First Game of the 2012 Season

We went to our first game of the season today as the ECU Pirates took on the Penn State Nittany Lions at Clark-Le Clair field in Greenville, NC.  It was me, my wife, my son, my friend Corbin, and my brother Adam together on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Adam was in town for the party we threw at the house yesterday for our housewarming and celebrating me passing the ASBOG exam.  We waited to have the party until the weather was nicer and it definitely didn't disappoint.

I was glad to watch a game with my brother, he goes to a bunch of University of South Carolina games because he lives minutes from their campus in Columbia, SC.  He is really lucky to be able to see the defending champions and apparently, Ryan Ripken (son of Cal) has committed to play for the Gamecocks next season.  This was my brother's first visit to ECU.

I thought I would give my camera a workout and see about getting some action shots.  I am pretty satisfied, as you can see the ball heading to the catcher's mitt right here.

It was looking like rain earlier in the day, but thankfully, the clouds burned off and the temperature warmed up.  We left in the sixth inning because my brother had a 5-hour drive back to Columbia, so I wanted to make sure he didn't get in too late tonight.

Adam got me a really sweet ECU St. Patrick's Day commemorative hat, which, I think, looks awesome!  This was his congratulatory gift for me passing the exam.  You can never go wrong with getting me baseball related items, and I really think this hat looks GREAT!!

I wish we could have stayed for the whole game, but everyone was wore out from the long weekend and also feeling the effects of the blanket of pollen that has covered the Winterville/Greenville area.  My sinuses are killing me right now.  Blehhh.  Anyway, we had a blast, and I hope this is the first of many trips to the ballpark this season.  I can't wait to knock some more minor league parks off of my list this year.  I also hope to go to games with a wide assortment of friends this year.