First off, I would like to clarify: this is NOT a blog. Blogs are for lonely teenage girls and 40-year-old men who live with their mothers. (I don’t care if you call it the “man-cave”, its still just your mothers basement.)

This online, opinionated recollection (don’t you dare use the “b” word) took place on a rainy Tuesday afternoon at Brooks Field, where the UNC Wilmington Seahawks play all their home baseball games

At a time in the year where doing anything but nothing grows increasingly harder, baseball games are the perfect mix of relaxation, school spirit and socialization. For those who have never been to a UNCW baseball game, you may be wondering to yourself, “I wish I knew every small detail about these baseball games… if only someone would do us all the favor and write about it!”

Well it’s your lucky day.

Top of the 1st inning: Walking through the gates, one can’t help but feel like no matter the scoreboard says, you always win, mainly because hot dogs are a dollar and admission is free for students. UNCW’s opponent Coastal Carolina gets on the board early with RBI single. 1-0 CCU.

Bottom of the 1st inning: A single from junior Matt Campbell highlights UNCW’s action swinging the wood in that half of the inning, while the real excitement came from watching a small lizard crawl up the safety net.

Top 2: A couple CCU singles and wild UNCW pitching helps CCU open the lead to 5-0. In an almost comical simile of the game itself, the clouds above Wilmington darken from a light grey to a dark black. The immediate future does not look to promising for beach goers and baseball players alike.

Bottom 2: UNCW bats come back to life with a single and double, plating 1 run, and giving a previously dead crowd a tiny bit of energy. I find myself confused on whether or not the CCU’s mascot is the “Chocolatiers”, which, if true, would have me filling out transfer forms faster then you can say Hershey. More to come later on the nickname.

Top 4: By now, CCU is cruising 7-1, and its pitching has completely shut down the Seahawk bats. UNCW flashes some leather, turning a nifty 5-4-3 double play across the diamond, but that’s about all the excitement. In other sad news, I have learned that CCU’s mascot is actually the “Chanticleers” which apparently is an angry chicken of sorts. And that’s all I have to say about that.

Innings 5-7: It rains. Fans leave. CCU up 10-1. No witty cynicism from me here—too wet and cold and upset. 

Bottom 9: With UNCW down 11-1, rally caps seem a tad too ambitious, so I figure I’ll substitute it with a “rally hotdog.” It goes down a lot smother then the loss. UNCW tacks on 3 runs, but never makes it much of a contest, losing 11-4. Not a great day for UNCW baseball, that’s for sure.

You can’t win ‘em all, that’s for sure.

There is still a lot of hope for the UNCW squad, as they are still first in the CAA heading into the final stretch of the regular season. When it comes down to it, it’s not about the wins and losses. It’s about going to the park on a (usually) nice, warm afternoon and enjoying yourself. Because that’s what baseball is all about.

So, if you haven’t seen a baseball game recently, I suggest you go do so; it’s a real hit. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)