Tuesday, March 24, 2026
Paul, Michael and Julien, I must apologize for falling a bit behind in posting but I've been both busy and on the road a lot. I'll get got up a quickly as I can.
I found out, quite by accident, that our beloved Washington Huskies baseball team was playing a non-conference game today in nearby Malibu.
GAME ON!
University of Washington Huskies
9-14 Overall / 4-5 Big-10 Conference
at
Pepperdine University Waves
6-17 Overall / 2-1 West Coast Conference
The drive from Casa Contreras, down the Ventura Freeway and through scenic Malibu Canyon to Pepperdine's seaside campus was both traffic free and a delight today.
I arrived to find to my surprise
that parking was free
On first glance Field Stadium
looked pristine
To every pitcher's joy, the foul territory was GIGANTIC all the way around the ballpark.
Liking the D looking like a wave
Great baseball history
John Scolinos
In 1971, as a young coach getting ready for his first season of coaching high school baseball, I had the honor to hear Coach Scolinos speak at a clinic. His talk on how to prepare athletes mentally to compete at a high level is one that I still marvel at to this day.
It was a BEAUTIFUL day for baseball!
Good seat to start the game, again
note the expansive foul territory
behind home plate
A Wave at bat
The Huskies' dugout was into the game
A Husky driving a ball up
the middle for a base hit
As a history buff, I have mentioned to coaches at various schools and sports that when a fan walks into their stadium or arena, they should instantly be made aware of the successes that their team has had over the years.
Some have listened, some have not.
OK, Pepperdine has made it to
the College World Series twice
We already saw their sign celebrating their 1992 CWS Championship earlier in this post.
West Coast Conference Powerhouse
A total of 19 WCC Championships since 1974 is another good piece of historical reference for what I now saw as a storied program.
Still though, it's been a minute since their last WCC crown in 2018.
Back to the game . . .
A shot hit right back at the
Huskies' hurler who made the play
That oversized foul territory
helped the Huskies on this play
I moved my location to behind
the Huskies' dugout
Cool Salute to Service Tribute
As part of the Seventh Inning Stretch ritual, after the crowd joined in a stirring rendition of "God Bless America," maybe it was just me singing, all of the players from both teams filed out of their respective dugouts.
Why you ask?
Simple really, there was a group of service veterans sitting together at the top of the stands and all of these ball players made the trip up the stairs to shake each one's hand.
VERY COOL!
Husky trying for a Triple . . .
. . . it's going to be close . . .
. . . OUT!
The Waves' center fielder made one heck of a throw!
A Husky putting the ball in play . . .
. . . but it turned into a Double Play
Washington's Head Baseball Coach
Eddie Smith
In his second year at the helm of the Huskies' program, his club went 29-28 overall and 17-13 in Big-10 play.
His 2025 Huskies were predicted to finish 17th in the Big-10 but were able to surprise the so called experts by finishing in 5th place.
Huskies running amok on
the base pads
Another Washington run
crosses the plate!
A pinch hitter for the Dawgs
The Huskies used 15 different players in today's route of the Waves.
Top of the Ninth Inning and the
Huskies were still hitting up a storm
A good fade away slide scored
another Ninth Inning run for the UW
Husky batter with a color
coordinated shin guard
FINAL SCORE
Washington (10-14) - 11
Pepperdine (6-18) - 2
One Happy Husky!
Why wouldn't I be happy after thoroughly enjoyable day at the ballpark seeing our team win?
In other news today . . .
This game, which I touted just yesterday,
has turned into a forfeit win for the now
8-0 Villeurbanne Falcons in Lyon, France
Next up for the Falcons., the French DIII playoffs.
A solid poster for this upcoming
Italian DIII game on Sunday
A good poster as well for this
Spanish DII game on Saturday
One wonders, have I been to any of
these oldest of college stadiums?
Why yes, yes I have!
In the off-season, I have visited #1 Penn's 1895 Franklin Field, #3 Georgia Tech's 1913 Bobby Dodd Stadium, #12 Ohio State's 1922 Ohio Stadium and #19 Purdue's 1924 Ross Ade Stadium.
I have enjoyed seeing college football games at #10 Washington's 1920 Husky Stadium, #13 UCLA's 1922 Rose Bowl, #14 USC's 1923 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, #15 California's 1923 California Memorial Stadium, #17 Colorado's 1924 Folsom Field, #18 Army's 1924 Michie Stadium and #20 LSU's 1924 Tiger Stadium.
All of these venues were replete with the lore that, until NIL and the Transfer Portal, was the fabric of the great game of American college football.
Now, maybe not so much.
Are we "Winning" yet?
On March 1st, the day before we left for Maui, I filled up my car at a local gas station for $3.80 a gallon. Today, the cheapest I saw in town was $5.77 a gallon.
A whopping $1.97 a gallon jump in gasoline prices in just 24 days thanks to our Glorious Misleaders War in Iran!
I also saw several stations selling gasoline today for over $6.00 a gallon.
Can't wait for the mid-term elections.
If we have them.
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