Omaha, NE – Less than ten miles from TD Ameritrade Park,
home of the College World Series, sits a public park named for the local
politician Seymour Smith. Between the constant cracks of the skeet shooting
range and the disc golf course sits a baseball stadium that is home to the
Omaha Mavericks. The Mavericks have been a member of NCAA Division 1 since
2012, and claim Summit League Regular Season Championships in 2013 and 2014.
The signs hang prominently on the backstops of the bullpens.
The stadium looks reasonably equipped for a high school
Legion Ball game. Past the dugouts was roped off for the players’ equipment
bags, and the field technically offers batting cages and mounds for both teams
to warmup.
I walked up to the gates about 30 minutes before first pitch
expecting to be stopped to pay. Nobody was there. The scoreboard in left field
was being configured as I approached. I looked around and counted four total
people that were obvious fans, and a dozen or so that were obviously required
to be there. I head over to the concession stand which has multiple signs
indicating it was open; good news!
“Last season they wouldn’t even let us use the scoreboard,”
said the gentleman manning the modest concession stand under the press box. “Occasionally
I would walk out to check the score, and the fans didn’t couldn’t even tell me
what inning it was. One night after about an hour in silence I checked to see
how the game was going only to find everyone had already left, the stadium was
empty.” I bought a hotdog as a token entrance fee to the game.
The temperature never cracks 40 and a stifling wind coming
in from left chilled the players and fans to the bone. Between innings I walked
off to the bathroom to provide score updates. The bathroom provided the only
real shelter from the cold; it had a very small space heater going on full
blast. A few dogwalkers would stop by throughout the game to see how it was
going.
Omaha picked up an early lead thanks to a leadoff double in
the first and an RBI-groundout. Oral Roberts tied in the second and took the lead
in the 3rd thanks to a two-out error on Omaha third baseman Cole
Thibodeau. When it was ORU’s turn to bat, a handful of their players would come
into the bathroom, primarily to warm up. Occasionally both teams would have
players warming up in the communal bathroom.
Between innings the PA announcer would come on to remind
everyone that Omaha will face Oral Roberts again Sunday, and “Sundays are free
at the ballpark, so bring your family!” I turned to the heavily bundled man
next to me and asked “were we supposed to pay to get in today?”
“I don’t know, I didn’t. Probably too cold.”
Omaha picked up four runs in the bottom of the 6th,
all of which can be blamed on cold-induced fielding errors, even those that
were ruled hits. Three more in the bottom of the 8th made up the
final 8-2 score.
The final attendance was listed at 103 on the box score,
which when you include staff and players sounds accurate enough to have been
hand-counted by one person. I hand-counted 53 spectators and 3 dogs.
I walked back to my car with my extremities still intact,
after bidding farewell to my single-serving friends. A high of 46 degrees is
listed for the Sunday as the Mavs look to stay unbeaten in conference play.
Perhaps the warm weather will entice a larger crowd.
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