When the Memorial Tournament decided to not allow fans, I had to find another event for Saturday within a few hours of the World Team Tennis, which I would attend on Sunday. It took me a while, but I was able to use the map at BaseballMapper.com to find a team in Martinsville (VA), just 90 minutes south of White Sulphur Springs (WV), where the WTT is being held. The Mustangs are part of the Coastal Plain League, a collegiate wood bat circuit, and as luck would have it, they were home on Saturday night. So I changed my flight, flying to Greensboro (NC) instead of Columbus (OH), and after renting a car, drove the hour to Martinsville.
The Mustangs play out of Hooker Field, named for a local furniture concern that is actually traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol HOFT. Hooker helped with a major renovation in 1988 that led to the venue hosting Appalachian League baseball until 2003. Before 1988, it was known as English Field after the gentleman who built it back in 1930. So baseball has been played on the site for 90 years.
There is an asphalt parking lot right next to the field, but if you are worried about dents and broken windows, use the overflow lot across the street; it is where the players park. Tickets are available for $7 at the window. As there is a pandemic going on, all seats are general admission.
A sign of the times above. Despite this request, some fans sat just one seat apart from me, which is far less than six feet, forcing me to move. Few fans wore masks, though they were more visible outside the ballpark at fast food spots and a local museum. Hand sanitizer was available throughout the stadium.
The ballpark has three sections of box seats behind the plates (with every second row blocked off), a couple of sections of special seating on top of the dugouts, and then benches down both lines. The benches along the third base line are dug into the hillside and are above a small grassy area where kids can play, while those along first base are your typical bleachers. Capacity is 3,200 and there were only 367 on hand, so plenty of room, except for the box seats, which were relatively full.
The visiting bullpen is down the line and has no room for the players to actually sit, so they use the benches above it.
The sun sets behind first base, so sitting along that side will keep you from squinting.
There are a couple of concession stands offering simple fare, and a shack down beyond third base that boasts a variety of beers and other drinks, as well as some standing tables.
Overall, Hooker Field is as simple as you would expect for a ballpark at this level and I really enjoyed being in the open air for a change. It was my first new ballpark since I went to Vegas last August, a very long time indeed. I'm hoping to add a few more of these next month in the Dakotas and other areas that are relatively free of the coronavirus.
The Game
The Peninsula Pilots were the visitors and the two clubs were playing their third game in as many nights, with each winning at home. Players are mostly from smaller Division I and Division II schools, but there are a few from Power 5 teams. Martinsville started Logan Campbell (Charleston) while Peninsula replied with Zach Tsakounis (William and Mary). Neither was very good and it was 4-3 Mustangs after one inning. Tsakounis was replaced, something that the Pilots would do 5 more times on the evening. Campbell gave up a run in the second and another in the third before he was taken out, with Kevin Kopps (Arkansas) coming in. Kopps was the star, tossing 4.1 innings of shutout ball while his offense unloaded on the Pilot bullpen, including a 2-run homer from Will Knight (VMI), as Martinsville prevailed 9-6.
The level of baseball is not great but still watchable and sometimes laughable. On one play, after a Peninsula single, the ball was thrown back to the infield but nobody was watching and it rolled to the catcher, who didn't see it bounce off his foot. The runner on first managed to make it to third, but he was thrown out at home when the following batter grounded to first.
Umpiring is also rather inconsistent. In particular, the home plate ump allowed time to be called while the pitcher was in his windup. This happened a few times, and the Peninsula manager complained vociferously when it was his guy on the mound. He was ejected and went ballistic, screaming at the umpire and getting right in his face, which is a no-no in a pandemic. The umpires are not pros at this level and it makes no sense to get that angry; just say your piece from a safe distance and get back to the dugout.
Best,
Sean
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