“Win the inning, we win the game.” — Bill Decker
Concluding Eli’s spring break trip was an Ivy League matchup, with the Crimson taking on the Big Red. This was our first trip to Harvard and first time seeing them play, while we saw Cornell @ Yale earlier in the season. The ride was short from our hotel by Fenway, but I didn’t anticipate the parking nightmare that would shortly unfold.
I didn’t realize it was the first annual “Cambridge Day” hosted at Harvard, with many local vendors, activities and sports. I counted 5 teams hosting matches, including baseball, softball, rugby, lacrosse and tennis, and believe there were even more. Parking was awful – single line of traffic from outside the gates, and by the time we arrived had to park past the rugby fields making for a long walk to the baseball field.
It seemed the only sport charging admission was men’s lacrosse, and the crowd was massive with tons of kids and activities in that area. We only walked by on the way to the baseball game, but heard the crowd the entire time.
Making our way to O’Donnell Field, I couldn’t help but feel underwhelmed when arriving. The field wasn’t much to look at – small amount of bleacher seating behind home plate, a couple more small bleacher sections far down first and third base lines, and a basic scoreboard. No shade at all, and it was sunny and close to 80 degrees which was unusual this time of year. The atmosphere and surroundings helped make up for the field, with the monstrous Harvard Stadium next door. But, coming from BC and Northeastern in the same week, I expected something more.
Eli was a good sport, but I think he was over baseball by this point – plus the weather and lack of shade didn’t help. He played in the dirt as I watched the game, drawing pictures and building structures out of rocks, to the amusement of some of the spectators. There were plenty of vendors nearby, so we got some food and drinks, and he got to chat with some players and coaches.
The game was exciting, with lots of offense – 24 combined hits – and Harvard winning 8-5. We didn’t stay for Game 2, but Harvard walked-off with a two-run home run which I’m sure gave some life to the crowd.
