Half Inning of Baseball

3rd Division American Legion Baseball Tournament
Galesburg vs. Rock Island (Consolation Semifinals)
7/22/10

With the way the division bracket played out on the consolation side, my coverage of Galesburg American Legion baseball on 1590 WAIK was in jeopardy. After their loss to Eldred on Wednesday, they dropped to play a 10:00 a.m. game against Rock Island, and would face Pekin at 1:30 with a win.

I had to pick and choose what my plan of attack would be, and rolled the dice with an afternoon game (if necessary). By having Friday off to cover the ASA Midland Magic Showcase in Springfield, my Thursday became jam-packed.

My plan was to cram the next two days' worth of work into a four hour period in the morning. Then, I would head up to Moline and watch the final inning and do my noon sportscasts from the diamond at Black Hawk College. With a Galesburg win, I would have time to get things set up for the radio broadcast.

On my way up route 67, I made a couple phone calls to get things tied down for football season. We have some very exciting things in store for our fall football schedule, and possibly beyond just football broadcasts. Nothing is final, so I can't say for certain. I am putting some final touches on things, and that is what my phone call with my old broadcasting buddy from Geneseo and Galva, Jason Bates, was for.

I arrived at Black Hawk College a few minutes before noon. No problems getting to the field this time around. I unpacked my notes for the upcoming sportscast, and headed over to the press box. It was the 9th inning, and the score was 7-1. Rock Island held the big lead, and I was able to sit down in time for the final at-bats of the game, with the bottom of the 9th just getting underway. It looked promising to start, as Nick Milligan hit a long fly ball into left field. It looked like the Rock Island outfielder lost his tracking, but recovered nicely to make the catch. Nick Leary followed with a double, and would come around to score on a throwing error by the right fielder, after making the second out on a Dalton Davis fly ball. Derek Schwab lined out to 3rd base to end the game, and the season for Galesburg. It was a 7-2 loss. Rock Island moved on to face Pekin at 1:30 in the consolation championship.

When I pulled up to the guy watching the gate (taking admission), he mentioned to me that he heard Pekin wasn't going to be showing up for their game. I found that really odd, and he wasn't sure. It must have been somebody driving by with a rumor. I didn't stick around to find out, and my day cleared up quite a bit...which I needed badly.

This gave me plenty of time to get my itinerary organized for Friday, a long and hot day in Springfield.