Announcement
Day One was amazing ! The day started at Vanderberg Park on Wilson Field at 11:30 with the opening ceremonies which was a great experience. I got to meet all of my fellow umpires and trade pins with them. All 10 teams marched onto the field with the Volunteers following them. They saved the best for last with the umpires entering the field between the 2nd and 3rd baseline. After we marched off the field, it was time to get ready for the first game of the Series!
My first assignment was behind the plate for the 1 pm game between the Southeast (Georgia) and West (California). I was nervous at the beginning, but after a couple of innings, I settled down. The games was uneventful as far as any contraversal plays. These girls could hit the ball. The first batter from the West hit a homerun on the 4th pitch of the game - WOW! The girls could pitch too. I have not seen this type of pitching in my 18 years of umpiring! This will be a news flash for most; the catcher from the Southeast was not so happy with most of my calls. However, I was on the same page with the catcher from the West. The game ended West 7 - Southeast 2.
The next game started at 3:30 pm and I was assigned to 3rd base. The 2 teams were EMEA (Poland) vs Southwest (Texas). This game was not so good. Once again, everything went smoothly. The girls from Texas had some heavy hitters; they hit 4 homeruns. They pitched 3 different girls and they could bring it. The score of the game after 4 1/2 innings was Southwest 23 - Poland 0. The only issue I had with the game was that the Southwest team scored 6-7 runs more then they should have. There was no need to run up the score when you up 16 to 0.
This covers the first day in Kalamazoo, can't wait for tomorrow! MAKE SURE YOU CHECK OUT MY ALBUM FOR PICTURES FROM THE FIRST DAY!!
