SPORTS New era for UC Baseball |
| Bearcats hit homerun with $11 million baseball stadium |
| by John Bach |
 |
|
A record crowd of 2,200 fans filed into UC's new stadium May
20. The free opener came complete with ushers, a program and a scorecard. |
Update: Take the complete tour of Varsity Village (Flash)
What a moment.
Adrenaline-charged players sprinting to their positions for the first
time. An anxious coach watching a new era unfold from the dugout. And
thousands of fans soaking up the electric atmosphere of a brand new ballpark
on opening night.
It was on the third pitch of the stadium's spring 2004 debut that the
unmistakable clank of a metal bat impacting with a baseball resonated
across the University of Cincinnati for the first time at a game in nearly
two seasons. But it was actually the sound that followed when UC's left
fielder tracked down the fly ball for the first out that athletics administrators
will remember. That was the roar of 2,200 people cheering for Bearcat
baseball.
"I think we saw what hopefully is the start of a great atmosphere
and a great following for baseball on campus," said head coach Brian
Cleary." We have never had a crowd like that to watch a baseball
game.
"I thought the fans were great and in particular the students. When
they started chanting, ‘Let's go Bearcats,' I've never heard anything
like that at a baseball game during my time here."
At the time of the opening, Cleary's tenure with UC included eight seasons.
The first six were on the old Johnny Bench Field, just west of the new
stadium. The team's average attendance in 2002, the final year there,
was 184. The last two seasons, the Bearcats have been a team without a
home. And over that time, their record suffered.
"There are bigger problems in the world than UC having to spend two
seasons without a baseball field," Cleary said. "But not to
a baseball team. This is a dream come true. I walk out there, and it is
so nice that you have to kind of pinch yourself to realize it is actually
ours, on our campus. I can say, as someone who has seen a ton of college
stadiums, this is as nice as there is anywhere in the country. It was
worth the wait."
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