Return Trip in the Works for Texas
Should
Longhorns host a Super Regional, home site will be Whataburger Field
by
George Vondracek, Corpus Christi Caller~Times
March 7, 2007
The
University of Texas' baseball team found the accommodations mighty
fine Tuesday. With a large crowd of supporters, the Longhorns
were right at home at Whataburger Field on their first visit to South
Texas.
The Longhorns
found their hosts mighty accommodating as well in their 10-6 victory over
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, taking advantage of three errors while
pounding four pitchers for 16 hits in beating the Islanders for the eighth
time in nine meetings.
And if things fall correctly, UT
would love to enjoy the accoutrements of Corpus Christi and Whataburger
Field one more time this season.
Should the 12th-ranked Longhorns
be fortunate enough to advance to the NCAA Super Regional round and wind
up playing host, Whataburger Field would be their home while Disch-Falk
Field undergoes major renovations. UT's
home diamond won't be ready for play until 2008.
"It's a great opportunity for the city of Corpus
Christi. They'd never had a UT
game here in Corpus, and UT
seems to be warm to the reception here," said Reese Ryan,
chief financial officer of the Hooks. "To host the Super
Regionals here in Corpus Christi would be a great way to showcase the
city."
Judging from the throng of 7,002 in attendance, the
majority of which was clad in Burnt Orange, the Longhorns
would get a rousing welcome should they return in June.
"It's definitely always fun to play in front of a
big crowd. I always wanted to come check out this ballpark,"
said UT outfielder Jordan Danks, whose brother John pitched for
Frisco against the Hooks the last couple of seasons. "I know my
brother pitched here a couple of times, and I hadn't seen it yet.
Everybody keeps telling me it's a smaller version of Dell Diamond and it
really was. I felt like I was back in Round Rock today. I felt
real confident today. It was good to have fans behind us."
The plan to bring the Super Regionals here has been in
the works for a few months, Ryan said, with his brother and Hooks CEO Reid
Ryan, Round Rock Express CEO Jay Miller and UT
personnel brainstorming the notion. The Dell Diamond in Round Rock
was the first choice for the regionals and Supers, but the Express is at
home during the latter. The Hooks, meanwhile, are on the road in
Midland and San Antonio during the time the Supers would take place from
June 8-10.
"It couldn't have worked out any better for the
national media to see Corpus Christi," Reese Ryan said.
Of course, the 13-6 Longhorns
have to make it that far. But UT
coach Augie Garrido, for one, wouldn't mind another visit.
"The environment was fantastic. The overall
excitement and energy of the crowd, I told the kids before the game that
this is going to be like a College World Series game, where you have a lot
of people who are going to be excited about your presence because of the Texas
thing," said Garrido, who is four wins shy of 1,600 for his coaching
career. "They're going to be filled with energy. We
needed to stay really focused on our performance and not get caught up in
the excitement that goes along with the uniform we wear. 'Don't get
too lost in the fact it's about you. It's about the uniforms you're
wearing.'"
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(Information courtesy of the Corpus
Christi Caller~Times. Photos by Michelle Christenson and George
Tuley.)
