Intern-ally crazy!

Do you ever wonder what goes on when the team's gone? What does the office do? We surely don't travel... so there must be something else, right? Well here's a little sneak peek into the ECTB happenings. (Eric, Chad and Stefan trying on the suits for promotions.)

Last week was lonely. We can't lie about that. It's weird not having the team around, even if they do as 1,000 questions at least it's something to keep us busy. Last week we worked on: finding more sponsors, making the merchandise booth more functional, updating our online store, producing the next wonderful Force Focus edition and getting the kinks out of our ticketing system. These are things that just happened the first hour that we were here Monday. (Kayleigh eating a HUGE hunk of cookies as a dare.)

We're a busy bunch of worker bees. Trying to make sure that the experience at ECTB Stadium is the best for all. Every day we're trying to make this game take one step forward, but really we can't do that without you guys. It's no fun to do a Coca Cola bowling game without the fans to participate. And, in all honesty, we're terrible at bowling. We need YOU!

Come out and watch some games, hang out with the staff and the team. If you think it's just going to be watching softball (which there is absolutely no problem with)... it's not. We're working hard to get you into the game, and coming back for more.

(The Big Red Chair where your girls can watch the game from the best and biggest seat in the house! It's located beyond the left field wall, just ask for the Diamond Girl option when purchasing tickets.)

Drop a line!

Hey guys! So I'm watching this hit counter jump up every day, and I want to know who's sneaking a peek. If you could just drop a line in the comment box I added below that would be great! Hope to see some new names, and old ones of course :)

Rain can't stop it!

Didn't think I forgot about you guys, did ya? It's been a crazy week around ECTB Stadium, and I'm here to let you know what's been up!

Last week was absolutely nuts. With the crazy rain that the northeast has been having, which in turn jumbled our playing schedule, to the several player appearances that overlapped leaving for Akron, it's been non-stop around here. (This picture is what the wind/rain did to one of our tents. Flipped it outside the fence= useless.)

Not ignoring the fact that we had game against Chicago, because if you don't already know you can find it on our Web site, I'm going to highlight my two favorite parts of everything that went on: the autograph session in York, and Sunday's kickball game.

The autograph session was neat. The game in York had been rained out, of course, but both teams agreed that they still had a responsibility to meet with the fans that had so patiently been waiting. The teams both loaded up, the Force in cars, the Bandits in the bus they have, and headed out to York... followed by the loyal interns, of course. Through the ridiculous downpour of rain, and two hours later, we arrived at the York complex. It wasn't long until the fans were wrapping around the building. (One of the best shirts I have ever seen. Worn by a proud little brother!)

There's never a dull moment in softball, and I really think that's because of the people who play. There were some crazy things that went on from me playing catch with a guy in line, to the craziest array of uniforms and socks, dozens and dozens of balls, but the best was the diaper. I immediately spotted a woman carrying a baby and thought, "I wonder if their going to get any of the players to kiss the baby like the president does?" Then I saw the diaper. Both teams had signed the baby's diaper resembling tattooed underwear, very similar to a "tattoo sleeve": it was awesome.

These girls never really slow down. Who would have thought I would get woken up at 2 p.m. (yes, like way after the sun has made its appearance) by a kickball game in the Cedar Crest yard. I kept wondering what all the laughing and cheering was, then I saw the game.

The yard was painted in red/black and yellow/purple. The best pieces were Birk's purple spandex, and both Sallinger and Brown's knee-high striped socks. I thought it was pretty precious too that someone on the red team had bought a few pairs of socks so the team could share; all wild and ridiculous mind you.

There was sliding, diving, throwing, and of course cackling, taunting, laughing and tackling. I came up a couple innings after the start and sat in what I considered the "grandstands" aka the parking lot and laughed hysterically. I think my favorite moments were:

• Hammond's forward dive to catch a ball that Peel tipped. There were two line drives back-to-back towards the left side, the first one fell just short of Hammond's reach, but she wasn't going to get beat by the second one.
• Burnum nailing Reagan in the stomach. During friendly banter as the teams were switching Burnum ran towards Reagan and kicked the ball a little harder than I think she meant to and NAILED Reagan in the stomach sending her to the ground.
• Lobpries avoiding Reagan's throw. In a sprint home it was a mano-a-mano match up between Lobpries and Reagan. If Reagan threw the ball and it hit Lobpries she was out and the run would not score. In perfect timing with the throw, Lobpries jumped up and just barely avoided a bullet from Reagan. The team was hysterical in their celebration.
• Peel's bomb. Hammond, Peel, Kiko (calling her Tamashir is just weird) and I all kicked around a soccer ball the other day, and apparently the practice paid off for Peel. She kicked a BOMB over all the purple team defenders and cleared the bases. Where did that come from?
• Newton proving herself as the MVP. She was everywhere! It was ridiculous. It seemed like if a ball was in the air, there she was. Crazy.

You all (or y'all as I normally say) really need to check out these pictures. I'm going to creep and steal them from Facebook; however, giving credit as it's due the pictures are from the skill of Alex Newton's dad. I promised as soon as I got the pictures of the signing I'd get those on here too, and thanks to Birk they're here! Thanks, Stacy!

It's going to be crazy to see what game comes next. Will the energy of this team ever run out? Or is Krave Energy drink (a small plug) doing the job? Hm.. until next time!

When boredom strikes...

Ever wonder what the players do on a day-to-day basis? I would say it would be kind of cool to pull a big brother and have cameras, but that's a bit creepy. Let's recap the boredom-counteractions of last week (that I can remember):

1. Artichoke party: Apparently this is a staple food of Californians, and Friedman's birthday present from back home. Some of us (ie- Kiko Tamashir, Auriel Jenkins and myself) had never eaten a boiled artichoke before, so Friedman helped us. It was weird, I can't lie, but they have a cool texture and are pretty awesome dipped in butter. I think the rest of the room-- Danielle Kinley, Lillian Hammond, and Trena Peel-- enjoyed it as well.
2. The big bet: As proclaimed several times during the negotiation period, Jami Lobpries is a Texan, and Texans love their meat. So, in the boredom of the off-week, the "steaks" were set to try and have Lobpries go vegetarian. Guess for how long? Only a week. I thought it should go a bit higher, a month or so, but she was avid in the fact that three days was going to be hard. So she has her support system in Kinley, who is the only one vying for her win. Then there's Friedman, who is holding it over her head that they are supposed to be Boston Market buddies: Ouch.
3. Movie night: The team got together in the lounge to watch Into the Wild. Solid movie, interesting in it's nature, and remineds me of a genre very similar to The Eternal Sunshine. The best part to me, since it was the same night of the big bet, was when the main character, Alex, is walking around screaming... into the wild, of course... "Where are all the animals?! I'm hungry!" This is going to be Lobpries in about... three hours.
4. Team dinner: Friedman made an awesome dinner for the team. The course was set: pulled pork, salad, mac&cheese, rolls, brownies and, of course, Sweet Baby Ray's barbeque sauce (the best). Mmmm... delicious! The worst part was watching the agony on Lobpries' face as we all downed the deliousness. The highlight, however, was the "cheese nip" chucked at Reagan after she stole a sandwich of Peel's plate. Pretty hilarious.
5. The draft: Probably the most entertaining part of the week. The team can't just keep their athleticism on the field, so they are setting up teams and games for non-softball activities. The captains all the way down through the teams were drawn at random, so that no one was the last one picked. I took a phonecall during the draft, but that didn't stop the uproarious laughter from traveling down the hall, around the corner and into my room.
6. The roadtrips: As discussed by myself and Newton, we're not use to just traveling an hour or so, and reaching another state. New York City, Baltimore and Shamong were three of the hotspots for the weekend. Who would have thought we could have ended up in a cooler area?

I'm going to try my hardest to document more things as they come around. I know Lobpries has requested that her journey away from meat, at least for a week, be documented. Maybe I can stick a food journal on here of somesort? I'll have to get to work on that. Until next time!

Reaching the community

Allentown is so supportive of this organization, even if they do wear the neighboring city Philadelphia on their jerseys. For this effort and continuous fan-base, the Force makes their greatest effort to give back to the community.

This weekend was packed with team involvement. Friday kicked off the weekend as the team took on the NE All-Stars. This was an awesome opportunity for both teams. After a week off, and with the upcoming series against the Chicago Bandits, it was important for the team to get back on the field and shape-up. More importantly, however, how cool is it to get the opportunity to play against pros when you're in college? The NE All-Stars were a group of local stand-outs from colleges that played an eight inning scrimmage against the Force. It was a great game, and I hope it gave the NE All-Stars a little boost to keep working hard, since there is an opportunity to go pro.

Saturday had huge promise, but the rain got us. There was a showcase tournament in New Jersey that four players were planning on attending. At the end of the tournament day, the "unverballed" (which totally isn't un-ver-ball-ed, it's un-verbal-ed... unsigned/committed) players were going to come together to play for college scouts, and the Force players were going to coach. Sweet in theory, until the rain came. Look out for that game to be rescheduled, though. Way too cool of an opportunity to let go out the window because of rain.

Sunday was awesome. Newbees (rookies) Alex Newton, Kristin Erb and myself (woo hoo I got to play!) took a trip to Shamong, NJ for a clinic. The clinic consisted of 26 girls, the three of us and three hours of instruction. The girls were great, they listened to what we asked them to do, stayed on task and really seemed to have a good time. Kudos to Erb too, who took 19 girls by herself to instruct both pitching/catching, while Newton and I worked with six infielders and one outfielder.

One more day, today! One of the coolest things the Force does, and definitely the best of the weekend, is hospital visits. Six of the teammates traveled to Philadelphia to support the recovery of hospital patients. They reported that they had a great time. It's something that the team is planning on doing throughout the season; paying forward some of the support they get from loved ones.

Keep your eyes peeled for happenings throughout the community all season long. Also, if you have any requests please let us know; we would love to help. You can either call the stadium or e-mail me. I hope to get suggestions soon!

I'm hoping to get pictures soon of Saturday's clinic, and a picture of one of the pit-stops we took. You will have to see to understand.

Chicago Series

I, as well as the team I'm sure, wish that we could report back to you with better news about the Chicago series and the outcome; however, and we're going to use this conjunction to only report the positive, there was one win and a lot of potential shown. 

Everyone has a highlight that I could talk about, but I'm going to bullet the things that pop into my head about this weekend: 

• DeDe Justice was on fire. Two yard balls, one off Finch I must add, and a couple RBIs on the series under her belt. This weekend looked good for a lot of power coming off her bat. 
• Lillian Hammond showed a lot of promise at the plate. There was a game that I thought hands down she deserved the player of the game, but I guess the honchoes didn't agree with me. I'll give it to you, Hammond!
• Trena Peel HOSED a runner at home. That do/die that can just as easily go the other way, but there was no chance for this Chicago runner. Run on her again, I dare ya!
• Kristin Erb looked strong in the circle. My twice DII opponent represented and went four shut-out innings against the Bandits, and really only took the loss on a once-in-a-career spoof. 
• Defense really looked good. I think that in the field, once the pitchers settle down a bit, that it's going to be hard to get a run on this team. 
• On the pitching note, the pitching staff really did do a good job. A couple balls here and there turned out for the worse; but hey, it's opening weekend and these are professionals. As much as they will take advantage of the mistakes, the pitchers will learn from them. This staff is hardworking and determined, I truly believe in them and their strength. 

I thought I had a funny anecdote for all you bloggers, but I can't really remember what it is. If you only knew how many Post-it notes I go through, and that I even have the widget on my Mac, you would see why I can't remember! 

Here are some captured pictures from the live stream win from MLB.com that you can catch weekly from teams around the league. Make sure you don't miss a pitch all season long, visit this link for all the games. As always, GO FORCE!

Game 2 and a Penske truck

Let's just start out by saying that yesterday was a day for the books. Maybe not the outcome of the second game of the series against the Bandits, but definitely for the front office staff. It all started out... with a Penske truck.

We are a committed group here. Whether or not our work is fully appreciated, we drove a Penske truck to a business meeting, loaded the truck in the middle of the night and woke up way too early to bring it back to the stadium. And, I slept on a couch. All for the team.

The roadtrip was a sight in itself. Erin, the assistant general manager of the Force, and I both would easily make a clearance of 5'4" and we were bobbing down the highway in a 16' yellow monster, blaring Usher's My Way, Destiny's Child's Writings on the Wall and Dixie Chicks' Wide Open Spaces; oh what a sight. My favorite part is when Erin pulled the signature "Say my name" move seen here around minute mark 2:55. Just for the visual.

Moving on to the game, I think another sign of improvement came from last night's battle. After talking with Tom Kleinman, general manager of the Force, I agree with a lot of his points. I took notes on his recap and here's what we agree on:

-Pruis threw really well. She only had three bad pitches in her outing, two she got away with, one of which she paid the price. She showed huge improvements from last season, and there are only good things to come from her this season.

-Yodowitz made her first professional appearance, and proved she needs a little time to calm down. She showed a lot of potential, but had one "rookie" mistake that cost her a run on a routine play. We're not giving up hope on her, however, she is a hard worker and will just need a bit of time to settle down.

-Yamaguchi looked good behind the plate as the starting catcher last night. She called a good game, and defensively stayed strong.

-Erb, a recent signee from Lock Haven University, was lights-out. She looked awesome, brought the gun to read 71 mph and is showing huge potential. If she keeps up her game, she has promise of moving up in the pitching staff rotation.

This series was a tough pick to kick off the season, but we haven't lost hope for the series. Last season the Force and Bandits split the series, and there are good feelings about the next three games. The bats picked up in the 7th inning last night, showing contining improvement. "Hitting is contagious," said Kleinman. It's true... more is to come!

Game three is scheduled for tonight at 8:05 est. You can catch the game on mlb.com by following this link. Streaming begins 30 minutes prior to game time. Hope you tune in, these games are fun to watch!

Season kicks off at Chicago!

Yay for the season starting! Hope all you bloggers caught the game on mlb.com last night (all pictures were captured during the stream). Although the outcome wasn't exactly in our favor, there were a lot of good things that came out of last nights season opener in Elgin, Ill. against the Chicago Bandits. 

Let's back track a second and talk about what was posted in the dorm before the team left for Chicago. We, the interns, created a chauffeur service for the team, having picked them up from the dorms after their early practice, and then dropped them off at the Lehigh Valley Airport. My favorite part was when rookie utility player Danielle Kinley came back out of the airport asking me to take her back to the dorm for her ID; quality, Danielle. 

Later on, when the interns were nestled all snug in their beds, I returned to the dorm to find an awesome picture that had been posted to pump up the team. On Birk's classic board, she had posted a still shot of two Bandits players that had been caught at an awkward moment and looked disgusted. The caption above it was from a reporters perspective, as if the question had been asked how the Bandits felt getting beat by the Force. It was hilarious. I wish I had taken a picture of it, but silly me forgot. Sorry everyone. 

The live streaming was cool. If you have access to internet on game nights, you should really tune in to watch. It is an awesome opportunity for the country to watch games that they cannot get to in person. However, you should take the chance and make it to a game. Especially at ECTB Stadium, if I can insert a plug here. We are working hard to make this stadium the best experience for all the fans, on and off the field. 

Moving back to the game, it looked like there are the normal beginning of the season kinks to work out, but there is huge potential for this team. A lot of good defensive plays were made, balls were put into play offensively and people were running hard. Pitching struggled early, but after the first inning, Sallinger really settled down and looked good. Birk was excellent in her two innings of relief pitching, which is huge for depth of the staff showing early. 

Tonight is game two, and I have a feeling things are going to turn around for the Force. I am a big supporter of the small ball game, and that putting consistent balls into play is better than hitting a couple bombs. Take a lesson from the University of Florida's performance in the WCWS. If they could have kept momentum by getting a few singles, a double or two, in a row rather than waiting on the long ball to pull them out of a situation, their team morale and dynamics would have instantly changed. Back onto my point, I think that last night the hard swings and ground balls will find their way through and this will be an excellent hitting team. I'm keeping my positivity, and I know they are too! 

Last note...

GO FORCE!

Phillies Unite!

This weekend was an eventful one for the team as they traveled to Philadelphia for camps and appearances. Friday kicked off the weekend with practice, a scrimmage and a clinic at the Drexel University located in Philadelphia. The team traveled to the Drexel campus early for their early practice. Well... I think they did, the interns were hard at work in the Allentown stadium waiting for the OK to head to Philly.

After a good warm up, and the first couple batters made their first plate appearances, there was a nice rain delay. However, in the true softball spirit, the Drexel team covered the field, while the players hung out in the dugouts waiting for the rain to pass; no rainouts for the Force! After the rain passed and the fans returned to their soggy seats, the game took on a new face. The first inning had left the Force looking like they were going to "mollie-wop" the City 6 All Stars, but the rain must have given them just enough time to get over their nerves and hang with the Force. After several bases-loaded innings, stellar grabs (like Audrey LaFountain's diving, 5-6 hole, line drive grab) and double plays, the final score was recorded: 2-1 Force over the City 6 All Stars. A close one, sports fans, but "a win is a win."

After a clinic with local softball players age 8-18 at the Drexel field, the girls headed to Ten Stone Bar & Restaurant to mix and mingle with fans and supporters. Then back to the Ramada Inn for a nights slumber in preparation for a big day.

Saturday was a long day, but a great one. The team kicked off the day by holding a clinic at FDR Park for local softball players. The next part of the day is where the fun started, so I'm going to skip to that...

It was off to Citizens Bank Park as the team was being featured at the Phillies vs. Washington Nationals game. The team was chauffeured into a locker room above the Executive Offices for catered sandwiches and drinks. They were given enough time to shower and get dressed for their debut on the field before and throughout the game.

After the team was dressed and ready, we headed off to our seats located down the left field line to watch batting practice. That was hilarious. While a couple of the girls sat back and relaxed watching the Phillies take their cuts, several of them got excited about the opportunity to fill every kids dream at a big league field of catching a home run ball. Margo Pruis was the first one to get close to a ball as she tossed her glove into the air to deflect a ball a couple rows back. Eventually, six of the players all took home baseballs either thrown into the crowd or caught off a bat.

The funniest anecdote that has to be told, and I wish I had it on tape, was Jessica Sallinger's reaction when she got a ball. There was a high hop off the concrete a few rows in front of her that bounced over her head, leading her to almost dive over the row behind her, and when she retrieved the ball she jumped up and down with complete excitement on her face. All of us watching burst out into an uproarious laughter as we watched and got excited for her. Man, I wish we could have put that on YouTube.

After the exictement of BP, the girls were featured in a parade that walked around the warning track of the stadium. There were a stream of local softball teams that followed, along with a marching band that brought up the rear. I have to throw it in that whoever was in the Belle costume for the Force... did a pretty awesome job ;) Then the players lined up along the 3rd base line and were announced.

Pruis and Tory Yamaguchi then had the honors of throwing out the first pitch. It was a big wind-up and a perfect strike from the 6'1" pitcher, that must have put some good luck on the field for the Phillies win over the Nationals.

In the first three innings of the games, the team was split up at tables at the right and left field entrances to the field signing autographs. Rookie pitcher Sam Yodowitz was excited at the reaction from a young fan who asked her to sign her Blackberry. The fan was in awe as she walked away staring at her freshly signed phone. I'm sure her parents were excited too.

The 5th and 7th innings were hilarious. In the 4th inning pitcher Stacy Birk and catcher Savannah Brown took the field for a skit with the famous Phillies Phanatic. It was awesome to hear the laughter from the packed house of 45,000 people as Birk struck out the Phanatic in three pitches. The after skit talk was pretty funny, as Birk consulted her mental coach on her nerves throwing in front of a crowd that big.

The 7th inning was a dance party for the team. The Cupid Shuffle was played, while the girls did the signature dance on top of the 1st base dugout. According to rookie Lillian Hammond, no entertainment contracts were signed after the performance.

It was an awesome game, and a truly fun experience. This was the 4th season that the team made an appearance at the Phillies game, and the first time the Phillies won. It's a good omen... this team is lucky!