I confess I left my notebook in my backpack when I walked down the steps to slide into the photo well next to the Missouri State dugout. My main reason? I didn’t want to get cracked in the forehead with…
Tag: missouri state bears
No cheering from the press box, you know. Or the photo well. Those are next to the dugout and behind home plate. I tried to stay near Missouri State’s dugout, asking other reporters if they needed my spot every so…
I know that home run talk is like fishing tales, and I’ve got a thesis full of those. Still, last Friday afternoon I sat in the front row by the visitors dugout at Hammons Field. A fan behind me asked if…
I wandered into the stadium at 10 a.m. on Sunday. After spending years volunteering with Lutherans I have plenty of prayer credit. Oh, the Lord’s name came up today. Missouri State played Illinois State once more, and though it appeared…
Colton Johnson must have thought about pitching in the postseason. Just months ago he carried his laptop to a dorm room. Maybe he ate an ice cream cone in a dining hall. He found the practice field. He played long toss…
It was 20 degrees warmer and a bit more sunny today. Missouri State played Southern Illinois, and in the first inning batter Ryan Smith hit a home run to left center. Then Greg Lambert hit one. The next inning, Will Farmer…
We start at 11:03 p.m., like it’s June in Alaska and we can play under the midnight sun. Jake Burger taps the freshly painted plate, a half-hour after receiving the player of the year award. He walks. Illinois State is…
He cracks the ball and races down the basepath, lunging to avoid the Missouri pitcher’s tag. And he falls to the ground. I don’t know him, Aaron Meyer, but I can imagine that as a child he wrapped rubber bands around his…
I hopped down the steps toward the Missouri State dugout in the fourth inning. Earlier that night I’d waited in line with sorority girls and golf players so we could offer two dollars and a glimpse of our photo ID in…