Gimenez's Road to the Regional: Part 2

This is part two of a three-part series following one of the lead broadcasters for Cornell Big Red baseball. Make sure to read part one HERE. 


Game day always brings with it a ton of excitement.  As a player, it was more nerves than pure excitement because I actually had to perform on the field; but in the booth, it's just pure excitement.  However, as Jesse and I got ready to call the first game of an NCAA Regional for the Big Red since 1977, I’ll admit I was a bit nervous.  I knew we would be making history when we turned on the mics and the Big Red took the field, so the buildup was huge.  Now imagine all of that and add to it the fact that I had been preparing for these games since Cruz hit his walk off home run to bring us here and that Jesse and I had been preparing tirelessly for two straight days.  I couldn’t wait any longer, so it was nice to finally get to Boshamer Stadium on Friday, June 1.

After watching a few innings of the first game of the regional between St. John’s and East Carolina, I made my way up to the press box to start getting ready.  The facilities for both players and the press at UNC are second to none in college baseball, so we were spoiled throughout our time in Chapel Hill.  The press box has a terrific set up just like that of a big league box.  We had our own visitor's radio booth behind the plate equipped with an LCD TV and plenty of room to spread ourselves out and get organized.  We had more than enough free amenities, such as access to food and drinks, and most importantly,  gummy bears.  I didn’t realize how convenient those would be for us, but between Jesse and I, we must have left the booth at least ten times to grab a cup full. 

We had about 50 minutes to set ourselves up in the booth, which was plenty of time to get things ready.  As some of you may know, for the majority of the season, we were broadcasting games using three computers connected to a feed that brought with it many complications.  For this series, all we had to do was plug in the laptop, turn on the program, and hit start when we were ready, and trust me, that took a lot of pressure off me because I didn’t have to worry about the technical side of broadcasting games.  I set up my lineups and stats in my scorebook, tacked up information on each team to the tack board, and prepared my player cards.  As a broadcaster, you establish a system that works for you and you stick to it, and for me it involves creating informational cards for the starters for each team.  These cards have everything from the players’ height and weight to their stats and current trends.  By doing this, I have all the information I need at my fingertips, and because I prepare the cards myself, I don’t even really need them because I remember what I wrote.  I keep more in-depth information and rosters close at hand and always have my laptop open and ready to search for information I don’t have. 

We were finally ready to go, and I was ready to turn on the microphone and get started with our pregame show.  I turned it on, hit start, and then realized I had no idea what I was going to say.  I didn’t have much time to decide so I went with “And it’s a beautiful day for baseball here at Boshamer Stadium at UNC Chapel Hill in North Carolina” and with that we were finally underway.  I was so excited to get the game started. When you speculate and try to predict what will happen in a game for weeks, it's refreshing to see the first pitch finally thrown because now you will actually see the final result. 

The first few innings went by rather quickly and I was impressed with the level of play early.  I’ve watched the Big Red in many games over the past year and the way they were able to match UNC early was impressive.  Rick Marks was on the mound for the Big Red and the senior, who lead the team's starters in ERA, was a good choice.

Marks was up to the challenge, and through three innings, the score was 1-0 UNC, with Marks looking dominant on the mound.  In the second inning, the Tar Heels had the bases loaded with nobody out and I got to call one of the greatest defensive plays I’ve ever seen.  I played shortstop for the majority of my high school career so I really appreciate great defensive plays from that position.  What Marshall Yanzick did was like something out of a movie.   On a pop fly down the left field line that looked like it was going to drop in no man's land, Yanzick might as well have put on a Super Man cape.  He ran what must’ve been a good 30-40 feet before throwing his entire body into the air to reel in the catch.  Jesse compared it to making a majestic head first dive into a swimming pool and he hit it right on the head with that description.  Even the UNC fans gave Yanzick a standing ovation on the play. 

With the score 1-0 after three I had scribbled a note on my scorebook that read “I’m not impressed after 3 innings.”  After all the hype that we had been hearing about the #6 ranked UNC Tar Heels, I was expecting more from them and really started to believe that the Big Red had a shot at stealing the game away.  I didn’t get a chance to say that on the air because in the 4^th, UNC scored four runs to put us behind 5-0.  I know I was pulling so hard for Cornell, and it must’ve come through on the air.  I was hoping that somehow we would be able to make a comeback.  In the 6^th, I was hopeful the Big Red would get something going. They had hit UNC Starter Hobbs Johnson well in the fifth but had nothing to show for it.  Brian Billigen came to the plate with a runner on first and nobody out.  I had noted that now would be a great time for his first hit in a regional, and he had gotten ahead in the count 2-0.  I had a good feeling and then,

“That ball is driven high in to the air to right center field, its going back, way back, it is gone!” 

Billigen allowed me to sneak in a sigh of relief as he had cut the lead down to 5-3.  When you call a homerun or big play, you always hope to do it justice with your call, and I was very happy with the call, and more importantly, the outcome.

After Billigen made it rain with his home run, actual rain halted the game in the 6^th, and we had an exclusive opportunity to interview Rich Booth, a Cornell baseball alum and big time donor to the program.  Booth made it possible for me to have one of the coolest experiences in my life, and I couldn’t thank him enough for supporting our broadcast.  Interviewing him on the air was just one way I was going to try.  He had a lot of great things to say and really kept us on our toes during the delay.  This was the first time I had ever interviewed anyone live on the air, and it as a great experience for me that just added to the excitement of the game at hand.  The action resumed, and the Big Red scored another run. We were one step closer to tying the game.  After some more back and forth, we suddenly found ourselves in the top of the ninth in a 7-4 ballgame.

I wanted the Big Red to come back more than anything you can imagine, and I was standing for the entirety of the bottom of the 9^th.  Brian Billigen walked on a full count pitch and then Chris Cruz gave me a bit of a scare.  On a 2-0 pitch he swung, instead of taking, but he lined it in to right field for a hit and the Big Red brought the tying run to the plate with nobody out.  I was hanging on every pitch, and upon listening to myself later, I could hear my excitement and nerves in my voice.  I wasn’t scared for me, I just wanted this team to show everyone watching what they’ve done well all year: make a late inning comeback.  UNC wouldn’t humor me with that request, as the Tar Heel closer slammed the door, retiring the next three Cornell hitters.

The first game of the NCAA Regional for the Big Red was over, and for me, it was one of the most gut wrenching and exciting games of my life.  I wish they could’ve pulled out the victory, but every one watching or listening to us knew one thing: the Big Red were for real.  UNC head coach said it best in a post game press conference when he claimed that he enjoyed watching Cornell play this game more than he did his own team. There was no doubt in my mind that the we could win our game tomorrow, and if we were matched up against UNC later on, that we could beat them.

Check out part three coming soon!