Senior All-American Bryan Duplissie gives an inside look at Franklin Pierce's trip to the Division II College World Series with daily journal entries. Check back throughout the week for updates.

Thursday May 25, 2006

Greetings from Montgomery with the Franklin Pierce Baseball Team
Today was a long, busy day as much of it was spent traveling.  Departure from Franklin Pierce was approximately 6:00 am for Bradley International in Hartford Connecticut. Arrival at Bradley was right around 8 am, and the check in and waiting began.  Finally our plane boarded just after 10 am and we took off for Atlanta, Georgia, where our connecting flight to Birmingham, Alabama would be waiting.  Our plane landed safely in Birmingham and a coach bus was waiting and we began the two hour bus ride to the Holiday Inn in downtown Montgomery. At 4:30 pm our rooms were found and stuff unpacked within its tidy confines. 

A half hours rest was all we needed until it was time to eat.  Elliot Shea, Tyler Cummings, Mike Farrell, Mike Feetham, and I crossed the busy roadway outside the hotel and settled in for some good food and a few laughs at the Outback Steakhouse.  It's now 7 pm and the only thing we have scheduled for the night is a team meeting at 9:30.  Most of the time tonight will be spent laughing at each others idiosyncrasies and odd jokes haha, and surprisingly watching the Red Sox vs. Devil Rays on ESPN.  Tomorrow it's time to get to work as we have practice in the afternoon followed by opening ceremonies.

Go Ravens,
Bryan

Friday May 26, 2006
Today we met our host family.  Every team in the Series gets a host family that shows them around the city and stuff. They are very nice people and they told us that they have planned to have a BBQ for our team at their house on Monday. We can't wait, not just for the good food but because he told us about the pond on his land that holds many largemouth bass over 10lbs. Hopefully we get the chance to catch some of them. Lunch today was a good time. All the teams that are participating in the World Series met at Teague Arena where we were treated to some good Southern cooking while being waited on by the Mayor's daughters. After lunch we had some down time until we needed to go to Paterson Field to have a team picture taken. We had practice right after from 5:45 to 6:30, and the team that practiced before us actually stayed and watched us hit. I guess they may have heard a thing or two about us. Not sure though.

Shortly after practice the NCAA and people of Montgomery had dinner prepared for us that we ate as a team and laughed about the same things we laugh about EVERY single day!  Interesting how that happens when you spend every day together for the past four months. Tonight the City of Montgomery is throwing a Jubilee that is supposed to be a lot of fun. Some popular country music artists like Keith Anderson and Sara Evans are supposed to be performing. Tomorrow at 7:30am we have a baseball camp to work for about 500 kids in Montgomery, which should make for an interesting story tomorrow.

Saturday May 27, 2006
Boy it's hot down here! 

Montgomery has a lot to offer especially every year when the World Series is being played.  We participated in a baseball camp today for just under 500 kids in the Montgomery area.  It was a lot of fun getting to know a lot of the campers and their families throughout the day.  At the end of the camp the head coach of Lewis University, who ran the camp, had all the teams participating in the Series go onto the field and he had a "yelling" verdict from the campers to see who would win the National Title.  We ran away with vote and every kid was screaming when the coach shouted "Franklin Pierce".  Hopefully that is a sign of what is to come.

Later in the evening we had opening ceremonies at Patterson Field and all the teams surrounded the infield and the commissioner said a prayer blessing all the teams and wishing us good luck.  I think we get our trophy for the regional tomorrow...can't wait for that!  Shortly after that we had a team dinner at Ryan's Steakhouse, which featured an all-you-can-eat buffet.  Now it's time to go to bed and dream about winning our first game against Ashland University tomorrow. 

Wish us luck!...Go Ravens
Bryan

Sunday May 28, 2005
Dissapointed...but I think we have a good enough team continue playing

Today was our opening game against Ashland and unfortunately we didn't fare so well, losing 14-4. It was certainly a reality check for all of us but it also sent us a message...we need to play our best baseball to continue playing and teams here want to win just as much as us. I think the team morale was a little down after the game but we have told each other its not time to be heartbroken, not yet! We can come back through the loser's bracket just as we did in the regionals. Tomorrow will be a day to relax, with optional BP scheduled for the morning and then a BBQ for us and our families at Livingston's (our host family).

There was no team dinner tonight so guys could go out with their families and have dinner or just rest in their rooms and catch up on some sleep. The temperature read on the way home from the game at 4:30pm 100 degrees. That's a little warmer then what we're used to playing in, especially after last weekend. Well, team morale is back up and we're looking to get a win on Tuesday to continue the season. Hope all is well back home and everyone is safe. 

Bryan

Monday May 29, 2006
Good ole Southern Hospitality

Today was so much fun. It was good for the guys to get a chance to relax and have some fun. We went to our host family's house tonight for a BBQ and to have a good time. A "good time" is an understatement! It was truly a blast. Mr. Livingston and his family obviously knew what we like to do in our free time. They had fishing poles waiting for us when we arrived at the house. Everyone immediately thanked him and headed to the pond to try our luck, and catch a nice trophy bass. Unfortunately we were showed up by some younger fisherman (members of the Livingston family) who caught all the fish. Oh well, at least we tried. 

Not catching a fish after generating a lot of hype wasn't the most embarrassing thing of the night by any means. There was a live band that played a variety of songs but towards the end of the night the lead singer caught us all off guard. He requested that all the players who's mothers were at the cookout to come up and dance. I didn't think I would have to slow dance with mom until my wedding or some other special occasion. Haha, it was probably a riot to watch after because we then danced for three or four songs, but the pace was picked up and boyyyy did we dance! Anyways, it was a great night for everyone and definitely a good prep for tomorrow's game. 

We send out many thanks to the Livingston's and all their friends and family that prepared the meal we ate and the refreshments we were able to enjoy. They made our night tonight something to remember!

Emporia State tomorrow afternoon!...Go Ravens!

Bryan

Tuesday May 30, 2006
Ravens live to see another day!

Today we beat Emporia State in 11 innings. It was an exciting game and now we get to play another day. We spent the evening having dinner with our host parents (The Livingstons, who actually invited us over to their house again tomorrow night!) and Dr. Hagerty at the Fantail Restaurant. It was an all you can eat seafood buffet. Superstitions are a big part of this team and last night on the way home from the Livingstons everyone was hyper so, acting like the mature adults we are, we sang a wide variety of songs. So... seeing we won today we needed to continue the tradition and many of the same exact songs were sang on the bus ride home tonight. I'm sure our friendly bus driver has probably had enough of us, but she doesnt show it at all. Well we are still waiting to see who we play tomorrow, but it's always good to wake up to a suprise...

Until tomorrow and Go Ravens,

Bryan

Road to the World Series recap....

We had a great year; won regular season conference title, won regional championship, and lost in the semifinals of World Series.  We have nothing to complain about there.  Our run to the series involved some clutch hitting and memorable pitching performances from the whole staff.  Making it to Montgomery was the final touch on my career at Franklin Pierce College.  Our run to the championship was not anchored by just a few players but the whole team throughout the whole season; starters and reserves.  

As a senior who graduated just a short time ago I need to thank those who have made my time here at Franklin Pierce a memorable experience.  Our season wouldn't have been the same without the hard work and determination put in by all of my teammates and coaches from off-season workouts and conditioning to playing the season.  Finally from myself, I send out the best of luck and thanks to all of my teammates with whatever they do in life and to the coaches for the support and opportunities they gave us.  

 To the college baseball seasons past!...Farewell

 Bryan Duplissie