2 Days, 1 College, 2 Parks

So... Our next venture was to Ripken Stadium for the Aberdeen Ironbirds game last Monday. I had been there about 6 times before last Monday. My good friend Ryan hosted Ironbirds players for 4 years and has been to over 120 Ironbirds games. He has taken me to a couple of games. He tagged along on this trip.

It was unexpected because on Friday of the previous week, we received a call from a family friend who had an Ironbirds package he got through work. The package was complete with AMAZING seats and being able to throw out the first pitch. He was going on vacation so he could not go to the game. I was awestruck because I have never thrown out the first pitch. Even though I played baseball for two seasons as a kid, I still preferred to watch more than playing.

4th of July weekend was filled with good food, family fun, and throwing the baseball to prepare for the game. I was pretty nervous. On the day of the game Dad and I went to the local high school to throw the ball on the diamond. I was confident in my abilities to not embarrass myself.

We picked up Ryan on the way, who lives just around the corner and headed off to the game. We had to get there extra early because I was throwing out the first pitch. I was SO excited! We got on the field met the players and got ready. In fact, there were two other people throwing out the first pitch! I was to be second. Before I knew it, the moment came when I had to throw the pitch. It was a pretty good pitch, a little left but at least I didn't embarrass myself.

The rest of the game was great. We got a tour of the upper level and I have to say it is one of the nicest facilities in the Minor League. For Short-season Class A, they have sold out the amazing Ripken Stadium for an astounding 8 straight years! Fun, fun, fun!

We got home late, but we knew what the next day was....Harrisburg Senators game. I had originally planed that we would drive up to tour Juniata College in Huntingdon and then drive to Harrisburg for the game. Earlier in the day Dad told me it would be too much driving. I was disappointed because I wanted to see Juniata.

I woke up ready to go to the local YMCA with my Dad, and my parents told me that we ARE going to Juniata and my Mom is tagging along. I said, "All right, sounds good to me!" After an intense 45 minutes of Cardio Blast we raced home to pack and found everything already packed. My Mom is always ahead of the game! We left early and arrived at Juniata around 2, just in time for the 2 o'clock tour. I was the only one. The small, quaint Juniata College is situated overlooking the beautiful Central Pennsylvania mountains and the small, friendly town of Huntingdon. The college has roughly 1,600 students and has a newly built science center. The tour was great, and Juniata is still on my list of possible colleges. I thought McDaniel was nicer but because I want to go to college in a new environment, because of that Juniata beats out McDaniel.

We then drove the short 2 hours to Harrisburg. Harrisburg is a run-down city with old buildings. It needs some help. I am afraid that without all the Pennsylvania government jobs there, Harrisburg would be a whole lot of nothing! The city is situated on the Susquehanna River and has an AMAZING ballpark. The ballpark is on an island and just renovated. It is undoubtedly one of the best in Class AA baseball. The 6,000 seat stadium was filled with about 1,000 people on the Tuesday night game. The environment was sad. It was a beautiful stadium and I long to see it packed to the brim. There are a lot of party areas and people can sit on the counter that lines the outfield and watch the game. It was fun. Their best promotion was the Rally Roni which was for the Harrisburg Food Bank and whenever the cow mooooooo... SHAKE YOUR RALLY RONI!!! My Mom thought it was a great idea which I agree with. We had a good time. It was another late night arriving home just after 11pm. Can't wait 'till the next one......Gettysburg.

Andrew