This past Sunday morning, the last Sunday in March, back from Houston, waking up in Virginia Beach, a Norfolk State baseball calendar notification popped up on my phone. Similar to my days covering baseball in Rhode Island, I have the baseball schedules for all of the major college, amateur, and minor league baseball teams here in Hampton Roads (and a few passed the bridges and tunnels) in my Google calendar to remind me of potential baseball experiences. I believe I have birthdays, anniversaries, and other holidays in there was well, but baseball games are what really count, right? Just kidding of course, but still it is cool to be reminded of all the potential games or events happening that day. Especially when it is an 11am game and you have no plans that morning. So, I headed over to Marty Miller Baseball Field for the second time this season to check out the NSU Spartans baseball team.
Sunday was a shorts, T-Shirt, maybe hoodie or vest or light jacket kind of day. The clouds seemed to be lingering and preventing the sun to really sock everyone here in VA Beach with some much needed heat. Not terrible baseball weather, temps were in the upper 60s when I arrived on the campus of Norfolk State University around 10:45am. I parked next to the tennis courts and found a really cool team bus in front of me as I made my way towards the baseball field. I love the slogan “behold, the green and gold!” Very catchy.
Just before entering the baseball field area, the national anthem began playing, so I stopped and removed my cap and stood at attention. With the game just about to begin, I found a spot behind home plate about 3 rows down from the NSU Press Box. I peered out at the scoreboard and noticed the two teams – NSU Spartans and their foe, the Le Moyne College Dolphins – looked out of order. Meaning, the Spartans, which should have been the home team, was displayed in the visitor’s box on the scoreboard. And the Dolphins were displayed as the home team. A technical error perhaps? Nope, as the top of the first inning warmups began, Le Moyne College took the field defensively while Norfolk State grabbed the bats and were to hit first. Interesting, I thought, I will have to investigate this. More on this later…
One thing I wanted to mention (before writing about the game experience) is the Norfolk State baseball fan base is really cool. This is the second game I have attended and the fans, the parents, the students, the faculty attending the games remind me of the true spirit of a baseball fan. Encouragement, not just for your player, your child, your family member, but every single player. You may not know every player’s name or how to pronounce their first or last name, but that doesn’t stop you from cheering and encouraging and being a good fan. The baseball moms behind me were awesome. They cheered for every player, calling them out by their first name or their number. They chatted about the previous game, they even chatted it up with the Le Moyne parents and fans. They were supportive and funny and engaging and it was so awesome sitting near them and being a part of their baseball experience.
I did want to mention that I introduced myself to NSU’s Justin Journette’s mom, who was sitting a few rows behind me. Journette and I have been in contact for the past several months and it has been great following his play on the field. His Mom was chatting it up with the other NSU baseball moms and fans, and was talking about a foul ball/home run Justin had hit on Saturday. According to many accounts, Justin had hit a ball towards the foul pole and in fact over it. The umpires called it foul. After some discussion, the call stood as a foul ball, robbing Justin of another HR for his season. Later in the game Sunday (not witnessed by me unfortunately), Journette would hit another home run, this one a no doubter to left center field. What a talent. And I was so psyched to meet and speak with his mom.
Tall LHP Nathanial Varnier got the start for NSU on Sunday. Varnier had super long hair to go with his 6 foot something frame. Tall kid, lefty, long exaggerated windup, pitched to contact kind of stuff on the mound. Varnier did go the first 5 innings on Sunday, as the two teams traded runs for those first few frames. Le Moyne, to their credit, walked and put the ball in play just about every inning. And their starter, Jacob Crystal, was a bit tougher to hit giving up just 2 runs on 4 hits over 5 innings of work. I left just as Le Moyne, the home team on Sunday, was finishing up their at bats in the 5th.
As I was walking back to my car, I spotted a few of the NSU players coming back towards the field area. From what I can gather, they were after a few foul balls that had landed in the adjacent parking lots. I asked the two players about the home team switch situation. One of them mentioned that they, meaning NSU, were supposed to play at Le Moyne College in Syracuse but their field was deemed “not playable, due to heavy rains.” So, they came to our, meaning NSU, field to play the series and thus were the home team. Well, that clears up that mystery. I thanked the players and wished them good luck for the day, as it was only the top of the 6th. And in checking the box score later that afternoon, NSU, who were down 9-3 going into the top of the 8th inning, erupted for 6 runs to tie the game at 9. Wow, how do I always miss these innings??? And, unfortunately, the NSU rally wasn’t enough to eventually overtake Le Moyne because in the bottom of the 8th, the Dolphins nearly matched the Spartans 8th inning run production with a 5 spot of their own. Final score – Le Moyne 14 – NSU 9.
Despite the score and the NSU season record, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Marty Miller Baseball Field on Sunday. I really like this Norfolk State team, they hustle, they steal bases, they don’t give up, they have a ton of energy, and honestly you can tell they love the game of baseball. Scores and team records don’t always tell the full story of the game of baseball or a particular team. For me, the ultimate baseball fan, I enjoy sitting in the stands and being a part of a positive group of baseball fans, cheering on their son and their friend’s son, or a player who they only know by their number. “Come on 21” or “Come on 7, let’s get that run home” is far better than silence or worse, negativity towards another player. Overall, it was another fantastic Norfolk baseball experience, featuring the home team Le Moyne Dolphins vs the very gracious visitor’s extending their home field, the Norfolk State Spartans.
And just one final note – Norfolk State will be hosting Old Dominion University on Wednesday, April 9th at Marty Miller Baseball Field. Game time is 3pm. A Norfolk baseball experience extravaganza, with the two teams separated by less than 5 miles of city streets. Check it out if you are in the area. I will be in Houston following along on my phone.
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