With the amazing and fresh new fields opening up on campus and our Ravens utilizing every blade of grass and synthetic turf to carry them to victory, there seems to be one sport and one particularly laborious construction project that has been forgotten. Even without a home field to play or practice on, our varsity baseball team recorded more wins last year than any baseball team in our school’s history. Now, after being road warriors for a year, the baseball team intends to be hometown heroes with amazing new facilities.
Last year was a year of transition for our school’s baseball team. When our team had finally come to grips with the fact that they would have no home turf for the 2014 season, the head coach of the baseball team announced his resignation. Now with no captain, the ship had to sail on. As a replacement was found, the team practiced on their doomed field as the slow process of demolition pressed on. Eventually, shortly after the water had been turned off, the field was no longer playable. As our Ravens watched their house being torn down, another cold truth had set in: the only option until a new house was erected was to couch surf at their more fortunate neighbor’s house. That’s right. Falcon territory.
With no other option, the baseball team made the trek down Del Mar Heights Road behind their new coach for not only off season practices, but also every regular season practice. To add adversity on top of adversity, the Torrey Pines team needed to practice at the same time so often the Ravens had to call the Torrey Pines junior varsity field home. While our boys in black could often be seen staring out at where their once proud home was, they realized they had business to attend to.
It felt, for them, as though all of the adversity and all of the training they had put in for the last year was preparation for just one week. The always anticipated, but never more tense than last year’s, series against the Torrey Pines Falcons. Our Ravens could barely sleep as they prepared themselves for battle. Not only were the two teams sharing fields and the same equipment, the Ravens’ old head coach was now on the coaching staff of the Falcons. As the Ravens boarded their bus, a cold, or, more realistically, warm reality set in. It was fire season 2014 and the game was postponed. However, rest assured, when the teams did finally face off, the Falcons faced the addition of three L’s to their record.
Now, the Ravens wait anxiously for their next season and to take the field in their beautiful new ballpark. With an all new orientation to the field, the bombs should surely fly over the left field wall and with new bullpen facilities; our pitchers will be more ready for battle than ever. While the beautiful new uniforms looked good subduing the Falcons on their home field, they will look even better in the new Ravens ballpark and slightly less good hung up in the park’s new club house. The baseball team is more excited than ever to start the season, especially with a new scoreboard for a target in the outfield.
Josh Dillen is the Editorial Director of Pulse Magazine.