Top 10 2010-11 List Game 9: Baseball vs. Holy Cross, March 22

Game number 9 in the top 10 games I attended.

What: Baseball vs. Holy Cross (link)

When: Tuesday, March 22, 2011, 3:00 PM

Where: J.O. Christian Field

Result: Tie 2-2, 16 innings

This was the first UConn baseball game I ever attended. It was also the first outdoor event I had attended since Hockey Fest and the first one on-campus since the Field Hockey Big East Final on November 7. The weather was cold and dreary, but I stuck it out for the whole four hour, 16 inning game. (On a side note, I am impressed that this game was shorter than some nine-inning Yankees-Red Sox games, but that's besides the point).

Of course, I was as disappointed as anyone when it was called due to darkness, but I toughed it out. I could have stopped being a fan of UConn baseball right then and there, but I didn't. And now we are Big East Champions.

I will always remember this as being the first UConn baseball game I ever saw, just as I will remember the Tigers-Yankees game on April 11, 1999 as being the first Yankees game I ever attended. And since I missed the top of the first inning of this one as I was late arriving due to class, LJ Mazilli was the first Huskies batter and the first batter in general that I saw. And of course, just as Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of that game, possibly cementing my place as a lifelong Yankees fan, I will always remember the thrill of the 16-inning dogfight in this game, even if it didn't end as I had hoped.

On an interesting note, just as I mentioned in my post for Game #10 that Boston University was my first opponent I saw in three different sports, the Holy Cross Crusaders women's basketball team were the visitors the first time I saw a UConn regular season game in that sport.

Game #8 is coming up next Monday. There may be more commentary before then, plus discussion of any schedules should they be released. Until then, Go Huskies!