Tiger Athletic Missions Experience Blog
Day 5 Blog
Thursday, December 13, 2017

The ETBU Tiger Baseball team began day five in the Dominican Republic by conducting a youth baseball clinic to over 100 children in Boca Chica. The camp consisted of 10 different stations, consisting of hitting drills, ground balls,  fly balls, and a presentation of the Gospel.  After the two hour clinic, the group headed back to the hotel for lunch and to get ready for their afternoon game at a local field that was rebuilt by the New York Yankees organization.

In the third game of the week, ETBU took on Los Tiburones, a Dominican winter league team comprised of mostly minor league players.  The game was originally scheduled for seven innings, but after playing to a 0-0 tie, the Tigers finally struck for two runs in the ninth, scoring two runs. Zach McAdams from Cypress, Texas, walked with two outs and scored on a RBI double off the bat of Landon Barnes, also from Cypress. Zach Gartner from The Woodlands, Texas, followed with a RBI single to give ETBU a 2-0 lead.

Los Tiburones responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the ninth with no outs and went on to load the bases, but the Tigers were able to prevent any other damage, ending the game in a 2-2 tie.

After the game, Casey Combs from Southlake, Texas, shared with Los Tiburones a short testimony and that all of our gifts and abilities are God-given.

"This week has been an eye opening experience for our entire team.  I knew that the Dominicans lived in extreme poverty, but I could not have ever imagined how bad it really is.  Despite their conditions, everyone is always so joyful and friendly. Every person I have met has been happy to see us and very grateful that we are here," Nick Deatherage from Ft. Worth, Texas, said.

"When we were painting houses, it was cool to see all the kids come up and talk to us and it was awesome to see how happy they were when we gave them our bracelets. It's crazy to think that something that we think is so small would make that big of a difference. When we went to church on Tuesday, it filled my heart with joy. To see people from a different country, that speak a different language, come together and celebrate Jesus just like we do, was incredible. I even recognized some of the songs that they were singing in Spanish and I started singing in English. They were so passionate about the Lord and were so happy to celebrate Him. The baseball part of the trip has been insane to see what these players grow up with and the fields they play on, makes you wonder how they get so good. But as we were driving to one of the fields you notice why these kids get so good...every field you pass there were kids playing baseball. They play baseball all day everyday. Even the kids that come to our games would be taking ground balls off of a wall or playing catch with each other. It's truly an honor to see the way they play the game and be in a place where so many great players have grown up. This has been an inspirational trip so far and I'm sure there will be many more influential moments to come," Deatherage added. 

Combs said, "Today was an unbelievable experience for us all. This morning we held a baseball clinic at a local field, and got to see first hand the young Dominican baseball player's excitement for the game of baseball. The language barrier was tough with our limited knowledge of Spanish, but it was cool to see the kids trying to communicate with us all morning." 

He added, "Personally, this was the highlight of my trip thus far. Just being able to see how these kids become so good at baseball was truly inspirational.  Game three this afternoon was a close exciting game throughout, and we ended up tying a team with multiple players signed with major league organizations. After the game, I had the honor to speak to the opposing team through a translator. I expressed our gratitude to them for having this incredible once in a lifetime opportunity. God has definitely been working through us this whole week, and I just ask that anybody reading this say a prayer for us to finish the week strong and for us to continue to have a positive servant attitude."