are now just a distant memory in the rear view mirror. I'll be posting some pictures later today.
Update from the tournament late last night. Wayne State eliminated CSU-Pueblo 6-1. Yeah, can you believe it? Wayne State held CSU-P to just one run. I'm sure CSU-P was just tired from its comeback versus SMSU :)
Following last night's game, the team split up and ate at either Sonic or Taco Bell and then met with Coach Blanchard at 10 pm. Coach thanked the team for a great season, making school history and thanked them for letting him be their coach. The players then gave Coach John Petersen a bat signed by the entire team thanking him for his efforts as pitching coach at SMSU. Coach will not be returning next season. John played five seasons at SMSU and has coached another five years. He is a true Mustang.
The team hung out the remainder of the night, while Coach Blanchard, Coach Nikkel, Chris Hmielewski and I headed to McDonald's for a late night shake/snack. Only the drive through was open, so we walked through drive thru and knocked on the drive-in window to order, cutting between cars. The worker said, "sorry have to order at the first window." So we back-pedal (honestly) to the first window and order, then walked forward again to get our order. (you had to be there, sort of funny).
Back in the room, we sat around and talked about the season, the highs and lows (lots of highs) and looking to next year.
We continue heading east before stopping for lunch sometime around 12 pm. Not looking forward to losing an hour, but will be nice to get back to Central Time Zone. We are now on our third movie on the way home. The first was Detroit Rock City, followed The Running Man and now Little Big League.
More coming later. We hope to return to Marshall around midnight.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
May 16 - 9:30 pm MDT - Heartbreaking
Unreal. What more can you say about today's game versus Colorado State-Pueblo. SMSU holds a 14-8 lead in the eighth inning and CSU-P rallies to trim the lead to 14-13 heading into the ninth and then with two outs, CSU gets three hits to score the eventual game-winning run. Just hearbreaking for SMSU.
A big play in the game that doesn't show up in the box score is the catch made by the CSUP left fielder with two outs in the eighth inning. SMSU had a runner at second and Andrew Kinney hit a deep ball to left field, that looked like was going to be a sure double, but the fielder made a diving catch at the base of the wall to keep his team to within one run.
As I type this in the hotel room, I can't help but think what a great experience for SMSU baseball and its players to compete in this regional tournament. There is no doubt in my mind we have a team that can compete at this level. The hitting by our guys was unreal all weekend long. As you can tell by the scores, it was a great hitting environment for all teams – fairly small ballpark, wind blowing out at times and altitude, as Grand Junction is at 4,500 feet above sea level.
We will be heading back to Marshall at 6 am on Sunday morning. There is good and bad. The good is that the sun will be up and we’ll be able to see the view as we drive through the mountains. The bad is that it will be early and I hope we can all stay awake to see it all.
Another thing I noticed at the regional tournament is weather and climate; make a big difference in college baseball. It’s amazing to see the crowd support for Mesa State baseball. Grand Junction is a big city, but that isn’t the case for many college teams in big cities. What do I mean about the weather? Well it is a big advantage for Mesa State and other Colorado schools to be able to play home games in February, for fans to get to watch their local teams play. Since the RMAC started league games in March, most RMAC schools only play weekends. No mid-week games so the need for six or more starting pitchers isn’t need as much like northern teams.
Plus playing so many games give teams a chance to play at home much more than northern schools. We get about 10-12 home games at home each season and that’s it.
It was a big-time environment for this tournament and a great job put on by the Mesa State College athletics department.
Tonight is May 16 and we were still playing baseball. That’s awesome!
Congrats to our Mustang seniors for great careers, capped by an NCAA regional tournament. Greg Laughlin sets career record for hits, junior Andrew Kinney ties school record for home runs in a season with 17.
The career stats and season stats are updated on-line (of course they are, SMSU is the best at updating its Web site), so check out some of the records set by SMSU this season.
Check back later, as there will be more to come in “The Hey Loft” as we return home on Sunday. I want to say thanks to everyone who read the blog and for their comments. I also have to say it was great to see Dan Nesdahl, an SMSU grad living in Colorado Springs, who made the trip on Friday to watch SMSU play on Friday and Saturday. He’s a big fan and that showed this weekend as he made the five-hour trip to watch his alma mater.
What a season again for SMSU athletics as we are now “officially” done for 2008-09. Two conference championships and six of 10 sports compete at NCAA regional tournaments, the most ever in one season in school history.
Until next time, Go Mustangs!
A big play in the game that doesn't show up in the box score is the catch made by the CSUP left fielder with two outs in the eighth inning. SMSU had a runner at second and Andrew Kinney hit a deep ball to left field, that looked like was going to be a sure double, but the fielder made a diving catch at the base of the wall to keep his team to within one run.
As I type this in the hotel room, I can't help but think what a great experience for SMSU baseball and its players to compete in this regional tournament. There is no doubt in my mind we have a team that can compete at this level. The hitting by our guys was unreal all weekend long. As you can tell by the scores, it was a great hitting environment for all teams – fairly small ballpark, wind blowing out at times and altitude, as Grand Junction is at 4,500 feet above sea level.
We will be heading back to Marshall at 6 am on Sunday morning. There is good and bad. The good is that the sun will be up and we’ll be able to see the view as we drive through the mountains. The bad is that it will be early and I hope we can all stay awake to see it all.
Another thing I noticed at the regional tournament is weather and climate; make a big difference in college baseball. It’s amazing to see the crowd support for Mesa State baseball. Grand Junction is a big city, but that isn’t the case for many college teams in big cities. What do I mean about the weather? Well it is a big advantage for Mesa State and other Colorado schools to be able to play home games in February, for fans to get to watch their local teams play. Since the RMAC started league games in March, most RMAC schools only play weekends. No mid-week games so the need for six or more starting pitchers isn’t need as much like northern teams.
Plus playing so many games give teams a chance to play at home much more than northern schools. We get about 10-12 home games at home each season and that’s it.
It was a big-time environment for this tournament and a great job put on by the Mesa State College athletics department.
Tonight is May 16 and we were still playing baseball. That’s awesome!
Congrats to our Mustang seniors for great careers, capped by an NCAA regional tournament. Greg Laughlin sets career record for hits, junior Andrew Kinney ties school record for home runs in a season with 17.
The career stats and season stats are updated on-line (of course they are, SMSU is the best at updating its Web site), so check out some of the records set by SMSU this season.
Check back later, as there will be more to come in “The Hey Loft” as we return home on Sunday. I want to say thanks to everyone who read the blog and for their comments. I also have to say it was great to see Dan Nesdahl, an SMSU grad living in Colorado Springs, who made the trip on Friday to watch SMSU play on Friday and Saturday. He’s a big fan and that showed this weekend as he made the five-hour trip to watch his alma mater.
What a season again for SMSU athletics as we are now “officially” done for 2008-09. Two conference championships and six of 10 sports compete at NCAA regional tournaments, the most ever in one season in school history.
Until next time, Go Mustangs!
May 16 - 9:15 am MDT - A Long Night
The view from the press box at Suplizio Field in Grand Junction, looking east.
Wow...that's all I can say about last night's game versus Wayne State. The Wildcats jumped on us early and cruised to the victory. Baseball is a crazy game and last night was a great example of that. WSC had the game well in hand in the sixth inning and then things got really weird. Three bloop hits, a ball glanced off of SMSU pitcher Matt Paulsen's grove for a hit, a bad hop single over shortstop Josh Nolan's head and then the kicker...a ground ball up the middle, Greg Laughlin about to grab it and step on second base and then.... the ball hits the base and goes at a 90 degree angle for a hit.
Some bright spots? Congrats Greg Laughlin on breaking the school record for hits in a career! Colby Pack was a great hitter and to pass him is a great accomplishment. Greg finished with four hits yesterday and was the homer shy of the cycle. Also, Andrew Kinney belted his 17th home run of the season, tying the school single-season record.
Following the game, the team ordered pizza and got to bed. I awoke this morning around 8 am, as Coach Blanchard was getting ready to have breakfast with Chris Hmielewski. Coach doesn't care if he wakes you up when he gets ready. Lights on, water running, etc. Coach Nikkel sleeps through anything and as I type at 9:22 am MDT, he is still dreaming pleasant thoughts. (it sounds like it anyways :)
The boys are back at it today at 4 pm MDT. The games all start a half hour later due to Mesa State graduation going on next door at the football stadium. SMSU will play Colorado State-Pueblo at 4 pm and if we win, we'll play the loser of Mesa State/Wayne State, who play at 12:30 today.
We need to win four straight games to advance to the World Series. Hug and kiss those computers today as we need all the positive thoughts we can get. I know the boys will be ready today.
Before I leave, another weather update. No clouds, temps around 83 degrees today. Wow!
later
Friday, May 15, 2009
May 15 - 8 pm MDT - Game Time Delayed
Just wanted to give you all a quick update on Friday's game. The Mesa State vs. New Mexico Highlands game last three hours and 45 minutes, with MSC winning 15-13. That means the SMSU vs. Wayne State game will start around 7:45 p.m. MDT.
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