The Streak: Days 1-4

By Kelly:

If there was ever any question about how I feel about baseball I hope this changes that. Over a 16 day period in July I spent every day at different ballparks between watching as a spectator, playing slow-pitch softball men’s and coed and umping slow-pitch softball. Here’s a recap of those 16 days.

Day 1 Thursday July 11: I have wanted to get down to Eugene to see the Eugene Emeralds (Short Season Single A San Diego Padres) play for a while and I finally made it. I picked the right game to attend because Hunter Renfroe made his professional debut on this day. He was just recently the 13^th pick in the 2013 MLB Draft. I also got to see D.J. Peterson of the Everett Aquasox (Short Season Single A Seattle Mariners). He was the 12^th pick of the 2013 MLB Draft and the made reason why I went to the game. I really wanted to get his autograph and get a picture with him and my middle daughter Malia. I accomplished both!!!

Round trip: 318 miles

Day 2 Friday July 12: Friday night is my slow-pitch softball coed night. We were 8-0 going into these games and the team we were playing were 6-2. They ended up beating us both games putting us into a tie for 1^st place with them.

Round Trip: 8 miles

Day 3 Saturday July 13: Today we headed down to Seattle to watch the Mariners play again the “California” Angels of Anaheim. My 2 older girls Gracie & Malia are part of the Mariner’s Kid Club and we signed them up for a special autograph signing in the afternoon before the game. We got to meet Oliver Perez and each girl got an autograph. We hung out around the stadium until the gates opened 2 hours prior to game time. We didn’t have any luck getting any autographs before the game started but Gracie got a ball from Ernesto Frieri. The Mariners were giving away Dustin Ackley Garden Gnomes to the 1^st 20,000 fans. We got to see Felix Hernandez pitch which meant the King’s Court was in full force. The Mariner’s won 6-0. Justin Smoak hit his 8^th HR extending the Mariners HR streak. After the game Gracie and I went to the umpire’s tunnel to try and get a ball. Once again Gracie got a game used baseball from an umpire, her 4^th one. We ended up getting home around 1:00.

Round Trip: 254 miles

Day 4 Sunday July 14: 6 hours after getting home from Seattle we had to wake up and head to Long Beach, Washington. A friend of mine needed a guy for Sunday on his men’s softball team. Of course I couldn’t say no to a friend in need. I played 2 games, we lost the 1^st one in the bottom of the 7^th and won the 2^nd game.

Round Trip: 138 miles

Over the 1^st 4 days of the 16 I traveled a total of 718 miles.