Who's on Third?

Well, the semi-finals are over. Hawaii beat up on Washington, winning 12-2 in 5 innings. Arizona did the same to So Cal, winning 13-3 in 6 innings. So, the final is Hawaii vs Arizona - in my opinion, the 2 best teams in the tournament. So now we know who is playing the finals.

We also found out last night who has which umpire assignment for the final. Kevin, deservedly, got the plate assignment - kudos for him!!!! Paul is on 1st, Glenn on 2nd and I've got 3rd. The other 4 on the crew, Rob, Frank, Bob and Rita will share the lines, with Rob and Frank taking the first 3 1/2 innings and Bob and Rita finishing up the game. It should be a great game - with good pitching, defense and offense on both teams.

The games today were, as the scores show, pretty lopsided. Nothing specific jumps out, except that Hawaii, for the second time in the tournament, hit the first pitch of the first inning out of the park. Both HI and AZ hit a couple dingers in their games. WA and So Cal did their best to stay in the games, but were really outclassed.

I'll have another entry after the game tonight, but I might forget to say something that is very important in this story. There are several people I want to thank, for their support in getting me ready for the Regionals. Dan Campagnolo, Larry Gomez, Ralph Giannini and John Hoppin - the D12 umpire 'staff' have been incredible in their support for me as I prepared for this assignment. They have critiqued my work, helped me get ready for the rigors of the tournament, and even shot photos and videos of my earlier games to show me how I could improve. I want to thank them for all of the help, advice, and assistance they gave me during the tournament season this year. Guys - I hope I did you proud.

There is also another person who deserves a very special thanks - and that is my wife, Marilyn. When I found out in late 2008 that I had been selected for Regionals, she told me that whatever I needed to do to get ready - she would stand by me and support me. I have done more games this year than I ever have in the past. There were weeks when we seldom saw each other except late at night after a game or early morning. Normally our spring and summer weekends include a lot of whitewater rafting, but this year she put our life on hold so that I could follow my dream and have an incredible experience at Regionals. She came down these past 2 days to watch me and support me at the games. For all this, and much much more - I want to thank her...for being her and for supporting me always.