Monday night, with the heat index exceeding 100° here in Virginia Beach, I did what most people do in the summer to beat the heat. I convinced my wife to take in a summer collegiate baseball game. What would you do in a situation like that, go to a beach??? Come on, it’s summer time which means it’s summer collegiate baseball league time. And one league I had yet to check out here in Hampton Roads was the Tidewater Summer League. So, that’s what we did…

The VB (Virginia Beach) Valor play their home games at Plaza Senior Field, located just south of Mt. Trashmore off Independence Blvd here in Virginia Beach. The Valor are part of the Tidewater Summer League, a five team summer wood bat baseball league mix of collegiate and soon to be collegiate players, mostly from the Hampton Roads area. Monday night’s game featured the Valor vs the Coastal Coconuts. Checking out the rosters for each squad, most players played their Spring baseball for schools like Virginia Wesleyan, Randolph-Macon, Greensboro College, and Christopher Newport just to name a few. Game time was set for about 6:30 with the game time temps around 88 to 90 degrees. Feel like temps were still pushing 100, so hot and humid night for baseball.

With no parking fees, no admission fees, Rachel and I simply parked and found a spot on the bleachers pre-game in about 5 minutes or so. There was a decent crowd filing in and some took up spots along the right field fence area in lawn chairs while others found shade where they could. There was a large shade tree covering a set of bleachers next to the first base dugout, so that is where Rachel and I took shelter from the blazing sun. Just a slight breeze helped cool off things at the field. As the first pitch, national anthem was played, and game time was nearing, I was hoping that when the sun went behind the trees out in the outfield, the super hot temperatures would go with it.

From our bleacher spot, Rachel and I had a great view of the field and the game action. I mentioned the trees in the outfield earlier. They formed a really cool wooden backdrop to the field – I always loved fields with woods behind them. I watched the first inning or so from the second row of the bleachers before venturing out to check out the perimeter of Plaza Field #6.

I stopped in short right field to speak to the parents of Nic Ventrice, who plays his collegiate baseball at Randolph-Macon College. We chatted about local fields, the Tidewater League, and a wide range of baseball topics – nice family and I learned that Randolph-Macon is actually in Virginia, not North Carolina (as I originally thought). I walked the perimeter of the field, stopping to check out a bullpen session (VB Valor) in right field, then around the outfield perimeter to the Coconuts bullpen in left field. There is a frisbee golf course behind the field, I see those a lot down here in recreation parks. As I made my way up towards the visitor’s dugout, I snapped a few more photos of the game.

It was a fun night at the ball park. Rachel and I stayed about 5 innings or so, and would have stayed longer except for a prior appointment. The field, the infield area, the outfield grass were all in good playing condition. There was plenty of seating in and out of the shade at the field, so that was nice. When we were heading out, the Valor were down a few runs to the Coconuts. Not sure how it ended up, but from what I watched the Coconuts Pitcher, Daniel Smith (Davidson commit) seemed to be in control of the game. I was psyched to catch a local summer collegiate baseball game, hear the cracks of the wooden bats, and just 5 minutes from my house. Awesome indeed and I will keep my eye out for more games featuring these teams in the Tidewater Summer League:

• Greenbrier Knights
• VB Valor
• Coastal Coconuts
• Norfolk Destroyers
• Grand Slam 2 Mothmen

And for more information on the Tidewater Summer League, including rosters and schedule of games, head over to their website – Tidewater Summer League.