Christina and I, and a couple of our baseball friends, went to Saturday night's NCAA regional game between Arizona State and Cal State-Fullerton, and the fact that it started at 9:45 p.m. did not turn out to be the weirdest part of the night.
We were looking forward to the weekend because it included lots of baseball and a party with friends in Gardena. We did not count on the second game of the four we planned to see being the strangest for me in a long time. Christina and I arrived at 7:30 for what was supposed to be an 8 p.m. start, and our friends Alex and Robert were already in line, so we joined them. Based on the previous night's experience at UCLA, where they did not let us in until 5:30 for the 6 p.m. start, nothing seemed awry. That is until someone noted the Columbia-New Mexico game going on inside the stadium had gone to the 10th inning tied at 5.
The NCAA has scheduled these regionals rather tightly. It needs a 55-minute break between games to clear the stadium and get the teams for the second game on the field to take infield practice. So we knew at that point we would be starting late. How late depended on what happened inside Goodwin Field. As the game moved on to the 11th and 12th, it got dark outside and even a little chilly. Finally, Columbia came through for a run in the 13th and held on to beat the Lobos 6-5.
Despite the fact there were 4,000 people in line outside the stadium, the ticket-takers were very efficient and we had plenty of time to find general admission seats in the first section past third base. And the lines for food were not as bad as might have been expected, with lots of options still available at the late hour.
Why did people stick around? Well, Fullerton is a great baseball school and the match-up promised to be excellent with two 11-0 pitchers -- ASU's Ryan Kellogg and Cal State's Justin Garza -- on the mound.
As you might expect with that kind of firepower, ASU was quickly retired in the first as Garza recorded three strikeouts and a hit batter. In the bottom of the first, Kellogg showed off a rather lousy move to first that would not fool any baserunners all night, but eventually got out of the inning. Garza got out of the second unscathed and we settled in for what would ultimately be a great pitcher's duel that Fullerton won 1-0.
But as the bottom of the second got underway, we saw an usher come running down the aisle next to us chasing....an Alaskan husky. The usher went halfway down toward the field (there are maybe 16 or 18 rows) and then threw up his hands. I first thought it was because the dog had decided to relieve himself, but it was because the animal had jumped the railing and was now on the field.
I had already regretted that such a marquee match-up would be seen only by fans that realized it was on ESPNU that late in the evening, and now something this fun would slip into the nether reaches of sports television. Luckily, some folks tweeted about it and the video eventually made its way on the internet.
The rest of the game was not quite as eventful, although the fans got on Kellogg more and more as he tried to catch someone napping at first base. Robert and Alex decided to call it a night in the fifth inning, but Christina and I stayed for the duration, and enjoyed the Titans' efforts.
I have been to thousands of sporting events, and I have to say this regional game will rank high on my all-time list. A fun game, some weird highlights and an outstanding presentation. Kudos to the Titans, and I hope we get a chance to see them again in the Super Regionals.
By the way, here is a link for the TV coverage of the husky's visit:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZmaMmmpdIk
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