A Good Game is Hard to Find (Mizzou vs. Mo State, 4/17/18)

I tried to keep up on college ball a bit while living in the Arctic, but I didn’t catch much of it.

(You can find northern lights and sled dogs on my Instagram.)

But now I am in the land of sobriety and sunlight. Of course I headed for the ballpark as soon as I could, catching the Baby Birds a day after flying home before an illness knocked me to the ground for several days.

The ol’ Mo State Bears finally played a home game last night against Mizzou. Certainly I support the Tigers in many sports, but not baseball.

Some photos tell the story: a most unsavory tale.

The mood was joyful at first: pitchers and a coach playing hacky sack like they knew who Dave Matthews was.

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From top left (clockwise): Nate Witherspoon, Conner Sechler, Davis Schwab, and Coach Joe Lincoln

More pictures, because adorable:

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Despite the startling appearance of Sasquatch (far left, aka “Logan Wiley”) I found the scene quite darling.

Then, a fabulous junior catcher caught a few pitches before play began.

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Drew Millas

By the way, MSU players wore green to highlight the need for organ and tissue donations.

I said hello to the fellas, like MacGyver here:

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Jordan Fitzpatrick

And saw a couple of old pals from the team that advanced to the Super Regionals, who I’ve written about a fair amount.

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Justin Paulsen and Aaron Meyer. Photo bomb by Ben Whetstone.

The mood is always jovial before a game:

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Collin Clayton and John Privitera
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Joey Polak and Privitera
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Jack Duffy and Fitzpatrick

And things started out as they always do – with shots of water among players, and more sprayed on the starters. I always hope players don’t hit my camera with water but instead hit other photographers with company-owned lenses.

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Mustn’t jinx myself.

The game started out okay, with a high number of pickoff attempts:

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Forrest Barnes and Whetstone (not a law firm)

Plays at the plate:

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Millas

A photographer’s lament: Oh, reader, I have photos where the runner is in focus but partly obscured by a coach’s white cap. I … don’t like to think about it.

And then this: when you trip over third, you make an entrance at home:

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Anthony Herron, Jr. (A+ sock game.)

Teammates were … amused:

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All was well in paradise (Hammons), but it didn’t stay that way for long. I spent all winter evading wolves, but Alaska bears remained huddled in hibernation. So it seems here, as well.

They tried new pitchers:

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Ben Cruikshank and Peyton Carson (seated).

And coaching methods:

Now – here is where I say the dugout is a sacred space and I don’t repeat anything I overhear. As several presidents have said: “Mistakes were made.” As another said: “Read my lips.” As I said: Maybe don’t.

Suffice it to say no one was happy in the dugout – and this coach was in the bullpen.

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Lincoln

Even this kid watched the Tigers in awe:

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Until he couldn’t stand it:

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Who could?

Final score: 14-6, Mizzou.

 

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