This post comes a week after my last College game, but I was holding out on the off-chance that I would be attending a Regional or Super Regional game. That didn't pan out, so the College Phase of the 2015 season has come to an end. It's time to recollect and review what, I feel, was a fantastic season of seeing the Amateurs play. Lasting nearly four months, I saw 14 college games in cities all across Southern California. In the seven seasons I have been doing Baseball Road Trips, I have never seen this many college games.
To recap the phase itself: In early February, I got things off by seeing UC Riverside's home opener against Portland. It was the first of four UC Riverside games I saw. Over Valentine's Day weekend, I took my first ever College Baseball Road Trip down into Long Beach to see the Dirtbags play host to the Michigan Wolverines. The next day, on President's Day, I saw my local small-college, University of Redlands, play the first of the two games I would see them play. The height of the phase had to be the Powerhouse Weekends when I saw UC Irvine host Tennessee, Cal State Fullerton host Texas Tech, and then the doubleheader of Vanderbilt-TCU and USC-UCLA up at Dodger Stadium. A quick trip down to Loyola Maramount to see the game down there after a trip to the beach really signaled the petering out of the phase. Once the professional level got going in late March/early April, College games were few and far in between. I did manage to catch the Ducks play UC Riverside and at USC, as well as the other local college team, CSU San Bernardino at the old Fiscalini Field.
All in all, I am very happy with how the Phase went. I certainly covered some ground, travel-wise, with the Metrolink and my bike. I very much enjoyed riding down to Long Beach and over to UCI on the bike paths. They took me to areas of Southern California I had never been to before, and I might think about doing those trips again next season. And, the beauty of those Redlands game is that I can ride my bike there from my own apartment, eliminating the train travel all together.
I think my favorite trip out of all was the Powerhouse Weekend 2. That trip had a perfect blend of really everything I enjoy in Baseball Road Trips: biking, beaches, baseball, beers, and trains. That first game on Saturday was my first Beach Day down to Newport. While February isn't exactly the ideal time to hit the beach and catch some waves, I got real lucky with some fantastic weather. I brought my bike along for the trip as I rode around Newport for a while, grabbed a beer at Newport Brewing, and headed up to Goodwin Field for the game between Texas Tech and Cal State Fullerton. The Sunday was the doubleheader with Vanderbilt-TCU and USC-UCLA. I think what was best about the second day was spending an entire afternoon at Dodger Stadium on the field level watching that first game between the #1 and #5-ranked teams in the country.
So, for next year, what would I like to do? Well, for starters, I'd like to make it out to Malibu to see a game and incorporate a Beach Day. I had intended on doing that a couple weekends this season, but the weather and the long drive hindered it, and I never got to it. Also, I would like to make a trip down to San Diego to see San Diego State and/or USD play at their ballparks. Besides, do I really need an excuse to go to San Diego? I'd also like to keep looking at those matchups in February that pit those Powerhouse teams against teams down here. Whether it's Pac-12, Big-10, SEC, or Big-12, I can't really go wrong experiencing that.
This past weekend was a 66ers/Angels Circuit, but with an added twist. I'll be updating that weekend later on today.
Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)
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