The trip got off to a scary start, barely making our flight with only five minutes to spare. In our three-hour layover in Baltimore, we stopped for food and played our first of many poker games. Then, we boarded our second flight that got into West Palm Beach, and once we got there it was evident. We could feel the warm, humid Florida air hit our skin which felt so refreshing after the mid-thirty-degree weather in St. Louis the prior week. Then, the team bussed our way up to Vero Beach and arrived at the coveted Jackie Robinson Training Complex. It was a baseball spectacle. Grass fields cut to perfection, infields raked to the finest pebble, and facilities like no other. The team had arrived in paradise.
The following day the team had a practice and went to the beach for a good time. Practice consisted of taking ground balls, fly balls, relays, and catchers throwing down to the second. Once practice had concluded, the team raced to the beach and had some fun. They acted like Madden Irving, trucking into the big waves in the cold ocean, and playing some beach football. It was an intense game but ultimately, Team Mercer prevailed over Team Bradley.
The third day of the trip was filled with traveling, meeting new people, and playing a scrimmage. The team took a two-and-a-half-hour-long bus ride to Hollywood, FL to play Chaminade-Madonna, another Marianist school. The two teams were able to meet each other and create connections over lunch and then played a game where CCP won 6 to 1.
On the next day, the team had practice and went back to West Palm Beach for a Cardinals Spring Training game. The practice involved hitting. They had on-field batting practice and pitchers threw bullpens. See if you can guess the pitch on the video below! The Cardinals game was not one to write home about, as it ended in a 0 to 0 tie.
The second to last day of the trip was a doubleheader that featured Westminster (MO) and John Carrol High School (FL). The team was humbled quickly that day as they lost both in deciding fashion.
The final day of the trip started with the team playing Franklin Regional High School (PA) and it just wasn’t their game. Chaminade could not buy a hit, even though they hit better than the other team, and was no-hit by a pitcher throwing nineties with stellar defensive play behind him. After the game, the team headed home, but not without bumps in the road. The flight got delayed almost three hours and the team was scheduled to miss their connecting flight in Chicago. Luckily, Southwest held the plane for the team and they were able to make it home very early Sunday morning.
The team has bounced back from the 1 and 3 start and split a doubleheader against a good St. Louis Patriots team. If the team can rally together and find a winning identity, then you will be watching a very good team come playoff time. The bats are already heating up too.
