Three.

Rain is the biggest enemy of baseball. We were supposed to play two games today in Pittsburg, Kansas. Instead, I’m still in Conway, anxiously waiting for my uniform to dry so I can leave. I got a message from Pitt State on Friday that said no games will be played Saturday, and that, if the weather held off, we could try to play 3 on Sunday. That’s 21 innings in one day. I texted Pitt State first thing this morning. They said it wasn’t looking like the field would drain on time to play Sunday. Given that we are #1 in the conference and Pitt is #2, this series is very important and cannot be made up at a later date. We looked for other fields, and even asked if they were willing to drive to Conway since we got less rain here, but no other options seemed to be possible. Finally I got word that the city of Pittsburg would allow three games on Sunday, at 1pm, given that there’s no more rain.

So, in an hour we head to Kansas. With a long nights rest (hopefully), we will start all 28 innings of baseball at 1pm. A series win (2 of 3) will bring us a small leap closer to playoff baseball in Indiana. A sweep would be even better. So if you see us limping around campus on Monday, hopefully it’s because we played hard and won three games (also because we likely won’t get back to Conway until early the next morning).

 

#ScrappyNotSlappy

UCA at Ole Miss

We traveled to Oxford this weekend to take on Ole Miss’s club team. We played two games, which we won the first of 4 to 0. The second game was highly competitive, but we lost it to a walkoff hit in the bottom of the 8th (one inning more than our standard 7). Final score: 9-10.

With a D1 win under our belt, we look toward our remaining conference series with Pitt State and Oklahoma State. Four wins in the remaining six games will send us to our District playoffs. Everyday we get a step closer.

Passion.

This is a printed copy of a painting that I have in my room. This painting represents a few different things, including the iconic moment where Kris Bryant, with tears in his eyes and a smile on his face, nearly slipped while executing the final play of the 2016 World Series (an instant classic). It also represents the moment that the Cubs won the World Series for the first time in 108 years (Cubs fans lived and died without ever seeing their team win it all). But, most of all, and the reason it hangs in my room, it represents the passion and joy that surrounds this game. Kris Bryant currently makes $652,000 a year to play baseball – but he couldn’t have bought that moment. It’s hard to explain, but there’s a passion for baseball which lives within almost every player, and it’s rooted deep into our childhoods. Kids across the country now reenact that moment, or more imaginative ones, in their backyards over and over again – and I’m sure Bryant did the same thing. The moments of heartbreak, pain, and exhaustion that come from the game, are made up for by the diving catches, two out home runs, three pitch strikeouts, and game winning routiners – the moments that temporarily turn you into the super hero you’ve always imagined you would become.

These moments, these passionate people, are why the UCA Polar Bears exist. Around us are fewer guidelines, rules, regulations, and occasionally, resources. We give ourselves the room to play the way we have always wanted to. When it rains, we can’t get a field, or someone stands in our way, the team, and their passion, break through the barriers just to play the game. The result is fun, passionate, competitive, uncensored baseball.

Follow us on us on Game Changer April 15th as we take our passion to Oxford to play Ole Miss.

Thanks for reading. #ScrappyNotSlappy

Climbing.

We were supposed to play baseball this weekend, but, unfortunately, Tulsa couldn’t scrounge up enough players to make the trip, and we couldn’t find a replacement. Therefore, Tulsa forfeited three games to us. While I enjoy being 8 and 1, I think I would’ve preferred to earn those three wins.

In other news, Pitt State dropped a game to MSU and OSU, which solidifies us in the first place spot for our conference. With Arkansas in second place, who we beat two out of three, our odds for a playoff birth continue to rise.

On April 15th we will head to Oxford, MS to take on Ole Miss. A win or two against Ole Miss, who are a D1 team as opposed to our D2, could throw us into the Division 2 top 20. This would give us tremendous momentum going into our last two conference series against Pitt State and OSU.

I hope to see you at Bear Stadium April 29th for our first ever home game. We will host Oklahoma State University.

Recognition.

It may sound cocky, or it may be obvious, but we truly believe that we are the best team in our conference. We are a brand new team, and we’ve taken down two of the most established teams – Arkansas and Missouri State. Both have been in the conference for five or more years, and both have made playoffs before. We have guys putting up numbers that you usually don’t see outside of Little League. 16 K’s in one game, 6 hits in one game, .556 season average, the list goes on. We’ve won 5 of 6 games, and, on top of all of that, we have the best team chemistry I have ever seen. We feel like we’ve been putting on a fantastic show behind a curtain, and now we’re just waiting for someone to peak behind it.

So, when we were recently put on temporary probation due to a mix up regarding the payment of our league fee, I was upset – and I think my teammates were worried and frustrated. All of the things we have accomplished in our short history, and the first bit of publicity we get from the NCBA says Central Arkansas is facing disciplinary action. While there was no mutiny, I certainly had some guys asking me what the hell was going on. The situation is not nearly as bad as it sounds, there was just a lack of communication that caused delayed payment. It was resolved quickly, and soon everything will be back to normal. The only real consequence we suffered was losing our eligibility for player of the week awards, which we probably would’ve swept that week. Especially since the pitcher who won was the pitcher that we beat 8 to 1.

It wasn’t easy to stare at our conference standings and see 2nd place Central Arkansas with an asterisk next to it, and then look down and see two MSU players holding player of the week titles. However, this week someone decided to peel that curtain back just a bit. I’m proud to say that we have received a vote for top 20. That doesn’t mean we’re in the top 20 (of 170), it just means we have been considered for it. This, to me, is meaningless to our goal of making playoffs, and doesn’t change the fact that we’re still only 2nd in our conference, but it’s very gratifying to finally get some recognition. Some other teams who appear on this list: Lone Star College, who we lost to in the Fall in a late inning thriller, and Pitt State, who we face later this season, and who we are hungry to beat. TCU, who we beat in the Fall, was also on this list at the beginning of the year.

So, watch out for Central Arkansas. Finishing this season ranked, and with a playoff berth could set the tone for this club for years to come.

#ScrappyNotSlappy

Regional Bear Meeting – Springfield, MO

It was an all out bear brawl in Springfield, Missouri this weekend as both the UCA Bears and the UCA Polar Bears traveled north to take on the Missouri State Bears. So, let’s take a quick mascot head count. There were the Polar Bears, the Missouri State Bears, the UCA Bears, and the Missouri State club Bears. So many bears. There were six total games played by the four teams. We swept the club team in our three game series – which included a 19 to 6 score in game two. Unfortunately, the UCA varsity squad was on the other end of the broom, taking three losses on the weekend. My suggestion: we put the varsity and club teams together to make two super teams and have an 18 inning tie breaker!

#ScrappyNotSlappy

 

 

 

 

(P.S. I hit a homerun and I’m really pumped up about it)

Relax.

They say baseball is a thinking man’s game, but sometimes it feels like a mental tug-of-war between thoughtful preparation and a clear mind. Thinking through possible scenarios and knowing exactly where to go depending on where the ball is hit is important to keeping runs from crossing the plate, but questioning whether or not the pitcher is going to throw a curve ball takes enough time for a fastball to cross the plate without your attempt to swing. My point: you have to find the balance of thinking enough and thinking too much. As I hoped, the Polar Bears found that balance last weekend.

In the Fall, the University of Arkansas beat us three consecutive times. With the regular season underway, they were hoping to take three more from us. We had other plans. Christian Ewing took the mound against the Razorbacks in game 1. Christian, who is known for setting the tone early, started off with a first pitch fastball right down the middle; many commanding strikes followed. The final score of that game was 3 to 1 in favor of the Polar Bears. In the innings that we were excited, yet calm, we scored. However, in the close innings where our players were amped up and trying to tie the game with one swing, we struggled.

Game two we lost 11 to nothing. I’m not ashamed to say it. We got amped. We expected to win after game 1. We felt invincible. However, the only teams that hand over wins are the ones that underestimate their opponents, and we were definitely underestimating the Razorbacks in game 2. We sucker punched them to take the first win, and they stood up and kicked us right in the teeth. With one more game left, the series was up for grabs and both teams were hungry.

I started on the mound for game 3, which took place Sunday morning. Our team quote of the day was “Flush it.” which came from Ryan in our team meeting after game 2. Every single Polar Bear was hungry for a series win, but walking up to the field that morning one thing stood out – every single Polar Bear was relaxed. And while we got REALLY loud in the late innings in an attempt to rattle the opposing pitcher, nobody got over amped. We all stayed relaxed, even when down 2 nothing going into the last two innings. Throwing 115 pitches and 8 strikeouts in 7 innings, I gave my guys everything I could, and they picked me up by tying the ballgame in the top of the seventh. I then handed the ball off to our closer Connor Betz (who was electric all weekend). It took two extra innings to finish the contest. The final score: 5 to 2…. Polar Bears.

Still, at the end of the game, after taking a series win from a top team in the conference and solidifying UCA as a powerful competitor in the NCBA, we were all calm.

Polar Bears at Razorbacks

If you put a polar bear and a razorback in a cage together and made them fight, who would win (besides the audience who gets to watch such an intense battle [think Michael Vick would attend?])?  I’m putting my money on the polar bear, but that’s just my totally unbiased opinion.

I’m so excited to travel with such a hard working, fun loving group of guys. I’ve said it many times, and I am not afraid to say it again: as far as character is concerned, I’ve never played on a better team. We have 18+ games ahead of us, and I look forward to every single one of them.

I hope to post next week about a series win!

Crushed.

I’ve tried out for teams and not made the cut. I’ve been told I’ll never play at the professional level. I’ve been benched for long periods of time. I’ve never been told that I cannot play baseball.

This week, I had to tell one of the newest additions to the Polar Bears’ roster that he can’t play. I had tests to study for, presentations to complete, essays to write, and work to do, but telling someone they can’t play baseball was the hardest thing I had to do all week – maybe all year (I know, it’s only February. You know what I mean).

Due to an unfortunate rule within the National Club Baseball Association, one of my teammates was deemed ineligible to play this year. Essentially, he has just been in school too long. Ryan and I fought this rule as much as we could. We looked for any loophole we could find, but the NCBA wouldn’t budge. The rule, which inadvertently keeps multi-degree students from competing, is in place for the season, and cannot be contested until summer. And trust me, it will be contested in the summer.

This guy had quickly become a huge part of our team. He was at every practice, had a great attitude. Always joking, encouraging, and coaching. He was constantly talking about how excited he was to get back on the field. He even brought us two more players. So, on Wednesday, right after my 9 AM marketing class, I ripped the bandage off. I texted and asked him if I could talk to him soon. He, knowing there was an issue, asked if something was wrong. “Am I not eligible?” he asked. I, really wishing to have this conversation face to face, said, “Yes. That is the issue.”Later he told me that when he read the message, he just closed the book he had been studying and sat there. I might as well have killed his dog. He didn’t respond for minutes. I knew we were the only chance for this guy to play ball in the near future. I felt like crying… I can’t even imagine how he felt. “Crushed” was the word Ryan and I used, along with, “upset,” and “deflated.” The poor guy we had to cut, however, just said he was disappointed.

We will be playing a man down in Fayetteville next weekend.

 

The Polor Bears

I made this face when I saw the words, “Polor Bears” on our new jersey designs: We’ve all been there. Poor Art Guy – I call him Art Guy because I’ve never met him, and every time the people at Illustrated Sportwear talk about the person who will design our new jerseys, they just say, “our art guy.” – was probably up late, four to five cups of coffee in, just finished with seventy other projects, and then had to finish the three concepts that those dumb kids from UCA requested. “Why don’t they just play for the varsity team?” Art Guy probably thought. He probably thinks Polar Bears is a dumb name, too. I don’t know. Art Guy is probably a great guy. Anyway, Art Guy overlooked one small misspelling in our jersey concepts: he spelled it “Polor” instead of “Polar.” Honestly, I’m sitting here now saying the words over and over again and neither of them sound like english anymore, so I guess I can understand the mistake.

The misplaced “o” had to sneak by at least two sets of eyeballs before it got to Ryan, who then relayed the artwork and the blunder to me. Consistent with our character, Ryan and I laughed, and considered the positives and negatives of keeping the new spelling. While there’s a part of me that thinks keeping the misspelled word plastered on our chests would be comical, and create wonder and mystery, the rest of me remembers that we’re representing UCA, which is an academic institution which would not likely appreciate the illusion of ignorance. Therefore, the jerseys will feature the word “polar,” instead of “polor.”

The three jersey concepts were put to a vote by our team. It went surprisingly like our most recent presidential election. The concept we expected to be most popular received few votes, the second choice swept like a broom, and the third choice… well, people didn’t seem to know it existed.

So, here, and only here, is the winner. Beyond this page you will only find properly spelled versions of this design. The misspelled, camouflaged champion: