The Other Side of Division 1 Baseball

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 3^rd 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 6^th, all of which can be blamed on cold-induced fielding errors, even those that were ruled hits. Three more in the bottom of the 8^th 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.