With the forecast of nicer weather on Friday, Rachel and I decided to take the short drive to Norfolk to see a baseball game. Our normal Norfolk game spot for nearly 2 years since we moved to VA is Harbor Park and now we can add another – Marty Miller Field on the campus of Norfolk State University. Same exit off 264W, a right instead of a left at the first traffic light off the exit, and we were parked and on foot heading to an afternoon baseball game featuring the home team Norfolk State Spartans vs the Wagner Seahawks. Game time was 3 pm and we arrived shortly before the national anthem and starting lineups were announced. The grounds crew was finishing up their last minute field prep as we took our seats behind home plate. It was just about game time.

The sun was trying to come out with some force. It was out, then tucked in behind the clouds, then it was out again briefly. It is March and the sun can be just so hot this time of year. What drives the weather in March in Hampton Roads is the wind. When the wind is blowing around an open stadium, the temperature feels 5, 10, sometimes 15 degrees colder than the actual temperature reading on any nearby thermometer. This was 100% the case on Friday afternoon. When the sun was out, it was nice to sit there in the stands. When it went behind the clouds, lookout below because the temps are dropping fast. Many fans, myself and Rachel included, dressed for March in Massachusetts, not Virginia with an array of blankets, heavy sweatshirts, fleece jackets, hats, gloves, and mittens as far as the eye could see.

The Norfolk State University Spartans began NEC conference play yesterday vs. Wagner. So far this season, NSU had remained winless after just 10 games (actually 12, they were defeated this afternoon as well) entering Friday afternoon’s contest. So, with the start of conference play, a reset button of sorts is always pushed by a struggling team. And with the wind blowing out towards center to right center, fans were about to see an offensive display by both teams. Case in point, the first batter of the game for Wagner took the 5th or 6th pitch over the right field fence for an early Wagner 1-0 lead.

As both teams traded runs, hits, and home runs, I thought back to the previous time I had visited Marty Miller. Just about a year ago, January of 2024 to be exact, I parked in the adjacent lot, and took a small tour of the field. The field was busy with workers working on the field that day, so I didn’t travel further than the bleacher area. Now that I recall, I actually sat down and took photos of an empty ballpark from pretty much the same seats I sat at Friday afternoon with Rachel. One thing I noticed – they moved the scoreboard from center field or what’s referred to as the “batter’s eye” over to left field. They replaced the scoreboard with an actually “batter’s eye” section of blank wood, which helps batters pick up the ball coming off the pitcher’s hand during the day with the sun glaring in their eyes. Honestly, after reviewing the photos from last year, I think that is just about the only thing I noticed that was different from my previous trip.

In between innings, I shifted from my spot next to Rachel behind home plate over to the higher bleacher area behind the visitor’s dugout. Then, over to the higher bleacher area behind the home team’s dugout. There was a pretty good crowd for a Friday afternoon game. I would say 95% of the fans there were a player’s parent, friend, or NSU employee. I saw a lot of NSU baseball sweatshirts with team player’s names on the back. And a few NSU baseball winter hats with the player’s number on the back of the hat. Wagner College, located in Staten Island, NY had a good group of fans in attendance as well. It was cool moving from spot to spot to check out the game, and sort of chase the sun’s heat.

One of my writing thrills so far here in Hampton Roads has been meeting and communicating with Norfolk State’s Justin Journette. Journette wears the number 2, bats third in the NSU lineup, and start in RF for the Spartans. I was super eager to watch Justin hit and he did not disappoint, crushing a towering home run over the left field fence in the 4th inning. Journette struck out swinging in the bottom of the first and just missed a homer to dead center in the 3rd. On the day, Justin went 1 for 4 with 2 RBIs and scored 2 Runs. I am pretty sure his mom, wearing a winter hat with the number 2 on the back, was filming his at bats during the game. It was great to see Journette in person. What a talent.

After witnessing an offensive showdown in the 4th going into the 5th inning, which featured 5 runs from NSU following by 7 runs by Wagner and with the sun’s heat pretty much non-existing, Rachel and I called it a game after an exciting, yet 0 run bottom of the 5th inning by NSU. As the players took the field, I had a feeling the score (10 – 8 Wagner) would not hold up and there would be more scoring. I was hopeful that NSU would mount a comeback, which they did. Unfortunately, it did fall short in the end, as Wagner took Game 1 of their 3 game series in 10 innings by a score of 12-11. 4 home runs was not enough to overcome Wagner’s 14 hits and 12 runs on Friday afternoon into the night.

Overall, it was an exciting baseball game on a “its almost Tee Shirt weather, but not quite yet” kind of day in Norfolk at Marty Miller Field. The Norfolk State University Spartans hit the ball hard all over the field and over the fence, Brendan Burke (LH batter) absolutely tattooed a ball that I think landed near my house in VA Beach. Jamal Ritter played excellent center field and was a nemesis on the base paths stealing 3 bags and scoring 3 runs, plus he contributed with a homer himself. It was awesome to see Justin Journette in person and I was so psyched to see his power on display with a towering shot to LF, through the wind. NSU has a talented team, they will get there this season. It only takes one win to get a team rolling, so expect that in the very near future for the NSU Spartans baseball club. Overall, it was an awesome Norfolk baseball experience, about a mile or so from a familiar place in Harbor Park, at Marty Miller Field, home of the Norfolk State University Spartans.