Schlossnagle Recounts Journey To Dominican Republic
12/1/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Dec. 1, 2011
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Day 1: November 23, 2011
We were all very excited to get the trip started, although you can imagine how college aged baseball players felt about a 4:45am departure to the DFW airport! Needless to say, we made it to DFW safely and most of the team slept on both flights to get us to the DR. We traveled most of the day and had about a 40-minute bus ride from the airport in Santo Domingo to our hotel in Juan Dolio, DR.
We instantly knew things were going to be different when we had to pack the bus and the trailer that was carried behind it with our bags.... it definitely wasn't a 52 passenger charter with satellite TVs like our guys get to travel with during the TCU season. We all quickly realized that we were in for a new, challenging experience.
We arrived at the hotel, a relatively comfortable (for the DR) Embassy Suites, and had a very nice dinner (the beginning of a lot of rice, chicken and beans!). Our great hosts from Esperanza explained the basics of the next several days and gave us some good advice on life in the DR. After dinner, everyone pretty much headed off to their rooms to rest, play cards, etc.
Better be sure to mention that my son, Jackson, was able to celebrate his 12th birthday with the team in the DR. Everyone sang Happy Birthday to him, in both English and Spanish and the hotel staff prepared a nice birthday cake for everyone to enjoy.
Day 2: November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving to all, although they don't celebrate the holiday in the DR. We awoke early, had breakfast and headed off by 8:15 to the New York Mets Complex in Boca Chica for batting practice and our game vs. the Mets. The complex was nothing short of amazing. All 30 MLB teams have some sort of complex in the DR but, as we were told prior to the trip, no one has as nice of a complex as the Mets... they were right.
The complex included multiple fields, batting cages, turf fields, multiple bullpens, dormitories, coaches offices and a cafeteria. We were made to feel at home from the time we arrived until the second we left. Can't say enough good things about the Mets' people down there.
We were previously scheduled to play three seven-inning games during our time there since we knew we weren't going to throw the few experienced pitchers from last season (Andrew Mitchell, Stefan Crichton, Nick Frey and Trey Teakell). Also, we didn't really want to stretch anyone out over more than four innings so we needed to avoid anything other than a seven-inning game.
Game number 1 didn't start out well as we were wild to start the game walking five in the first three innings, but we only gave up two hits. One of the reasons we wanted to play these games in the DR and the two we played at TCU vs. Sam Houston and Central Arkansas was to try and get our new players some sort of game experience before the wins and losses count in the spring.
Although we didn't get off to a great start, we played well. Freshman Preston Morrison tossed four innings of two hit, one run baseball. Preston was outstanding, striking out seven and walking none. Offensively, Kyle Von Tungeln began what would be his best three days of baseball since being in a TCU uniform. He led off the game with a double to left field and had great at bats the entire day. Zac Jordan, Brett Johnson, Davy Wright and Josh Gonzales all had very good days at the plate. We lost the game 6-3, but I was really encouraged by how we played both on offense and in the field.
The Mets teams we were facing were full of really good players who had already started their careers in the U.S. minor league system. We faced some outstanding pitching each day and I was very encouraged by our offense, especially with a wood bat in their hands.
After the game, we ate at the complex, showered and went on our "Vision Trip" with Esperanza. The trip consisted of breaking up into a few small groups and going out into the poorest of poor areas to see the great work Esperanza was doing. My group visited a water purification plant in the middle of an incredibly poor neighborhood. It's amazing what we take for granted in the U.S., like clean, running water. The plant we visited was a saving grace for the people of this small, needy community.
Day 3: November 25, 2011
Friday and Saturday basically consisted of the same routine: wake up early, eat breakfast, get to the field by 8:45 a.m., take batting practice and play a seven inning game, followed by lunch at the cafeteria, no shower and head out into the field to do our community service work and help at our various work sites with Esperanza.
Friday's game got off to a much better start. Von Tungeln (VT) again led off the game with a base hit to right field and he eventually scored on a single to center field off the bat of Zac Jordan. Freshman, Brandon Finnegan, got us off to a great start on the mound and cruised through his four innings of work. On the day, he allowed two hits, walked one and struck out six. Junior, Kevin Allen, followed Finnegan with three shutout innings, striking out two and walking none. We had a ton of great at bats, hit a lot of balls hard and played errorless defense. Along with VT's two hits, Brance Rivera, Davy Wright, Jason Coats, Zac Jordan and Kevin Cron had productive days at the plate. The Frogs finished the day with a 4-0 win and were xcited to get to work in the community.
Like I said above, we headed out into the community of Boca Chica to get our hands dirty and blistered with some hard work. My group was in charge of helping build an addition onto an Esperanza "associate's" house. You can see from the pictures in the gallery what a beautiful family we were helping. We basically helped almost double the size of a home that wasn't even as big as our locker room at TCU. It was a lot of work over two days but the residents were so happy and grateful for our help.
Friday night, after dinner, we attended a professional Dominican Winter League game. What an amazing atmosphere!! I know our TCU games are full of energy but nothing compared to what we saw that night. Dominican's are incredibly passionate about their baseball...from bands in the stands, dancers on the dugouts and great energy throughout the stadium, the game was a real treat to our traveling party.
Day 4: November 26, 2011
Saturday's game was another good one for the Frogs. Another freshman starter, Chris Murphy, had his best day to this point as a TCU player. It's always encouraging as a coach to see a player's performance get better versus better competition. Murphy's velocity was very good and threw a ton of strikes with good action on the ball, down in the strike zone. He only threw two innings but was dominant, one run, no hits and two strikeouts. Tyler Duffie and Justin Scharf followed him with two more shutout innings each and Kaleb Merck closed out the last inning with a scoreless appearance as the Frogs won, 7-1. VT, Coats, Jordan, Brett Johnson, Cron and Wright all swung the bat well and had very positive at bats.
On the week, I was very impressed by the way we played. Over 21 innings of baseball, we gave up 11 hits, struck out 23 and only allowed seven runs (five in the first three innings on the first day). If you remove the first three innings on Thursday, we allowed one run, on nine hits, striking out 21 and walking four over 18 innings versus some good professional players.
Defensively, we made one error in 21 innings, and freshmen, Braden Mattson and Jerrick Suiter both caught very well. We played without Jantzen Witte and Josh Elander who were nursing some injuries (not serious) and didn't throw four guys who we think will pitch a lot for us. Offensively, we were competitive in every game, hit a bunch of balls hard with a wood bat and grinded out at bats with great energy for three days.
After the game on Saturday, we all headed back to our service projects to finish what we had started on Friday. Saturday night, we were treated to a phenomenal meal from Esperanza at a great restaurant on the beach in Juan Dolio and then, incredibly tired, we headed back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.
Day 5: November 27, 2011
With an early evening departure time, we were able to treat the guys to a few hours at the beach on Saturday morning. They certainly deserved it. Most of them also, did some "shopping" with the beach vendors and followed that with a light lunch before heading back to the hotel to shower and go to the airport.
Surprisingly, our trip home, while very long, went off without any problems on the busiest travel day of the year. Although we loved our visit in the DR, it really felt great to pull back onto campus in Fort Worth and be home.
All in all, our trip with Esperanza was a life changing experience. We constantly talk about the value of Selflessness and our guys were able to see and exhibit that trait throughout the weekend. The baseball was helpful, informative and fun but the experiences we had in the community were the highlight of the trip. I would encourage everyone out there who may ever have the chance to go on a similar trip, to do so. You definitely come away with a sense of perspective on our life here in the U.S.
I really hope all of you in Horned Frog nation have a great holiday season and we look forward to seeing you next spring. Remember, the 1st Pitch Banquet is on February 3rd with the Alumni Game then next day on the 4th. Our season opener is at home vs. Ole Miss on February 17.
Go Frogs!!
