2011 Big East Big Ten Baseball Challenge Gets Off to a Hot Start in St. Pete

Although temperatures up north have finally climbed out of the teens and spring is right around the corner, there’s still nothing quite like watching a baseball game at Al Lang Field in downtown St. Pete on a sun-drenched afternoon.

“The weather is fantastic and the baseball, so far, is good,” Dublin, Ohio, resident Rick Barger said, while watching his beloved Buckeyes take on the Cincinnati Bearcats Friday afternoon. “I think it’s great, to be able to come down here in the winter and watch baseball.”

Fans of six of the 16 teams in this year’s Big East Big Ten baseball challenge came to the long-time spring training mecca to watch quality collegiate baseball played against a spectacular backdrop of boats, airplanes and beautiful scenery.

And it’s not just the fans who enjoy making the trip south during the winter; players and coaches are all for it as well.

 “It’s a great tournament, it’s a great venue, we get a chance to play in some great stadiums…for us to all get out of the weather that we’re typically dealing with at this time of year and get down here, we absolutely love it,” Cincinnati head coach Brian Cleary said before the game.

With temperatures Friday reaching the upper 70s  and only a slight cloud cover to shield spectators, there were a few people who struggled with the conditions.

Irene Sullivan, a resident of Beverly Hills, Florida, and aunt of Bearcat player Ryan Quinn, had to be taken to Bayfront Medical Center, when the combination of the hot sun, long walk up the stands and excitement of seeing her nephew play got to her.

“She had an issue with her blood pressure,” Sullivan’s nephew, Kevin Quinn, said after she was taken out of the stadium on a stretcher. “But she didn’t want to go to the hospital because she didn’t want to miss the game.”

Some fans chose to escape the heat by sitting high up in the stands under the stadium’s overhang, where shade and cooler temperatures prevailed.

Felicia Ciamacco, a resident of Hilyard, Ohio, and sister of Buckeyes outfielder Joe Ciamacco, was stretched out on the bench alongside her mother while her brother’s game was going on below.

The reason for her apparent disinterest? She was scorched from a trip to St. Pete Beach the previous day.

The tournament resumes Saturday, at 10am, when Seton Hall takes on Michigan State.