Elon Baseball: Dominican Republic Global Experience

Elon Baseball: Dominican Republic Global Experience DAY FOUR

Keep up with the Phoenix during their global experience in the Dominican Republic. Sophomore Anthony Hennings recounts Tuesday's morning game against Escogido, tour of the Colonial Zone, and watching another Dominican Winter League Game.

Today marks the third complete day that we have been in the Dominican Republic. After a long day of working hard yesterday painting houses in the impoverished city of Gautier, just outside of Santo Domingo, and having the unique opportunity to tour the Kansas City Royals academy, the team gets a good night’s sleep in preparation for our first game here in the Dominican Republic.

The team awoke extremely early this morning as we prepared for our first game against Escogido at 10:20 a.m. We had the unique opportunity to play in "Estadio Quisqueya", home of the Tigres del Licey and the Leones del Escogido, two teams in the Dominican Winter League. The stadium is located in Santo Domingo, the capital of the DR.

After a long and hard-fought game between the two teams, we ended up pulling out a 7-4 victory, giving us a 1-0 start in our two-game set while staying here in the Dominican.

Elon baseball with Major League Baseball infielder Hanley Ramírez

The team began to pack the bus as we took the short ride over to the Colonial Zone in Santo Domingo. The team was taken around this historic central neighborhood by a tour guide.

We were shown different parts of the oldest permanent European settlement of the Americas. There were several magnificent sights to see, such as Parque Colón (Columbus Park), the First Cathedral in the Americas, the National Pantheon of the DR, and much more.

Ciudad Colonial offered so many historic sites for the team to visit and learn about. As the tour finally ended, the team gathered back on the bus to make the short trip back to Estadio Quisqueya to attend another Winter League game.

Tonight's game featured the Licey Tigres and the Estrellas Orientales. The team had the opportunity to watch the game from the other side of the fence. It was an incredible experience being able to play on the field in the morning and then watch actual big leaguers play on it in the evening.

Estrellas struck early, scoring one run in the top of the first inning. However, Licey responded by evening it up in the bottom half of the inning. The game went back and forth in a hard-fought game, and Estrellas came out on top with an 8-5 win.

Fatigued after a long third day here in the Dominican Republic, we made our way back to Juan Dolio. From waking up at 6:30 a.m. to arriving back at the resort at 10:30 p.m., there was a lot that we learned. Today was such a great and unique experience for not only myself, but the team as well.

Anthony Hennings

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