Wool E. Bull E.

I'm doing a quick update on last night before heading out for The Doubleheader today.

After the Cal League road trip in April, I decided to take the back way home to Highland through the desert. Along the 395 highway, seemingly materializing in the middle of nowhere, was Heritage Field. It's only about 45 minuted from here in Highland, so I knew that I had to make the trip over Cajon Pass sometime this season to catch a game.

The ballpark literally is surrounded on four sides by barren desert. Joshua Trees, creosote bush, and sagebrush make up the natural setting of this park. In a way, after all the downtown and urban parks I've been to, this was a departure from the norm. The desert does have a certain beauty to it, and the ballpark had a lonely outpost feeling. With the wind whipping through at a brisk clip, this was the setting of Heritage Field.

Heritage Field reminded me a lot of The Diamond in Lake Elsinore. Built in 1991, at 23-years, it is one of the older parks in the California League. It is one big grandstand section that extends from baseline to baseline. Along the concourse is a large roof that does an adequate job of providing shade to the seats. Luckily for me, I was sitting on the third base side and didn't have to deal with the relentless desert sun that had temperatures in the upper-90's.

My initial thought driving up to the park, and seeing the barren surroundings was, "How on Earth can they draw a crowd here? This is the middle-of-nowhere!" Lo and behold, I was pleasantly surprised that for a Tuesday night game, the Mavericks drew decently. It certainly was a larger crowd than the Wednesday game I went to in San Bernardino a few weeks ago. The crowd seemed engaged and excited as the Mavericks did a good job with their mascot and promotions to get the crowd going. While it certainly isn't at the level of the 66ers or the Eugene Emeralds, it gets the job done for the demographic that goes to their games.

With the wind whipping at 20mph, the ballpark became a launching pad. The High Desert Mavericks got three home runs to beat the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 4-2. For the Quakes, it was neat to see Juan Uribe making a rehab start. It was also neat to see such an accomplished big leaguer playing in such a unique setting.

For today, I'm finishing up my coffee and getting cleaned up for a busy day of activities. I'm first seeing the 66ers play an 11am game down at San Manuel Stadium. I'm calling this the "Bacon Game" because I'll probably look like a crisp piece of bacon afterward with how hot it is going to be. Hey, maybe I can set a Baseball Road Trip record for the hottest temperature at first pitch!

Once that game is done, I'm jumping in the car to Orange County. My first stop is to see some relatives in Fullerton who have been so supportive of me while I have been down here. I don't get to see them as often as I'd like, so I'm excited to spend some time with them and have a late lunch. After lunch, I'm meeting the couple from NYC who are here on a Baseball Road Trip for a drink at the Tilted Kilt before the Angels game. One drinks are done, it's off to the Big A for the Twins-Angels game.

It's going to be a busy day, and I am stoked to get on the road!

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)