Friday, May 16, 2008

TUSCULUM BASEBALL NOTEBOOK: PLAYER BLOG – DUSTIN MORROW

TAMPA --- The following is the fourth player blog by Tusculum College first baseman Dustin Morrow at the 2008 NCAA Division II South Region Baseball Tournament in Tampa, Fla. Morrow, a senior from Lexington, Ky., has been describing his experiences with the Pioneer Baseball team during TC’s NCAA Tournament run in Florida.

Dustin Morrow Blog – No. 4
Friday, May 16, 2008
8:30 A.M. - So much for sleeping in today. I was up and at it bright and early and went downstairs to get some breakfast. Most of the guys decided to take advantage of the opportunity to sleep in as there was only one other person that was down at breakfast with me.

9:30 A.M. - I spent some time checking my e-mail and reading up on the happenings around the country. Afterwards I went out to the pool to hang out with some of the guys. The sun was still hidden behind the hotel so the pool hadn’t warmed up all the way. I hopped in for a little bit then decided to just sit around and catch what little rays there were. I have to have proof that I was in Florida and a nice tan (or sunburn) is the cheapest way to do so.

10:30 A.M. - I decided to get a light lift in the hotel's fitness center. It's one of the best I've seen in a while. There are two treadmills, a bike, an elliptical, and a set of free weights. Then it was back to the pool to cool off for a while before I had to get ready to go out with the folks.

12:00 P.M. - My parents, my brother, his girlfriend, and I headed down to Channelside down by the Bay to check things out. My mom wanted to go to the Florida Aquarium but we convinced her there wasn't enough time for that, plus it was rather expensive. We just happened to see a sign for a World War II memorial ship. The ship was the S.S. American Victory, a cargo ship that saw action during WW II, Korea, and Vietnam. We met a guy that was working on the ship who told us how many people were on board the ship when it sailed, the last time it was activated (1987), and about how they still take it out to sea a couple of times of years. It was definitely something you don't see every day and we decided that I wouldn't have made it in the Navy because I walked around ducking every ten feet to get under pipes or through hatches. To check out the ship you can go to www.americanvictory.org

2:00 P.M. - We headed back to downtown to grab a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel to rest up. At the restaurant we ran into Rob Currie's dad and Rob's girlfriend who both came down and surprised Rob. They aren't the only ones who have shown up to the surprise of a player. Christian Rosa's mom, step-dad, and younger sister surprised him at yesterday's game.

3:00 P.M. – Time to get ready for the game. Before getting my uniform on I headed to (Chris) Lenker’s room for my daily dose of stem and massage. My leg isn’t getting any worse but my progress has slowed some.

4:15 P.M. – After a light snack the position players headed out to Yankee Town for BP. It felt 10 degrees hotter today because of the humidity. We spent about 30 minutes hitting then quickly retreated to the comfort of the air-conditioned vans and headed for the field.

5:45 P.M. – When we got to the field the Florida Tech vs. Tampa game was still going on so we got to watch the end of that before we got ready for our game. Coach went and got us all cold Propels so we could stay hydrated waiting around in the heat.

7:15 P.M. – Game two vs. another SAC foe, Catawba. They jumped out on us 3-0 and stretched the lead to 5-0 going into the top of the 9^th. We were able to scratch one run off of the Catawba starter in the 9th but for the most part he stifled us en route to a complete game, 5-1 victory. We hit several balls hard throughout the game but they were always there to snag them. Tomorrow we get to play Carson-Newman again.

9:30 P.M. – We loaded up and headed back to the hotel to enjoy pizzas and Gatorades for dinner. Some of the guys relaxed in the hot tub while others, including myself, went for a swim in the pool to cool off.

10:30 P.M. – Most of the guys were in no mood to go to bed and several of us spent some time talking with our parents. At 11:00 the team headed off to bed as the parents continued to socialize and enjoy their time by the pool.

-TC-