Indiana University Athletics
Segal on Spring Break
3/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 16, 2006
The Indiana baseball team is in Bradenton, Fla., on its spring trip. IU will play seven games in seven days. Catcher Bobby Segal is on the trip and will keep a daily journal on IUHOOSIERS.com. Below is Segal's fifth entry.
DAY 6
It was tough getting out of bed this morning, but I got up and had a blue Gatorade and three Nutrigrain bars. They were pretty good but not an ideal breakfast. We got to the field, stretched, took pre-game infield and played Eastern Kentucky. Tyler Tufts took the hill for his second game of the trip, and it was time for him to redeem himself after his first performance. He battled hard throughout the game and did a real nice job on the hill. Ben Greenspan did not start, but he came through huge for the team in a 4-4 deadlock in the late innings of the game. He hit a two-strike pitch down the right-field line, which scored two runs and put us up two. We played well but came up short once again. Baseball is a game you have to play until the last pitch. All it takes is one pitch that can change the whole outcome of the game, and that is the beauty of the sport. It just so happens that right now, it is the hard part for our team.
We came back to the condos, took showers and headed to the beach where the parents met up with us for lunch. I was in pitching coach Ty Neal's van and Coach Micah Nori asked where we were going. Coach Neal said, "I'm going to the beach. We'll just drive around for a while and eventually find everyone." I was sitting shotgun, looked at him and just shook my head. I did not feel like driving around forever, but we sure enough found them pretty easily.
Once again, the families put on a great meal and the hospitality was greatly appreciated. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, salad, beans, fruit and a bunch of snacks and drinks. Mrs. Means and I made the fruit salad. It was not that difficult, but it was a great looking tray and tasted even better. I sat at a picnic table with Mr. and Mrs. Means, Andrew Means, Brad Davidson and Mr. Trager. The meal was great, but we did not have a whole lot of time because we were going to have a late afternoon practice. We jumped back in the vans and were driving down the road as Coach Neal slows the car down. There was a man that was tan and looked like a pirate walking down the strip all by himself. Coach asked, "Do you know where the Fleenor Family Picnic is?" (referring to pitcher Doug Fleenor). We were jam packed in the van and the man looked at us like we were crazy. The man said, "Is that the family's name?" Coach Neal shook his head yes with a straight face. "Well, I'm not sure, but I know there are a lot of families in this area, so it might be on down the road," he responded. We thanked the man and were cracking up before coming to a standstill in the road.
It was off to some practice fields to work on bunting, pick-off moves for the pitchers, catchers, and middle infielders, and little bit of hitting as well. We then headed back to the condos and got dressed to go eat some dinner. We ate at Boston Market and I had a chicken pot pie, green beans, sweet potato and half of Jack Smith's (coach's son) plate. I did not want the food to go to waste.
I heard that we will not be able to watch the Hoosiers tonight since we are in Florida, but I am going to try to watch it on the Internet. I have three laptops in my room, so I hope we get to see them capture a first-round win. Right now, we are watching the World Baseball Classic and it is tied at 1-1 in the fourth inning. It would be sweet to see the USA win it all. We definitely have a talented enough team, but it is great to watch such good baseball being played. The Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico, Korea and Japan all have unbelievable lineups with many players on each team that play in Major League Baseball.
I hope we come out tomorrow like gang busters against Vermont and make sure the game is not even close as we did against Fairfield yesterday. It is all about having a winning attitude and staying focused until the last pitch. Baseball is not a game that will physically wear you out after playing it, but it will mentally drain you whether you are playing or coaching.
